Micko Krstić

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Micko Krstić
Arambasha Micko.jpg
Vojvoda Micko
Nickname(s)Porečki
Bornc. 1855
Latovo, Sanjak of Monastir, Ottoman Empire
(present-day Makedonski Brod, North Macedonia)
DiedOctober 29, 1909
Ižište, Monastir, Ottoman Empire
Allegiance
  • State Flag of Serbia (1882-1918).svg Serbian Army (1876–78)
  • Chetniks Flag.svg Chetniks (1904–09)
Years of service1876–81, 1904–09
Rankvojvoda, harambaša
Unit
  • Morava Army (1876–78)
  • Poreče bands (1880–81)
  • Poreče bands (1904–09)

Micko Krstić-Porečki (Serbian Cyrillic : Мицко Крстић, c. 1855 – October 29, 1909), known as Vojvoda Micko, was a Serbian rebel and military leader active in the Poreče region.

Contents

Origin and early life

Krstić was born in Latovo, near Makedonski Brod in the Poreče region, at the time part of the Sanjak of Monastir, Ottoman Empire (present-day North Macedonia). His family hailed from nearby Trebino. His birth year is mostly given as c. 1855, and scarcely as c. 1840. [1] He espoused a Serb identity. His teacher in Latovo was Obradović. [2]

Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78) and aftermath

He volunteered in the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78). [3] He then participated in the Kumanovo Uprising (January 20 — May 20, 1878).

After the war, the Serbian military government sent armament and aid to rebels in Kosovo and Macedonia. [4] Christian rebel bands were formed all over the region. [4] Many of those bands, privately funded and aided by the government, were established in Serbia and crossed into Ottoman territory. [4] In that way, Micko Krstić formed a rebel band in 1879 in Niš, with the help of Nikola Rašić and the military government in Vranje. [4]

Micko's bands received weapons and ammunition in Vranje. [5] It crossed the border and came into conflict with Ottomans in around Kriva Palanka, where many of his fighters were killed. [5] With only one comrade, Micko went to Poreče and joined the band of Stevan Petrović–Porečanin, established in the same year. [5]

Brsjak Revolt

On 14 October 1880, an uprising broke out in Poreče, known as the Brsjak Revolt. [6] Micko was one of the leaders, along with Ilija Delija, Rista Kostadinović, and Anđelko Tanasević. [7] This uprising would span little more than a year. [6]

In springtime 1881, in the Devet Jugovića-inn in Vranje, Micko Krstić assembled a band of 13 fighters, friends, blood-brothers and followers, left Serbia in springtime 1881. [8] One of the members were Čakr-paša. [9] Their first teacher and leader was Čerkez Ilija. [8] In April 1881, the bands of Čerkez Ilija and Micko were surrounded near Kriva Palanka. [9] The bands were devastated by a force of Ottoman soldiers and Albanians, with Čerkez Ilija and his band all dead, Micko and the survivors fled for safety. [9] In the fight, half of Micko's band fell. [8] Micko and the survivors crossed the mountains heading to Poreče, [8] while Čakr-paša stayed on the Kozjak. [9]

He had succeeded in leading the četa (rebel band) of Rista Kostadinović when Rista had died in battle.[ when? ] [8] He was given Rista's gun which was ornamented with silver and nacre. [8] He was suited with the red vojvoda mintan (under jacket) by tailors in Kičevo in secrecy during the night. [8] Serbia secretly and carefully aided the Christians in the Ottoman areas; in the Brsjak revolt, however, by the end of 1881, the aid was stopped by the intervention of the Ottoman government. [10] The Ottoman army succeeded in suppressing the rebellion in the winter of 1880/1881, and many of the leaders were exiled. [11] When the revolt had been suppressed in Demir-Hisar, Micko refused to give himself up. [8] The Brsjak Revolt, and the preceding ones in Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka and Kratovo, had all a Serbian character, planned in the Serbian cause, thus, the unsuccessful outcome resulted in persecution of Serbs in the Macedonia region, with an increased Bulgarization of the region's Christian Slavic populace. [12]

Imprisonment

Micko in traditional attire. Micko Krstic after his release from jail.jpg
Micko in traditional attire.

Krstić was imprisoned in 1882 by the Ottomans, and held in the Bitola prison. He was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. [13] He wrote nine letters to the Serbian consulate in Bitola, Milojko Veselinović. [14] During the Greco-Turkish War (1897), the Bulgarians granted amnesty to Bulgarians held in Ottoman prisons; Micko refused to identify as Bulgarian and stayed in jail. [13] Finally, in 1901, the Serbian consulate managed to have him released, though he was under house arrest in Bitola, and was obliged to contact the town government every day. [15]

Meanwhile, the first Serbian guerilla bands were formed through self-organizing of Serb villages in Poreče, Kumanovo and Kratovo provinces, which, along Veles, were exposed the most to Bulgarian violence. [15] Krstić's escape, on April 4, 1904, was organized by Savatije Milošević, of the Bitola Consulate, Jovan Ćirković-Ćifa, a secretary of Metropolitan Polikarp, Lazar Kujundžić, manager of schools in Kičevo, and Marko Cerić. [15] The presence of the Serbian bands were soon felt in the regions. [15] Of the 40 villages in Poreče, only one village, Lokvica, adhered to the Bulgarian Exarchate. [15]

Serbian Chetnik Organization

Chetnik Dusan, Vojvoda Micko, Vojvoda Jovan Dovezenski, Chetnik Gligorije. Chetnik Dusan, Vojvoda Micko, Vojvoda Jovan Dovezenski, Chetnik Gligorije.jpg
Chetnik Dušan, Vojvoda Micko, Vojvoda Jovan Dovezenski, Chetnik Gligorije.

Micko Krstić was selected as the supreme vojvoda (commander) for Poreče. [15] The first success of the četa (band) of Vojvoda Micko came with the conflict against 8 combined Bulgarian bands led by Dame Gruev, who sought to violently return the Poreče villages to the Bulgarian Exarchate and thereby strengthen the Bulgarian influence in those villages. [15] The conflict took place near Slatine in Poreče on October 5, 1904. [15] The Bulgarian bands were resting in a ravine following clashes with the Ottoman army at Movnatac, located at the entrance of Poreče. [15] The Serbian Chetniks, numbering c. 40 fighters, silently surrounded them, and with a sudden raid, destroyed the five-times greater enemy. [15] On that occasion, Bulgarian commander Đurčin and four Bulgarian fighters were killed, a large number were wounded, and the rest fled and scattered. [15] Among the wounded were Gruev, who Micko captured. [15] On the orders of Interior Minister Nikola Pašić, Gruev was freed. [15] He was escorted to the village of Solnje near Skopje, from where he travelled to Sofia. [15]

At the end of 1904, the old and exhausted Micko moved to Kragujevac, where he lived on the expenses of the Serbian Committee. [15] Zafir Premčević was his assistant.

In September 1909 the Turkish government issued a law on the suppression of rebels in Rumelia.

Death

He was assassinated in Ižište, on the BrodKičevo road on October 29, 1909. Rebel activity was re-activated.

Legacy

Painter Nadežda Petrović (1873–1915) wrote a drama on his life. [16]

He is the protagonist of the following Serbian folk songs: "Sednal mi Džemo", "Micko kumita", "Porečko mome", "Mladi Micko" and "Izlegol Micko od Zindan"

See also

Annotations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbs in North Macedonia</span> Ethnic group in North Macedonia

The Serbs are one of the constitutional ethnic groups of North Macedonia, numbering about 24,000 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gligor Sokolović</span> Chetnik commander

Gligor Sokolović was one of the supreme commanders of the Serbian Chetnik Movement, that fought the Ottoman Empire, Bulgarian, and Albanian armed bands during the Macedonian Struggle. He was one of the most famous Chetniks, and the foremost in Western Povardarie. In Bulgaria he is considered a Bulgarian renegade who switched sides, i.e. (sic) Serboman.

The Brsjak revolt broke out on 14 October 1880 in the Poreče region of the Monastir Vilayet, led by rebels who sought the liberation of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. According to Ottoman sources the goal of the revolt was the accession of Macedonia to Bulgaria. The rebels received secret aid from Principality of Serbia, which had earlier been at war with the Ottoman Empire, until Ottoman and Russian diplomatic intervention in 1881. The Ottoman Gendarmerie succeeded in suppressing the rebellion after a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doksim Mihailović</span>

Doksim Mihailović was a Macedonian Serb voivode, originally a teacher, who joined the Serbian Chetnik Organization to fight in Ottoman Macedonia, and then the Balkan Wars. Originally a teacher, he fought against the Ottomans army and later Bulgarian guerrilla bands in the Kosovo Vilayet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serbian Chetnik Organization</span> Serbian revolutionary organization in the Ottoman Empire

The Serbian Revolutionary Organization or Serbian Chetnik Organization was a paramilitary revolutionary organization with the aim of liberation of Old Serbia from the Ottoman Empire. Its Central Committee was established in 1902, while the Serbian Committee was established in September 1903 in Belgrade, by the combined Central Boards of Belgrade, Vranje, Skopje and Bitola. Its armed wing was activated in 1904. Among the architects were members of the Saint Sava society, Army Staff and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It operated during the Struggle for Macedonia, a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts in the region of Macedonia; its operations are known as Serb Action in Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kole Rašić</span> Serb revolutionary

Nikola Rašić, known as Kole Rašić was a Serb revolutionary and guerilla fighter, who led a cheta of 300 men between Niš and Leskovac in Ottoman areas during the Serbian-Turkish Wars (1876–1878). He later became a politician in liberated Niš. He was a merchant by profession, who on his trip to Russia met with Miloš Obrenović and decided to stay in Niš to prepare a future liberation with the help of the Serbian Army. Rašić was one of the founders and organizers of the Niš Committee, established in 1874, with the goal of liberating the Niš Sanjak. His unit joined general Mikhail Chernyayev in 1876.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trenko Rujanović</span> Macedonian Serb Chetnik and Bulgarian apostate

Trenko Rujanović, known as Vojvoda Trenko, was a Macedonian Serb Chetnik and Bulgarian apostate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zafir Premčević</span>

Zafir Premčević was a Serbian Chetnik commander in Old Serbia and Macedonia during the Macedonian Struggle, who also participated in the Balkan Wars and World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todor Krstić-Algunjski</span> Serbian Chetnik commander

Todor Krstić, known by the nickname Toša (Тоша) and nom de guerreAlgunjski (Алгуњски), was a Serbian Chetnik commander in Old Serbia and Macedonia during the Macedonian Struggle. In Bulgaria he is considered a Bulgarian renegade who switched sides, i.e. (sic) Serboman.

The Kumanovo uprising was an uprising organized by an assembly of chiefs of the districts of Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka, and Kratovo in the Vilayet of Kosovo in 1878. The movement sought to liberate the region from the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Following the Serbian Army's liberation of Niš on 12 January 1877, the rebellion began on 20 January 1878 with guerrilla operations during the army's liberation of Vranje. The rebels received secret aid from the Serbian government. The uprising lasted four months until its suppression by the Ottomans on 20 May, during which the Ottomans retaliated with atrocities on the local population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petko Ilić</span> Serbian Chetnik commander

Petko Ilić was a Serbian Chetnik commander active in Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jovan Dovezenski</span> Serbian Chetnik commander

Jovan Stanojković, known by his nom de guerre, the demonym Dovezenski (Довезенски), was a Serbian Chetnik commander (vojvoda), and participant in the Balkan Wars, in the Battle of Kumanovo, and World War I. He was originally a teacher who turned into a guerilla fighter following Bulgarian oppression on Serb people in Macedonia. He rose in ranks and became one of the supreme commanders in Macedonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumanovo district (Ottoman)</span>

The Kumanovo district was a kaza (district) in the Sanjak of Üsküp (Skopje) of the Ottoman Empire. It was formed in 1867, during the reign of Abdülaziz I. It was dissolved in 1912. The district had 3 divisions: Karadak, Kozjak and Ovče Pole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denko Krstić</span> Serbian merchants

Denko Krstić was a merchant from Kumanovo and Ottoman Serb activist. He was one of the most influential in Kumanovo during his time, and a wealthy man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitrije Mladenović</span>

Dimitrije Mladenović was an Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Protoiereus in the Kumanovo kaza (district) of the Ottoman Empire.

Spiro Crne was a rebel leader active in Ottoman Macedonia. Born in a village near Prilep, he killed an Ottoman tyrant and fled to Serbia, in the north. In Vranje, he established a rebel band trained and armed by the Serbian military government that was sent into Macedonia.

Mladen Stojanović, known as Čakr-paša (Чакр-паша), was a Serb hajduk leader mostly active in the Ottoman territories of the Pčinja region and in the Kumanovo district, one of the most notable hajduks in the second half of the 19th century. A brigand since his teens, Čakr-paša deserted his guard service at the Serbian–Ottoman border in 1878 and became infamous in the following years for killing Ottoman officials, and also exploiting locals. Having survived the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78), Kumanovo Uprising (1878) and Brsjak Revolt (1880–81), his end came in 1885, after years on the run from both Ottoman soldiers and gendarmerie, and Serbian border guards, when his comrade slit his throat. After his death there were local stories of him as a fearless, stone-cold and raw individual, and also epic poems holding him a brave and sly hero.

Čerkez Ilija was a rebel leader active in Kriva Palanka. He was a teacher by profession. After the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78), the Serbian military government sent armament and aid to rebels in Kosovo and Macedonia. Christian rebel bands were formed all over the region. Many of those bands, privately organized and aided by the government, were established in Serbia and crossed into Ottoman territory. As more of these rebel bands from Serbia appeared, in that way also the Ottoman government, and privately organized Turks and Albanians, became more active, with harassment of Christians on the right side of the Vardar. As a result of this pressure, in the beginning of 1880, some 65 rebel leaders (glavari), from almost all provinces in southern Old Serbia and Macedonia, sent an appeal to M. S. Milojević, the former commander of volunteers in the Serbian-Ottoman War (1876–78), asking him to, with requesting from the Serbian government, prepare 1,000 rifles and ammunition for them, and that Milojević be appointed the commander of the rebels and that they be allowed to cross the border and start the rebellion. Among these rebel leaders were Čerkez Ilija. On 14 October 1880, an uprising broke out in Poreče, known as the Brsjak Revolt. This uprising would span little more than a year. After Ottoman pressure, the Russian government intervened in Serbia and the Serbian government decided to stop aiding the rebels. In springtime 1881, in the Devet Jugovića-inn in Vranje, Micko Krstić assembled a band of 13 fighters, friends, blood-brothers and followers, left Serbia in springtime 1881. Their first teacher and leader was Čerkez Ilija. In the fight in which Čerkez Ilija and his fighters died, half of Micko's band fell too.

References

  1. Marinko Paunović (1998). Srbi: biografije znamenitih : A-Š. Emka. ISBN   9788685205040.
  2. Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević (1928). Prosvetne i političke prilike u južnim srpskim oblastima u XIX v: (do srpsko turskih ratova 1876-78). Društvo Sv. Save. p. 422.
    ... и тамо се настанио. Обрадовић је био свршио четири разреда гимназије у Београду и Богословију. Између осталога. учитељевао је и у селу Латову у Поречу. У њега је учио Мицко Крстић, познати наш усташ и четнички војвода ...
  3. Aleksa Jovanović Kodža (1930). Четнички споменик, Војвода Мицко, живот и рад. Skoplje.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hadži-Vasiljević 1928, p. 8.
  5. 1 2 3 Hadži-Vasiljević 1928, p. 9.
  6. 1 2 Hadži-Vasiljević 1928, p. 10.
  7. Hadži-Vasiljević 1928 , p. 10, Jovanović 1937 , p. 237
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Đurić & Mijović 1993, p. 61.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Krakov 1990, p. 28.
  10. Matica srpska (1992). Zbornik Matice srpske za istoriju 45–48 (in Serbian). Novi Sad: Matica srpska. p. 55.
  11. Koliševski, Lazar (1962). Aspekti na makedonskoto prašanje (in Macedonian). Kultura. p. 499.
  12. Georgevitch, T. R. (1918). Macedonia. Forgotten Books. p. 183. ISBN   9781440065194.
  13. 1 2 Đorđe N. Lopičić (2007). Konzularni odnosi Srbije: (1804-1918). Zavod za udžbenike. p. 207. ISBN   978-86-17-34399-4.
    Најбо- љи пример је војвода Мицко Крстић из Пореча, који је био осуђен на 20 година затвора, али није хтео да се изјасни као Бугарин да би био обухваћен амнестојом и ослобоћен даљег издржавања казне.
  14. "Мицко Крстевић: писма из битољског затвора (1897-1899)". Мешовита грађа.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Ilić, Vladimir (March 4, 2003). "Srpski četnici na početku dvadesetog veka (6): Pogibija na šupljem kamenu". Glas Javnosti.
  16. "Прво јавно читање драме Надежде Петровић "Војвода Мицко Поречанин"". Влада Републике Србије.; Надежда Петровић (2005). Војвода Мицко Поречанин. Библиотека града Београда. ISBN   978-86-7191-071-2.

Sources