The Circle of Life in the Biography of Dimo Smyadovsky (1860-1939)

article in Bulgarian

Abstract

The historical narrative presents the personality and memories of Dimo ​​Smyadovski /1860-1939/. In the 19th century, the need for secular and higher education was ubiquitous. The socio-economic changes that have occurred in the Bulgarian lands, the changes in the Ottoman Empire and the opportunities for obtaining education within the Ottoman Empire and/or outside it are changing the horizon of young people. Bulgarians get to know new worlds. In just a few years, Greek education, French educational structures, Ottoman educational institutions, and finally American boys' and girls' schools attracted young people from different parts of the Bulgarian lands.

One of the young people who graduated from Robert College is Dimo ​​Smyadovski. Having accumulated experience and years, he left his biographical notes, which today are kept in the Ruse State Archives. Their publication is a valuable source for the path of many young people from the 19th century, who set out to seek higher education and realization in the Third Bulgarian State. Therefore, we have selected a part of them, covering the period up to the Serbo-Bulgarian war of 1885, the teachings of Dimo ​​Smyadovski, life in Shumen and Sofia, as well as the desire for Robert to graduate from colle The memories left by D. Smyadovski are a valuable source for the enlightenment movement in the Bulgarian lands at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. They condense information about the teachers, the disciplines they lead, as well as the path of many Bulgarians in obtaining high knowledge and common culture. The two talk about the first post-liberation years of the Third Bulgarian State, the literacy he received in his hometown of Shumen, the vicissitudes until he got to the desired Robert College.