Pavel Bobekov and the grammar of the April Uprising

Bulgaria celebrates 149 years since the April Uprising – an event that led to the liberation of Bulgaria after almost five centuries of Ottoman rule. Today, nearly a century and a half later, we must not forget that every participant in the April Uprising of 1876, regardless of whether a revolutionary leader or an ordinary rebel, did their best and whatever was possible possible to liberate Bulgaria from the oppression of the Ottoman Empire.

1876 April Uprising placed Bulgarian national issue into European agenda

It so happens that most of the so-called apostles from the Giurgiu Revolutionary Committee, which organized the uprising, did not participate in the fighting. At the head of each settlement were local committee activists. Among them, in Panagyurishte, the insurgent capital of the Fourth Revolutionary District, the figure of the young and gifted leader Pavel Bobekov shines.

Before the Liberation (1878), Panagyurishte was a large National Revival Period town nestled in the southern folds of the Sredna Gora mountain range, with over 12,000 residents. Wealthy families traded with Europe and all the Ottoman provinces. Born on St. Petka’s Day (Petkovden) in 1852, Pavel Bobekov was the first son of Stanyo Bobekov. His father was poor and worked as a migrant laborer in Greek households across Constantinople - there, he met and married the Greek woman Manto, who bore him a total of five children. Though illiterate himself, Stanyo spared no effort to ensure his children received an education.

Thus, Pavel graduated from Robert College in the Ottoman capital and went on to study at the Military Medical Academy in Istanbul. At that time time, he was already financially supporting himself through publishing work. Due to his father's death and other family reasons, he was unable to complete his degree and returned to Panagyurishte to take care of the family.

On his return to Panagyurishte Pavel Bobekov became a teacher

Fluent in French, English, Turkish, and Greek, the young Bulgarian became a teacher in his hometown and chairman of the local chitalishte (community center). When Georgi Benkovski arrived in the town in the winter of 1876 and revived the revolutionary committee founded years earlier by Vasil Levski, the town’s head teacher, Nayden Drinov, told him that if they wanted an uprising in Panagyurishte, they needed to win Bobekov over to the cause.

Perceiving himself as an all-knowing revolutionary practitioner, the all-powerful and uncompromising Benkovski clashed with Bobekov in terms of character. The assistant apostle from the Giurgiu Revolutionary Committee established himself as the main driving force behind the organization of the uprising in the Fourth Revolutionary District.

Born in the neighboring town of Koprivshtitsa, Benkovski did not appreciate that the “grammarians,” as he called those more educated than himself, would pose inconvenient questions. To their inquiries, the voivode (revolutionary leader) often had no answers or gave highly questionable ones. The tensions peaked during the preparatory meeting for the uprising held in the nearby area of Oborishte.

A national pilgrimage festival takes place at the historical site Oborishte

There, the people’s envoys asked simple questions: How would they fight against the Ottoman authorities and go the Balkan Mountains with detachments if they had to leave their women and children behind in the villages? They proposed gathering in large camps to unite their forces and bring the women and children with them. But again, they questioned – how would they fight if their women and children were around them? Wouldn't gathering in one place only make it easier for the Ottoman army to come, surround, and destroy them?

None of the apostles had the courage to admit that once the uprising broke out, they would all be sacrificial offerings on the altar of revolution. In Oborishte, arguments arose over when the uprising should begin. Many believed that the time until Easter was too short for proper preparation. Benkovski wanted to be granted absolute authority to lead the uprising. The meeting was on the verge of collapse, and only Benkovski’s eloquence and the “grammarians’” willingness to compromise for the sake of the common cause managed to contain the clash.

When the uprising broke out prematurely on April 20, 1876 (Old Style calendar), Pavel Bobekov, the only person with military education, was elected as "hiljadnik" – the highest military rank among the insurgents. Immediately after the uprising was proclaimed, a Military Council was formed, also known as the Provisional Government in Panagyurishte. It included prominent figures from the local revolutionary committee who had played active roles in preparing and organizing the uprising, and the 24-year-old Bobekov was elected its chairman. Thus, even if only for a few days, he went down in history as the first Bulgarian prime minister.

Bobekov actively commanded the defense of the revolutionary capital. In the battles from April 27 to 30, the young prime minister skillfully led the town’s defense. He set a personal example during the fighting, and all the people of Panagyurishte, along with those who had come from nearby villages, fought bravely. But the superiority of the regular Ottoman army was overwhelming. Panagyurishte was captured and set on fire. Thousands of women, children, and elderly people were massacred. Benkovski watched the blaze from the Sredna Gora mountains and wept. At the same time, Bobekov led the last remaining fighters out of the encirclement. He reached Koprivshtitsa and freed the insurgents and their leaders – Panayot Volov and Todor Kableshkov – who had been imprisoned by the local chorbadzhii (wealthy elite).

Fate gave Pavel Bobekov the chance to reach Wallachia. In 1876, he volunteered in the Serbo-Turkish War. During the Russo-Turkish War, he worked as a translator at the Russian military headquarters but contracted typhus and died in Tarnovo in 1877. He was buried in the yard of the local church of Saint Nicholas but his exact grave remains unknown.

The beginning of the commemorative inscription for the sacrifices made by the Djudjev family in the April Uprising

The hometown of Pavel Bobekov – Panagyurishte – is the center of the commemorative events marking the anniversary of the April Uprising. Traditionally, the celebrations begin with a liturgical procession led by priests from the Panagyurishte diocese, headed by the Poibrene silver cross, with which Georgi Benkovski’s Flying Detachment was blessed.

The silver cross from Poibrene was carried by the heroes on the way to the Bulgarian Golgotha in 1876

A memorial service for those who died in the April Uprising is held at the Holy Presentation of the Virgin Mary church. Citizens and visitors lay flowers and wreaths before the eternal flame at the National Memorial Complex “Apriltsi.” A concert program is prepared, followed by a national torchlight gathering and fireworks display, which will once again light up the sky above the mountain town.

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Photos: Ivo Ivanov, BGNES, Pascal Sebach, Bulgarian Union for Direct Democracy, Vasya Atanasova, Facebook /Retro Panagyurishte, Stoyan Radulov, Facebook/ Panagyurishte Municipality

English publication by Rositsa Petkova