Melpomena Dimitrova Karnicheva (; ; 16 March 1900 – 1964), commonly known as Mencha Karnicheva, was a revolutionary of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

(IMRO). The wife of IMRO leader

Ivan Mihaylov Ivan Mihaylov Gavrilov (; ;He is credited in English-language sources as ''Mihailov'', while the Bulgarian and Macedonian transliteration schemes render it as ''Mihaylov'' and ''Mihajlov'', respectively. 26 August 1896 – 5 September 1990), ...

, she is known for assassinating IMRO left-wing activist

Todor Panitsa Todor Nikolov Panitsa (; July 2, 1879 – May 8, 1925) was a Bulgarian revolutionary figure, active in the region of Macedonia. He was one of the leaders of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Biography Panits ...

Life

Karnicheva was born on 16 March 1900 in

Kruševo Kruševo ( ; "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian language, Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an altitude of over ...

in Ottoman-ruled

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 ...

(today in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

) to a mixed Aromanian family. Her grandmother was of Bulgarian and Aromanian ancestry, while her great-grandfather was a Bulgarian priest, who got killed by the Turks. During the

Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising (), consisting of the Ilinden Uprising (; ) and Preobrazhenie Uprising,Keith Brown (2013). Loyal Unto Death Trust and Terror in Revolutionary Macedonia. Indiana University Press. pp. 15-18. . was an organi ...

in 1903, Ottoman troops sacked her birthplace, she and her family moved to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria, after the uprising. There she became involved with the Macedonian revolutionary movement. On 2 September 1918, she went to study in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, but returned to Bulgaria after the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Karnicheva was briefly part of IMRO's federalist leader

's circle, but disagreed with his political views. She joined IMRO on 15 March 1924. On 8 May 1925, she assassinated Panitsa in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

. Per Mihaylov, the assassination was widely publicized in the international press. She was tried and sentenced to eight years in prison, but due to her bad health, her sentence was terminated by an Austrian court and she returned to Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, she was welcomed as a hero upon her return. On 25 December 1926, she married Mihaylov, who was then a leader of IMRO. Along with

Mara Buneva Mara Buneva ( cyrl, Мара Бунева; 1902 – January 13, 1928) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary,Encyclopedia of Motherhood, Volume 1, Andrea O'Reilly, SAGE, 2010, p. 149./ref> a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organi ...

, she was also celebrated as a hero by IMRO's circles in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and the Macedonian emigration. After the disbandment of IMRO in 1934, she lived with Mihaylov in exile in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and etc, until her death in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, in 1964. She was not part of Bulgarian national martyrology until the end of the Bulgarian communist regime. Bulgarian nationalists and the Bulgarian public celebrate her as a patriot. A female association of VMRO-BND was named after her, along with a street in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultura ...

References

External links

*
Mencha Karnicheva — Why did I kill Todor Panitsa?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karnicheva, Mencha 1900 births 1964 deaths People from Kruševo Aromanians from the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian revolutionaries Bulgarian revolutionaries Bulgarian people convicted of murder Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Bulgarian emigrants to Italy Bulgarian nationalist assassins People convicted of murder by Austria