| Equal. Boris, baptized Michael, blgv. Tsar of Bulgaria |
Boris, baptized Michael
(+ 907),
Baptist
, blessed king of Bulgaria, saint equal to the apostles Commemorated on May 2 and in the Cathedral of Bulgarian Saints
Boris's feat of equal to the apostles was predicted to him by his uncle, Saint Boyan.
The first years of Tsar Boris's reign were unsuccessful. The Bulgarians often had to fight with neighboring peoples, the country was visited by famine and pestilence, and in 860 Bulgaria was in a disastrous state. Tsar Boris saw the salvation of the country, which was in paganism, in its enlightenment with the faith of Christ.
During one of the wars between the Bulgarians and the Greeks, the eminent courtier Theodore Kufara, who had previously taken monastic vows, was captured. He was the first person to sow the seeds of the Gospel in the soul of the Bulgarian Tsar. In one of the campaigns, the Greeks captured the young sister of Tsar Boris and raised her in the Orthodox faith at the court of the Byzantine Emperor. When Emperor Theophilus died, Tsar Boris decided to take advantage of the favorable opportunity to take revenge on the Greeks for previous defeats. However, the emperor's widow, Theodora, showed courage and sent a messenger to the Bulgarian king with a warning that she herself was ready to defend the empire and would disgrace the enemy. Tsar Boris preferred a peaceful alliance, and as a sign of reconciliation, the prisoners Theodore Kufara and the Bulgarian princess were exchanged, who further endeared her brother to the Christian faith.
Somewhat later, Saint Methodius was sent to Bulgaria, who, together with his brother Cyril, enlightened the Slavs with the light of the Christian faith. Saint Methodius in September 865 performed the baptism of Tsar Boris, his family and many boyars. The pagan Bulgarians, having learned about this, wanted to kill Tsar Boris, but their plot was destroyed by the newly baptized Tsar, and the Bulgarian people, deprived of rebellious leaders, voluntarily accepted baptism. A peace was concluded between Byzantium and Bulgaria, based on the unity of faith, which was not violated until the end of the reign of the blessed king.
After the baptism of Tsar Boris, Saint Photius of Constantinople sent him a message, where he revealed the teaching of the Church, the rules of the Ecumenical Councils, showed the superiority of Christianity over paganism and described the majestic image of the Christian ruler-philosopher. However, in order to achieve autocephaly for his Church, Tsar Boris turned to the West, to the Pope, to whom he sent a letter with one hundred and six puzzling questions that reveal the range of interests of the converts. Among the questions there is not a single dogmatic one; their nature is ritual and everyday: is it possible to take a bath on Wednesdays and Fridays? Is there meat from animals killed by eunuchs? Is it necessary to receive communion daily during Lent? Should a woman cover her head with a scarf? Can ponytails be used as a standard? Is it possible to dance shamanic dances before a battle? etc. In 867, preachers from the Pope were sent to Bulgaria, from then on, for three years, discord reigned in Bulgaria between the Constantinople and Roman Churches, but the Council in Constantinople, held in 869, put an end to the discord, and on March 3, 870 Bulgaria finally joined the Eastern Church.
The blessed Tsar Boris decorated the country with churches and contributed to the spread of piety, and subsequently a patriarchal see was established in Bulgaria. In his declining years, the holy Tsar Boris retired to a monastery, leaving the throne to his sons Vladimir and Simeon. While in the monastery, the blessed king learned that Vladimir, who ruled after him, had taken the path of apostasy from Christianity. Lamenting what had happened, Saint Boris again put on royal clothes, punished his disobedient son and, depriving him of his sight, put him in prison. Having entrusted the reign to his youngest son Simeon, Tsar Boris returned to the monastery. Only once did he emerge from it to repel the Hungarian invasion.
Died on May 2, 907.
Birth
Boris (Tsar of Bulgaria) was born in 1894, on January 30. The boy was born under cannon fire. Thus, the royal family announced that their first son was born - the son of King Ferdinand and his wife Maria of Bourbon-Parma.
The political situation in the country at that time was quite tense. The Grand Duchy was created only in 1878, it was still too young. A small Orthodox state, a vassal of the Ottoman Empire and ruled by two Catholics. Relations with Russia at that time were strained, since the Russian nobility did not like the fact that a Catholic and a native of Austria-Hungary was chosen to rule Bulgaria. At the same time, we must take into account the fact that Ferdinand was elected by the anti-Russian campaign. Despite the fact that Russia was also Orthodox, it did not want to recognize the power of the new ruler.
Prince Boris of Tarnovo was initially baptized as a Catholic, but his father thought about converting the boy to the Orthodox faith. This would help improve relations with its people and establish more friendly relations with Russia. However, this state of affairs could significantly worsen relations with Europe, where some rulers threatened war or excommunication in the event of such an outcome. However, political motives eventually prevailed and little Boris, the Tsar of Bulgaria, was converted to the Orthodox faith. Nicholas II became the godfather of the future ruler. Ferdinand was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for this, and his wife and second son Cyril had to disappear from the court for a while.
Dr. Pavel Gerdzhikov
Doctor Pavel Gerdzhikov headed the military hospital in Sofia. His patients included both Bulgarian army officers and the Jewish elite.
In March 1943, trains carrying Thracian Jews passed through Bulgaria and were taken to death camps. Dr. Gerdzhikov could not help but try to do something for these people. He tried to impress the train guards with his powerful voice and officer's epaulets. These attributes could not have been enough to turn the train back. Doctor Gerdzhikov and his nurse, who arrived in a Red Cross truck, were at least allowed on the train. Under the pretext of checking for typhoid fever, they moved through the carriages.
Hungry and tortured to death women, children and old people. He can’t tell them anything: they only understand Greek and Spanish. “At least take the children!” - thought the doctor. There was no way, no way he could explain to the mothers that he wanted to save their children. How to show “save” in sign language? How to say in the alphabet of the deaf: “you are being taken to the ovens”?
The doctor forcibly tore five children from the hands of the uncomprehending mothers: two girls and three boys, who were from three to eight years old. One of the children did not want to go with an unfamiliar doctor, returned to their mother - and died in Treblinka. The rest were saved.
For many years later, Pavel woke up from nightmares, where he again and again snatched stubborn children from the hands of their mothers. He understood how much harder their last days had become for these women. But the children - here they are, alive.
How the other children whom the doctor saved in the last years of the war also survived. He helped someone with false documents, treated someone, took someone to a Greek monastery near Tarnovo.
In May 1943, when the deportation of Bulgarian Jews was replaced by sending them to local labor camps, Pavel sheltered his friends, the Levi family: Abraham, his wife and two daughters. For a year and a half they lived in the hiding place of his apartment behind the false wall of the doctor’s office - in the very center of Sofia. Every day in his office, Dr. Gerdzhikov examined dozens of patients, many of whom were Nazis - but none of them, fortunately, guessed about the secret inhabitants of the doctor's library.
In January 1944, one of Abraham’s daughters, Erica, was wounded during the bombing of Sofia. Pavel obtained false documents for the whole family, took Erica to the hospital, and in the meantime transported Abraham with his wife and another daughter to the village. Later he moved Erica there too, and visited his friends there until the war ended.
The Soviet authorities did not spare Pavel Gerdzhikov, after the war he was tried, found guilty of treating the Nazis, and sentenced to several years in the camps. Fortunately, he managed to survive this ordeal.
Upbringing
The Bulgarian Tsar Boris was cared for by his paternal grandmother, Clementine of Orleans. The fact is that the boy’s mother died in January 1899, that is, almost immediately after his second daughter Nadya was born. The daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France, Clémentine d'Orléans, also died, but much later. She left this world in 1907. Further, the upbringing of the young ruler fell on the shoulders of his father. Ferdinand was personally involved in the selection of teachers for the Tsar of Bulgaria Boris III. It was he who gave them instructions to be as strict as possible with the boy.
His son studied exactly the same subjects as all the children in Bulgarian schools. Additionally, he also studied French and German. It must be said that Boris mastered them perfectly. After this he also learned English, Albanian and Italian. Talented officers arrived at the palace to engage in the boy’s military education.
Ferdinand paid special attention to scientific and natural disciplines, and believed that they should be studied with special care. It must be said that his son Boris carried his love for such sciences throughout his life. The son and father were very interested in technology and especially locomotives. In the fall of 1910, the guy successfully passed the exam to become a railway mechanic. Despite all this, Boris endured life in the palace quite hard, with all its many rituals, rites and conventions, calling it a “prison.” It was not so easy to get along with my father, a rather authoritarian man.
In the winter of 1906, a young man with the rank of lieutenant entered the Military School. After 6 years, the guy graduated from college and received the rank of captain.
Friend of the Jews Rubin Dimitrov
The first Bulgarian to be awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations was Rubin Dimitrov, nicknamed Bichko. He lived with his grandmother in Sofia. My grandmother had a bakery in the Jewish quarter of Juchbunar, so Rubin’s friends, with whom he played football as a child, were Jewish boys. So when, on May 24, 1943, these grown-up boys, who had gathered in front of the Tsar's palace to protest their impending deportation, were attacked by motorized squads of police, Rubin knew what he had to do.
Grandma's small bakery could accommodate about 20 people. So many Jews came in from the back door and were able to sit there until everything calmed down. “What was the fault of these people? Only that they were Jews. How could I watch them being pushed into trucks and taken away?” - said Rubin Dmitrov in his only interview.
On that day, about 400 Jews were arrested, and 120 of them were sent to the Somovit concentration camp on the banks of the Danube. The wives of the arrested asked Dimitrov to give their husbands some food. Noticing that Dimitrov appeared at the camp fence too often, the gendarmes suspected him of aiding the “criminals”, seized him, severely beat him - Rubin suffered from the consequences of these beatings for many years...
This did not stop Rubin - he simply could not remain indifferent to the suffering of innocent people, and continued to deliver food, clothing and letters to prisoners of Somovit and other camps - until they were all freed.
Politics around
In September 1908, Ferdinand ascended the throne. At the same time, he publicly declared that the country was completely independent. From 1911, the future Prince of Bulgaria Boris began to travel abroad and gradually leave the full tutelage of his father. At the same time, the boy became increasingly popular and famous on the world stage. In 1911, the young man attended two important events. He witnessed the coronation of George V, which took place in London, and attended the funeral of Queen Maria Pia, which took place in Turin. At the same time, the young guy was not just an observer, he entered the circle of members of royal families, noble families and heads of state.
Before accession to the throne[ | ]
Birth and baptism[ | ]
On January 30, 1894, at five hours and eighteen minutes in the morning, with one hundred shots from cannons[7], the birth of the first son of the reigning Grand Duke of Bulgaria (later the Tsar) Ferdinand I and his wife Maria Louise of Bourbon-Parma was announced - Boris, Prince of Tarnovsky.
The political situation in Bulgaria at that time was quite difficult. The newly formed (Grand Duchy from 1878) Orthodox state, a vassal of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, was ruled by two Catholics, Ferdinand and his wife. Relations with the Orthodox Russian Empire were poor, as the Russian tsars were unhappy that the Austrian-Hungarian Catholic Ferdinand was elected Grand Duke of Bulgaria by the anti-Russian Bulgarian Assembly[8], and refused to recognize him. Religion has always played a very important role in the Balkans.
Although the Tarnovo prince Boris was initially baptized into the Catholic faith, Ferdinand I seriously considered having Boris convert to Orthodoxy, which would allow him not only to establish closer relations with his own people, but also to improve them with Russia. This development of events could complicate relations with Europe, in particular, Pope Leo XIII threatened with excommunication, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I threatened with war, and Marie Louise was extremely pious and categorically opposed[9]. In the end, state considerations outweighed, and on February 15, 1896, young Boris was baptized into Orthodoxy, and Russian Emperor Nicholas II became his godfather[9]. Ferdinand I was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for this, and his wife and his second son, Prince Kirill, a Catholic, left the court for some time[9].
Upbringing and education[ | ]
Boris III at the age of 5 years.
Photo, ok. 1900 On January 31, 1899, Boris’s mother died immediately after the birth of her second daughter, Nadezhda[10]. His paternal grandmother, Princess Clementine of Orleans, daughter of the French king Louis Philippe, was involved in his upbringing. She died on February 16, 1907, after which his father took over the prince’s education[11]. He personally selected the teachers[12] and instructed them to be as strict as possible.
Boris studied the same subjects that were taught in Bulgarian schools, as well as German and French, which he mastered perfectly (he later learned Italian, English and Albanian[13]). The officers involved in his military education were also summoned to the palace.
Ferdinand attached particular importance to the study of natural sciences, in which Boris did not lose interest throughout his life. He, like his father, was very interested in technology, especially locomotives[14]. In September 1910, Boris passed the exam to become a railway mechanic[15].
Nevertheless, Boris took life in the palace with his father, a man of an authoritarian nature, rather hard, and called it a “prison”[16].
In January 1906, with the rank of lieutenant, he entered the Military School. He graduated in 1912 with the 32nd class and received the rank of captain[17].
Political events before the accession[ | ]
Boris III aged approx.
15 years. The photo was taken in the early 1910s. On September 22, 1908, Ferdinand I ascended the royal throne and declared the country’s complete independence[18].
Beginning in 1911, Crown Grand Duke Boris began to travel abroad and gradually left the influence of his father[19]. He also became famous on the international stage. That same year, he attended the coronation of George V in London and the funeral of the former Queen of Portugal, Maria Pia, in Turin, where he entered the circle of heads of state and members of royal families.[20] On September 1, 1911, during a visit to his godfather Nicholas II, Boris witnessed the murder of Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin, who was shot before his eyes in the Kyiv opera[20].
In January 1912 Boris reached adulthood. Before this, he considered himself an adherent of two branches of Christianity - Orthodoxy and Catholicism - but after that he professed only Orthodoxy. In the same month he was awarded the rank of captain.[21] Nine months later, the First Balkan War began, in which Serbs, Greeks, Montenegrins and Bulgarians united against the Ottoman Empire to liberate Macedonia. Boris took part in the war as a liaison officer at the Army Headquarters and was often on the front line[22].
Despite winning the war, Bulgaria and its allies were unable to share the fruits of victory. Then Bulgaria decided to attack its former allies and began the Second Balkan War in 1913 for the division of Macedonia. Boris was again in the active army[17]. The war ended in disaster for Bulgaria, as most of the army suffered from a cholera epidemic. Boris, who observed all this, became a convinced pacifist at the end of the war[23].
After such a military fiasco, Ferdinand's abdication seemed inevitable. Boris was offered to leave the palace, join the troops, so as not to be associated with his father’s politics and prepare for his accession to the throne. He refused, answering: “I do not hold on to power, if the monarch leaves, I will leave with him.”[24] Ferdinand did not recant, but Boris was sent to a higher military school, where he was kept in the same conditions as other cadets[25]. In 1915, Boris graduated from the Military Academy[17].
Boris III at the age of 21. Photo, 1915
In 1915, Ferdinand I, fueled by revanchist sentiments, forced Bulgaria to enter the First World War on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Boris protested against this decision, for which he was arrested for several days[26]. After his release, the prince was appointed as an officer of the special mission of the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army, which consisted mainly of coordinating the actions of different fronts and monitoring the quality of military operations. In this post, he regularly found himself on the front line and personally met many officers[27]. From February 1916 - major, and from January 1918 - lieutenant colonel. Immediately after his accession he received the rank of major general, and in October 1928 - general of infantry[17].
Balkan Wars
On September 1, the guy went to visit his godfather. At this time, the young man witnessed how Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin was killed in the Kyiv opera. Finally, in the winter of 1912, the boy became an adult. Until this moment, the future tsar associated himself with both Catholics and Orthodox Christians, but after coming of age, he admitted that he was faithful only to Orthodoxy. As we already know, in the same year he received the official rank of captain. And literally 9 months later the First Balkan War began, in which a union of Serbs, Montenegrins, Greeks and Bulgarians opposed the ruler of the Ottoman Empire in order to recapture Macedonia. Boris took a direct part in the war as a liaison officer and visited the front line several times.
Despite the fact that they managed to win, the association of winners simply could not share the fruits of their work among themselves. Then Bulgaria decided to take active action and attack its former allies in order to divide Macedonia. This was the beginning of the Second Balkan War. In this case, Tsar Boris of Bulgaria again took part in the war. The war ended in defeat, as a large number of soldiers suffered from cholera. Young Boris, who observed the situation, became a pacifist after this incident.
Excerpt characterizing Boris III
Rostov, without answering, shook the soldier’s St. George’s Cross hanging on the strings of his uniform, and, pointing to his tied hand, looked at Berg, smiling. “As you can see,” he said. - That's how it is, yes, yes! – Boris said, smiling, “and we also made a nice trip.” After all, you know, His Highness always rode with our regiment, so we had all the comforts and all the benefits. In Poland, what kind of receptions there were, what kind of dinners, balls - I can’t tell you. And the Tsarevich was very merciful to all our officers. And both friends told each other - one about their hussar revelry and military life, the other about the pleasures and benefits of serving under the command of high-ranking officials, etc. - Oh guard! - said Rostov. - Well, let’s go get some wine. Boris winced. “If you really want to,” he said. And, going up to the bed, he took out his wallet from under the clean pillows and ordered him to bring wine. “Yes, and give you the money and the letter,” he added. Rostov took the letter and, throwing the money on the sofa, leaned both hands on the table and began to read. He read a few lines and looked angrily at Berg. Having met his gaze, Rostov covered his face with the letter. “However, they sent you a fair amount of money,” said Berg, looking at the heavy wallet pressed into the sofa. “That’s how we make our way with a salary, Count.” I’ll tell you about myself... “Here’s what, my dear Berg,” said Rostov, “when you receive a letter from home and meet your man, whom you want to ask about everything, and I’ll be here, I’ll leave now so as not to disturb you. Listen, please go somewhere, somewhere... to hell! - he shouted and immediately, grabbing him by the shoulder and looking tenderly into his face, apparently trying to soften the rudeness of his words, he added: - you know, don’t be angry; my dear, my dear, I say this from the bottom of my heart, as if it were an old friend of ours. “Oh, for mercy’s sake, Count, I understand very much,” said Berg, standing up and speaking to himself in a guttural voice. “You go to the owners: they called you,” added Boris. Berg put on a clean frock coat, without a stain or a speck, fluffed up his temples in front of the mirror, as Alexander Pavlovich wore, and, convinced by Rostov’s glance that his frock coat had been noticed, left the room with a pleasant smile. - Oh, what a brute I am, however! - Rostov said, reading the letter. - And what? - Oh, what a pig I am, however, that I never wrote and scared them so much. “Oh, what a pig I am,” he repeated, suddenly blushing. - Well, let’s go get some wine for Gavrilo! Well, okay, let's do it! - he said... In the letters of the relatives there was also a letter of recommendation to Prince Bagration, which, on the advice of Anna Mikhailovna, the old countess obtained through her friends and sent to her son, asking him to take it for its intended purpose and use it. - This is nonsense! “I really need it,” said Rostov, throwing the letter under the table. - Why did you leave it? – asked Boris. - Some kind of letter of recommendation, what the hell is there in the letter! - What the hell is in the letter? – Boris said, picking up and reading the inscription. – This letter is very necessary for you. “I don’t need anything, and I won’t go as an adjutant to anyone.” - From what? – asked Boris. - Lackey position! “You’re still the same dreamer, I see,” Boris said, shaking his head. – And you are still the same diplomat. Well, that’s not the point... Well, what are you talking about? - asked Rostov. - Yes, as you can see. So far so good; but I admit, I would very much like to become an adjutant, and not remain at the front. - For what? - Because, having already started a career in military service, you should try to make, if possible, a brilliant career. - Yes, that’s how it is! - said Rostov, apparently thinking about something else. He looked intently and questioningly into his friend’s eyes, apparently searching in vain for a solution to some question. Old man Gavrilo brought wine. “Shouldn’t I send for Alphonse Karlych now?” - said Boris. - He will drink with you, but I can’t. - Go-go! Well, what is this nonsense? - Rostov said with a contemptuous smile. “He is a very, very good, honest and pleasant person,” said Boris. Rostov looked intently into Boris’s eyes again and sighed. Berg returned, and over a bottle of wine the conversation between the three officers became livelier. The guardsmen told Rostov about their campaign, about how they were honored in Russia, Poland and abroad. They told about the words and deeds of their commander, the Grand Duke, and anecdotes about his kindness and temper. Berg, as usual, was silent when the matter did not concern him personally, but on the occasion of anecdotes about the Grand Duke’s temper, he told with pleasure how in Galicia he managed to talk with the Grand Duke when he was driving around the shelves and was angry about the wrong movement. With a pleasant smile on his face, he told how the Grand Duke, very angry, rode up to him and shouted: “Arnauts!” (Arnauts was the crown prince’s favorite saying when he was angry) and demanded a company commander. “Believe me, Count, I wasn’t afraid of anything, because I knew that I was right.” You know, Count, without boasting, I can say that I know the regimental orders by heart and I also know the regulations, like the Our Father in heaven. Therefore, Count, I never have any omissions in my company. So my conscience is calm. I showed up. (Berg stood up and imagined how he appeared with his hand to the visor. Indeed, it was difficult to portray more respect and self-satisfaction in his face.) He pushed me, as they say, pushed, pushed; pushed not to the stomach, but to death, as they say; and “Arnauts,” and devils, and to Siberia,” Berg said, smiling shrewdly. “I know that I’m right, and that’s why I’m silent: isn’t it, Count?” “What, are you dumb, or what?” he screamed. I'm still silent. What do you think, Count? The next day there was no order: this is what it means not to get lost. So, Count,” said Berg, lighting his pipe and blowing some rings. “Yes, that’s nice,” Rostov said, smiling. But Boris, noticing that Rostov was about to laugh at Berg, skillfully deflected the conversation. He asked Rostov to tell us how and where he received the wound. Rostov was pleased with this, and he began to tell, becoming more and more animated as he spoke. He told them his Shengraben affair exactly as those who participated in them usually talk about battles, that is, as they would like it to have happened, as they had heard from other storytellers, as it was more beautiful to tell, but not at all the way it was. Rostov was a truthful young man; he would never deliberately tell a lie. He began to tell with the intention of telling everything exactly as it was, but imperceptibly, involuntarily and inevitably for himself, he turned into a lie. If he had told the truth to these listeners, who, like himself, had already heard stories about the attacks many times and formed a definite concept of what the attack was, and expected exactly the same story - or they would not have believed him, or, even worse, they would have thought that Rostov himself was to blame for the fact that what usually happens to storytellers of cavalry attacks did not happen to him. He couldn’t tell them so simply that they all set off at a trot, he fell off his horse, lost his arm and ran with all his might into the forest away from the Frenchman. In addition, in order to tell everything as it happened, it was necessary to make an effort on oneself to tell only what happened. Telling the truth is very difficult; and young people are rarely capable of this. They were waiting for the story of how he was burning all over the fire, not remembering himself, how he flew into the square like a storm; how he cut into it, chopped right and left; how the saber tasted the meat, and how he fell exhausted, and the like. And he told them all this. In the middle of his story, while he was saying: “You can’t imagine what a strange feeling of rage you experience during an attack,” Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, whom Boris was waiting for, entered the room. Prince Andrei, who loved patronizing relations with young people, flattered that they turned to him for protection, and well disposed towards Boris, who knew how to please him the day before, wanted to fulfill the young man’s desire. Sent with papers from Kutuzov to the Tsarevich, he went to the young man, hoping to find him alone. Entering the room and seeing an army hussar telling the military adventures (the sort of people whom Prince Andrei could not stand), he smiled affectionately at Boris, winced, narrowed his eyes at Rostov and, bowing slightly, sat down tiredly and lazily on the sofa. It was unpleasant for him that he found himself in bad society. Rostov flushed, realizing this. But it didn’t matter to him: it was a stranger. But, looking at Boris, he saw that he too seemed ashamed of the army hussar. Despite the unpleasant mocking tone of Prince Andrei, despite the general contempt that, from his army combat point of view, Rostov had for all these staff adjutants, among whom the newcomer was obviously counted, Rostov felt embarrassed, blushed and fell silent. Boris asked what news was at headquarters, and what, without immodesty, had been heard about our assumptions? “They will probably go forward,” Bolkonsky answered, apparently not wanting to talk more in front of strangers. Berg took the opportunity to ask with particular courtesy whether, as was heard, they would now issue double forage to army company commanders? To this, Prince Andrei answered with a smile that he could not judge such important state orders, and Berg laughed joyfully. “We’ll talk about your business later,” Prince Andrei turned again to Boris, and he looked back at Rostov. – You come to me after the review, we will do everything we can. And, looking around the room, he turned to Rostov, whose state of childish insurmountable embarrassment turning into embitterment he did not deign to notice, and said: “It seems you were talking about the Shengraben case?” You were there? “I was there,” Rostov said angrily, as if by doing so he wanted to insult the adjutant. Bolkonsky noticed the hussar’s condition and found it funny. He smiled slightly contemptuously. - Yes! there are many stories about this matter now! “Yes, stories,” Rostov spoke loudly, suddenly looking wildly at Boris and Bolkonsky, “yes, there are many stories, but our stories are the stories of those who were in the very fire of the enemy, our stories have weight, not stories of those staff guys who receive awards without doing anything. – Which one do you suppose I belong to? – Prince Andrei said calmly and smiling especially pleasantly. A strange feeling of embitterment and at the same time respect for the calmness of this figure was united at this time in Rostov’s soul. “I’m not talking about you,” he said, “I don’t know you and, I admit, I don’t want to know.” I'm talking about staff in general. “And I’ll tell you what,” Prince Andrei interrupted him with calm authority in his voice. “You want to insult me, and I am ready to agree with you that this is very easy to do if you do not have sufficient respect for yourself; but you must admit that both the time and place were chosen very badly for this. One of these days we will all have to be in a big, more serious duel, and besides, Drubetskoy, who says that he is your old friend, is not at all to blame for the fact that you had the misfortune of not liking my face. However,” he said, getting up, “you know my last name and know where to find me; but don’t forget,” he added, “that I do not consider myself or you at all offended, and my advice, as a man older than you, is to leave this matter without consequences. So on Friday, after the show, I’m waiting for you, Drubetskoy; “goodbye,” Prince Andrei concluded and left, bowing to both. Rostov remembered what he needed to answer only when he had already left. And he was even more angry because he forgot to say this. Rostov immediately ordered his horse to be brought in and, having said a dry goodbye to Boris, went home. Should he go to the main apartment tomorrow and call this broken adjutant or, in fact, leave this matter like that? there was a question that tormented him all the way. Either he thought angrily about the pleasure with which he would see the fear of this small, weak and proud man under his pistol, then he felt with surprise that of all the people he knew, there was no one he would want to have as his friend. , like this adjutant he hated. On the next day of Boris’s meeting with Rostov, there was a review of Austrian and Russian troops, both fresh ones who came from Russia and those who returned from a campaign with Kutuzov. Both emperors, the Russian with the heir, the Tsarevich, and the Austrian with the Archduke, made this review of the allied army of 80 thousand. From early morning, the smartly cleaned and groomed troops began to move, lining up on the field in front of the fortress. Then thousands of legs and bayonets moved with waving banners and, at the command of the officers, they stopped, turned around and lined up at intervals, bypassing other similar masses of infantry in different uniforms; then the elegant cavalry in blue, red, green embroidered uniforms with embroidered musicians in front, on black, red, gray horses, sounded with measured stomping and clanking; then, stretching out with its copper sound of cleaned, shining guns trembling on carriages and with its smell of armor, the artillery crawled between the infantry and cavalry and was placed in the designated places. Not only the generals in full dress uniform, with extremely thick and thin waists pulled together and reddened, propped up collars, necks, in scarves and all the orders; not only the pomaded, well-dressed officers, but every soldier, with a fresh, washed and shaved face and his equipment cleaned to the last possible shine, every horse groomed so that its fur shone like satin and its mane was soaked hair by hair, - everyone felt that something serious, significant and solemn was happening. Each general and soldier felt their insignificance, recognizing themselves as a grain of sand in this sea of people, and together they felt their power, recognizing themselves as part of this huge whole. Intense efforts and efforts began early in the morning, and at 10 o’clock everything was in the required order. There were rows on the huge field. The entire army was drawn up in three lines. Cavalry in front, artillery behind, infantry behind. Between each row of troops there was, as it were, a street. Three parts of this army were sharply separated from one another: the combat Kutuzovskaya (in which the Pavlograd residents stood on the right flank in the front line), the army and guards regiments that came from Russia, and the Austrian army. But everyone stood under the same line, under the same leadership and in the same order. An excited whisper swept through the leaves like the wind: “They’re coming!” they're coming! Frightened voices were heard, and a wave of bustle and final preparations ran through all the troops. A moving group appeared ahead of Olmutz. And at the same time, although the day was windless, a light stream of wind ran through the army and slightly shook the weather vane's peaks and the unfurled banners, which fluttered against their poles. It seemed that the army itself, with this slight movement, expressed its joy at the approach of the sovereigns. One voice was heard: “Attention!” Then, like roosters at dawn, the voices repeated in different directions. And everything became quiet. In the dead silence, only the clatter of horses could be heard. It was the retinue of emperors. The sovereigns approached the flank and the sounds of the trumpeters of the first cavalry regiment were heard playing the general march. It seemed that it was not the trumpeters who played this, but the army itself, rejoicing at the approach of the sovereign, naturally making these sounds. From behind these sounds, one young, gentle voice of Emperor Alexander was clearly heard. He said a greeting, and the first regiment barked: Hurrah! so deafeningly, continuously, joyfully that the people themselves were horrified by the number and strength of the bulk that they made up. Rostov, standing in the front ranks of the Kutuzov army, to which the sovereign approached first, experienced the same feeling that every person in this army experienced - a feeling of self-forgetfulness, a proud consciousness of power and a passionate attraction to the one who was the reason for this triumph. He felt that on one word of this man it depended that this entire community (and he, associated with it, an insignificant grain of sand) would go into fire and water, to crime, to death or to the greatest heroism, and therefore he could not help but tremble and freeze at the sight of this approaching word. - Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! - it thundered from all sides, and one regiment after another received the sovereign with the sounds of a general march; then Hurrah!... general march and again Hurrah! and Hurray!! which, growing stronger and stronger, merged into a deafening roar. Until the sovereign arrived, each regiment, in its silence and immobility, seemed like a lifeless body; As soon as the sovereign was compared to him, the regiment became animated and thundered, joining the roar of the entire line that the sovereign had already passed. At the terrible, deafening sound of these voices, in the midst of the masses of troops, motionless, as if petrified in their quadrangles, hundreds of horsemen of the retinue moved carelessly, but symmetrically and, most importantly, freely, and in front of them were two people - the emperors. The restrained passionate attention of this entire mass of people was then undividedly focused on them.
Renunciation
After this outcome of events, it seemed that there was no other way out except Ferdinand’s abdication of the throne. The advisers believed that Boris should immediately leave the palace and join the ranks of the regular army. For a time he had to separate himself from his father so as not to be associated with his rule. However, the guy himself said that he would not hold on to power, and if the monarch left, then his son would also leave the palace. However, everything happened not at all as expected. Ferdinand did not abdicate the throne, but Boris was sent to the Military Academy.
In 1915, Ferdinand decided to enter the First World War, but Boris did not support the decision. Great Britain and France learned about this and recognized him as king in 1918.
Politician Dimitar Peshev
Dimitar Peshev was the vice-chairman of the People's Assembly. Having learned about the impending deportation of Jews, he reported this to the People's Assembly. 42 deputies signed a collective appeal to the government demanding to cancel the deportation of Jews to Polish death camps - and so everyone knew about the inhumane cooperation of the authorities with Hitler. Although Dimitar Peshev found himself in the minority (there were 160 people in parliament), and he was immediately removed from his post, the goal was achieved: it became impossible to secretly remove and kill Bulgarian Jews in such circumstances.
While the collection of signatures was underway, Peshev went to the Minister of Internal Affairs Pyotr Gabrovsky and, threatening that he would speak publicly and announce the government’s criminal plans, forced Gabrovsky to call all the largest cities in the country and cancel everything. Three hours before the trainloads of thousands of Jews were due to leave Bulgaria, the action was cancelled.
Throne
First of all, it should be noted that under the former king the country suffered several defeats. First there was the Second Balkan War, due to which Bulgaria lost territory and even paid reparations. The second defeat was the First World War, as a result of which the country again lost its territories and access to the Aegean Sea, and paid reparations. The population was dissatisfied, other rulers did not want to recognize the king. He abdicated in favor of his son and in the fall of 1918 Boris ascended the throne.
His reign did not start very well, as he lacked experience and could not communicate with his family. In addition, crop failure, foreign occupation and the card system had an impact. All this led to an increase in the activity of ultra-left parties. It should be added that of all the countries that participated in the First World War, only Bulgaria retained monarchical rule.
“Do not persecute others, lest they persecute you...”
Thousands of women, men, children, and old people were already gathered in camps throughout the country and awaited their fate. Is it possible to prevent the inevitable? Will some pathetic manifestation be able to change anything - or will it be just a drop in the bucket?
Help for the Jews came from an unexpected quarter - from the Bulgarian church, which apparently derived its tradition from the Bible, and not from the Inquisition and the Crusades. Metropolitan Kirill led crowds of Bulgarians to the Plovdiv dispatch center, where 1,500 Jews were gathered, and addressed them: “My children, I will not allow this to happen to you. I’ll lie down on the railroad tracks and won’t let you get taken away.” Sarina Molho testifies to how Kirill walked around the Jews in the camp with the words: “I will not allow any of you to leave Plovdiv.”
Speaking to his flock that same day, Cyril preached to them that the persecution of Jews was contrary to Bulgarian traditional tolerance, and that the cruel and inhumane expulsion of Bulgarian citizens must not be allowed to take place. And in a letter to the government dated May 27, he literally wrote this: “The government’s decision contradicts the laws and principles of our church and forces us to betray God.”
The authorities responded to this letter the very next day: with a search of the diocese, during which hundreds of fake baptismal certificates were seized.
Mass protest demonstrations began in Sofia. Politicians, deputies, writers, trade union leaders, representatives of various societies, and certain groups of ordinary citizens sent petitions in defense of Jews. Medical Union, Writers' Union, sports society "Slavia" Such a unanimous desire of the Bulgarian people not to sully their honor with a crime led to the fact that the government was forced to postpone the deportation.
Following the example of the Metropolitan, farmers throughout the country threatened to lie on the railway tracks so that trains could not pass.
Another Bulgarian metropolitan, Stefan, meanwhile sent a letter of protest to the government on behalf of the Synod, in which he demanded to cancel the deportation of 800 Jews from Sofia. The letter promised that in the event of persecution of Jews, every monastery and every church would take Jews under its protection.
Stefan was consistent. Back in April 1943, after the tsar’s decision to expel Jews from Sofia to the provinces, Stefan wrote a letter to the tsar, threatening him with excommunication if the persecution of Jews continued: “Do not persecute others, so that you are not persecuted too. God is watching your affairs from heaven."
These were not empty words. Metropolitan Stefan actually showed how much he was against persecution by hiding in his compound the Chief Rabbi of Sofia Asher Isaac Hananel, who was being hunted by the police.
First time
In 1919, the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union won the elections. The Tsar had to appoint Alexander Stambolisky as Prime Minister. Since Bulgaria remained an agricultural country, Alexander was loved by the people. The man showed a negative attitude towards the army and the middle class, towards the monarchical system and tried to build an authoritarian rule. Boris, the Tsar of Bulgaria, had already expressed his dissatisfaction with him more than once, but nothing changed.
In the summer of 1923, a military coup took place, as a result of which Stamboliysky was shot, and the leader of the movement, Alexander Tsankov, was appointed prime minister of the new government. This event marked the beginning of a long period of instability. In the fall, the communists launched an uprising, and after that the “White Terror” began. As a result of the actions of terrorist and anti-terrorist forces, more than 20 thousand people died. In 1925, Greece declared war on Bulgaria. Despite the fact that the League of Nations tried to improve the situation within the country, the situation remained extremely precarious.
Notes
- Dimitrina Aslanian
. Histoire de la Bulgarie de l'Antiquité à nos jours. - P. 246. - Ibid. - P. 232-233.
- ↑ 123
Ibid. - P. 253. - Ibid. - P. 257.
- Ibid. - P. 299.
- Constant Schaufelberger
. La destinée tragique d'un roi. - P. 15. - Données p.5 de
First Bulgarian Kingdom (681–1018) Asparuh • Tervel • Kormesius • Sevar • Kormisosh • Vineh • Taurus • Sabin • Umor • Toktu • Pagan • Telerig • Kardam • Krum • Omurtag • Malamir • Presian • Boris I • Vladimir Rasate • Simeon I • Peter I • Boris II Western Bulgarian Kingdom (970–1018) Roman • Samuel • Gabriel Radomir • Ivan Vladislav • Presian II Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1186–1396) Peter IV • Ivan Asen I • Ivanko1 • Kaloyan • Boril • Strez1 • Alexy Slav • Ivan Asen II • Koloman I Asen • Mikhail I Asen • Koloman II Asen • Mitso Asen • Konstantin I Tikh • Ivaylo • Ivan Asen III • George I Terter • Smilets • Chaka • Theodore Svyatoslav Terter • George II Terter • Michael III Shishman • Ivan Stefan • John-Alexander • John-Shishman • Ivan Sratsimir • Constantine II Asen Third Bulgarian Kingdom (1878-1946) Alexander I • Ferdinand I • Boris III • Simeon II 1 Usurpers. They were not officially kings.
Assassination attempts
In 1925, during a hunt near the town of Orhaniye, there was an attempt on Boris’s life, but he managed to escape in a passing car. Three days after this, in the Cathedral of Holy Week there was a funeral for the general killed during the assassination attempt on the Tsar, which was attended by many representatives of the authorities. Communists and anarchists took advantage of the opportunity to plant a bomb. The explosion occurred during the ceremony itself, killing more than a hundred people. Boris was late for the general's funeral because he was at the funeral of his friend. After this, there was a wave of repression by the government, many people were arrested on suspicion of rebellion and sentenced to death.
Last years
Only in 1934 did the man get married. His chosen one was Giovanna, the daughter of Victor Emmanuel III.
That same year there was a military coup that led to the complete dictatorship of Boris. Some of the Tsar's ministers expressed a desire to get closer to Hitler, and the Tsar did not create any special obstacles to this. In 1938, he participated in world politics to “appease” Hitler. As a result of the division of lands, Bulgaria received Southern Dobruja, some areas of Macedonia, and access to the sea. Realizing that most of his people were pro-Russian, the Tsar did not declare war on the USSR and decided not to send his soldiers to the Eastern Front. Who would have thought that on August 28, 1941, the Tsar of Bulgaria Boris had only a year to live.
At the same time, the ruler managed to save about 50 thousand Jews. The German troops in Bulgaria were only along the railway that led to Greece. On August 28, 1942, Tsar Boris died in Bulgaria, presumably from a heart attack. This happened a few days after the meeting with Hitler. His son Simeon, who was 6 years old at that time, became his successor.
On August 28, Tsar Boris died in Bulgaria under rather vague circumstances, which will be explored more than once.
Dynasties of Europe
By betting on Germany, Boris, like his father in 1915, made a fatal miscalculation. After the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, the landing of Allied troops in North Africa in November 1942 and in Sicily in June 1943, and Italy’s withdrawal from the war, it became clear that Hitler’s Germany was facing an imminent military collapse. Along with it, Bulgaria found itself on the brink of a third national catastrophe. At this critical moment for the country, Tsar Boris suddenly died at the end of August 1943. The circumstances of his death remained mysterious for a long time and gave rise to many contradictory versions.On August 15, 1943, the Bulgarian monarch, after a two-day visit to Germany, returned to Sofia extremely dejected. A day later, the overworked monarch went to a country residence in the Rila Mountains, where he stayed until August 23. Returning to the capital, the king immediately complained of feeling unwell and a few hours later in his office, looking through business papers, he lost consciousness. The doctors' first diagnosis was that the king had a severe liver disease. But his health did not improve the next day, and then the attending doctors changed their minds, stating an acute heart attack. On August 28, in the evening, the ringing of bells in Sofia churches announced the death of the Bulgarian autocrat. On that day, one of the monarch’s close associates recalled his words that “he will die at 50 years old, like Tsar Simeon” (reigned 893-927). Tsar Boris died at the age of 50. The official medical report, published on August 30, stated: "Death was due to blockage of the left cardiac artery (thrombosis), double pneumonia and hemorrhage in the lungs and brain."
However, few people believed this document. In Bulgaria and beyond. Rumors immediately began to spread about the violent death of Tsar Boris. Moreover, the majority considered the Nazis to be the culprits for his premature death. After all, the Bulgarian monarch died after a trip to Germany. And therefore, post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore, because of this). This logic turned out to be stronger than the official communiqué and Filov’s explanations at a special press conference held on August 31.
The spontaneously arose version of the Nazis’ involvement in the death of Tsar Boris also spread widely because it corresponded to the growing anti-Hitler sentiments among the Bulgarian people, not to mention the public of the countries that fought against the fascist conquerors.
This version turned out to be tenacious. Over time, it acquired various details. In January 1945, reports on the sessions of the People's Court of Bulgarian war criminals, published in some Western newspapers, indicated that the Tsar's brother, Prince Kirill of Preslav (1895-1945), considered the cause of Boris' death to be too high a concentration of oxygen in the oxygen mask when he returned by plane , flown by Hitler's personal pilot.
The supporters of the version of the violent death of Tsar Boris, without going into speculation about its perpetrators, were also joined by his wife, Tsarina Joanna, who published her memoirs in the Milanese magazine “Oggi” in 1961, which were then published as a separate book, translated into Bulgarian *. Her main argument is that Tsar Boris, during his 13 years of married life, was never seriously ill with anything and suddenly died so quickly. However, in Joanna’s memoirs, researchers discovered contradictions and factual inaccuracies. In addition, it is known that she always stood aloof from her husband’s state affairs, devoting all her attention to social entertainment and children.
* ?Queen Joanna. Change it. Sofia, 1991.
His sister Evdokia (1898-1985) persistently, but without evidence, spoke about the involvement of the Nazis in the death of Tsar Boris, who was always prejudiced against any contacts of Tsar Boris with the Nazi leaders.
Other Western memoirists, journalists and historians also wrote that the Nazis were involved in the death of the Bulgarian monarch. Their reasoning, however, was not supported by documentary evidence.
The first to study them was the West German historian H. Heiber, who came to the conclusion that the Nazis were not interested in the death of the king. At the same time, he did not exclude the possibility of the forcible elimination of Tsar Boris and at the end of the study he emphasized: “The riddle that the death of the Tsar posed cannot yet be solved” **.
**Heiber N. Der Tod des Zaren Boris // Vierteljahrschefte fur Zeitgeschichle. 1981. No. 4. S.415.
This opinion continues to this day. It is adhered to, for example, by S. Gruev, a Bulgarian emigrant, the son of the above-mentioned P. Gruev, who was executed by the verdict of the People's Court in 1945. In a solid book published by him in 1987 in English and translated into Bulgarian in 1991, During the 25-year reign of Boris III, he argues that the questions and suspicions associated with the death of the Tsar have not been completely resolved *.
In particular, S. Gruev cites the testimony of the air attache of the German embassy in Sofia, von Schönbeck, who enjoyed the trust of Tsar Boris and took an active part in the urgent delivery by plane of two German doctors to Sofia to treat the Tsar in the first days of his illness. As is clear from von Schönbeck’s diary entries dated August 27 and 28, 1943, these doctors told him that the dark spots on his body that appeared before the tsar’s death gave rise to suspicion of poisoning with some long-acting Indian poison, planted on the tsar several months before of death. At the same time, Schönbeck remembered the prophetic message received from Turkey at the end of May 1943 that Tsar Boris would not live until September of this year **.
Nevertheless, the Bulgarian historian I. Dimitrov, who deeply studied the circumstances of the death of Tsar Boris on the basis of a wide range of literature and sources, primarily Bulgarian, tried to dispel the myth about its “mystery” ***.
The Nazis were not involved in the death of Tsar Boris. The news of this in Berlin was received with great chagrin. Goebbels said: “Tsar Boris is dead. We have lost an important support in the Balkans” ****. But Hitler put forward the version that Boris’s death was “the work of the Italians.” He believed that Boris was poisoned by Queen Joanna's sister, Princess Mafalda, who came to Sofia.
However, Mafalda did not visit Sofia on the eve of the death of Tsar Boris. She arrived there already for the funeral. The Italian ruling circles, preparing to exit the war, at that time, of course, had no time for the Bulgarian Tsar. They, including the royal family, thought first of all about their own fate. Obviously, the version about the involvement of Italians in the death of Tsar Boris arose from Hitler on the basis of his growing hostility towards the Italian royal house and the Badoglio government under the influence of the capitulation of Italy in 1943.
*Gruev S. Decree. Op. P. 453.
** see ibid. pp. 444-445.
***Dimitrov I. Smirtta on Tsar Boris III //Historically pregled. 1968. N 2.
****Semmler R. Goebbels - the Man Next to Hitler. L., 1947. P. 100.
The assumption that Tsar Boris was poisoned was not confirmed by the autopsy of his body performed by Bulgarian doctors. This is what a Bulgarian physician, who, together with other doctors, observed the development of the king’s illness, told I. Dimitrov. “The death of Boris III is a typical case of a heart attack. How many people fall victim to this sudden, unexpected disease, which always occurs as a result of overwork, anxiety, strong emotions... Our clinical diagnosis was completely confirmed at the autopsy. I don’t know of a poison that can be injected so that it goes straight to the heart and leaves no traces in other organs.”
The research of I. Dimitrov is presented in a completely different light by the testimony of Prince Kirill in the People's Court in 1945. The Bulgarian historian, having familiarized himself directly with the protocols of the trial, established that Prince Kirill gave insincere, contradictory answers to questions related to clarifying the circumstances of his brother's death . At first, he categorically denied the violent death of the Bulgarian monarch and named as its main cause the nervous fatigue that the latter had accumulated over the 25 years of his reign. The prince's opinion changed when it seemed to him that a different explanation was expected of him.
The version that has become widespread recently about the involvement of Soviet authorities and Bulgarian communists in the death of Tsar Boris is also untenable. If we ask the classic question “who benefits?”, then, of course, the death of Tsar Boris - one of the key figures for the Nazis in the Balkans - created favorable political conditions for the Soviet Union and contributed to the struggle of the Bulgarian communists against the tsarist regime. But equally, this event corresponded to the political goals of everyone who was part of the anti-Hitler coalition and sought to defeat the Axis powers and their satellites. The main thing is that, as S. Gruev notes, who cannot be suspected of sympathizing with the communists, “no specific facts or evidence in favor of this version were found either in hot pursuit or at a later time.”
So, apparently, the Bulgarian monarch died a natural death. The difficult international situation in the summer of 1943, in which this happened, and the suddenness and prematureness of the tsar’s death contributed to the spread of the version of the forcible elimination of the Bulgarian crown bearer. The real reason that accelerated the death of Tsar Boris was his anxious, depressed state, caused by the consciousness that the policy he was pursuing was reaching a dead end and the dynasty was facing a new, even more serious catastrophe than in 1918. “Our show is over,” he said with despair a few days before his death to his brother Kirill*. It seemed that Tsar Boris himself was looking for a quick death in those days. The words he said to Filov on August 15 upon returning from Hitler’s headquarters are no coincidence: “on the way back he even wanted to meet an enemy plane and die” **. According to the observations of people who were in close contact with him at that time, writes S. Gruev, he “behaved like a man striving for death,” doing everything, despite the pain that had begun in his heart, “at the limit of his physical capabilities,” which led to his disastrous death. outcome ***. S. Gruev assesses this behavior of Tsar Boris as “passive suicide.”
The body of Tsar Boris was buried in the Rila Monastery, which he often visited during his lifetime, picturesquely located in the mountains several tens of kilometers from Sofia. Increasing pilgrimage to the Tsar’s burial place prompted the authorities of the Fatherland Front in 1946 to rebury the coffin in the park of the countryside Tsar’s palace “Bran”, inaccessible to visitors. After the royal family left Bulgaria, the Vrana Palace was turned into a state residence, the king’s grave and a small chapel soon disappeared, but there is no reliable information yet about what happened to the coffin and the remains of the king. In 1990, excavations of the burial site began. It was only possible to discover a hermetically sealed glass vessel with the embalmed heart of Tsar Boris and a written confirmation of this attached to it by the doctors who performed the autopsy of his body. A medical examination agreed with the conclusion of Bulgarian doctors in 1943 - Tsar Boris died of a heart attack ****.
* Archive of Russian Foreign Policy, microfilm fund, neg. 656, pos. 10, f. 299, l. 13-14 (Diary of General N. Mikhov).
** Filov B. Decree. Op. P. 601.
***Gruev S. Decree op. P. 450.
****Leverson A. Tsar Boris III. Shrihi km portrait. Sofia, 1995. P. 529.
