Macedonian Struggle for Independence - Part XIII, by Risto Stefov

After forcing the Ottomans to accept the June 24th, 1827 Treaty of London, on September 14th, 1829 the newly created Greek State was recognized by the Ottomans which gave birth to the Kingdom of Greece. When the war in Morea ended there was relative peace in the lower Balkans for several decades but that did not mean that the people were content with their situation. With the creation of the Greek State seeds of discontentment were planted everywhere which would sprout in the future causing more revolts and calls for freedom.

The first seed of discontentment was about to sprout when Stojan Velenkov began to organize an uprising in Macedonia in 1867 in response to the uprising in Crete in 1866. The uprising was instigated by the expulsion of the Ottoman official in Debar. Once expelled the people of Debar refused to let the official back or to accept a new one. To calm the situation down the Ottomans moved the Debar office to Ohrid.

The Debar disturbance gave Velenkov the opportunity that he needed to begin organizing a massive revolt. Velenkov had been in touch with the Serbian and Russian Consuls in Bitola and they both gave him the green light to start preparing a wide uprising in Macedonia and Albania. Velenkov, a Krushevo born Macedonian, at the time was living in Bitola and worked for the Ottoman administration as an architect; he was perfect for the job in organizing and leading a massive uprising.

In April 1867 Stojan Velenkov, along with his brother and a friend, began a trek from Constantinople to Debar via Solun, Meglen, Bitola, Krushevo and Kichevo agitating the locals and prompting them to join the uprising. Among the rebels Velenkov recruited were the Albanian Sali Marko, Hasan Koka and Sul Kulesha.

When Velenkov returned from his tour he again met with the Russian and Serbian consuls and reported that the people in Moriovo, Poreche, Kopachka, Reka, Kichevo, Bitola, Prilep, Ohrid and most of Albania were ready to join a massive rebellion but lacked the necessary arms and ammunition. There were also Macedonian immigrants in Serbia such as Sardzho Dukov from Lazaropole, Petar Tule from Ohrid, Dimitrija from Gorna Belitsa, Dime Kusev from Prilep and other leaders who were also prepared to participate in the massive uprising but they too lacked weapons.

Upon receiving the news from Velenkov the Serbian consul promised that Serbia was prepared to arm the rebels. The only remaining task for Velenkov now was to receive and distribute the arms and prepare for the uprising.

Unfortunately when the uprising in Crete failed and the Ottomans appeased the Serbians by giving in to their demands to evacuate Ottoman garrisons from Serbian cities, the Serbian government backed out of the plan to supply arms to the Macedonian rebels. This resulted in the uprising being delayed and as the rebellion in Debar fizzled out, the massive uprising never materialized.

As the Ottoman Empire continued to weaken during the fourth quarter of the 19th century, armed conflicts continued to escalate especially after 1875 to 1880, a period known as the Eastern Crisis.

Although revolutionary activities never ceased in Macedonia, the next Macedonian organized and lead insurrection was the Razlovtsi Uprising. The Razlovtsi Uprising took about a year to organize and began in Solun and continued in Razlovtsi following the Herzegovina Uprising. The main political, economic and logistics organizer of this uprising was Dimitar Pop Georgiev Berovski. Berovski (1840-1907), a Macedonian with military education and experience was a veteran of the Belgrade rebellion and was first to consider linking the Macedonian rebellion with an all out Balkan rebellion. Berovski patiently waited in Solun while observing activities in Herzegovina. Then when the Herzegovina Uprising commenced, Berovski began military preparations in Macedonia. His aim was to start a rebellion in two places. The first was to start in Solun in order to engage and divide the Ottoman army so that the Herzegovina Uprising would have a better chance of succeeding. The second uprising was to start in the village Razlovtsi bordering the villages Maleshevo, Pijanets and Kochani at the foothills of Mount Golak. Priest Stojan Razlovski, the local priest, was put in charge of organizing the second uprising.

The organizing of the Razlovtsi Uprising began with the formation of a secret circle of people known as the Secret Revolutionary Circle of Razlovtsi. Members of this circle included Priest Stojan Razlovski, Nako Pop Atanasov, Stoil Pop Anastasov, Tsone Spasov and Kostadin Spasov all from the village Razlovtsi as well as Hadzhi Atanas from the village Laki, Stefan Stojanov from Vinitsa and others.

The Secret Revolutionary Circle of Razlovtsi held three conferences to plan its objectives. The first was held early in 1876 in Kaladzherdzhevo where Priest Stojan outlined his plan for procuring and distributing weapons. The second conference chaired by Berovski himself was held in May 1876 again in Kaladzherdzhevo where the committee outlined its plan of engagement. Among other things it was decided that the uprising, once prepared, would begin in the village Razlovtsi. Berovski was elected leader of the uprising and given his first mission to attack the Ottoman garrison in Tserevo Selo, or Delchevo as it is known today, and acquire its weapons. From there the uprising was to spread to Pijanets, Maleshevo, Pehchevo, Berovo and Vladimirovo. It was also decided that before the uprising began, Berovski was to take a tour and organize simultaneous uprisings in Radovich, Strumitsa, Petrich, Melnik, Kochani, Vinitsa and Shtip Regions.

The idea here was to begin an all Macedonian massive uprising and while Ottoman forces were divided, use the opportunity to liberate all of Macedonia.

The biggest obstacle, even in this uprising, unfortunately was the procurement of enough weapons, ammunition, clothing, medical equipment and food to sustain a prolonged uprising. Outside help was scarce so it was decided that some of the money should come from local sources. The first to volunteer aid was Dimitar Berovski himself who authorized his father-in-law, Priest Stojan Razlovski, to sell his estate in Berovo which included his house, land, cattle, etc., convert it to cash and send it to him in Solun where he could use it to procure weapons and ammunition. Others too donated money for the cause in a similar manner and after the supplies were purchased they were stored in secret warehouses in the suburbs of Solun. From there the supplies were taken by horses and mules in small amounts and transported to secret stashes in the Krusha, Belesitsa, Plachkovitsa and Maleshevo Mountains.

Besides the procurement of weapons, ammunition and other supplies, it was also important for the revolutionary movement to have its own symbols and flag. The task for making the flag was given to teachers Nedela Petkova and Stanislava Karaivanova. The women used a fiery-red cloth background on which they embroidered a yellow-golden uncrowned lion, the words "Macedonia" and "Rebel to Liberate". A while later the words "On May 8, 1876" were added to symbolize the start date of the Uprising.

As indicated on the flag, the uprising was planned for May 8th, 1876, right after Gjurgievden, so on May 7th, the day before the uprising, the Secret Revolutionary Circle of Razlovtsi held its third congress, again in Kaladzherdzhevo, to discuss the final plan before putting it into action. Unfortunately the congress was disrupted by the arrival of the Ottoman tax collector. Even though the taxes had already been voluntarily paid early that year, so as to avoid the tax collector's visit, the tax collector showed up anyway un-announced and called on all the villagers to assemble under the threat that if they didn't he would burn their village down. It was obvious to everyone that something was not right. The Ottomans must have found out about their plans but it was too late to do anything. The guns and ammunition were stored and hidden far from village so the Razlovtsi residents decided to assemble as ordered. People who did not belong in Razlovtsi were immediately arrested and taken to prison. Among those arrested were brothers Nako and Stoilo from Istevnik, relatives of priest Sojan Razlovki. But when the Ottomans, not satisfied with just apprehending the visitors, came back to apprehend the most beautiful girls in the village with intent to make them Turkish brides, the villagers became very angry and began the uprising right there and then. Unable to control the angry crowd the Ottomans hid indoors. As news of the disturbance spread to the neighbouring villages more people armed with axes and pitchforks joined the mob. Exploiting the explosive situation, Berovski called for the uprising to begin immediately starting with the eviction of the Ottomans from Razlovtsi. Thirty new insurgents joined Berovski's rebels. A Cheta of 20 insurgents were dispatched to Razlovtsi. Six insurgents surrounded the inn where the Ottomans were hiding. Another small group went to intercept the Ottomans who had just left the village with the prisoners. The rebels caught up to the Ottomans and managed to free ten people. Unfortunately Nako Pop Atanasov, was accidentally killed by a stray bullet. He was the first casualty of the Razlovtsi Uprising.

Having no time to arm themselves, most villages stormed the inn where the Ottomans were hiding and with sticks, hatchets, pitchforks and knives and demanded that the Ottomans surrender. Unaccustomed to this kind of behaviour from the Macedonians the Ottomans refused to come out thus prompting the villagers to set fire to the inn. As the fire grew, heavy rain began to fall giving the Ottomans cover and a chance to move to other buildings. To be sure there would be no place for them to hide more and more people started burning their own houses. Many Ottomans were burned alive as the buildings were torched, those who attempted to escape, including the tax collector the infamous Sapil Aliman, were run down by the mob and killed. Only two Ottomans escaped.

By ousting the Ottomans from Razlovtsi, the village was liberated and the start of the uprising was deemed a success. The fervour and enthusiasm created by this incident prompted more people to join the insurgency and gave it the impetus it needed to spread outwards. While Berovski took his Cheta and departed for Maleshevo, a group of insurgents remained in Razlovtsi to defend the village from retaliations, especially from the Bashibuzuks (armed Muslim civilian population).

On their way to Maleshevo, Berovski and Smilevski were greeted with cheers by the villagers especially when the new flag was unveiled. The men threw their hats up in the air and the crowds roared in patriotic songs. It was a glorious moment, a moment to remember, a moment of liberty and freedom. News about the uprising spread far and wide and encouragements to fight on came from everywhere.

Filled with enthusiasm the insurgents went in pursuit of the occupiers calling them to surrender but as usual they refused and fire fights broke out. When the insurgents arrived in Pehchevo they called on Osman Kodon and Dervish Alija to surrender but their refusal forced the insurgents to burn down the house in which they were hiding. The noise from the rifle shots and the flames of the burning house unfortunately attracted the attention of passing Ottoman unit nearby which came to investigate. Lead by Ismail, the Ottomans opened fire on the insurgents and a battle ensued lasting five hours. Several Ottoman soldiers were killed and four Macedonians were injured, one of them Dimitar Berovski. At the sight of their leader falling down the insurgents were demoralized losing their enthusiasm to fight on. Luckily Berovski was lightly wounded on the head and did not need hospitalization but the time lost in the confusion gave the enemy the upper hand. The time lost in the fight and because of his wounds caused Berovski's to miss his deadline of meeting with 300 insurgents who were waiting for him to arrive in Maleshevo. So given the new situation Berovski decided to return to Razlovtsi. But on the same evening as the Cheta arrived in Kaladzherdzhevo, Berovski found out that the Razlovtsi folk had evacuated their village the day before. The village Mitrashintsi was also evacuated. From what Berovski could gather, when his Cheta left Razlovtsi and had gone to Mitrashintsi in the afternoon of May 9th, 1876, the Bashibuzuks from the Pijanets Region villages assembled and attacked the village with everything they had. The villagers and insurgents left behind fought back but could offer little resistance against the well armed superior Bashibuzuk force. Three Bashibuzuks and twelve Macedonians from Razlotsi were killed in that battle. The village was robbed of its material goods and livestock and the church and several houses were burned to the ground, one of the houses burned belonged to Priest Stojan Razlovski. After the Bashibuzuks left the residents of Razlovtsi returned and barricaded themselves inside the village.

Given the new situation, Berovski abandoned the original plan of going to Maleshevo to meet with the 300 insurgents, and instead left for Kochani. After waiting for four days for Berovski to arrive, the 300 insurgents in Maleshevo disbanded and went home.

In the absence of Macedonian insurgents in Razlovtsi, the Ottomans took advantage of the situation and brought two new priests, Gjorgij Milenkov and Atanas Stoilov, to try and convince the villagers to surrender their weapons and repent for their actions so that they could be forgiven by the Ottomans. Upon finding this out, Priest Stojan convinced the people that the priests were nothing but traitors so he had them thrown out from the village.

Berovski and his insurgents meanwhile continued on their trek to Kochani and arrived in Plachkovitsa Mountain on May 23rd, 1876. There they were joined by 40 other insurgents from the village Laki lead by Tsone Donchev. Unbeknownst to Berovski and Donchev, however, an enemy group of 60 or so Bashibuzuks were headed for the village Laki and Razlovtsi to rob them. The Bashibuzuks entered the villages before Berovski and Donchev could head them off but by the strength of the combined Chetas they were able to extract and drive them out. Given the current situation the leaders decided to split up. Donchev was to stay and guard the villages while Berovski and his Cheta were to go to the village Radovish to continue his recruitment of insurgents and to pick up arms and ammunition from the nearby hidden depot in Smiljantsi. Unfortunately before Berovski arrived at the village Smiljantsi he received news that it was occupied by Ottoman forces. It seems the Ottomans were aware of the existence of the arms and ammunition depot but were unable to find it. A field worker had witnessed suspicious activities and had reported them to the Ottoman authorities in Radovish. A large Ottoman force was then dispatched and had entered the village threatening to severely punish the villagers if they didn't reveal the hidden weapons. But before the Ottomans were able to extract any information, Berovski and his Cheta arrived and forced the Ottomans to take defensive positions. Berovski called on the people inside the village to stand and fight with him but fearing Ottoman reprisals they refused. Unable to extract the Ottomans the insurgents had no choice but to withdraw.

Perhaps the residents of Smiljantsi were wise in their choice not to join the fight because as events in their village were played out the Ottomans were assembling a massive force to suppress the rebellion. With all the disturbances at the fringes of their Empire, the Ottomans could not afford to have an uprising so close to their capital especially during the Eastern crises.

One way to extinguish the rebellion was to starve it out of food and new recruits. On May 28th, 1876 Ottoman authorities decided to reinforce their military installations in the rebellious villages by adding more soldiers. Five hundred Ottoman soldiers were added to Strumitsa and Radovish Regions, 1,000 to Melnik and Petrich and 1,000 to Gorna Dzhumaja. Many Bashibuzuks also joined the Ottoman soldiers and were let loose to plunder the villages and terrorize the civilian population. While the villages were surrounded to keep rebels out, the main objective of this Ottoman offensive was to destroy Berovski and his Cheta. One way to do that was to attack the very same village where the families of the rebels resided. Razlovtsi was again attacked, for the second time in less that a month, and experienced further plundering, torture and death. Other villages we also attacked and everyone associated with the uprising was arrested and put in chains. Fifty-seven people from Maleshevo Region, seven from Strumitsa, eighteen from Kochani and eleven from Radovish were captured and tortured. Some were released and the rest were sent to various prisons in Pehchevo, Strumitsa, Kjustendil, Seres, Solun, Skopje and Sofia to serve their fifteen year sentences. Tsone Donchev, leader of the Laki Cheta was poisoned.

While the civilian population paid for the sins of the insurgents, Dimitar Berovski with thirty of his most staunch fighters managed to escape capture by fighting his way out of the encirclement and fleeing through the mountains to the village Sazhdenik where he and the rebels spent the winter. Priest Sojan Razlovski, old and too tired to run was left at the Rila Monastery but unfortunately he was spotted by enemy spies who had him killed.

Berovski and his Cheta remained active and continued to be active after joining Ilo Maleshevski's Cheta in 1877.

Although organized to be part of a general uprising against Ottoman repression, the Razlovtsi Uprising was strictly a Macedonian affair with aims of liberating Macedonia and the Macedonian people. The flag was a nice touch that not only emphasized uniqueness in the Macedonian struggle but connected modern Macedonia to ancient Macedonia by its name and by its symbolic ancient Macedonian lion.

To be continued.

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You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com