The April Uprising was the largest attempt at armed liberation of the Bulgarian lands from Ottoman rule. Conceived as a general popular revolt, it erupted on April 20, 1876, and though suppressed with blood, it forever changed the course of history.
Preparation
On November 11, 1875, the Giurgiu Revolutionary Committee was established by Panayot Volov, Stoyan Zaimov, Nikola Obretenov, and Hristo Karaminkov-Bunito, under the chairmanship of Stefan Stambolov. The Bulgarian lands were divided into revolutionary districts, each headed by an apostle:
- District I (Tarnovo) - Stefan Stambolov
- District II (Sliven) - Ilarion Dragostinov
- District III (Vratsa) - Stoyan Zaimov
- District IV (Plovdiv) - Panayot Volov, deputy Georgi Benkovski
Preparations included secret weapon manufacture, sewing of battle flags, building courier networks, and training volunteers - all under Volov’s cover as a “school inspector.”
The Oborishte Assembly (April 14, 1876)
At the Oborishte locality near Panagyurishte, a general assembly of the committees of the IV District was held - the first Bulgarian Grand National Assembly. According to the inscription on the monument at the site, 65 representatives of 58 committees arrived there on 10, 11, 12 and 13 April. Benkovski came during the night of 13 April. The session opened at dawn on 14 April and closed that evening under storm and rain. The assembly elected a commission, which met on 15, 16 and 17 April and ended with the decision to declare the uprising.
Benkovski was confirmed as chief apostle, and Volov as deputy apostle of the IV District. The names of the apostles, headed by Panayot Volov, are carved into the monument at Oborishte.
Outbreak (April 20, 1876)
The uprising broke out prematurely on April 20, 1876, in Koprivshtitsa, when the conspiracy was discovered. Todor Kableshkov sent the famous “Bloody Letter” - a signal that the fight had begun.
Volov was in Panagyurishte, where he formed a detachment of 150 men. According to the Panayot Volov House-Museum, it was his rifle that gave the signal for the uprising. That rifle is kept today in the museum’s exhibition in Shumen, beneath the flag of his detachment bearing the motto “Freedom or Death”.
Volov led active military operations, passing through Strelcha, fortifying positions at Zli Dol, and deploying a “cherry-tree cannon” near Klisura.
Suppression
On April 26, Volov arrived with 60–65 men to help the besieged Klisura, but the town was already in flames - the outnumbered insurgents had been fighting 2,000 bashi-bazouks under the command of Tosun Bey. He convened a war council and split forces. After the defeat, he led survivors toward the Troyan Balkans.
The massacres - particularly in Batak, Perushtitsa, and Bratsigovo - provoked international outrage.
International Response
American journalist Januarius MacGahan and British statesman William Gladstone spread news of the atrocities across Europe. Gladstone published his famous pamphlet “Bulgarian Horrors.” The international reaction became a key factor in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the creation of a free Bulgarian state.