EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
The basic facts about the history of Eastern Rumelia are well known. It was created with the consent of the main European powers, including the Ottoman Empire and Russia. According to the decisions of the Treaty of Berlin (July 13, 1878), the region has administrative autonomy under the direct authority of the Sultan. His representative is a Governor-General (Chief Governor), who must be a Christian and is appointed with the consent of all the states that signed the treaty. The territory of Eastern Rumelia covers about 35,900 km 2, located south of the Balkan Mountains, with the capital city of Plovdiv and a population of about 816 thousand people, of whom Bulgarians are approximately 70%. The internal organization is determined by the Organic Statute.
Eastern Rumelia was not conceived as a Bulgarian region. Thanks to its active population, it established itself as a second Bulgarian jurisdiction, which existed parallel to the Principality of Bulgaria until the Unification on September 6, 1885. The fragmentation of the Bulgarian nation, carried out at the Berlin Congress, was painfully accepted by contemporaries. In Eastern Rumelia, however, the cultural, political, religious and national rights of the Bulgarians, as well as of the national minorities, were well guaranteed and respected. Unlike the Principality, where the monarch was not Bulgarian, both governors-general of Eastern Rumelia were of Bulgarian origin. In the autonomous region, there was no discrimination on religious or national grounds. Problems of a similar nature were faced by the Bulgarians who remained within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, and especially those who fell into Romania and Serbia.
Therefore, viewed from the distance of time, the existence of two Bulgarian jurisdictions can be assessed as a chance for the Bulgarians of that time. The Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia offered their inhabitants different, practically competing, political models, forms of government, administrative and judicial systems. And as is well known, the consumers benefit the most from competition and the lack of monopolies. In this case, the competition between the two Bulgarian jurisdictions carries the potential to create better conditions for economic and social prosperity.
The comparison between the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia reveals some unexpected, at first glance, competitive advantages of the autonomous region. Its basic law - the Organic Statute - was not voted on, directly or indirectly, by the local population. It was developed by a commission that included representatives of the powers that signed the Treaty of Berlin. Its authors tried and largely succeeded in weaving into the statute some of the best traditions of the legislation and constitutions of the then liberal European countries. At the same time, they successfully took into account local traditions and customs and sought to avoid the dangers of falling into cheap populism. Even the representatives of England and Austria-Hungary in the commission for the development of the Organic Statute, who are traditionally assumed to be anti-Bulgarian, contributed to the positive characteristics of the basic Rumelia law. They were driven by the desire to create such a structure that would arouse the envy of the inhabitants of the Principality of Bulgaria.
The Regional Assembly. Legislative power in Eastern Rumelia belongs to the Regional Assembly. Unlike the parliament in the Principality, in which all deputies are elected, the Assembly of Eastern Rumelia consists of 56 deputies, of which 36 are directly elected by the people, 10 are deputies by right (representatives of religious communities and the supreme courts) and 10 are appointed by the Governor-General. The latter must be part of the local economic and intellectual elite. Thus, all strata and interests are represented, balanced and mutually controlling in the Assembly. There is also a minimum property qualification for voters, which guarantees that public power will be controlled by people who actually contribute with their taxes to its existence and functioning.
The judiciary is significantly better organized than that in the Principality of Bulgaria. In the section on the judiciary of the Organic Statute, the representatives of the Great Powers try to guarantee its independence and create conditions for quick and cheap justice. A guarantee for the independence of the judiciary is that the judges in Eastern Rumelia are irremovable, they are appointed by the Governor-General for life. They can be replaced only if they are convicted of a serious crime. An important feature of the judicial system in Eastern Rumelia is the presence of administrative justice. It was created according to the French model and among its specific duties is to consider complaints of companies or private individuals against acts of the administration. Administrative justice is absent in the Principality, it was established only in 1911. Despite the difficulties caused by the lack of trained personnel, a number of positive features can be noted in the functioning of the judiciary in Eastern Rumelia. Not a single death sentence has been carried out in the district. Equality before the law is strictly observed. Thus, the Supreme Court of the district imposed a fine on the director (minister) of justice because he was late in appearing as a witness in a case.
The economy of Eastern Rumelia suffered greatly from the devastation of the April Uprising (1876) and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, but nevertheless had some important advantages compared to that of the Principality. First of all, according to Art. 197 of the Organic Statute, customs borders between Eastern Rumelia and the Ottoman Empire did not exist. The region remained part of the vast market of the empire. Rumelia was close to Constantinople, which was able to absorb a large part of the production of the region. In Eastern Rumelia was located Sliven - an urban center with good prospects for industrialization. The foundations of its relatively large-scale textile industry were laid precisely in Rumelia time, thanks to the fact that the city remained part of the markets of the Ottoman Empire.
The public finances of the region are in a very difficult state. Its first budget already has a huge deficit, and it is also obliged to give 3/10 of its income to the Ottoman Empire (something that was not done). However, in Eastern Rumelia public money is spent more carefully and economically than in the Principality. The Belgian observer Emile de Lavelle makes an interesting observation about how public funds are spent in the two Bulgarian jurisdictions. He writes that in Sofia and Belgrade millions are being sacrificed for the palaces of the rulers. In contrast, the Chief Governor of Eastern Rumelia is content with a modest dwelling that threatens to collapse.
Political freedoms. The existence of two Bulgarian jurisdictions had a positive effect on political freedoms in both. In 1881, Prince Alexander I, rightly dissatisfied with the sharp politicization and partisanship in the Principality, suspended the Tarnovo Constitution. He temporarily suspended its operation and overthrew the liberal government. The deposed liberals – P. Karavelov, P. Slaveykov, etc. – emigrated from the Principality to Eastern Rumelia. There they had the freedom to publish a newspaper in defense of the constitution. Similarly, some officials from Eastern Rumelia who had been dismissed for political reasons found refuge and work in the Principality. After the Unification, those who were subjected to political persecution emigrated to the Ottoman Empire and, above all, to Russia. There they connected with the rulers and became conduits of the interests of the countries to which they had emigrated. Something that does not happen as long as the Principality and Eastern Rumelia exist.
The weaknesses of Eastern Rumelia. By virtue of the Treaty of Berlin, the Sultan had the right to keep troops on the borders of Eastern Rumelia. The Ottoman Empire renounced this right, but it had a tool with which it could cause serious internal tension in the region. A ruling elite closely connected by family ties was formed in the region, which Zahari Stoyanov defines with the apt term zetyo-shuro-badanaschina. Eastern Rumelia was not completely protected against the arbitrariness of populism. With purely national-populist arguments, the work was first blocked and then the financial director (minister) A. Schmidt was expelled from his post, who conscientiously tried to put the public finances of the region in order and was credited with the beginning of its industrialization.
The missed opportunity. Competition brings positive results for consumers, but it is not liked by those who compete with each other. In this case, it is not to the taste of the political elite in Eastern Rumelia and the Principality. Here we can look for one of the reasons for the almost unanimous support for the Unification, which eliminates the two Bulgarian jurisdictions. His justification by Zahari Stoyanov in the newspaper "Borba" is skillful, but it is based on incorrect facts. Neither the taxes in Eastern Rumelia are higher, nor are there more officials than those in the Principality, nor are the economic prospects for the autonomous region bleak. After the Unification, the competitive advantages of Eastern Rumelia were destroyed, because the laws of the Principality were imposed on the former autonomous region. Therefore, the Unification is a missed opportunity in Bulgarian historical development. It does not allow the results of the existence of two Bulgarian jurisdictions to be felt.
After the Unification, there was no question of the remaining Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire receiving even a semblance of autonomy. The rulers of the Ottoman Empire realized that they had no benefit from creating a new Eastern Rumelia. Regardless of the patriotic ecstasy that the Unification caused, it strengthened the division of the Bulgarians.
The cost is the benefit: the three national catastrophes and the Russian-Soviet occupation to this day!
As a people we are complete garbage - a span of land and a handful of people! It was better in Turkey for 5 centuries!
You scumbags, why are you propagating Turkish rule over the Bulgarians! You are not worthy to call yourselves Bulgarians! The Bulgarians are a great people, remember and bow down!