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79-667: After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed by Russia and the Ottoman Empire on 3 March 1878. Under this, a large Bulgarian vassal state was agreed to, which was significantly larger: its lands encompassed nearly all ethnic Bulgarians in the Balkans , and included most of Moesia , Thrace and Macedonia , stretching from the Black Sea to

158-604: A Slavic nation, also considered Macedonians as belonging to Serbian nation. Thus began a five-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until World War I . In 1903 there was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia and war seemed likely. In 1908 Ferdinand used the struggles between the Great Powers to declare Bulgaria a fully independent kingdom , with himself as Tsar, which he did on 5 October (though celebrated on 22 September, as Bulgaria remained officially on

237-516: A court. This rule was ignored by the "People's Tribunal" of 1945, during the Soviet occupation of the country . The tribunal did not hold the statute of а court yet passed on more than 10,000 sentences to people who were seen as a threat by the Bulgarian Communist Party , which was coming to power at the time. The article prohibiting censorship was suspended in the 1880s by a law enforced by

316-720: A fleet in September 1860. Fearing that a unilateral intervention would increase French influence in the region at their expense, the British joined the French expedition . Faced with further European pressure, the Sultan agreed to appoint a Christian governor in Lebanon, whose candidacy was to be submitted by the Sultan and approved by the European powers. The Cretan Revolt , which began in 1866, resulted from

395-601: A legal act, an exception to the religious restriction was made when electing the Lutheran Alexander of Battenberg as the first Prince. The Prince had the power to initiate a legislative campaign and to coordinate the activities of the prime minister and the cabinet. Although the ministers were entitled to act as if they were representing the Prince, by signing with their own signature they agreed to take responsibility for what resulted from their actions. The Prince's signature

474-663: A nephew of Tsar Alexander II , was chosen. An autonomous Ottoman province under the name of Eastern Rumelia was created south of the Stara Planina range, whereas Macedonia was returned under the sovereignty of the Sultan. The Bulgarians adopted an advanced democratic constitution , and power soon passed to the Liberal Party led by Stefan Stambolov . Prince Alexander had conservative leanings, and at first opposed Stambolov's policies, but by 1885 he had become sufficiently sympathetic to his new country to change his mind, and supported

553-635: A poll tax in lieu of service, the army itself was divided into four categories: the Nizam (standing army), who served for four years (five for cavalry and engineers); the Ithiat, or first reserve, where a further two years were served (one year for the cavalry and artillery); the Redif, which took veterans of the Nizam and Ithiat categories and men who did not serve; and the Moustafiz, where all men who had completed their service in

632-470: The 8cm and 9cm types for field usage, with 12 cm and 15cm guns also being used (but less commonly) and various older guns found primarily in fortresses. At the outbreak of war, the Ottoman army was divided into several groups. The largest was the 168,000-man contingent under the command of Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha , based out of Shumla . 140,000 were assigned to the general task of fighting threats in

711-716: The Aegean . However, the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary were against the establishment of such a large Russian client state in the Balkans, fearing it would shift the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Due to this, the great powers convened and signed the Treaty of Berlin , superseding the Treaty of San Stefano, which never went into effect. This created a much smaller principality , alongside an autonomous Eastern Rumelia within

790-565: The Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire. The Russian-led coalition won the war, pushing the Ottomans back all the way to the gates of Constantinople , leading to the intervention of the Western European great powers. As a result, Russia succeeded in claiming provinces in the Caucasus, namely Kars and Batum , and also annexed

869-456: The Budjak region. The principalities of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, each of which had had de facto sovereignty for some years, formally proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire. After almost five centuries of Ottoman domination (1396–1878), Bulgaria emerged as an autonomous state with support and military intervention from Russia. Article 9 of the 1856 Paris Peace Treaty , concluded at

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948-597: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church as the official religion of the nation, although people of other religions were considered equal to those who followed the official faith. With amendments in 1893 and 1911 that strengthened royal power, the Tarnovo Constitution remained in use until 4 December 1947, when it was replaced by the Dimitrov Constitution . According to the constitution of 1879, Bulgaria

1027-550: The Coup d'état of 1944 organized by the Bulgarian Communist Party . The Referendum of 1946 led to the transition from a constitutional monarchy to a people's republic . The referendum took place during the Soviet occupation of the country and was also technically illegal since the Tarnovo Constitution did not provide for a change in the type of government. The Tarnovo Constitution was permanently abolished in 1947 when another one, bearing

1106-627: The Julian calendar until 1916) in the Holy Forty Martyrs Church, Veliko Tarnovo . The main external political problem confronting Bulgaria throughout the period up to World War I was the fate of Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. At the end of 19th century the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization was founded and began the preparation of an armed uprising in the regions still occupied by

1185-539: The Russian general Sobolev ; this law restricted media to seven selected newspapers and magazines, and limited comments critical of the government. Similar regulations were in effect in the late era of Stefan Stambolov 's government. In 1881, the Grand National Assembly (the supreme form of parliament) was manipulated by the principal Alexander I of Battenberg in order to suspend the entire constitution. During

1264-401: The military school during his reign to educate officers. However, the turnout of this academy was poor and only 1,600 of the 20,000 regular officers of the army were academy trained, though the artillery saw the highest concentration of academy trained officers at 20% of the total. For the entire Ottoman army, only 132 academy-trained generals were available. The Ottoman army was organised at

1343-510: The "independence" of the Ottoman Empire, it would be wholly impossible to afford to it again the support we had afforded in the Crimean war . Although on the winning side in the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire continued to decline in power and prestige. The financial strain on the treasury forced the Ottoman government to take a series of foreign loans at such steep interest rates that, despite all

1422-539: The 19th century, with the central government occasionally losing control over whole provinces. Reforms imposed by European powers did little to improve the conditions of the Christian population, while managing to dissatisfy a sizable portion of the Muslim population. Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered at least two waves of rebellion by the local Muslim population, the most recent ending in 1862 . Austria-Hungary consolidated after

1501-598: The Bulgarian cause led to a nationwide surge in patriotism on a scale comparable with the one during the Patriotic War of 1812 . From autumn 1875, the movement to support the Bulgarian uprising involved all classes of Russian society. This was accompanied by sharp public discussions about Russian goals in this conflict: Slavophiles , including Fyodor Dostoevsky , saw in the impending war the chance to unite all Orthodox nations under Russia's helm, thus fulfilling what they believed

1580-558: The Crimean War ;– and Russian annexation of the port of Batum on the east coast of the Black Sea . Bulgaria was to become autonomous (independent, according to the Russian records). As the fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina continued, Serbia suffered a string of setbacks and asked the European powers to mediate an end to the war. A joint ultimatum by the European powers forced

1659-411: The Crimean War; some were Islamized Bulgarians. The Ottoman army suppressed the revolt, massacring up to 30,000 people in the process. Five thousand out of the seven thousand villagers of Batak were put to death. Both Batak and Perushtitsa , where the majority of the population was also massacred, participated in the rebellion. Many of the perpetrators of those massacres were later decorated by

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1738-515: The European balance. Bismarck did not wish the breakup of the Ottoman Empire to create rivalries that might lead to war, so he took up Tsar Alexander II of Russia 's earlier suggestion that arrangements be made in case the Ottoman Empire fell apart, creating the Three Emperors' League with Austria-Hungary and Russia to keep France isolated on the continent. France responded by supporting self-determination movements, particularly if they concerned

1817-690: The European provinces of the Empire, with 45,000 in various garrisons in Anatolia, Europe, and Crete. With the Caucasus army containing 70,000 men, the total of number of troops amounted to 378,000. Olender gives a breakdown of Ottoman troops in the spring of 1877 as containing 571 infantry battalions (181 of which were Nizam), 147 cavalry squadrons and 143 artillery batteries not including the fortress and garrison companies or irregulars. On paper this would amount to 441,954 infantry (140,094 being nizam troops), 21,021 cavalry and 858 guns. However, due to other conflicts and

1896-708: The Liberals. He also supported the Unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, which was brought about by a coup in Plovdiv in September 1885. The Powers did not intervene because of the power struggles between them. Shortly after, Serbia declared war on Bulgaria in the hope of grabbing territory while the Bulgarians were distracted. The Bulgarians defeated them at Slivnitsa , pushed the Serbian army into Serbia and succeeded in reconquering

1975-682: The Ottoman Empire accepted with the Tophane Agreement . On 5 October 1908, Bulgaria declared its independence as the Kingdom of Bulgaria . In 1396 the Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars ended with the fall of the Bulgarian Empire , due to the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans and its own internal divisions. Under Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian nobility was destroyed and the national consciousness suppressed. The Bulgarian National Revival , emerging in

2054-531: The Ottoman Empire. In practice, Bulgaria's status as an Ottoman vassal was a legal fiction , and Bulgaria only acknowledged the authority of the Sublime Porte in a formal way. It had its own Constitution , flag and anthem, and conducted its own foreign policy. From 1880, it had its own currency as well. In 1885, a bloodless revolution resulted in Eastern Rumelia being de facto annexed by Bulgaria, which

2133-526: The Ottoman Empire. Small as the amount of attention is which can be given by the people of England to the affairs of Turkey ... enough was transpiring from time to time to produce a vague but a settled and general impression that the Sultans were not fulfilling the "solemn promises" they had made to Europe; that the vices of the Turkish government were ineradicable; and that whenever another crisis might arise affecting

2212-644: The Ottoman Turks. Relying in part on nationwide support on the part of the Principality of Bulgaria, IMARO got down to organizing a network of committees in Macedonia and Thrace. In August 1903 a mass armed uprising, known in history as the Ilinden-Preobrajenie, broke out in Macedonia and Thrace. Its aim was to liberate those regions, or at least to draw the attention of the Great Powers and make them advocate for

2291-647: The Ottoman high command. Word of the bashi-bazouks' atrocities filtered to the outside world by way of the American-run Robert College located in Constantinople . The majority of the students were Bulgarian, and many received news of the events from their families back home. Soon the Western diplomatic community in Constantinople was abuzz with rumours, which eventually found their way into newspapers in

2370-553: The Ottoman offensive into Serbia. Meanwhile, Alexander II of Russia and Prince Gorchakov met Austria-Hungary's Franz Joseph I and Count Andrássy in the Reichstadt castle in Bohemia . No written agreement was made, but during the discussions, Russia agreed to support Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Austria-Hungary, in exchange, agreed to support the return of Southern Bessarabia  – lost by Russia during

2449-498: The Ottomans in the war. An uprising against Ottoman rule began in Herzegovina in July 1875. By August almost all of Herzegovina had been seized and the revolt had spread into Bosnia . Supported by nationalist volunteers from Serbia and Montenegro, the uprising continued as the Ottomans committed more and more troops to suppress it. With its origin in the vicinity of the town of Nevesinje

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2528-482: The Porte to give Serbia a one-month truce and start peace negotiations. Turkish peace conditions however were refused by European powers as too harsh. In early October, after the truce expired, the Turkish army resumed its offensive and the Serbian position quickly became desperate. On 31 October, Russia issued an ultimatum requiring the Ottoman Empire to stop the hostilities and sign a new truce with Serbia within 48 hours. This

2607-582: The Question of the East calling upon Britain to withdraw its support for Turkey and proposing that Europe demand independence for Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the details became known across Europe, many dignitaries, including Charles Darwin , Oscar Wilde , Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi , publicly condemned the Ottoman abuses in Bulgaria. The strongest reaction came from Russia. Widespread sympathy for

2686-400: The Redif (approximately 300,000 troops) served for a further six years. The Redif itself was divided into four categories: the first category consisted of veterans of the Nizam category, who served in the first Redif subcategory for four years before entering the second Redif sub-category; men who were not conscripted served in the third sub-category of the Redif for four years before entering

2765-697: The West. While in Constantinople in 1879, Protestant missionary George Warren Wood reported Turkish authorities in Amasia brutally persecuting Christian Armenian refugees from Soukoum Kaleh . He was able to coordinate with British diplomat Edward Malet to bring the matter to the attention of the Sublime Porte , and then to the British Foreign Secretary Robert Gascoyne-Cecil (the Marquess of Salisbury ). In Britain, where Disraeli's government

2844-444: The agreement heard. When they were rejected by the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire announced its decision to disregard the results of the conference. On 15 January 1877, Russia and Austria-Hungary signed a written agreement confirming the results of the earlier Reichstadt Agreement of July 1876. This assured Russia of the benevolent neutrality of Austria-Hungary in the impending war. These terms meant that in case of war Russia would do

2923-578: The army. In 1858, stirred by their clergy, the Maronite peasants of northern Lebanon revolted against their predominantly Druze feudal overlords and established a peasant republic. In southern Beirut vilayet , where both Maronite and Druze peasants worked under Druze overlords, Druze peasants sided with their co-religious and against the Maronites, transforming the conflict into a civil war . Although both sides suffered, about 10,000 Maronites were massacred at

3002-470: The battalion level with a battalion nominally holding 800 men subdivided into companies of 100 men, for formations above the battalion level these were to be assembled ad-hoc this results in difficulty at estimating Ottoman troop strength throughout the war as many units were below strength before entering the war due to the many rebellions affecting the empire. However, the Ottoman army was well prepared for war, as it had increasingly called up its reserves up to

3081-546: The crushing French defeat and the support of a grateful Germany , Russia achieved international recognition of its earlier denouncement of Article 11 of the Paris Peace Treaty, thus enabling it to revive the Black Sea Fleet. Other clauses of the Paris Peace Treaty, however, remained in force, specifically Article 8 with guarantees of Ottoman territorial integrity by Great Britain, France and Austria. Therefore, Russia

3160-501: The end of the Crimean War , obliged the Ottoman Empire to grant Christians equal rights with Muslims. Before the treaty was signed, the Ottoman government issued an edict, the Edict of Gülhane , which proclaimed the principle of the equality of Muslims and non-Muslims, and produced some specific reforms to this end. For example, the jizya tax was abolished and non-Muslims were allowed to join

3239-458: The establishment of a large Russian client state on the Balkans, the other great powers, however, were not willing to agree to the treaty. As a result, the Treaty of Berlin (1878), under the supervision of Otto von Bismarck of Germany and Benjamin Disraeli of United Kingdom , revised the earlier treaty, and scaled back the proposed Bulgarian state. A widely autonomous Principality of Bulgaria

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3318-503: The fact that there were numerous regular Turkish troops in those areas. A special Turkish military committee was established to quell the uprising. Regular troops ( Nizam ) and irregulars ( Redif or Bashi-bazouk ) were directed to fight the Bulgarians (11 May – 9 June 1876). The irregulars were mostly drawn from the Muslim inhabitants of the Bulgarian region. Many were Circassians from the Caucasus or Crimean Tatars who were expelled during

3397-528: The failure of the Ottoman Empire to apply reforms for improving the life of the population and the Cretans' desire for enosis – union with Greece . The insurgents gained control over the whole island, except for five fortified cities where the Muslims took refuge. The Greek press claimed that Muslims had massacred Greeks and the word was spread throughout Europe. Thousands of Greek volunteers were mobilized and sent to

3476-508: The fighting and Austria-Hungary would derive most of the advantage. Russia therefore made a final effort for a peaceful settlement. After reaching an agreement with its main Balkan rival and with anti-Ottoman sympathies running high throughout Europe due to the Bulgarian atrocities and the rejection of the Constantinople agreements, Russia finally felt free to declare war. The Ottoman army at this time solely conscripted Muslims with non-Muslims paying

3555-555: The fiscal reforms that followed, pushed it into unpayable debts and economic difficulties. This was further aggravated by the need to accommodate more than 600,000 Muslim Circassians , expelled by the Russians from the Caucasus, to the Black Sea ports of north Anatolia and the Balkan ports of Constanța and Varna , which cost a great deal in money and in civil disorder to the Ottoman authorities. The Concert of Europe established in 1814

3634-471: The fourth subcategory. The Redif itself was grouped into battalions and classes, with whole battalions taken out to serve as new units. The annual draft conscripted 37,500 men; following mobilisation of the Nizam and Ithiat, these two portions of the army totaled approximately 210,000 men. An additional 20,000 men of the Gendarme were included in the Nizam. The Redif was theoretically capable of providing 190,000–200,000 troops. Sultan Abdulaziz had reorganised

3713-500: The hands of the Druze. Fearing European intervention, the Ottoman foreign minister Mehmed Fuad Pasha was dispatched to Syria and immediately set about trying to resolve the conflict as swiftly as possible. Mehmed sought out and executed the agitators on all sides, including the governor and other officials. Order was soon restored, and preparations made to give Lebanon new autonomy. These efforts were ultimately not enough to prevent European intervention, however, with France deploying

3792-473: The improvement of the living conditions for the population through legal and economic reforms. After three months of fierce battles the Ottoman army crushed the uprising using much cruelty against the civilian population. 42°42′N 23°20′E  /  42.700°N 23.333°E  / 42.700; 23.333 Russo-Turkish War (1877%E2%80%931878) The Russo-Turkish War ( Turkish : 93 Harbi , lit.   'War of '93', named for

3871-422: The insurrection was suppressed, but the Porte offered some concessions, introducing island self-rule and increasing Christian rights on the island. Although the Cretan crisis ended better for the Ottomans than almost any other diplomatic confrontation of the century, the insurrection, and especially the brutality with which it was suppressed, led to greater public attention in Europe to the oppression of Christians in

3950-469: The island. The siege of Arkadi Monastery became particularly well known. In November 1866, about 250 Cretan Greek combatants and around 600 women and children were besieged by about 23,000 mainly Cretan Muslims aided by Ottoman troops, and this became widely known in Europe. After a bloody battle with a large number of casualties on both sides, the Cretan Greeks finally surrendered when their ammunition ran out but were killed upon surrender. By early 1869,

4029-476: The joint control of European powers. The Ottomans, however, refused to sacrifice their independence by allowing international representatives to oversee the institution of reforms and sought to discredit the conference by announcing on 23 December, the day the conference was closed, that a constitution was adopted that declared equal rights for religious minorities within the Empire. The Ottomans attempted to use this manoeuver to get their objections and amendments to

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4108-540: The late 18th century, revived Bulgarian identity and stoked the idea of creating a new Bulgarian state. Numerous revolutionary movements and uprisings against the Ottomans occurred alongside similar movements in the rest of the Balkans, culminating in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 to 1878. The Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, proposed a Bulgarian state, which comprised the geographical regions of Moesia , Thrace and Macedonia . Based on that date Bulgarians celebrate Bulgaria 's national day each year. Fearing

4187-436: The monarch and his successor, must pay taxes to the state. All (male) citizens were obliged to serve in the military; this requirement included the monarch (who was head of the military forces) and his successors. All citizens were allowed freedom of association, and were free to form political parties or start their own companies. The Tarnovo Constitution prohibited punishment of a citizen whose case had not been examined by

4266-401: The next seven years, the monarch had unlimited power and issued a series of ordinances that were only technically approved by the ministers. This period, which Bulgarian historians refer to as a regime, ended in 1888 when the constitution was restored. The Tarnovo Constitution was temporarily suspended several times more, most notably during the Coup d'état of 1934 led by Kimon Georgiev and

4345-631: The ongoing process of mobilisation of the Redif units at this process the Regular Ottoman army amounted to 400,000 troops with an additional 90,000 irregular troops and Egyptian troops. (Paper Olender) 10 squadrons 15 batteries (40,130 men, 90 guns) Sistova 4 squadrons 5 batteries (12,182, 30 guns) 3 squadrons 3 batteries (9,717, 18 guns) 30 squadrons (mostly irregular) 15 batteries (54,600, 90 guns) 2 squadrons 2 batteries (9,288, 12 guns) Adrianople , Constantinople 12 squadrons 8 batteries Tarnovo Constitution The Tarnovo Constitution ( Bulgarian : Търновска конституция )

4424-461: The same time, a severe drought in Anatolia in 1873 and flooding in 1874 caused famine and widespread discontent in the heart of the Empire. The agricultural shortages precluded the collection of necessary taxes, which forced the Ottoman government to declare bankruptcy in October 1875 and increase taxes on outlying provinces including the Balkans. István Deák states that the Albanian highlanders resented new taxes and conscription, and fought against

4503-406: The territory seized by the Berlin Treaty Bulgarian populated towns of Pirot and Vranya , but they were given back to Serbia with the Treaty of Bucharest in 1886 . These events made Alexander very popular in Bulgaria, but Russia was increasingly dissatisfied at the liberal tendencies under his reign. In August 1886 they fomented a coup , in the course of which Alexander was forced to abdicate and

4582-503: The third subcategory of the Redif when Russian forces began gathering in Bessarabia. Olender gives the Ottoman battalion (tabor) of infantry at 774 men on paper and 650 in practice, the cavalry squadron containing 143 men on paper and 100 in practice, with the artillery being organised into six gun batteries. The Ottoman army was also well equipped; 75% of its troops were equipped with Peabody-Martini rifles (accurate to 1,800 yards), with 300,000 of these guns having been purchased prior to

4661-404: The three emperors and the Sultan. Thus revolts in Poland against Russia and national aspirations in the Balkans were encouraged by France. Russia worked to regain its right to maintain a fleet on the Black Sea and vied with the French in gaining influence in the Balkans by using the new Pan-Slavic idea that all Slavs should be united under Russian leadership. This could be done only by destroying

4740-415: The turmoil of the first half of the century and sought to reinvigorate its centuries long policy of expansion at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, the nominally autonomous, de facto independent principalities of Serbia and Montenegro also sought to expand into regions inhabited by their compatriots. Nationalist and irredentist sentiments were strong and were encouraged by Russia and her agents. At

4819-483: The two empires where most non-Russian Slavs lived, the Habsburg and the Ottoman Empires. The ambitions and the rivalries of the Russians and French in the Balkans surfaced in Serbia , which was experiencing its own national revival and had ambitions that partly conflicted with those of the great powers. Russia ended the Crimean War with minimal territorial losses, but was forced to destroy its Black Sea Fleet and Sevastopol fortifications. Russian international prestige

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4898-402: The uprising was also known as "Nevesinjska puška" - the rifle of Nevesinje. The revolt of Bosnia and Herzegovina spurred Bucharest -based Bulgarian revolutionaries into action. In 1875, a Bulgarian uprising was hastily prepared to take advantage of Ottoman preoccupation, but it fizzled before it started. In the spring of 1876, another uprising erupted in the south-central Bulgarian lands despite

4977-497: The war. The remainder of the regular troops used Snider rifles ; the irregulars used Winchester repeating rifles , and the Egyptians used Remington rifles. The Ottoman support services were, however, less impressive, with the army often forced to resort to foraging. On the other hand, Ottoman forces were equipped with entrenching tools (which they used extensively at Plevna ) and had sufficient ammunition for their repeating rifles. The Ottoman artillery were armed with Krupp guns of

5056-425: The word "Prince" with "tzar" wherever it occurred throughout the document. In accordance with its constitution, Bulgaria promulgated equality for all its citizens and, despite being a monarchy, prohibited the promotion of any kind of aristocratic titles . Censorship was prohibited, although the article which stated this was suspended several times. Article 61, which dealt with slavery and human trafficking ,

5135-447: The year 1293 in the Islamic calendar ; Russian : Русско-турецкая война , romanized :  Russko-turetskaya voyna , "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included Romania , Serbia , and Montenegro . Additional factors included the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, re-establishing itself in

5214-413: Was also required for a bill to become law after it had passed through parliament. In 1908, when Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha proclaimed the independence of Bulgaria , he raised the country to a kingdom and assumed the title " tzar " (translated as king outside of Bulgaria). The Tarnovo Constitution was amended to change the official name of the country to the "Kingdom of Bulgaria" and substitute

5293-591: Was assassinated in July 1895. Ferdinand then decided to restore relations with Russia, which meant returning to a conservative policy. At the end of the century, changes in taxation policy resulted in extensive peasant unrest , primarily centered in northeastern Bulgaria. Protests gradually evolved into open rebellions in 1900, but were suppressed by the government using the army. There was a substantial Bulgarian population still living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia. To complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as

5372-523: Was committed to supporting the Ottomans in the ongoing Balkan crisis, the Liberal opposition newspaper The Daily News hired American journalist Januarius A. MacGahan to report on the massacre stories first-hand. MacGahan toured the stricken regions of the Bulgarian uprising, and his report, splashed across The Daily News ' s front pages, galvanized British public opinion against Disraeli's pro-Ottoman policy. In September, opposition leader William Ewart Gladstone published his Bulgarian Horrors and

5451-408: Was considered advanced for its time. It defined the function and competence of the central organs of state authority according to the principle of separation of powers among an executive , a legislative , and a judiciary branch. It provided for ministerial responsibility, immunity of the deputies, and inviolability of private property. The constitution included a clause that formally established

5530-414: Was created, between the Danube and the Stara Planina range, with its seat at the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Turnovo , and including Sofia. This state was to be under nominal Ottoman sovereignty but was to be ruled by a prince elected by a congress of Bulgarian notables and approved by the Powers. They insisted that the Prince could not be a Russian, but in a compromise Prince Alexander of Battenberg ,

5609-555: Was damaged, and for many years revenge for the Crimean War became the main goal of Russian foreign policy. This was not easy though: the Paris peace treaty included guarantees of Ottoman territorial integrity by Great Britain, France and Austria, and only Prussia remained friendly to Russia. The newly appointed Russian chancellor, Alexander Gorchakov , depended upon alliance with Prussia and its chancellor Bismarck. Russia consistently supported Prussia in her wars with Denmark (1864) , Austria (1866) and France (1870) . In March 1871, using

5688-568: Was declared to be a constitutional, hereditary monarchy with a parliament whose members were elected by the people. The monarch bore the title of Prince and not tsar , as it was during the First and the Second Bulgarian Empire , since the treaty of Berlin from 1878 restricted Bulgaria's independence to a certain degree and made it a de facto vassal state of Turkey . The Prince was supposed to be male and of Orthodox religion, although, in

5767-509: Was exiled to Russia. Stambolov, however, acted quickly and the participants in the coup were forced to flee the country. Stambolov tried to reinstate Alexander, but strong Russian opposition forced the prince to abdicate again. In July 1887 the Bulgarians elected Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as their new Prince. Ferdinand was the " Austrian candidate" and the Russians refused to recognise him. Ferdinand initially worked with Stambolov, but by 1894 their relationship worsened. Stambolov resigned and

5846-434: Was extremely cautious in its relations with the Ottoman Empire, coordinating all its actions with other European powers. A Russian war with Turkey would require at least the tacit support of all other Great Powers, and Russian diplomacy was waiting for a convenient moment. In 1875, a series of Balkan events brought Europe to the brink of war. The state of Ottoman administration in the Balkans continued to deteriorate throughout

5925-436: Was one of the reasons why the Tarnovo Constitution was considered liberal and advanced for its time: Nobody in the Principality of Bulgaria is permitted to buy or sell human beings. Each and every enslaved human being, regardless of his/her gender, faith or ethnicity is declared free at the moment he/she sets foot in our land. The Constitution declared property rights to be sacrosanct and implied that all citizens, except for

6004-524: Was shaken in 1859 when France and Austria fought over Italy . It came apart completely as a result of the wars of German Unification , when the Kingdom of Prussia , led by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , defeated Austria in 1866 and France in 1870, replacing Austria as the dominant power in Central Europe. Britain, diverted by the Irish question and averse to warfare, chose not to intervene again to restore

6083-568: Was supported by the partial mobilization of the Imperial Russian Army (up to 20 divisions). Sultan Abdul Hamid II accepted the conditions of the ultimatum. To resolve the crisis, on 11 December 1876, the Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was opened in Constantinople (to which Ottoman representatives were not invited). A compromise solution was negotiated, granting autonomy to Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina under

6162-640: Was the first constitution of Bulgaria . It was adopted on 16 April 1879 ( O.S. ) by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria . It remained the fundamental law of Bulgaria after the country was elevated to a kingdom in 1908. Based on the Belgian charter of 1831 , The Constitution was liberal in character and

6241-486: Was the historic mission of Russia, while their opponents, westernizers , inspired by Ivan Turgenev , denied the importance of religion and believed that Russian goals should not be defense of Orthodoxy but liberation of Bulgaria. On 30 June 1876, Serbia, followed by Montenegro, declared war on the Ottoman Empire. In July and August, the ill-prepared and poorly equipped Serbian army helped by Russian volunteers failed to achieve offensive objectives but did manage to repulse

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