Trayko Tsvetkov Kitanchev ( bg, Трайко Цветков Китанчев; 1 September 1858 – 13 August 1895) was a Bulgarian teacher, social figure, poet and revolutionary. In 1895, he was the first chairman of the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee, a

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) 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 parts of the country. ...

-based organization seeking the autonomy of

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 traditional geographic reg ...

and southern

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 ...

. Kitanchev was born in the village of Podmochani near Resen (then in Ottoman Macedonia, today in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

). In 1869, he was sent to the imperial capital

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

to study at the Bulgarian school in

Phanar Fener (; Greek: Φανάρι, ''Phanári''; in English also: Phanar) is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. Its name is a Turkish transliteration of the word "phanarion" ( Medieval Greek: Φανά ...

with the aid of

Nathanael of Ohrid Nathanael of Ohrid, Nathanael of Plovdiv or Nathanael of Zograf, born Nesho Stanov Boykikev; (Bulgarian/ mk, Натанаил Охридски; 26 October 1820 – 18 September 1906) was a Bulgarian cleric, writer and revolutionary from Macedo ...

; in Phanar, his classmate was future Bulgarian socialist leader

Dimitar Blagoev Dimitar Blagoev Nikolov (, mk, Димитар Благоев Николов; 14 June 1856 – 7 May 1924) was a Bulgarian political leader and philosopher. He was the founder of the Bulgarian left-wing political movement and of the first social ...

and his teacher was

Petko Slaveykov Petko Rachov Slaveykov ( bg, Петко Рачов Славейков) (17 November 1827 OS – 1 July 1895 OS ) was a Bulgarian poet, publicist, politician and folklorist. Biography Early years and educational activity Slaveykov was born i ...

. From 1874 to 1879, Kitanchev studied at the

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. After his graduation he briefly studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

until 1880. In that year, he returned to the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

to work as a teacher at the Saints Peter and Paul Seminary in

Lyaskovets Lyaskovets ( bg, Лясковец ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, located in homonymous municipality of Veliko Tarnovo Province, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa and 5 km south of the ...

and the Bulgarian Men's High School in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. In 1884, Trayko Kitanchev moved to

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, at the time still the capital of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...

; shortly afterwards he settled in Sofia, capital of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War e ...

. In the same year, he became a full member of the Bulgarian Literary Society (today's

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

). During the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

of 1885, Kitanchev fought as a volunteer in the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establish ...

. In Sofia, Kitanchev befriended

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...

, with whom he even shared a room for some time. During the August 1886 coup attempt aimed at overthrowing Prince

Alexander Battenberg Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (''knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bulga ...

, Kitanchev accompanied Stambolov in

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

and wrote the proclamation declaring the takeover illegal to Stambolov's dictation. During Stambolov's term as

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Asse ...

(1887–1894), however, their relations worsened. After the assassination of Minister of Finance Hristo Belchev in 1891, Kitanchev was imprisoned as a potential accomplice. After his release from prison, Kitanchev was once again teacher at the Bulgarian high school in Thessaloniki and then school inspector in Tarnovo. He became close friends with liberal leader

Petko Karavelov Petko Stoichev KaravelovFrederick B. Chary, ''The History of Bulgaria'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 181 ( bg, Петко Стойчев Каравелов; 24 March 1843 – 24 January 1903) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who served as Prime ...

and was elected member of parliament from the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. When the

Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), ( bg, Върховен македоно - одрински комитет, (ВМОК)), also known as Supreme Macedonian Committee was a Bulgarian paramilitary and political organization, active ...

was established in March 1895, Kitanchev was elected its first chairman during the organization's constituent congress. However, the failure of the committee's armed infiltration of Ottoman Macedonia in the same year was a fatal blow to Kitanchev's health. He died in Sofia in August 1895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitanchev, Trayko 1858 births 1895 deaths People from Resen Municipality Democratic Party (Bulgaria) politicians Bulgarian educators Bulgarian revolutionaries 19th-century Bulgarian poets Bulgarian male poets Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Macedonian Bulgarians 19th-century Bulgarian educators Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery 19th-century male writers