The Bulgarian History Podcast

It's already clear who's going to win the war. What remains to be seen is who will win the peace. As Russian and Bulgarian troops rapidly advance, the Ottomans, Balkan states, and Great Powers alike are all jockeying for position. As the Treaty of San Stefano is being penned, it's already clear that Bulgaria's fate is out of its hands. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.pa...

After crossing the Danube to invade Ottoman Bulgaria, the Russian army makes rapid gains before being bogged down in intense fighting at Pleven and the Shipka Pass. There, the outcome of the war is decided. Meanwhile, political forces are just as important as the Great Powers jockey to determine what the Balkans and Europe will look like after this great conflict. In the middle of it all, Bulgaria...

For this special episode, I was invited to have a chat with the US Ambassador to Bulgaria about the long history of connections between the two countries as well as what that relationship looks like today. You can find images for this episode at: www.bghistorypodcast.com/posts/us-bg-history-ambassador-mustafa

It's 1877 and the Ottomans are victorious against the Serbs, however the Great Powers have gathered to decide what should become of Ottoman authority in the Balkans. To get ahead of this, the Ottomans have passed a new constitution and are ready to resist foreign interference. Meanwhile Russia and Austria-Hungary have concluded agreements necessary for Russia to finally go to war against the Ottom...

As the last fighters of the April Uprising meet their sad fates, news of its horrors spreads throughout the world and begins to shift the geopolitical scales of Europe. Meanwhile the Ottoman Empire itself experiences a rush of changes as the Great Powers meet to decide what should happen as the Serbs finally decide it's time for war. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patr...

As the April Uprising draws to a close, Botev crosses the Danube to continue the fight. Meanwhile, we delve into the horrors of the massacre at Batak. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you can get for supporting us. You can find images for this episode at: www.bghistorypodcast.com/post/132-botev-and-batak You can...

Despite the failure of the Stara Zagora uprising, Bulgarian revolutionaries see an opportunity to finally throw off Ottoman rule in the Spring of 1876. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you can get for supporting us. You can find images for this episode at: www.bghistorypodcast.com/post/131-the-april-uprising You...

As the Bosnia and Herzegovina break out into open revolt against the Ottomans, some BRCC members see their golden opportunity to free Bulgaria. Meanwhile, the Ottoman government must finally reckon with its past mistakes as the fight between reformers and hardliners continues. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you...

As financial panic descends on the world, the BRCC works to overcome its setbacks and internal divisions as the Ottoman police work tirelessly to uncover and destroy them. Meanwhile, the Great Powers are forming new alliances which will help determine the fate of Bulgaria and the Balkans. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the gre...

This episode covers the momentous and tragic events of 1872 and early 1873 as the Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee attempts to resolve its internal fractures and ultimately faces disaster. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you can get for supporting us. You can find images for this episode at: www.bghisto...

While more focus is generally put on published writings, we discuss the role of theater in Bulgarian culture during the mid 19th century. We also cover the emerging women's movement. Meanwhile, Bulgaria finally gets an Exarch who ends up locked in a political battle with the Patriarchate to determine the fate and future of the independent Bulgarian church. Supporters like you make this podcast hap...

Even as the Ottoman government finally steps in to grant Bulgarians their own church, the issue remains far from resolved. Meanwhile, war between France and the North German Confederation marks the final nail in the coffin of the European balance of power. How will the newly formed German Empire affect the continent and Bulgaria's dreams of independence? Lastly, even as the BRCC makes progress und...

As an experienced and well led band of cheta revolutionaries enters Bulgaria, what will they find? In this episode Bulgaria's revolutionary movement enters a new phase and clandestine committees are set up, pleas are made to the great powers, and the church question moves towards its conclusion. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see...

After years of writing, planning, and organizing, it's finally time for Georgi Rakovski to send bands of cheti into Bulgaria to begin stirring revolution. But with an unaware peasantry and Ottoman officials standing in their way, will they be able to make it out alive? Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you can get...

As Bulgarian revolutionaries prepare for greater action against the Ottomans, the Austro-Prussian War sends Europe into a tailspin, remaking the geopolitical map. As a result, Serbia forms a grand alliance as everyone tries to find a way forward in the new normal. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see the great perks you can get for...

As Midhat Pasha takes over the newly formed Danube Vilayet intent on modernizing and transforming it into a model for the Empire, far off events disrupt his plans and throw much of Bulgaria into chaos. Meanwhile Romania faces disastrous reforms and political instability, a new Bulgarian revolutionary group is formed, and the debate over Bulgarian church independence rages on. Supporters like you m...

This special episode is based on Marco Sholler's new book “This Unknown Land, how Geographers, Pharmacists, Novelists, Plant Hunters, War Correspondents, Engineers, Medical Men & Tourists Discovered & Experienced Nineteenth Century Bulgaria” and delves into how western Europeans experienced Bulgaria as visitors in the 19th century. You can buy the book here: http://books.janet45.com/books/1485 Sup...

As Russia tries to position itself to set up a final agreement between advocates for an independent Bulgarian church and the Patriarchate, events get away from them. The Uniate church continues trying to reestablish itself, the Bulgarian Legion gains its first taste of battle, and the young Romanian state make critical progress towards reform. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check ou...

As the battle between supporters of an independent Bulgarian church and the Patriarchate heats up, the Uniate church becomes an even bigger concern for everyone involved. Meanwhile, revolutionary planning continues as Russia tries to convince Bulgarians to emigrate to Crimea and Rakovski tells them to stay. All the while there's a change in leadership in Constantinople and the beginning of another...

Tobacco and coffeehouses are growing in importance as markers of social status and places to plan political change. Meanwhile, two new countries emerge on the European map as the Great Powers find a balance between those which desire greater power and those seeking to preserve the status quo. All the while, calls for an independent Bulgarian church grow as Russia and the Patriarchate view the grow...

Following Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, it's forced to change its geopolitical strategy in the Balkans. Shut out of the ability to exercise hard power, Russia steps up its soft power, getting involved as Bulgarians continue to seek greater education, an independent church, and the implementation of the 1856 reform edict. Meanwhile, Protestant missionaries arrive in greater numbers, Serbia is...

As the Crimean War draws to a close, nothing much is changing and yet everything is changing. The war has helped bring even more European influence to Bulgaria, manifesting itself in everything from clothes and music to revolutionary ideas. This episode explores the political, legal, and cultural changes which are rapidly remaking Bulgaria as independence draws closer. Supporters like you make thi...

With the outbreak of the Crimean War, Bulgarians rush to see how they can aid the Russian cause and appeal to the Tsar for assistance against the Ottomans. But as the first major European war in decades gets underway it quickly becomes clear that warfare and the politics behind it has changed. Supporters like you make this podcast happen! Check out www.patreon.com/bulgarianhistorypodcast to see th...

As the political fallout from the failed revolutions of 1848 reverberates throughout Europe, its impact finally reached Bulgaria as refugees flood the region around Vidin and help trigger an uprising there. Meanwhile, the cracks in the Concert of Europe are finally beginning to show as France, Britain, and Russia all push hard to see their own interests upheld within the Ottoman Empire. As conflic...

After the Great Powers of Europe spend the post-Napoleonic decades suppressing revolutionary movements in Ottoman lands, they finally face a revolution of their own. Meanwhile, Bulgarians engage in a ferocious political battle with the Greek-dominated Patriarchate and continue the steady work of building the Bulgarian Revival. With Europe rising up and demanding more democratic nation states, what...