Why aren't we Bulgarians happy?! Perhaps the answer lies in the fact of the brutal murder of the Lucky One.
On May 11, 1897, near the Pazardzhik village of Radilovo, Aleko Konstantinov (Shastlivetsa) was killed.
The target of the assassination attempt was actually his companion Mihail Takev, a lawyer and politician, who remained unharmed.
The two, friends and colleagues from the Democratic Party, met by chance in Plovdiv on May 8, where they had business – at that time the Lucky Man was working as a lawyer. Takev invited the writer to his hometown of Peshtera to celebrate together the feast of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius.
On the evening of the 11th, on their way back from Peshtera to Pazardzhik, they stopped for a short rest in the village of Radilovo, where they had been in the morning. Minutes after they leave the village, they are ambushed.
Just days after the tragedy, the plot unraveled. The instigator of the attack turned out to be the mayor of the village of Radilovo, Petar Minkov. The reason is absolutely prosaic – between the residents of Peshtera and Radilovo, enmity has been simmering for a long time because of disputed forest and land.
Also, the mayor hates Takev, as they are political opponents. Minkov decided to take advantage of the opportunity and organize an attempt against the deputy.
The trial against the criminals lasts only five days – from November 3 to 7, 1897. The physical killers, Milos Topalov and Petar Salepov from Radilov, together with the mayor Petar Minkov, were sentenced to death. Since Salepov is a minor, his death sentence was commuted to 15 years in prison. On April 13, 1898, Minkov and Topalov were hanged in Pazardzhik.
Aleko Konstantinov is the author of the travel books "To Chicago and back", "What? Is it Switzerland?", "During Cepino's March" and on the feuilletons: "Bai Gagno", "Mish-mash", "Different people - different ideals" and others.