<= o:p>

<= /o:p>

Rayna Kniaginia

(Princess Ra= yna)

· Raina Popgeorgieva Futekova went down in Bulgarian history under the = name of Raina Knyaginya, or Princess Raina. People gave her that name when they = saw her march on horseback carrying the banner of the April Uprising of 1876 in Panaguyrishte.

· She was actually the person who had embroidered that banner on spec= ial commission by Georgi Benkovski, one of the major leaders of the uprising. S= he made a rampant lion in the center of the banner and the words “Freedo= m or Death” over his head. These words were the embodiment of the uprising’s essence, the event being the culmination of the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarians against the 5 centuries of Ottoman r= ule. The uprising was mercilessly crushed but the dozens of thousands of victims= and the spiritual upsurge became a challenge to the world and lead to the interference of the Great Powers. This eventually led to the Russo-Turkish = war of 1877-78 and the liberation of Bulgaria= .

· Raina Knyaginya w= as born in January 1856 in the town of Panagyurishte, Central Bulgaria, to the family of priest Georgi Futekov. She graduated from the school with the loc= al convent in her native town, where she stood out with her learnedness. The t= own elders decided to send her to continue her education in the elite girlsR= 17; school in Stara Zagora, Southern Bulgaria, with then prominent tutor Anasta= sia Tosheva. Later, from 1874 to 1876 Raina Popgeorgieva worked as a teacher in= her native Panagyurishte. There she became one of the co-founders of the women’s circle called Bunch of Flowers”. On April 22, 1876, aft= er the outbreak of the uprising and the sanctifying of the banner, together wi= th Benkovski she headed the mach across the town that had become for several d= ays the capital of the rebellion. Later in her autobiography she would write, “This was the greatest day of our short-lived freedom. White-haired o= ld men and small children were walking all around and singing favorite songs. Women and young girls were throwing at us so many beautiful scenting flowers that the entire road became covered as wit a magnificent carpet. The shouts “Hurray!” and “Long Live!” had no end. The entire procession lasted until late in the evening”

· With the crushing= of the uprising Raina’s father was killed in front of her eyes. She was thrown in prison and tortured almost to death. In one of his articles after= the tragic events American journalist Januarius McGahan wrote about his meeting with then 20-year old Raina. “Gentle and gracious forms transpired be= neath her miserable clothes. She had large hazelnut eyes, an oval face with a sli= ght sunburn, a straight nose and a real rosebud for a mouth. She was thin and slender, hardly capable of standing on her feet and her girl’s face b= ore that desperate shattered look that was so painful to see.”

· Raina Popgerogiev= a was later released as a result of the defense of an international committee. She left for Russia and studied in Moscow to become a midwife. There she became= the patron of about 30 Bulgarian young orphans. One of them was her own little brother. In 1879 she returned home to liberated Bulgaria and was appointed headmistress of the girls’ boarding school at the Old Bulgarian capit= al Veliko Tarnovo, where she also taught several subjects.

· Three years later= she married Vassil Dipchev, also a participant in the April Uprising and a volunteer in the War of Liberation. At that time he was appointed Mayor of Panagyurishte. They were blessed with five sons and later adopted a baby gi= rl.

· In 1898 the family moved to Sofia but shortly after that Vassil Dipchev died. Raina started wo= rk as a midwife in order to be able to provide for her children. She was mostly looked for by the families of foreign diplomats, as the ordinary people usu= ally turned for help in the case of child deliveries to local “grannies”. As time went by, however, professional midwives. su= ch as Raina, became more and more popular. She became part of the inaugurating= of the Midwife’s Association and was constantly re-elected in its leader= ship.

· Raina Popgerogiev= a died in 1917 at the age of 61. Her book came out first in Russian during her sta= y in Moscow. It is now believed to be the first book about the April Uprising. A= fter her death, the book was published in Bulgarian language as well.