- Georgi Benkovski
Georgi Benkovski ( _bg. Георги Бенковски; 1843–12 May 1876) was the
pseudonym of Gavril Gruev Hlatev (Гаврил Груев Хлътев), aBulgaria n revolutionary and leading figure in the organization and direction of the Bulgarian anti-OttomanApril Uprising of 1876 and apostle of its 4th Revolutionary District.Born around 1843 to the family of the small-time merchant and craftsman Gruyo Hlatev, Benkovski was a native of the bustling sub-Balkan town of
Koprivshtitsa and had two sisters, Kuna and Vasilya. Due to his difficult childhood, Benkovski had two drop out of school after finishing third grade in order to be tutored as atailor by his mother and make a living. Discontent with his job, he became afrieze dealer and left forAsia Minor together with a friend to sell their products with little success. For around ten years, Benkovski lived in various cities of theOrient , includingIstanbul (Tsarigrad ),İzmir (Smyrna ) andAlexandria , engaging in various professions. His later stories described his work as abodyguard of thePersia nconsul , claiming his uniform was so beautiful people thought he was the consul himself. During his travels, Benkovski learned sevenforeign language s vernacularly: Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Persian.Benkovski became involved in the revolutionary activities of the
Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee after meetingStoyan Zaimov inBucharest ,Romania ; he was also introduced toVasil Levski andHristo Botev 's revolutionary and democratic ideas. In the summer of 1875, he joined a group of revolutionaries intending to set Constantinople on fire and assassinatesultan Abdülaziz .He was given the
French passport of a Polish "émigré ", Anton Benkowski, whosefamily name he adopted as a pseudonym; he later changed hisfirst name to Georgi. The Pole was an anti-Russia n revolutionary who had attempted to assassinate the Russian governor ofWarsaw and had to serve alife sentence onSakhalin . Anton Benkowski managed to flee toJapan , where he acquired apassport and from where he fled to the Ottoman Empire. InDiyarbakır , the Pole met Zaimov and traded his French passport for fiveTurkish lira s and the assistance to acquire an Ottoman passport.Benkovski was initially selected as
Panayot Volov 's assistant in the organization of the 4th Revolutionary District of the April Uprising, but due to his fervour and leadership qualities Volov conceded the position of head apostle to Benkovski voluntarily. Thanks to Benkovski's work, the insurrectional preparations developed best in this district.When the April Uprising broke out prematurely in Koprivshtitsa on OldStyleDate|2 May|1876|20 April, Benkovski was in nearby
Panagyurishte along with most other apostles. Upon hearing that fighting has broken out in Koprivshtitsa, Benkovski formed an over-200-strong detachment and went to assist the insurrectionists. His detachment was known as "The Flying Band" (Хвърковата чета, "Hvarkovata cheta") because it toured the entire region tirelessly, mobilizing many insurgents and playing an important part in the fighting. The band was even joined by sixCroats fromDalmatia and the German Albrecht, all workers at the Belovorailway station . [cite book|last=Стоянов|first=Захари|title=Записки по българските въстания|publisher=Литературен клуб|chapter=Четата на Бенковски в Петрич, Еледжик, Сестримо и Белово|url=http://www.litclub.com/library/bg/stoyanov/zapiski/|accessdate=2008-10-05|language=Bulgarian|chapterurl=http://www.litclub.com/library/bg/stoyanov/zapiski/2_8.htm] One of the Croats, Stephen the Dalmatian, went to become the band's finalstandard-bearer . One woman also joined the band: Maria Ivanova-Sutić, the Bulgarian wife of a Croatian railway worker. [cite news|url=http://calendar.dir.bg/inner.php?d=4&month=6&year=2007&cid=&sid=&eid=36552|title=Откриване на паметник на Мария Сутич в Пазарджик|publisher=Dir.bg|language=Bulgarian|accessdate=2008-10-04]In the wake of the uprising's suppression, Benkovski and the surviving members of the band (Stephen the Dalmatian,
Zahari Stoyanov and Father Kiril) headed to theTeteven Balkan Mountains. On OldStyleDate|24 May|1876|12 May, the band's location was betrayed by a localshepherd and the revolutionaries wereambush ed by an Ottoman search party. Benkovski was shot dead in the Kostina area near Ribaritsa while crossing a river bridge. He was subsequently beheaded; his head was sent toBotevgrad and then toSofia . The events were documented by Zahari Stoyanov and published in his "Memoirs of the Bulgarian Uprisings"; the author was the only one of the four who managed to escape.Benkovski Nunatak inBreznik Heights onGreenwich Island ,South Shetland Islands ,Antarctica is named for Georgi Benkovski, as are six villages in Bulgaria and a neighbourhood of Sofia (the former villages of Birimirtsi and Obradovtsi). TheGeorgi Benkovski Stadium inPazardzhik , thefootball club FC Benkovski Byala and theBulgarian Air Force academy also bear his name.Gallery
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