The struggles for National Liberation in the Bulgarian lands in the period of Ottoman rule

After semi-centennial period of resistance against the Ottomans, in 1396, they finally conquered the Bulgarian lands. The Bulgarians did not reconcile with their status of people, deprived of rights, to what testified the never-ending rebellions and uprisings. After the unsuccessful uprising of the Heirs to the crown Konstantin and Fruzhin in 1408 , the Bulgarians supported the troops of the Polish King Wladislaw Warnencek and Transylvanian ruler Yanush Hunyadi during their marches in Bulgaria in 1443 and 1444.Bulgarians participated as well in the decisive battle of Varna on November 1444.

Within a century three uprisings burst out : First Tarnovo uprising (1598), Second Tarnovo uprising (1686) and Chiprovo uprising (1688). As early as in the first decades of the foreign oppression came into being the haidouk movement- an original form of permanent resistance against violating personal, religious and national honor and dignity. In the 60’s of 19th c. the experience gained in the struggles of long time, was wised up in ideological, military-tactical and political sense.The transition from spontaneous political struggle to organized national liberation movement was connected with the nameand activity of Georgi Rakovski. created by him First Bulgarian Legion (1862) took part in the siege and fights for taking Belgrade Fortress.

By their armament, equipment, clothing and tactical skills, the armed detachments of Panaiot Hitov, Philip Totyu ,Hadji Dimitar, Stefan Karaja ect.(created with regard of realizing Rakovski’s views) , were close to the requirements for a regular army. At the end of 1869 in Bucharest was laid the beginning of a new governing body of the Bulgarian national liberation movement- the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC), at the head with Lyuben Karavelov. The most energetic in the activity of the committee was Vasil Levski.For less than three years he managed to develop a large network of revolutionary committees, known as the Internal Revolutionary Organization (IRO), which prepared people for waging struggle.In the heat of preparation for the forthcoming uprising Vasil Levski, called by people “Apostle of Freedom”, was captured, sentenced to death and hanged on February 19th ,1873 in Sofia. The revolutionary organization, founded by Levski , was a new stage in the development of the national liberation movement in Bulgaria.

The straining of the Eastern crisis in the summer of 1875 activated the workers of BRCC and the revolutionary committees in the Bulgarian lands. The Bulgarian revolutionaries, among them Stefan Stambolov, Panaiot Volov, Stoian Zaimov , Nicola Obretenov , Georgi Benkovski etc., decided to rise an uprising in the spring of 1876. The country was divided into four revolutionary regions. The uprising burst out in April 1876.At the time of the violent crushing of the uprising by the Ottoman authorities were massacred more than 30 000 innocent men, women and children ; 80 towns and villages were burnt, other 200 ones- totally plundered. The international community was shocked.Written were more than 3000 articles in about 200 newspapers in support of the Bulgarian cause.Their authors were outstanding politicians, writers and researchers from all over the world, such as Victor Hugo, Giuzeppe Garibaldi, Otto von Bismarck , William Gladstone, Charles Darwin, Konstantin Irecek , Lev Tolstoy , Ivan Turgenev, Dmitri Mendeleev etc.