В политическия форум talk_politics, в който от доста време съм съ-модератор, днес публикувах следната статия по повод годишнината от смъртта на Левски. Няма лошо да образоваме чужденците малко за Апостола.


Hello, revolutionary comrades curious folks! Today my country marks the 138th anniversary of the death of the greatest hero in our history, Vasil Levski. Very similarly to the legendary Garibaldi, he was a revolutionary who ideologized and strategized the liberation movement against the Ottoman rule. After developing a vast network of liberation cells across the country, he was eventually captured and executed by the Ottomans. But the groundwork he laid bore fruit just 3 years after his demise, when a nation which had been under 5 centuries of bloody yoke, revolted against the Porte. The April Uprising was drowned in blood, but that, in its turn opened the eyes of Europe for the atrocities of the Ottomans, and in 1878 when the Russo-Turkish war began (which we call the liberation war), no one objected. That resulted in the resurrection of Bulgaria.

Levski has been called the Apostle of Freedom and has been idolized ever since. I guess my point in telling this story is that every nation needs its heroes to look up to and try to emulate, especially at times of strife. And what about the enlightened principles which he laid in the liberation ideology! We can see things like democracy, a "holy and pure republic", a century of liberties, end of despotism and tyranny. All things which were way ahead of their time for our society.

His almost messianic sacrifice was a guiding light for generations. Those generations who carried out the liberation struggle, those who defended the newly resurrected nation from external threats in the years to come, including BG being used as a pawn in the fancy games of the Great Powers, unfair treaties signed behind our back, threats for invasions, stabbing in the back after the Unification, etc. The burning enthusiasm inside these generations launched the newly emancipated nation among the leading countries in the region in a very short time, only to be cut early in its flight by two bad decisions of its incompetent monarchs, who ensnared BG into two world wars, always choosing the wrong side and then leaving the people to pay for their stupidity (the so-called first and second national catastrophe). It"s a turbulent history indeed. But Levski"s legacy remains to this very day. And it still stands high on a pedestal, like an unachievable utopia, yet unreached but still coveted. Maybe one day we"ll return to Levski"s principles and we"ll make them a reality.

Some of his ideological principles, which he expressed in letters and articles (with cuts):

On a democratic republic:

- Today is the Century of Liberty and Equality between all nationalities. Today, everyone who is oppressed and who bears the heavy burden of the slave chains, is pushing all their moral and physical powers to the extreme - looking for a way to shake off the yoke, and to renounce the name "Slave". Today, everyone wants to live freely and to be human. We will build the temple of our first freedom and we will give everybody what they deserve.

- Today"s despotic system we will substitute with a democratic republic. Tyranny, inhumanity and submission will be swept away from these lands. Through an all-encompassing revolution, we will radically transform the current state system and we will establish a democratic republic - the people shall rule. In these lands, which our ancestors have defended with their blood and where the cruel foreign occupiers rule with an iron fist, we will buld a temple of truth, morality, and civil rights, a land of equality between all ethnicities and faiths and social status. There will be a common Law that everyone will respect, and the Law shall be above all and equal for all.

- To all the enemies of democracy and the republic there will be one punishment - death! If anyone rejects and desires to destroy the democratic republic and tries to establish a despotic tyranny, these will be considered enemy to the nation and will be punished by death.

On patriotism:

- I have dedicated my life to my fatherland. I will serve it to death and I will follow the people"s will.

- The road is thorny but glorious. I will sacrifice everything, including myself. If I lose my life, I lose only myself. If we fail, the whole nation fails. Better an honorable death than life in dishonor. If we are persistent and courageous there is no way we can fail.

- Our purpose is a brotherhood for everyone who lives on these lands, regardless of faith and nationality. We stretch our arm for everyone who wants to shed their blood alongside us, to defend life, freedom, and human rights.

On the revolution:

- If I win, I win for all our people. If I lose, I lose only myself.

- We are holding the destinies of 7 million people in our hands - we must act with responsibility and wisdom.

- I feel sad for the innocent men and women who will perish while we fight. Our hands are stained in blood even from now. Make no mistake, innocent people will be lost and we will answer to God for this. But there is no other way.

- Without a revolution we are lost forever as a people. Time is ticking away for us.

On the organization and discipline:

- We must hurry. The people will not be waiting for us for too long. There is still a lot of work to do, we are not ready yet. If we are lazy and we postpone the preparation we are never going to do this.

- Do not despair and never show fear to other people. All eyes are on us, we must give an example!

- Measure thrice, cut once. We must be smart in all our actions, never jump to hasty decisions and always think before we speak and act.

- Here is the revolutionary Code. We must do everything according to the Code, so we don"t bring punishment upon ourselves and so we become disciplined.

- Do not support simpletons and do not entrust your own responsibilities to stupid people. They will fail you. Do yourself what you must.

- We need acts, not words. It is easy to speak, but turning the words into deeds is the real test.

- An exam should be passed by every man. Because we have some examples: A man today, tomorrow - an ass.


And his biggest words that echo throughout the centuries:

Time is inside of us and we are inside time. It turns us and we turn It.

Indeed, he never loses relevance.