Политически идеи и дейност на Марко Д. Балабанов в навечерието на Априлското въстание от 1876 г.
Political Ideas and Activity of Marko D. Balabanov on the Eve of the April Uprising of 1876

Summary/Abstract: The outbreak of the uprising in Herzegovina and Bosnia in 1875 marked the beginning of a new exacerbation of the Eastern Crisis which in its turn intensified the legal political activity of the Bulgarians in Constantinople and in the country. Although not having taken direct part in preparing and conducting the April Uprising, the liberal-reformist circles made their contribution to changing the social climate and to radicalizing the moods in Bulgarian society during that period. The article subjects to analysis the political ideas and work of Marko D. Balabanov who was one of the most active among the Bulgarians in Constantinople. Rejecting the revolutionary methods of struggle, he did not believe in the capacity of the Ottoman Empire to reform solely with the aid of Sultan’s acts of reform and promises, Balabanov became the exponent of the social forces who hoped thait by diplomatic pressure and legal political struggle inside, the Supreme Porte could be compelled to effect real political changes concerning the position of the Bulgarian people. From the pages of the newspaper “Century” and “19th Century” that he edited, on the eve of the April Uprising he came out with an expanded programme for the introduction of local administrative autonomy in the Bulgarian lands. In its implementation he saw a way for the Bulgarians to take the road of gradual political emancipation that should lead them to their full national liberation. In the late 1975 and early 1876 this political line was supported and actively encouraged by the Russian Ambassador N.P. Ignatiev with whom Balabanov maintained close contacts. The outbreak of the April Uprising, the atrocities that followed in its suppression and the political persecutions of the Bulgarians throughout the Empire in fact put an end to all legal political action and compelled Balabanov to direct his efforts towards seeking external diplomatic and military support for the Bulgarian liberation cause.

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