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ВМОРО ( Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization (IMRO)
- initially was helping the bombers
- goal: autonomous Macedonia
and Adrianople regions
- secret revolutionary society operating in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries
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Jordan Popjordanov also known as Jiordan
Orgadtzie; Kostadin Kirkov, Milan Arsov, Dimitar
Metchev, Georgi Bogdanov, Ilija Trutchkov,
Vladimir Pingov, Marko Boshnakov, Trayko
Tsvetkov, Pavel Shtatev
Attract the attention of the Great Powers to the
Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Eastern
Thrace.
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The Boatmen of Thessaloniki were a
descendant of a founded in 1895 in
Plovdiv ”Macedonian Secret Revolutionary
Committee", which was developed later
in Genève (Michail Gerdjikov, Petar
Mandjukov and Slavi Merdjanov)
Slavi Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school
in Thessaloniki, where he worked as teacher
and sparked some of his ideas among the
graduates
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Initial target- Tsarigrad (Istanbul):
-Assassination of the Sultan AbdulHamid II
-Blow up the Ottoman Bank
Decide to make parallel bombing in Tsarigrad
and Thessaloniki in order to magnify the effect
Abandon the idea for assassination of the
Sultan, because it was too unrealistic
Start digging tunnels under both banks
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In 1901 a letter from Tsarigrad to Thessaloniki
fall into the arms of the Turkish police, most of
the Bombers are arrested.
Later they are released
ВМОРО (IMRO) stop supporting and financing
the Bombers – afraid that this act will have
negative impact upon Bulgaria as a whole
Find new financing from Boris Sarafov in
Genève, and start to develop new plan
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Organize series of bombing attempts in Thessaloniki
Managed to obtain 160 kg. of dynamite
Because the dynamite was not enough they abandon
the idea to blow up the postal office in Adrianople
January 1903, start digging new tunnel to the
Ottoman Bank
Goce Delchev and Dame Gruev (Leaders of IMRO)
asked the Bombers to postpone and even quit the
idea of bombing
Plans for new sewer system in Thessaloniki triggers
the bombers to act immediately after Eastern
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Pavel Shatev used a
suitcase full with dynamite
to blow up the French ship
“Guadalquivir”
All passengers and the
crew were evacuated on
time, only one person was
injured
Leaving Thessaloniki
immediately but captured
on the station in Skopie
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Dimitar Mechev, Iliya Trachkov, and Milan Arsov,
unsuccessfully struck the railway between
Thessaloniki and Tsarigrad
Caused slight damage to the locomotive and few cars
without wounding any passengers
Managed to return to the headquarters and continue
with the plan
Iliya Trachkov Iliya Trachkov
Milan Arsov
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The Bombers attack their major target – Ottoman
Bank
Kostadin Kirkov used explosives to shut off the
electricity and water supply systems of the city
Jordan Popjordanov blew up the building of the
Ottoman Bank (4 killed, 5 injured)
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Jordan Popjordanov was the leader of the Bombers
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Kostadin Kirkov
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Both of them managed to return
to their apartments in Thessaloniki
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Milan Arsov threw a bomb in the "Alhabra" theatre
One man was killed and one was injured
Georgi Bogdanov throw a bomb in front of one
Greek cafeteria, no one was injured
Dimitar Mechev and Iliya Truchkov failed to blast
the reservoir of a gas-producing plan, later during
that night after throwing more than 60 bombs out of
the windows of their apartment both were killed
Vladimir Pingov set on fire one inn and was later
killed
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In the morning Jordan Popjordanov started
throwing bombs outside his window
After the Turkish police had surrounded him
and he run out of bombs he got shoot
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Kostadin Kirkov was killed while trying to blow up
a postal office
He was spotted by the police and stabbed just before
setting the bomb
Cvetko Traikov mission was to kill the local governor
Hasan Hefmi – unsuccessful
While waiting for the governor in front of his
summer house he was spotted by the police and
committed suicide by blowing his bomb
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According to western diplomats 10 people were
killed and 16 were injured
6 from the Bombers were killed, the other 4 were
captured and sentenced to death
Later they were reprieve and imprisoned to life
The bombings did not manage to achieve their initial
goals of attracting the attention of the Great Powers
to the Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Eastern
Thrace in the way the bombers wanted.
On 19th of April The Turkish army engaged a
massive repression upon the Bulgarians in
Thessaloniki
Many innocent Bulgarians were killed
The officials acknowledge the death of 35 Bulgarians
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According to ВМОРО (IMRO) the victims were between
200-300
The repressions moved to Bitola and Veles
More than 2000 people were arrested and 353 were
brought to court
During the trial the bombers admit the help of ВМОРО
(IMRO) and many of the members were captured
Milan Arsov and Marko Bushnakov died in prison
Georgi Bogdanov got insane short after the bombings
Pavel Shatev and Georgi Bogdanov were released from
prison during 1908 after a revolution in the empire.
Pavel Shatev died on the 29th of January 1951, the date of
death for Bogdanov is unknown