The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (IRO; ) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...

between 1869 and 1871. The organisation represented a network of regional revolutionary committees which were governed by a Central Committee in the town of

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

. The foundation of IRO reflected Levski's ideas that the centre of revolutionary activity be transferred from the Bulgarian emigrant circles in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to Bulgaria proper. In 1871 Levski prepared the Charter of the organisation in the spirit of his own political views: liberation of Bulgaria from the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

through a nationwide revolution and establishment of the country as a

democratic republic A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. As a cross between two similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democracies. Whil ...

with guarantees for the equality of all of its citizens regardless of their ethnicity or religion. By the end of 1872, both Levski and Lyuben Karavelov, the chairman of the

Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC; ) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 1866 by Georgi Rakovski, among the Bulgarian emigrant circles in Romania. The decisive influence for the establishment of the committee ...

(BRCC), which was situated in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, had concluded that the future success of the armed struggle against the Ottomans depended on the co-operation of both: external and internal committees. To this end the two organisations prepared and adopted a joint programme and charter and voted on the merger of the two organisations under the name of BRCK at a general meeting held in

in May, 1872. The goals and fundamental principles which governed the work of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation influenced the formation and guiding principles of subsequent Bulgarian revolutionary organisations, namely the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (active in the Ottoman Empire from 1893 to 1912), the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (active in Greek and Yugoslav

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

from 1919 to 1934), the Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (active in

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace (, '' ytikíThráki'' ), also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace, is a geographical and historical region of Greece, between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace, which lie ...

from 1922 to 1934), the

Internal Dobrudjan Revolutionary Organisation The Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation (; ) or IDRO was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian nationalist and revolutionary organisation active in Kingdom of Romania, Romanian Dobruja from 1923 to 1940. It was labeled a terrorist organization by the Ro ...

(active in

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

from 1923 to 1940) and the

Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation The Western (Bulgarian) Outlands () is a term used in Bulgarian to denote several regions located in ex-Yugoslavia, today southeastern Serbia and southeastern North Macedonia, that were traditionally part of Bulgaria and which were predominant ...

(active in the

Western Outlands The Western (Bulgarian) Outlands () is a term used in Bulgarian to denote several regions located in ex-Yugoslavia, today southeastern Serbia and southeastern North Macedonia, that were traditionally part of Bulgaria and which were predominant ...

from 1921 to 1934).

References

Sources

*''Historical dictionary of Bulgaria'', Item 46 of European historical dictionaries, Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006, , p. 228.
''Bones of Contention: The Living Archive of Vasil Levski and the Making of Bulgaria's National Hero''
Maria N. Todorova, Central European University Press, 2008, , PP. 276-278.
''The establishment of the Balkan national states, 1804-1920''
Volume 8, A History of East Central Europe, Barbara Jelavich, University of Washington Press, 1986, pp. 136-137 {{DEFAULTSORT:Internal Revolutionary Organization Bulgarian revolutionary organisations Revolutionary organizations against the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian National Revival

See also

References

Sources