The Fate of General Radko Dimitriev and His Memory in Context of Russian-Bulgarian Relations of the Late 19th – Early 20th centuries

Abstract

This article examines the biography of the Bulgarian-born General Radko Dimitriev (1859–1918), who was convinced that the good of his homeland was inextricably linked with Russia and depended on good relations with it. For this good, he went to the overthrow of the monarch, but a decade later due to changes in the vector of Bulgarian policy was able to return home and become a hero. In 1913–1914, R. Dimitriev served as Bulgaria's envoy to Russia and tried to change the negative image of his country. With the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Russian army, and a year later in Bulgaria he was declared a deserter and a traitor. In 1918 he was executed by the Bolsheviks in Pyatigorsk, and in a few decades he became practically a symbol of friendship between the Bulgarian and Russian peoples, which led to retouching the circumstances of his death. The article traces the actions of the General and his motivation. Despite his Bulgarian origin, in 1914 he became nearly the main hero of the war in the Russian public space. The reasons for its popularity were not only in the im-portance of his victories, but also in the fact that R. Dimitriev was called the incarnation of A. V. Suvorov and M. D. Skobelev. The article shows what values, embodiments of which were these popular warlords, were characteristic this Bulgarian general. This is a personal part in the fighting, the care of soldiers, democracy in communication. Modern Russian military also has moved to a new paradigm of command, which, however, worked against their popularity among the soldiers. And at the same time, values of the commander of Suvorov's or Skobelev's types were insolvent in the conditions of revolutionary commotion, and R. Dimitriev lost control of the parts entrusted to it. Because of their gener-osity and love for Russia, he refused to take part in the Civil war that decided his death.The author declares absence of conflict of interest.