Yane Sandanski

The struggle between the three factions of the Macedonian liberation movement led to the assassination of Sandanski in April, 1915. The execution was triggered by some native revolutionaries of the ‘IMARO’ group.

He is esteemed as a national hero even today by the people of Macedonian Republic, and even the national anthem of the country mentions his name in one of its verses.

The Sveti Vrach town was named after him in 1949, as a token of appreciation for his socialist views.

He was born on May 28th 1872, at a village named Vlahi, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire. His father Ivan Sandanski was bestowed with the responsibility to carry the symbolic flag of the ‘Kresna-Razlog’ Uprising’,

Yane completed his schooling from Dupnitsa, Bulgaria, where his family shifted after the ‘Kresna-Razlog’ uprising.

At an early age, he became associated with the ‘Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization’ (IMARO) and actively participated in the revolutionary movement which was prominent in the Thrace and Macedonian regions,

Soon after he shielded the people of those regions from the despotic Turks, he arranged national courts and also trained villagers with the techniques of self-defence. This made him famous as a leader within a short span of time.

Sandanski was one of the minds behind the kidnapping of American Protestant missionary Ellen Stone and her companion Katerine Stefanova-Tsilka, who was pregnant at that time. This incident, which occurred in August 1901, was aimed at extracting a huge amount of money in order to support the ‘IMARO’ group. After about six months since the kidnap, the revolutionary group received a ransom worth fourteen thousand Turkish gold Liras.

In 1903, Yane actively participated in the ‘Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising’, which was a revolt against the Ottomans. This revolution was supported by the people of Bulgarian origin, living in the central and south-western regions of the Monastir Vilayet division of the Ottoman Empire. These regions were deeply affected as a result of the revolution.

He became a supporter of the ‘Young Turks Revolution’ movement in 1908, which demanded a constitutional monarchy, and was against the tyrannical rule of the Ottomans. This revolution ended the regime of the 34th Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, as well as the autocratic rule of the Ottomans. Thus, began the ‘Second Constitutional Era’ of the Ottoman Empire and re-establishment of the ‘Ottoman Constitution’.

As a young man, he joined the ‘Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization’ (IMARO), and became an active revolutionist. He helped the people fight for themselves by teaching them the art of self-defence, and also safeguarded them from the despotic rule of the Ottomans. His fame spread far and wide in the Macedonian region, as he proved to be an efficient leader to the masses.