Todor Aleksandrov

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Todor Aleksandrov bigraphy, stories - Bulgarian freedom fighter

Todor Aleksandrov : biography

March 4, 1881 – August 31, 1924

Todor Aleksandrov Poporushov also transliterated as Todor Alexandrov (Bulgarian:Тодор Александров) also spelt Alexandroff, (March 4, 1881 – August 31, 1924) was a Bulgarian freedom fighter and member of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC) since 1897 BMARC and IMARO were the predecessors of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). IMARO and IMRO changed names on several occasions. To avoid confusion, this article uses only the name and acronym "IMARO". For a detailed discussion of the organization and its history, please consult the dedicated IMRO article and later of the Central Committee of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (IMRO).

View about the Macedonian Question

IMRO and Alexandrov himself aimed at an autonomous Macedonia, with its capital at Salonika and prevailing Bulgarian element. He dreamed about transforming the Balkans into a federation through reconstruction of Yugoslavia into a federal state, in which Macedonia would enter as a member on equal rights with the other members. He took also into consideration the decomposition of Greece and the incorporation into the autonomous Macedonia of the Macedonian territory which was under the Greek dominion. The part of Macedonia which was in Bulgaria must also be incorporated into the autonomous Macedonia.The Times, (London), September 16, 1924, p. 9. His view does not indicate any doubt about the Bulgarian ethnic character of Macedonian Bulgarians then.…Мога да кажа пред безпристрастен арбитър, че никога не сме били и сега не сме оръдия на българските правителства и всякога сме били и трябва да бъдем "оръдия" на Независима България, на Българска Македония и на цялото българско племе…; в-к Македония, бр.№ 865, 31. 08. 1929, с. 5.ЦДА, ф. 1933, оп.2, а. е. 28, л. 68-73; Гергинов, Кр. Билярски, Ц. Непубликувани документи за дейността на ВМОРО, с. 214.; Непубликувани документи за дейността на ВМОРО, с. 205; Из архивното наследство…, с.231, 234, 237, 243, 247; Марков, Г. Камбаните бият сами…, с. 18-19.

2012 monument controversy

In June 2012, a new statue called “Macedonian Equestrian Revolutionary” was raised in Skopje. As a consequense an outcry among older of residents erupted almost immediately when they noted the anonymous rider’s similarity to the historical figure. The statue was reportedly commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, but even this was in question. The Ministry called the statue “the complete responsibility of the municipality of Kisela Voda (a part of greater Skopje).” The city government denied this. Attempts to reach a spokesperson at the Ministry of Culture for comment have thus been unsuccessful. Earlier the same month the opposition Social Democrats took to the streets to protest the changing of hundreds of street names, including a bridge that was to be named after Aleksandrov. Finally in October, a few months after the setting of the monument, on it appeared an board with the name of Todor Alexandrov.

Biography

Aleksandrov was born in the Novo Selo suburb of Štip, present day Republic of Macedonia, to Aleksandar Poporushev and Marija Aleksandrova. In 1898, he finished the Bulgarian Pedagogical School in Skopje and became a Bulgarian teacher consecutively in the towns of Kocani, Kratovo, the village of Vinica, and Štip. He also attended the Bulgarian Men’s High School of Thessaloniki.

In 1903 Todor Aleksandrov distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and organizer of the Kocani Revolutionary District. He was arrested by the Ottoman authorities on March 3, 1903 and sent to Skopje under enforced police escort during the same night. He was sentenced to five years of solitary confinement by the extraordinary court there. In April 1904, he was released after an amnesty. Soon afterwards, he was appointed a head teacher in the Second high-school in Shtip. Aleksandrov, in co-operation with Todor Lazarov and Mishe Razvigorov, worked day and night to organize the Shtip Revolutionary District. The results of his activities were detected by the Ottoman authorities and in November 1904 he was forbidden to teach. On January 10, 1905 Aleksandrov’s house was surrounded by a numerous troops but he succeeded in breaking through the military cordoned and immediately joined the cheta (band) of Mishe Razvigorov where he became its secretary. Aleksandrov attended the First Congress of the Skopje Revolutionary Region as a delegate from the Shtip district. His deteriorating health lead him to become a teacher in Bulgaria — the Black Sea town of Burgas in 1906, but after learning about the death of Mishe Razvigorov, he abandoned his work as a teacher and returned to Macedonia at once. In November 1907, Aleksandrov was elected as a district vojvoda (commander) by the Third Congress of the Skopje Revolutionary District.