Ivan Wasov

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Ivan Wasov

Ivan Mintschew Wasow ( Bulgarian Иван Минчев Вазов , scientific transliteration Ivan Minčev Vazov ; born July 9, 1850 in Sopot , †  September 22, 1921 in Sofia ) was a Bulgarian historian , poet , writer , politician and one of the activists of the Bulgarian National Revival . Between 1897 and 1899 he was Minister of Education in the government of the Conservative People's Party . Today in Bulgaria he is regarded as the "Patriarch of Bulgarian Literature". The Bulgarian National Theater in Sofia bears his name.

Life

childhood

Wasov's birthplace

Ivan Mintschew Wasow was born in Sopot in the family of the merchant Mintscho Wasow and Saba Wasowa. His brothers, the Bulgarian revolutionaries and later generals Georgi Wasow and Vladimir Wasow , as well as the politician Boris Wasow, belonged to his tradition-conscious family . According to Boris, the Wasow family comes from the village of Janoweni in what is now the Greek regional district of Kastoria , from which they fled during the rule of Ali Pasha von Janina .

Ivan Wasow finished the Bulgarian monastery school and a secondary school in Sopot. There he came into contact with Bulgarian and foreign literature very early on. His teacher Partenij Beltschew, who was trained in Russia and who was the first to introduce Russian poetry and Bulgarian revolutionary works to Vasov , played a key role in this . From 1865 Wasow learned Greek at Kalofer's school from the teacher Botjo Petkow (father of the Bulgarian poet and freedom fighter Christo Botew ). A little later, Ivan became Botev's deputy and assistant teacher at school. Here, too, Wasow found a rich library, full of French and Russian works that were formative for his later literary development.

In 1866, young Wasov was sent to Plovdiv by his father , where he enrolled in the 4th grade of the grammar school. The father actually wanted Wasow to improve his Greek and learn Turkish ; Instead, however, he learned French and studied the poetry of the French poets Pierre-Jean de Béranger , Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine . Two years later he was called back to Sopot by his father to take over the business. The boy Ivan showed little interest in it and quickly filled out the business notebooks with rhymes and verses instead of numbers. He was supported by his mother Saba. Some of these poems were published in 1880 under the name "Majska Kitka" (bulg. Майска китка ).

Escape to Romania

In order to learn the commercial profession better, Iwan was sent by his father in 1870 as an apprentice and to study economics with his uncle, a merchant in Oltenița ( Romania ). But even there he was not interested in the economy. He learned Romanian , studied Romanian literature and dealt with the revolutionary ideas of Mihail Kogălniceanu , Vasile Alecsandri , Nicolae Bălcescu and others. His increased interest in writing drew him to Brăila , where he joined the large Bulgarian exile community that same year. When he arrived in Brăila, he stayed for some time in the inn in Nikola from Strandscha , one of the meeting places for Bulgarian freedom activists. There he met Christo Botew , who significantly influenced Wasow with his revolutionary and freedom-fighting ideas. Wasow took part in the meetings of the Internal Revolutionary Organization and the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee ( BRZK ) in Brăila and Gala teili. The hard life of the emigrants and the meetings of the patriotic societies influenced the young poet and left deep marks in his literary works. Some of his later works, Freedom Fighters (Bulgarian Хъшове; Haschowe), or the novella “Unpopular and Homeless” (Bulgarian Немили-недраги; Nemili-Nedragi), deal with precisely this phase of his life. In this context, his first published work, the poem "Borba" was created (bulg. Борба , fight '), which in the exile magazine "Periodical journal of the Bulgarian literary community in Braila" (bulg. Периодическо списание на Браилското книжовно дружество ) 1870 was published. He wrote other patriotic poems for the newspapers Vaterland (Bulgarian Отечество), Freiheit (Bulgarian Свобода), for the magazine Tschitalischte (Bulgarian Читалище) and others.

In the period from 1872 to 1873 Ivan Wasow returned to Bulgaria, which was still occupied by the Ottomans, and worked as a teacher in Mustafa Pascha (today Swilengrad). In the following years he worked as a translator for the construction of the Sofia - Kyustendil railway line , learned German and got an insight into the way of life of the simple Bulgarian farmers, especially that of the Shopes. In 1875 he returned to his hometown and joined the Sopot Revolutionary Committee founded in the same year , which was part of the Inner Revolutionary Organization and fought against Turkish rule.

Wasow at the general meeting of the Central Bulgarian Charity Society in November 1876 (back row, far right)

After the bloody suppression of the Stara-Sagora uprising of 1875, Wasow was in danger. He emigrated illegally to his familiar Romania and settled in Bucharest . There he joined the Central Bulgarian Charity Society (bulg. Българско централно благотворително общество) and became its secretary. In Bucharest, he wrote and published under difficult conditions and in danger of being arrested by the Romanian authorities and are delivered to the Turks, under the pseudonym Pejtschin the poetry collections Prjaporez i Gusla (bulg. Пряпорец и гусла) and Mourning Bulgaria (bulg. Тъгите на България; Tagite na Balgarija).

During the Russo-Ottoman War from 1877 to 1878 Wasow was employed as a clerk at the Russian Vice Consul Najden Gerow in Swishtov and Ruse . During this time he wrote the collection of poems Salvation (Bulgarian Избавление), as a call for the Bulgarian population still living under foreign rule. From March 1879 to September 1880 he was chairman of the district court in Berkowiza , although he had no legal training. His judicial experience gave him the motives for his poem Gramada. From the life of the Schopen (bulg. Грамада).

Plovdiv

On October 5, 1880, Wasow settled in Plovdiv , the capital of Eastern Rumelia . As a member of the pro-Russian People's Party , Wasow took an active part in the everyday political life of the Bulgarian Special Province, which was under Turkish rule. He was elected as a member of the provincial parliament (bulg. Областното събрание) and editor of the party-affiliated newspapers Mariza (bulg. "Марица"), Volksstimme (bulg. "Народний глас") and association (bulg. ". When then in 1881 Alexander I in the Kingdom of Bulgaria by a proclamation demanded and obtained extraordinary government powers and the removal of the " Constitution of Tarnowo " , Wasow became one of his strongest critics.

At the beginning of 1881 Wasow became chairman of the Plovdiv Literary and Scientific Community (Bulgarian Пловдивското научно книжовно дружество) and editor of the journal Wissenschaft (Bulgarian. "Наука"), the first Bulgarian scientific journal after Bulgaria's independence. In the same year he becomes a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences . In 1885 Wasow founded, together with the writer Konstantin Welitschkow , the first pure literary magazine in Bulgaria, the magazine Sora (Bulgarian "Зора"; 'Dawn'). Both were also editors of the two-part Bulgarian Chrestomathie (Bulgarian "Българска христоматия") with works of more than 100 works by Bulgarian and foreign authors. In Plovdiv he experienced the unification of Eastern Rumelia with the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which was rejected by his People's Party . When Bulgaria won the subsequent Serbian-Bulgarian War and the international community recognized the unification of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia, the People's Party fell into political sideline.

During his time in Plovdiv, Wasov wrote some of his classics such as Epopee of the Forgotten (bulg. Епопея на забравените), the poems The Bulgarian Language (bulg. "Българският език"), Auf zur Freiheit (bulg Slivitza ( Bulgar . "Сливница"), the short stories Unpopular and Homeless ( Bulgar . Немили-недраги ; Nemili-Nedragi) and The Unkels (Bulgar . "Чичовци"), the story is it coming ? (Bulgar. "Иде ли?") u. a. Some of these works form the basis of new Bulgarian literature in many genres .

Russian period

When a group of pro-Russian officers deposed the Bulgarian Tsar Alexander I in a coup on August 9, 1886, followed by a counter-coup by Stefan Stambolow to restore the czar's power, Wasov fled from the repression of the anti-Russian interim government of Stambolov against the pro-Russian forces in the summer 1886 via Constantinople to Odessa, then part of Russia . During his stay in Odessa (1886–1889) Wasow wrote his work "Under the Yoke" (Bulgarian Под игото ).

Sofia period

Wasow returned to Bulgaria in 1889 and settled in Sofia . In 1890 he founded the magazine Denniza (bulg. "Денница"). During this time he wrote a large part of his critical-realistic stories, which he summarized in two volumes under the title scratches and strokes (bulg. "Драски и шарки"). In 1895, during the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of his literary activity, he published his novel New Land (bulg. Нова земя). Offended by the widespread negative criticism of this novel, he stopped writing for a few years. In this context, his renewed political activity is also explained.

Wasov's grave in Sofia

When, after the unification of Bulgaria, the People's Party of Eastern Rumelia lost its importance and was completely absorbed into the conservative People's Party of the Kingdom of Bulgaria founded in 1894, many of the old activists joined the new party, including Wasow and Konstantin Stoilow . When Stoilow held the office of Prime Minister for the second time (1897), Ivan Wasow was appointed Minister of Education. During the Balkan Wars he wrote one of his most famous poems; I am a Bulgarian (Bulgarian "Аз съм българче"). Wasow later became a leader of the group that initially refused Bulgaria's entry on the side of Germany in World War I. In the course of the war, Wasow paid tribute to the Bulgarian soldiers in poems such as Songs for Macedonia (Bulgarian Песни за Македония), He will not die (Bulgarian Не ще загине) or What sings the mountains (Bulgarian Какво пее плане). Ivan Wasov died of a hemorrhage on September 21, 1921 .

In his honor the Vazov Point and indirectly the Vazov Rock on Livingston Island in Antarctica and the Vazov Strait in Bratislava are named.

Literary activity

In his literary work Wasow deals with all literary genres , such as B. poetry , dramaturgy , storytelling , novels , fiction , prose , etc. Wasow wrote about his literary activity in his autobiography:

"[...] the creative demon kept whispering to me:" Work! "And I worked and poured out the contents of my soul like in a song. I did my best, everything I could give my country. It was little, but this much I had. " .

Frequent pseudonyms that Wasow used were: Peychin, Dobrinow, Zw, D. N-row, T. Gaborovsky, Bojanets, Beltschin, N-tschew and others. His works have been translated into more than 50 languages.

Works

Ivan Wasov Monument in Sopot
The national theater "Ivan Wasow" in Sofia

Selected poems

  • 1870 "Borba" (Bulgarian Борба , fight ')
  • 1872 The Pine (Bulgarian Борът )
  • 1881 Gramada. Poem from the life of the Schopen (bulg. Грамада )
  • Zagorka (Bulgarian Загорка )
  • My neighbor Gmitra (Bulgarian Моята съседка Гмитра )
  • Zihra (Bulgarian Зихра )
  • In the kingdom of the forest fairies (bulg. В царството на самодивите )
  • 1884/85 The Sneeze of Salute (Bulgarian Кихавицата на салюста )
  • The rose of Sinai (Bulgarian Синайска роза )

Volumes of poetry

  • 1876 ​​Banner und Gusle (bulg. Пряпорец и гусла ) published under the pseudonym Pejtschin
  • 1866 The Mourning of Bulgaria (bulg. Тъгите на България )
  • 1878 Redemption (Bulgarian Избавление )
  • 1880 Maienstrauss (bulg. Майска китка )
  • 1881 - 1883 Epopoe of the Forgotten (Bulgarian Епопея на забравените ; Epopeja na sabrawenite), this work contains the following 12 poems:
    • Levski (bulg. Левски)
    • Benkowski (Bulgarian Бенковски)
    • Kotscho (Bulgarian Кочо)
    • Brothers Zhekowi (bulg. Братя Жекови)
    • Kableschkow (Bulgarian Каблешков)
    • Paisii (Bulgarian Паисий)
    • Miladinov brothers (Bulgarian Братя Миладинови)
    • Rakovsky (Bulgarian Раковски)
    • The Karajah (Bulgarian Кададжата)
    • 1876
    • Wolow (Bulgarian Волов)
    • The Landwehr soldiers on Shipka (Bulgarian Опълченците на Шипка)
  • 1884 Italy (bulg. Италия )
  • 1899 Under Our Sky (Bulgarian Под нашето небе )
  • 1899 Wanderlieder (bulg. Скътнишки песни )
  • 1913 - 1916 Songs for Macedonia (bulg. Песни за Македония)
  • 1919 He will not die (Bulgarian Не ще загине)
  • 1919 Люлека ми замириса

Novels

  • Under the yoke (Bulgarian Под игото ; Pod Igoto)
  • New Land (bulg. Нова земя ; Nowa Zemja) 1895
  • Svetoslaw Terter (Bulgarian Светослав Тертер )
  • Казаларската царица

Novellas

  • Mitrofan and Dormidolski (Bulgarian Митрофан и Дормидолски )
  • 1882-1884 Unpopular and Homeless (Bulgarian Немили-недраги ; Nemili-Nedragi)
  • The uncles (Bulgarian Чичовци ; Tschitschowzi), published in 1885 in the magazine Sora ("Dawn")
  • Nora (Bulgarian Нора )
  • Ivan Alexander (Bulgarian Иван Александър )

Dramas

  • Freedom fighter (bulg. Хъшове ; Haschowe)
  • To the Abyss (Bulgarian Към пропаст )

Comedies

  • The Sentinel (Bulgarian Службогонци )
  • Newspaper seller? ( Bulgar . Вестникар ли? )
  • Mr. Mortagon (bulg. Господин Мортагон )
  • Duel (Bulgarian Двубой )

Travel reports

  • In the lap of the Rhodope Mountains. Hikes through Bulgaria (bulg. В недрата на Родопите ) (German translation by Hartmut Herboth, Verlag Rütten & Loening Berlin 1982)
  • Heights of the sky (Bulgarian Висините )
  • Vitosha (Bulgarian Витоша )
  • Rila (Bulgarian Рила )
  • Pirin (Bulgarian Пирин )
  • A corner of the Balkan Mountains (bulg. Един кът от Стара планина )
  • The ox (bulg. Волът )
  • Juruktshal (Bulgarian Юмрукчал )
  • Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian Велико Търново )
  • Tsarevets (bulg. Царевец )
  • On Mount Sveti Nikola (bulg. На върха Свети Никола )
  • The Rose Valley and Tundscha (Bulgarian Розовата долина и Тунджа )
  • One of our Black Sea pearls (bulg. Един наш черноморски бисер )

Anthologies

  • Stories (Bulgarian Разкази ) 1881–1901
  • Strokes and colors (bulg. Драски и шарки ) 1884-1895
    • contains u. a. the story of Kardashev on the hunt (bulg. Кардашев на лов)
  • Seen and heard ( Bulgar . Видено и чуто )
  • Colorful world ( Bulgar . Пъстър свят )
  • In the morning in the bank (bulg. Утро в Банки )
  • Stories (Bulgarian Разкази ) 1901–1921

stories

  • Grandpa Joco looks (bulg. Дядо Йоцо гледа )
  • A Bulgarian woman (Bulgarian Една българка )
  • The Dangerous Adventures of the Apostle (Bulgarian Апостолът в премеждие )
  • He comes? ( Bulgar . Иде ли? )
  • Landscape (bulg. Пейзаж )
  • Dark Hero (Bulgarian Тъмен герой )
  • Newspaper seller? ( Bulgar . Вестникар ли? )
  • Hajji Achil (Bulgarian Хаджи Ахил )
  • Teaching (bulg. Урок )
  • The new move (bulg. Ново преселение )
  • Traviata (Bulgarian Травиата )
  • The candidate for the hammam (Bulgarian Кандидат за "хамама ")
  • The eloquent guest at the state table (Bulgarian Сладкодумен гост на държавната трапеза )
  • Schumi Maritza (bulg. Шуми Марица ; " Maritza rustles ")
  • The clean way ( Bulgar . Чистият път )
  • Levski from "Unpopular and Homeless" (Bulgarian Левски из "Немили-недраги" )
  • The inhospitable village (bulg. Негостолюбиво село )
  • Pawle Readyat ( Bulgar . Павле Фертигът )
  • The last day of the 20th century (bulg. Последният ден на XX век )

literature

  • Christo Ognjanoff: Bulgaria . Glock and Lutz Verlag, Nuremberg 1967, pp. 320–331.
  • Eduard Bayer, Dietmar Endler: Bulgarian literature at a glance . Verlag Philipp Reclam, Leipzig 1983, pp. 125-133.
  • Otto Harrassowitz : Small Slavic biography . MZ-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1958, p. 743.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Petar Kartschew, Prez prozoreca na edno polustoletie (1900–1950) , Sofia, 2004, p. 274.
  2. ↑ The first Bulgarian constitution was drawn up by the National Assembly on April 16, 1879 in Veliko Tarnovo , from which its title Tarnovo Constitution comes. The then quite new and modern constitution of Belgium was used as a model
  3. ↑ Ivan Wasow in his autobiography
  4. ↑ From the Bulgarian "... творческият демон постоянно ми нашепваше:" Работи! " И аз работих и изливах съдържанието на моята душа в песен. Дадох всичко добро, каквото можах да дам на отечеството. Малко бе, но толкова имах. "

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Wasov, Ivan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Вазов, Иван Минчев; Wasow, Ivan Minchev; Vazov, Ivan Minčev
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bulgarian historian and writer
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1850
PLACE OF BIRTH Sopot
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1921
Place of death Sofia