Rosen PETROV
Who is this dignified man? This is Efrem Chuchkov, also called “Ogn Efrem”. I have told you about him in my book “Let Us Remember. Stories from History”, but today there is an occasion to mention him again, because it is exactly 155 years since his birth. There will be no place for this event in the central news or a wreath-laying ceremony, or at least a bouquet according to state protocol. You will hardly find a line about Efrem Chuchkov in our textbooks, nor will you hear his name during the solemn celebrations and the dawn inspections. Whether it is right for it to be so is a question that brings a lot of sadness.
And so - let me briefly recall who Efrem is. He was born in Shtip, on November 21, 1870, in the then Ottoman Empire. He graduated from the Thessaloniki Bulgarian High School and the Pedagogical School in Kazanlak. He taught in the Macedonian region and became part of the then VMORO. In fact, he was the first voivode to lead a detachment of this organization back in 1898. He became Gotse Delchev's closest associate and his "right hand". His ability to lead successful and courageous Chetnik actions made him a truly legendary figure of his time. The Ottomans called him “the most terrible comita” and he respectfully received from them the nicknames “Fire Efrem” and “Chuchkov Bey”.
During the Balkan War of Liberation, he liberated his native Shtip, and his detachment became part of the Bulgarian army. Todor Aleksandrov himself was his chetnik, and Ivan Mihaylov - his young assistant. During the First World War, Efrem Chuchkov was the Bulgarian governor of Shtip and the Shtip district. After the tragic Treaty of Neuilly, he and Todor Aleksandrov would again lead detachments of the VMRO in an almost doomed battle against the Serbian authorities in Macedonia. In 1922, Ogn Efrem fought seven battles with Serbian army units in an extremely difficult situation, when the Bulgarian state was brought to its knees and "no hope could be seen from anywhere".
He fell seriously ill and after 30 years of continuous struggle, covered in wounds, he died in Sofia on October 1, 1923. In 2023, it will be exactly 100 years since his death. Today marks the 155th anniversary of his birth. Have you heard anything about this anywhere? 2 years ago, I spoke on the show with his great-grandson Yavor Chuchkov. He asked and continues to ask sad questions. Why is this great hero not written about in Bulgarian textbooks? Why have we traditionally allowed Northern Macedonia to "appropriate" him? Why don't we at least honor him? Why, as his great-grandson says, "after the chaos of the 90s", is his name no longer even mentioned during the dawn inspections? Why is there not even a modest small bust-monument?
Back in 2023, the greatest Bulgarian military historians wrote emotionally: "Appeal to the Bulgarian National Commission on Military History to pay due national tribute to the hero of Bulgaria Efrem Chuchkov". Did any of the responsible factors hear or read it? Did anyone move even a little bit of an official finger? No. And why should they move it - it is not about a European project or a large public procurement. There is no fraud, no swindling in the commemoration of Efrem Chuchkov, that is why the "authority factors" and his majesty the highest Bulgarian official will shrug his shoulders wearily and say to himself: “Ugh, they want some patriotic nonsense again“.
Note, no one wants some grandiose celebration, but something elementary, during the dawn-check to mention his name. And a bust-monument comes out less than a more lavish dinner for some ruler, especially if he has invited beautiful and friendly “girlfriends“ for his company and misfortunes. According to his great-grandson Yavor Chuchkov – 9 television films have been created about his grandfather in recent years at the State Theatre of Music and Drama, and the “fiery” Efrem Chuchkov is even the main character in an opera dedicated to the Ilinden Uprising! So there is an opera about him in Skopje, and in our country they are too lazy to enter his name in the state protocol for celebrations. In general – a shameful story about the bureaucratic callousness in our country.
We have thrown into the historical trash the most faithful comrade of Georgi Delchev, a man who fought for three decades for the Bulgarian cause. I will recall the words of a Turkish officer and historian, a hero of the battles at Gallipoli. His name is Galip Vardar. Here is what he writes about Efrem: “One name at that time made us all lose both our minds and our words out of fear. This name was Efrem Chuchkov – the most wanted by our police and Bulgarian army commissar in Macedonia – energetic, with a ruddy face and a shaved mustache. We called him “Fire Efrem”. Let us remember the Fire of Ephraim and let the ashes not cover the memory of it.
The text was published on Facebook