The Strandzha Commune or Strandzha Republic was a short-lived anarchist commune. It was proclaimed during the Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 by Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization rebels in Strandzha, in the

Adrianople Vilayet The Vilayet of Adrianople or Vilayet of Edirne ( ota, ولايت ادرنه; ''Vilâyet-i Edirne'') was a first-level administrative division ( vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. This vilayet was split between Turkey and Greece in 1923, culminating ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

History

By 1903, the anarchist Mihail Gerdzhikov was elected as a commander of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

's armed guerrilla wing in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, the so-called ''Mortal Combat Body '' which helped stage a revolt against the Ottomans in

. In the

Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August–October 1903 ( bg, Илинденско-Преображенско въстание, Ilindensko-Preobrazhensko vastanie; mk, Илинденско востание, ...

Gerdzhikov's forces about 2,000 strong, facing a Turkish garrison of 10,000 well-armed troops, managed to establish a liberated zone in the

Strandzha Mountains Strandzha ( bg, Странджа, also transliterated as ''Strandja'', ; tr, Istranca , or ) is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey. It is in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of T ...

, centered in Vasiliko. This successful mass uprising, supported by militia, allowed the rebels to capture most of East Thrace, settling in

Malko Tarnovo Malko Tarnovo ( bg, Малко Търново , "Little Tarnovo"; as opposed to Veliko Tarnovo) is a town in Burgas Province, southeastern Bulgaria, 5 km from the Turkish border. It is the only town in the interior of the Bulgarian Strandz ...

. The new "Strandzha Commune" was established and maintained for almost a month. In the region, under the influence of the anarcho-communist views of Gerdzhikov and the leadership of the Odrinsk revolutionary district, a new communal management system was established where all issues were resolved by mutual agreements between the Bulgarians and Greeks. The economy of the Strandzha Commune was based on

anarcho-communist Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains resp ...

principles. Most of the labor force was composed of women, who worked in the farms as men became guerilla fighters. The Turkish government was surprised by the uprising, taking extraordinary military measures to suppress it. The Ottomans managed to destroy the Strandzha Republic, committing atrocities against the rebel forces and the local population. As a result of the suppression, about 30,000 refugees took refuge in Bulgaria.

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History

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