Petko Rachev Slaveikov

Born Nov. 17, 1827 (according to some sources, 1828), in Veliko Turnovo; died July 1, 1895, in Sofia. Bulgarian poet, educator, and public figure.

Slaveikov graduated from a church school and worked as a teacher. As editor of the newspapers Gaida from 1863 to 1867 and Makedoniia from 1866 to 1872, he advocated national independence, social democratization, and the development of education. He helped strengthen Russo-Bulgarian ties.

After Bulgaria’s liberation from the Turkish yoke (1878), Slaveikov became a member of the Turnovo Constituent Assembly of 1879 and a deputy to the National Assembly, serving as the assembly’s chairman in 1880). He was one of the founders and leaders of the Liberal Party.

Slaveikov helped found modern Bulgarian literature. His collections A Multicolored Bouquet, Songbook, and Book of Fables (all 1852, Bucharest) contain original poems and translations. Slaveikov’s intimate lyrics and patriotic poetry—the collection Songs and Poems (1879) and the narrative poem The Fountain of the White-Legged Girl(1873)— are imbued with realism and national characteristics. He prepared a complete collection of Bulgarian proverbs and sayings (1889–97). Slaveikov also translated Russian, Greek, Turkish, and Serbo-Croatian works.