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(You will see a variation of the word "Extermination" used several
times in the documents presented below, as in the July 1877 British telegram,
"No. 90": "The Russians encourage the Bulgarians to
exterminate the Turks.")
It would be a
needless and painful task to collect, from the different reports that
have been addressed to this Embassy, the numberless cases of outrages,
cruelty, rape and massacre committed during the last few months by the
Russians and Bulgarians upon the Mussulmans of Roumelia. It would be
scarcely too much to affirm that they exceed in horror and amount the
accumulated misdeeds of four centuries of Turkish misrule. Never have the Turks, even in the worst days of their
history, been guilty of such indiscriminate slaughter, such shocking
outrages on women and female childeren, such universal destruction of
property, and such general religious persecution. The deeds of
the Bashi-Bozuks at Batak and in other Bulgarian villages, immensly
exaggrated by thoughtless, designing or unscrupulous men, and the
consequence of a panic which subsequent events have shown to have been
justified, were sufficient to arouse public opinion in England to such
an extent against Turkey, that a war unparalleled for its horrors, and,
perhaps for its consequences, has been the result. Yet the “atrocities” committed by the Russians and
Bulgarians, without cause or reason, upon an inofffensive and
defenceless population, upon old men, women and childeren, have passed
almost unnoticed, have excited but public little sympahty for the
victims, and have not affected the character for religion and humanity
of the nation that has been the cause of them. It can scarcely be
believed that this indifference should have arisen from the fact that
the victims are Mussulmans. Yet when the whole of
the European press unites in an outcry against the Turkish Government,
and demands justice and vengeance, because houses in a Greek village in
insurrection are injured, its church plate stolen, or some of its
inhabittants killed, and almost passes over in
silence the shocking cruelties, perpetrated upon the Mahommedans of
Turkey, it would seem that public opinion is not altogether
uninfluenced by this consideration.
British Ambassador Henry Layard, sourced in an article
written by Kemal Karpat, from the 1970s-80s; thanks to Erman. Has much
changed since?
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The Russians set the blueprint for Muslim "Death
and Exile," with their criminal campaigns throughout the 18th and 19th
centuries typified by, for example, General Yermelov in 1818, versus the Chechens. The Russian
strategy was to massacre Muslims, frightening the rest away, in order to claim
the Muslims' centuries-old-homelands. Because Muslims were a dirty word in the
hypocritical West, the Russians had carte blanche to get away with their evil
work. Whole people were decimated and booted out, as for example, with the
Circassians. (And the Laz. And the Abhazians. So many more... their last stop
being the Ottoman Empire. Naturally, with hundreds of thousands of refugees to
deal with, the Sick Man kept getting sicker; but that was part of Russia's
wicked plans as well.)
Meanwhile, the dishonest and hypocritical genocide industry does not give a
roach dropping for the catastrophic miseries the Muslims suffered. Among them
were principally Turks. That would go against the genocide industry's racist
game plan, to actually give victim status to one of their most profitable
villains. (Not that the Turks are looking for victim status; they are not that
sort of people.)
An interesting phenomenon is that the sick Russian way of operating caught on
big time with their Orthodox cousins. We got a taste of this in recent memory,
with the abominable behavior of the Serbs and the Bosnian Serbs, during the
break-up of Yugoslavia. But merciless treatment by the Serbs enjoys a rich
history. The same with the Greeks, the Bulgarians, the Montenegrins, and, of
course, the Armenians. (Who similarly gave us a recent taste of the preferred
old massacring ways in
their conquest of Karabakh, in 1992. The biased West turned a blind eye.)
The weird thing is, whenever these Orthodox peoples got into a situation to
exhibit their bloodlust, they sometimes went about their ethnic cleansing work
in the most devilish of ways. Truly, it defies human comprehension, the way in
which they misbehaved. (As only one example, from the many horrendous ones
you'll be reading: they would amputate a woman's arms, simply for sport! In
another example, all of the fingers of a woman would be cut off. The maniacs
involved seemed to be targeting women and children on purpose.)
The war was not only a calamity for the Ottomans in the Balkans, but in
Eastern Anatolia as well. When the Russians invaded the east in 1878, it
served as one of the many times the Armenians traitorously lent a hand. At
this stage, the Armenians did not behave as systematically as the Bulgarians
(the Armenians got their chance to outdo the Bulgarians, at least in numerical
terms of greater victims, and at least a similarly sadistic "creative
joy" of killing, come WWI), but they mistreated and massacred Muslims and
others, as well; particularly with the conquest of Erzurum.
Usually, such brutal behavior is expected of the Turks. Yet this was part of
the Orthodox M.O.; not that the Turks were always innocent, but we can see
with one of the British documents below that the Orthodox would do the crime,
and then blame the same crime on the Turks... in full knowledge that a ready
and sympathetic ear would be waiting on the prejudiced Western end. Turkish
crimes to this degree were usually obtained through hearsay; the word of
missionaries and Armenians, for example, that usually found the ears of the
sympathetic consuls. The Orthodox crimes, on the other hand, usually had
"back-up" from Westerners. So we could count on their accuracy.
(The documents below will also feature internal Ottoman ones. Those among you
who can't get over your anti-Turkish fetish, remember: these reports cannot by
construed as propaganda, as they were never meant to be publicized.)
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Backdrop on the Documents Below |
The Bulgarians of the Ottoman Empire got bolder as the Ottoman Empire declined,
particularly with the the help of the missionaries. (An Armenian had written to the Boston
Herald, regarding the founder of Robert College, Cyrus Hamlin: 'I heard him lecture at Amherst, Mass. How proud he
was to tell his audience the important part taken by the Bulgarian graduates of Robert
College in securing the freedom and independence of their country.') The Bulgarians
had already sided with the Russians, when the latter had invaded the Balkans, in 1806,
1811, and 1829. (No differently than the Armenians, beginning in the same time frame.)
On May 2, 1876, Bulgarians revolted, slaughtering Muslims, eventually killing an estimated
1,000 and destroying 3,000 Muslim houses. Few troops were available to quell this
rebellion, so the Ottomans armed the Circassians. Bad idea; they could not be controlled,
and they likely harbored a distrust of Christians (and a hatred of Russians, with whom
they probably compared the Bulgarians), after the inhuman way in which they had been
exiled from their homeland.
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William
Gladstone |
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Benjamin
Disraeli |
The Bulgarians soon learned that it did not take much to incite the
Circassians. "The insurgents committed acts of violence, particularly against Muslim
women, with the obvious intent of sparking a retaliation," wrote one British consul (F.O.
195-1077, 27 May 1876). (This was, of course, the same tactic the Armenians would adopt in
later years.) The resulting "Bulgarian Horrors" were a reaction to murder of
Muslims, naturally sensationalized, as with tales of Christian girls sold into slavery
(sound familiar?); "Whipped up by religious sympathy and prejudice and the political
opportunism of Gladstone and the Liberal press, public opinion in England made it
impossible for Disraeli to come to the aid of the Turks, despite his own wish to do so.
The final result was a massacre of Muslims in 1877-79, much greater than any massacre of
Bulgarians in 1876. (Justin McCarthy, Death and Exile, 1995, p. 64. Please
consult this excellent book, for an overall view. The objective sources for the above
claims have all been provided.)
Tally for the latter: 3,000 to 12,000 * dead Bulgarians, vs. 1,000 Muslims.
Tally for the Muslims, 1877-79: 261,937, a loss of 17%.
Isn't that incredible?
Today, all we still keep hearing about is how the Turks massacred Bulgarians...130
years later! This is the power of prejudice.
An eye-opening communication by a British consul featured in the relevant chapter of
McCarthy's book has already been reproduced
in TAT; Edmund Calvert compared the evils by and against Turks. The Turks come out well
ahead. ("...By universal consent, Turkish venality and corruption at its worst is
purity itself compared to its local Russian counterpart," is how Calvert put it.)
As you will see in the documents below, when the Ottoman Muslims had the upper hand, they
usually did not touch the women and children; and their massacring methods may have gotten
the job done, but did not appear to have the sadistic "creative joy," as in the
case of the Russians (usually Cossacks) and the Bulgarians.
Another point to bear in mind was the intensity with which Jews were targeted. There were
more Jews in this area of the Balkans, meaning more Jewish victims... but the targeting of
Jews was followed faithfully by Armenians as well, when the Armenians had their turn for
systematic extermination in Eastern Anatolia and Cilicia, during and after World War I. In
addition, we all know how Armenian propaganda loves to solicit pity by reminding us that
Armenians were resettled into the "desert," when in fact the Armenians were
transported to the region historically known as "The Fertile Crescent," a
generally forgiving environment.
Meanwhile, when the Russians forced populations to move (rarely with the provision that
the move was meant to be temporary, as was the case with the Armenians), their
unfortunate victims would often find themselves in Siberia. (A document below will
point to the unwanted being destined to this horrible destination.)
One more point of interest: this was the war — disastrous for the Ottomans — where the
battle of Plevna was fought. The heroism
displayed turned some European public opinion around, in favor of the Turks.
Here we go:
* The higher figure of 12,000 Bulgarian dead was an estimate of an American
consular official (Schuyler), working with a reporter from the anti-Turkish Daily News
and a Bulgarian interpreter. Here's what C. F. Dixon-Johnson wrote in a letter to The
New Age (Dec. 16, 1915, Vol. XVIII. No. 7): "The need for this would be clear
when we remember that the original figure of 60,000 which was given as the number of
Bulgarian Christians slaughtered in 1876 was proved on the authority of Sir Henry Layard,
the British Ambassador in Constantinople, to have been ‘about 3,500 souls,
including the Turks, who were, in the first instance, slain by the Christians.’"
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RUSSIAN ATROCITIES
IN
ASIA AND EUROPE
DURING
THE MONTHS OF JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST 1877.
CONSTANTINOPLE
PRINTED BY A. H. BOYAJIAN
1877.
A collection of various official and private telegrams respecting the atrocities
committed by the Russians in Asia and Europe during the months of June, July, and
August 1877.
Series Editor’s Notes
Russian Atrocities in Asia and Europe is an unsophisticated work. In the book the
Ottoman Government simply printed reports from officials and individual Muslims who
had suffered in the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War, with little editorial comment. It is
thus a valuable historical document, although it cannot have been
of much use as propaganda.
The book contains numerous misspellings and grammatical infelicities. Only the most
obvious misspellings of ordinary words have been corrected. Names and descriptions
often appear in the text in more than one form. For example, the Turkish form of the
name Muhammad, Mehmet, appears as Mehemmed, Mehemed, Mehemet, and Mehmed. The
meanings of these are obvious and have been left unchanged. Spellings and
definitions that are not obvious are listed below.
Abaxes (Abhaz) natives of the Eastern Black Sea region forced from their lands by
the Russians and settled in the Ottoman Empire
araba wagon, drawn by horse, donkey, or water buffalo
Arnautlu Albanian
bashi bozouk irregular soldier, drawn from the populace in time of war.
caïmakam (kaymakam) head official of a district (division of a sancak)
Circassians natives of the Eastern Black Sea region forced from their lands by the
Russians and settled in the Ottoman Empire
muderris (müderris) head teacher in a Muslim religious school
mudir (müdür) official in charge of a sub-district, mayor
mutessarif (mutassarıf) official in charge of a sancak (division of a province)
seraskier (serasker) commander-in-chief of the army
Tatars natives of the Crimea, forced from their lands by the
Russians and settled in the Ottoman Empire
zaptieh (zaptiye) gendarme
zeïbek (zeybek) infantryman
PREFACE.
The letters and dispatches, official and private, which are published herewith cover
a large area of territory, and come from many different personages. They refer to
incidents which have happened during the last few months in various parts of the
Empire, and they combine to strengthen each other’s testimony.
From the statements they contain, it will be seen that the Russians invading Turkey
in the name of religion have had for their object the extermination of the Turkish
race; that they have hesitated at no cruelty or excess however terrible to
accomplish this work, and that they have actually succeeded in depopulating and
desolating vast, populous, and thriving districts.
It will also be noted that this terrible example has been followed not only by the
semi-savage Cossacks who have accompanied the Russian forces but also by the
ignorant and excitable Bulgarian peasantry, with a result so deplorable that history
produces no parallel.
In offering this concurrent testimony of many witnesses to the English public the
Ottoman Government desires to rouse no revengeful feelings, but rather to show that
Russia has no right to claim the mission of “Humanity’s Champion” and that in
invading Turkey she is prompted by no other sentiments than those of greed, ambition
and hate.
Upon the misery which this cruel and unjustifiable war has caused it is needless
here to dwell. A perusal of the following pages will bring its own conviction to
mind of any impartial and reasonable person. Unhappily the mute protest of a myriad
victims reaches the ear of Europe too late for succour; and even the conviction of
Russia as the cause of their sufferings will not avail to restore to them either
their homes, their honour or their lives. Yet should the
story of their grief be impartially told; and it is to this task that the Ottoman
Government has now addressed itself.
Holdwater: Too bad the author did not identify himself.
At any rate, let's get to the nitty-gritty...
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No. 1
(Extract from divers telegram addressed to Sublime Porte.)
The Russians commit the most unheard of outrages on the Mussulman population of the
Caucasus. They burn and pillage the Mussulman villages; oblige the inhabitants to become
Orthodox Christians under the pain of being immediately put to death, and profane the
mosques and schools. The women and girls are massacred after having suffered the most
shameful outrages, and the male part of the inhabitants who have been spared are sent to
Siberia.
All these horrors are perpetrated by the orders, and under the eyes of the chiefs of the
Russian army in compliance with a pitiless order which has for its object the systematic
and premeditated annihilation of all the Mussulman population.
Ardahan has been equally the scene of revolting atrocities. In occupying this town the
Russians gave themselves up to the most horrible acts, proceeding by violence, massacre
and pillage.
No. 2
(Extract of telegram addressed to Imperial palace by Governor of Erzeroum.)
The same day of their entrance into Ardahan, the enemy fired on the hospital without
regard to the flag which was flying on the top and killed several sick and all the warders
of the hospital. To avenge themselves on the inhabitants of Avilar who served in the
Imperial army, the Russians shamefully maltreated their parents and dishonoured their
women and their daughters. Among others, the family of the Vice-Governor of Zarenhad who
was then in service at Kars, has been interned in Russia after having suffered an ignoble
treatment.
Besides the Russians have sacked the villages of Djevra and Hadji Tchiflik under the
pretext that several inhabitants give themselves up to espionage. The population despoiled
of everything even to the last stitch on their back have been sent to Kars in a state of
complete nakedness.
No. 3
(Telegram from his Excellency Mehemmed Ali Pacha to Ministry of War, dated June 12/24,
1877)
On the 31 st of May last the Montenegrins in invading the village of Schtouze, on the
banks of the river Jara, a dependence of Vranieh (Akova) cut off the nose, lips and arms,
of three soldiers of the battalion of reserves of Salonica, massacred a boy of 11 years,
and also cut off the nose, right cheek, the lips, and mustaches of a soldier named
Mehemmed Bin Hassan, belonging to the 4 th file of the 8 th company of the battalions of
reserves of Gamuldjéné. This unfortunate man twelve days ago finished by falling into
the hands of the Montenegrins.
No. 4
(Extract.)
On Wednesday, 20th June, about eleven in the morning a Russian boat came and boarded an
Ottoman merchant vessel anchored at Aïdos, and placed inflammable matter on it, which it
was not long in exploding.
The same day, some torpedo-launches were directed on three Ottoman merchant vessels,
respectively commanded by Captains Hadji Hassan, Hadji Feïzi and Serda, anchored before
Couri-Chilé, 15 miles distant East of Amasra. The launches caused the three vessels to
capsize and a great part of the equipage was lost.
No. 5
(Telegram from Commandant of Van and Bayazid to Minister of Interior, dated June
19/July 1 1877.)
I have already had the honour of writing you that the Russian division operating on the
Alashguerd side, finding at length that it could not make head against the attacks of the
Imperial troops had commenced to withdraw.
The commander of this division has taken the part of pillaging everything on his passage.
He burns all the Christian and Mussulman villages, takes and lifts the goods of their
inhabitants. Independently of these revolting outrages committed, he has killed three
women.
The Powers can in reading the publications of foreign correspondents, convince themselves
of the exactitude of these reports.
No. 6
(Telegram from his Excellency Moukhtar Pasha to Ministry of War, dated June 23, [July
5] 1877.)
The Russian detachment of Ardahan composed of three battalions of infantry and 500
cavalry, has invaded the route of Ardanaich and attacked the auxiliary troops who were on
the point of concentrating.
The latter withdrew but as a portion of the inhabitants of the villages of Khalt de Doba,
of Rchidil, of Oreniskhew, of Missitch, of Penek, of Meria, of Senatus and of Pouskhew had
taken recourse to arms, the enemy did not spare a single person who fell into their hands;
massacred about fifty persons without distinction of age or sex and pillaged and burned
several buildings. In short, they committed every act condemned by the rights of men.
No. 7
(Telegram from Ismail Pasha, Governor-General of Erzeroum to Ministry of Interior dated
July 5, 1877)
I learn at this moment that the Russians have taken with them by force by the Armenian
bishop of Utch-kilissa, after having wounded and garroted him.
This prelate was devoted to the interests of the State.
No. 8
(Telegram from Saïd Pasha, Governor of Tirnovo, to His Highness the Grand Vizier,
dated July 5, 1877).
Yesterday the enemy’s cavalry having surrounded the Mussulman village of Batah, situated
7 hours from Tirnovo, in the district of Sistow, took all their cattle and then captured
by force from their inhabitants the arms, and money, in short everything they had. They
then set fire to their habitations, and massacred a great number of the villagers.
No. 9
(Telegram from Seraskier and Namyk Pasha to the Grand Vizier, dated July 6, 1877.)
The Governor of Tirnovo furnishes us with the following:
“On Wednesday last, some Russian cavalry having surrounded the Mussulman village of
Batah, in the caza of Sistow, lifted all the cattle and took by force from the inhabitants
their arms, their money and all their possessions. They then set fire to the dwellings and
massacred a great number of villagers. “Besides this, six Mussulman individuals of the
same caza, set out for the village of Yazidji to search for their cattle. Having been met
on their return by the enemy one of them was killed and the five others were taken
prisoners.
“Seven others Mussulmans returning from Roustchouk to Plevna, their native place, were
assailed by the enemy’s horsemen, who killed six of them; the other managed to escape.
The Russians torture the bodies of their victims, pulling out their eyes from their
sockets and replacing them by small pieces of bread. The same cruel acts are witnessed
wherever the Russians enter. We deem it our duty to inform your Highness in order that the
Government may act as it thinks necessary.”
No. 10
(Telegram from Governor of Tirnovo to Grand Vizier, dated July 7, 1877.)
Travelers from Berkoftcha report that a column of the enemy debouching from the high road
of Servi have this night burned a Mussulman village and two villages of mixed population
situated some hours distance from Tirnovo.
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No. 11
(Telegram from Commander of Batoum to 1 st Secretary of Palace, dated July 8,
1877.)
In the battle of Tchamtchira of which I have already furnished you with a report,
the Russians directed their fire on the spot which we had converted into an hospital
though it was surmounted by the Red-Cross. Some of the wounded whom it contained
have been killed being unable through their wounds to save themselves.
In reporting to you this fact I cannot but stigmatise and denounce the savage acts
committed by the enemy who tread under their feet a symbol adopted and respected by
all civilised people.
No. 12
(Extract.)
A Russian division arrived on the 7 th July at the villages of Kestan and Belovan,
disarmed the Mussulman inhabitants and distributed their arms to the Bulgarians.
They then proceeded against the Mussulman population, massacring the men, women and
children, and burning their dwellings.
No. 13
(Telegram from Governor-General of Danube to Sublime Porte, dated July 11, 1877.)
Private dispatches confirmed by our own reports, show that amongst the others the
Russians advancing from Toultcha side, massacre without pity all the Circassians
that they meet.
No. 14
(Extract of divers telegrams from the vilayet of Danube.)
Two villages, Oustroudja and Kadisla, situated five hours distance from Roustchouk,
have been sacked by the Cossacks who have massacred about thirty Mussulman
inhabitants without distinction of age or sex.
At the village of Bin-Bounar, they cut off the dresses of the women and girls as far
as the waist, and then violated them in the presence of their parents. All the male
portion of the inhabitants have been taken prisoners, and a woman has had her arms
amputated. The Cossacks having encountered at seven hours distance from Roustchouk
some Mussulmans who had abandoned their villages and were flying to the mountains,
massacred them without sparing even the women and children.
No. 15
(Telegram from Governor-General of Adrianople to His Highness Grand-Vizier, dated
July 12, 1877.)
I have the honor of transmitting the following telegram from the Vice-Governor of
Kezanlik, communicated by the Governor of Philippopoli.
The Mussulman inhabitants of Balova and of Roubetcha in the dependency of Tirnovo,
in seeking flight across Haïn Boghaz, were pillaged and massacred by the Christian
population of the Balkans.
This fact has been reported by a person who managed to escape the massacre and
regain the Mussulman villages situated below the Balkans.
No. 16
(Telegram from Mr. Jourdan to Mr. Gay, Hôtel d’Angleterre, Pera, dated July
1st 1877.)
On entering Tems, a village situated an hour’s distance from Tirnovo, the Russians
burned alive the Mussulmans who had taken refuge in the mosque.
No. 17
(Telegram from Mr. Jourdan to Mr. Gay, Hôtel d’Angleterre, Pera, dated July
1st 1877.)
The Russians give themselves up to the most unheard of outrages with regard to the
Mussulman population. They burn the Mussulman quarters, cities and villages which
they find on their passage.
Three hundred wagons loaded with Mussulman families flying in the direction of
Kadi-Keuy were attacked and destroyed by cannons. The enemy has achieved his work of
extermination in massacring all the men and women whom he met.
The outrages committed by the Bulgarians on the Mussulman population surpass a
thousand times those of the Muscovites. The Mahometans do not follow the less an
exemplary course.
No. 18
(Telegram from His Excellency Ahmed Moukhtar Pasha, to Ministry of Interior,
dated July 3rd , 1877.)
In an engagement fought about a month ago, between the Russian and some battalions
of infantry detached from Kars to make a reconnaissance of the positions occupied by
the enemy near Mount Simwas in the neighbourhood of Kars, our troops had some killed
and wounded whom they were not able to bring with them during their retreat.
The following day Hussein Hami Pasha, commander of Kars, sent his aide-de-camp,
Osman Effendi, accompanied by several men bearing a white flag to reclaim our dead
and wounded. But the Russians without any respect for the rights of men, fired on
our deputation who in vain made signs to them to cease. The enemy’s fire
continuing without the signals having been observed Osman received a wound on the
left arm which still confines him to the hospital.
No. 19
(Telegram from Governor-General of Adrianople to His Highness Grand-Vizier, dated
July 4, 1877.)
I have the honor of transmitting you herewith a telegram from the vice-governor of
Kezanlik communicated by the Governor of Philippopoli.
To-day, a detachment of a hundred and thirty of the enemy’s horsemen burned the
villages of Iflehanle, of Baighiuli, of Kozlidja and of Tchanaktchi, dependencies of
the district of Kezanlik.
This bad news has been given me by Suleyman Agha who just comes from those
localities.
No. 20
(Telegram from some notables of Philippopoli to His Highness the Grand Vizier,
dated July 5, 1877.)
The Russians have passed at Kezanlik, at three hours distance from Carlova. They
have carried away the Bulgarians; and have burned some villages and massacred their
inhabitants without sparing even the children at the breast.
Consternation is general. We must now have recourse to the protection of the
Imperial Government.
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No. 21
(Telegram from His Excellency Ahmed Moukhtar Pasha to Ministry of War, dated July 5
1877)
The enemy in withdrawing from Chourakul and Zarouchal. districts relating to Kars, cut
down the corn they found on their passage and have left nothing for the villages, having
taken everything into Russia. Besides this they have demolished all the dwellings, burned
much material and taken with them such as they could not burn.
The poor inhabitants are vividly impressed by these acts of barbarity; they find
themselves reduced to a state of misery truly pitiable.
The Russians have carried with them to Alexandropol as prisoners, the wife and children of
Youssouf Bey, Caïmakam of Chourakul, who has taken refuge at Erzeroum, his brother
Mehemmed Bey, and his children and the sisters of Hatoum Zadé Emin Bey, notable of
Chorakul; in short, all the women of the household of the Caïmakam of Karouchal, Youssouf
Bey who has taken refuge at Kars.
These prisoners who have been made to undergo all kinds of outrages are at present
forwarded to Tiflis.
A great number of Mussulmans have been subjected under some pretexts to the most horrible
treatment.
No. 22
(Extract of Telegram addressed by Caïmakam of Loftcha to His Highness the Grand
Vizier, dated July 6, 1877).
At the end of an engagement which took place yesterday, and in which our troops found
themselves obliged to retire, the Russians ruthlessly commenced to bombard the town which
cost the lives of several children. The Mussulman population took instant flight
barefooted.
No. 23
(Procès verbal prepared and signed at Choumla by the Correspondents of Foreign
newspapers, dated 8/20 July 1877)
The undersigned representatives of the foreign press, united at Shumla, think it a duty to
collectively resume and affix their signatures to the statements of facts that they have
separately addressed to their respective journals, respecting the acts of inhumanity
committed in Bulgaria against the inoffensive Mussulman population. They declare that they
have seen with their own eyes and interrogated at Rasgrad and at Shoumla, children, women
and old men wounded with thrusts of the lance and with sword cuts, without speaking of
wounds caused by fire arms which might be attributed to the chances of an equal contest.
These victims give a horrible description of the treatment which the Russian troops and
sometimes the Bulgarians inflict on the fugitive Mussulmans. According to their
declarations the Mussulman population of several villages has been entirely massacred
sometimes on the road, sometimes in the villages given up to pillage. The undersigned
state that the women and children are amongst the most numerous of the victims, and that
the wounds are made by the lance.
Here follow the signatures:
C. Fitzgerald,
Emerick Bulkovics,
J. W. Saterger,
August Jacquot,
Charles Winter,
Henry Dimone,
Harry Suter,
Nelton Prior,
Jules Zukab,
Wentworth Huyshe,
Senanian Camille,
Borthwick,
Barrère, Drummond,
Carl Mayers
No. 24
(Telegram from Governor-General of Danube to Grand Vizier, July 8, 1877.)
Sunday last, the Russians and Bulgarians attacked the village of Yenikeuy, situated 8
hours from Osmar Bazar, and massacred all the inhabitants with the exception of three
women and two men.
The day before yesterday the village of Kozli, nine hours distance from the same town, was
invaded by the enemy who put five persons to death after having taken all the cattle and
things they could lay hands on.
No. 25
(Telegram from Tewfik Bey to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shoumla July 9/21 1876.)
To-day Mr. Reade, British Consul at Roustchouk, and M. DeTorcy, French military attaché,
visited one and twenty wounded, viz., ten women and eleven children of whom two were still
at the breast and respectively aged 8 to 10 months.
No. 26
(Telegram addressed by Ahmed Fehim Pacha to Minister of Interior, 9 July 1877).
The present war, which Russia has undertaken against us is without precedent in the annals
of history, and does not resemble any of those international wars which have taken place
up to the present time, sanguinary and barbarous is the aggression.
The enemy seizes upon undefended villages and after having destroyed them by the fire of
canons, massacres the unarmed inhabitants. They take the women and outrage them when they
do not put them to death.
The news of these cruelties having reached the neighbouring villages, has forced the
Mussulmans to emigrate.
The Russians threaten the Christian villages with the same fate if the inhabitants do not
submit and enroll themselves, and the latter likewise have been obliged to leave their
hearths on the enemy’s approach and take refuge in the village of Orkhanié.
No. 27
(Telegram from Mutessarif of Tirnovo to the Grand Vizier, 9 July 1877).
The enemy having occupied Tirnovo continued his march forward, burning all the Mussulman
villages, and distributing arms to the Bulgarians which he took from the Mussulmans by
deceitful promises. They pillaged the goods of these unfortunates, destroyed their
dwellings, took the young Mussulman women and girls, and destroyed the rest. It is only a
few days since that the inhabitants of Chemsi-Keuy in the district of Tirnovo were burned
alive in a mosque where the enemy had enclosed them.
The policy of the Russians seems to be the total extermination of the Mussulman population
of the Balkans and they employ as tools, in the execution of this work, the Bulgarians,
with the object of preventing for ever the possibility of an understanding between the two
races.
For this purpose the enemy obliges the Mussulman prisoners, under penalty of death, to
fire on the Imperial troops who come to their succour.
No. 28
(Approximate estimate of the number of dwellings burnt and of Mussulmans massacred by
the Russians and Bulgarians since the occupation of Tirnovo by the enemy).
1. Batak, a village exclusively Mussulman (burnt) in the district of Sistow: 100 houses;
inhabitants, men 200, women 300. Persons reputed surviving 7.
2. Balovan, Mussulman village (burnt), district of Tirnovo: 250 houses; inhabitants, men
700, women 1,100, total 1800. One person only, we learn, succeeded in escaping.
3. Caya Bounar (burnt): houses 100; men 200, women 300, total 500. Two persons only
escaped death.
4. Kestambol: houses 250; men 300, women 600; total 900. Survivors 3.
5. Chemsi, mixed village: Mussulman houses 60; men 120, women 200, total 320 inhabitants.
One person only made good his escape. The Mussulmans were burnt alive in a mosque where
they had taken refuge.
6. Tundja, mixed village, 100 houses, men 250, women 400, total Mussulmans 650. Survivors
3.
The following is the list of the number of houses burnt in the villages which had been
deserted by their inhabitants, before the arrival of the enemy.
Tranich Homri, houses 40
Revan “ 130
Odalar “ 180
Armoudlouk “ 80
Bourouch “ 100
Kodjina “ 70
Okdjilar “ 200
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Total number 820
There still exist forty or fifty mixed villages, counting each at least 100 houses. The
Mussulman inhabitants have submitted to the Russian yoke but we are ignorant of their
fate.
No. 29
(Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to the Ministry of war, 10 July 1877).
The Governor of Philippopoli telegraphs me on the instant that, 12 unarmed Mussulmans of
the village of Sounkourlou, near Eski-Zaghra, having made their submission to the
Russians, 7 of them were killed by strokes of the hatchet by the Bulgarians and three
others by the Cossacks. Two only succeeded in saving themselves.
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No. 30
(Telegram from the Governor General of Adrianople to the Grand Vizier, July 10,
1877.)
Yesterday evening twelve Mussulmans of Sounkourlou, a village burnt by the enemy,
were, after having delivered up their arms, attacked by the Cossacks, who put in an
appearance near this village to the number of about 30. Three of these unfortunate
villages were massacred by the Cossacks, and seven others were dispatched by strokes
of the hatchet by the Bulgarians of the neighbouring villages. As for the others,
they succeeded in making good their escape.
These facts are the contents of a telegram from the deputy Governor of Tchirpan,
communicated to the vilayet by the Governor of Philippopoli.
No. 31
(Telegram from His Excellency Ali Saib Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier,
July 10, 1877).
I have the honor of bringing to the knowledge of your Highness, the following facts
reported by the police:
“Seven children, boys and girls, of the village of Globofdja, district of
Podgoritza, having fallen into the hands of the Montenegrins, have suffered the most
frightful treatment, one of these children, of whom the eldest is 10 years of age,
had his ears and nose cut off; another had his arms lacerated. We are ignorant of
the fate of the others, with the exception of one who has succeeded in escaping from
his tormentors.
No. 32
(Telegram from His Excellency Safvet Pacha (Muchir) to High Highness the Grant
Vizier, Philippopoli, 23 July 1877).
In consequence of the invasion of Carlova and Kalofer by the Russians a detachment
of regular troops and auxiliaries had been sent to effect the removal of the
Mussulman families.
On approaching the village of Mostli, the troops heard cries of distress. They made
haste to approach the spot whence the cries proceeded and witnessed a most horrible
scene, the Bulgarians had just massacred eighty old Mussulman women and children.
The young women had been forwarded on to Kalofer. There still remained about thirty
who were rescued by our troops, but they were again retaken on the road by the
Cossacks and Bulgarians after an attack with considerable forces.
No. 33
(Extract from a telegram of Deputy Governor of Kezanlik, July 12, 1877.)
A person called Nadji Agha, a sheep merchant, has been arrested near Gabrova by the
Bulgarians and killed by the Cossacks.
No. 34
(Collective Telegram from Safvet Pacha, Hamid Pacha, and Cherif Bey, Philippopoli
12 July 1877).
The Deputy-Governor of Hasskeuy informs us by telegram at this moment that a large
number of Cossacks having crossed the Maritza have taken all the money they found at
the Station, and burned the edifice, as well as several shops belonging to the
station. The Russians have carried away with them the employees of the railway and
their families.
No. 35
(Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to the Ministry of war, 14 July
1877).
Two columns of infantry and cavalry, the one commanded by Brigadier General
Khouloussi Pasha, and the other by Colonel of the Staff Omer Bey, had been sent to
Cayadjik on the route to Philippopoli and to Radina on the road to Yeni-Zaghra. The
corps of Omer Bey which was approaching Radina having seen the Mussulman village of
Lefedji, two hours distance from Cara-Bounar, and to the left of the railway line,
burning made for that direction. At sight of the Imperial troops the Bulgarians
incendiaries took refuge on the neighbouring heights. One party took flight towards
the Bulgarian village of Djadi-Gueul, half an hour’s distance from Lefedji, and
also to the left of the railway. Being followed by the Imperial troops three
Bulgarians commenced firing on them and forced them to retort. In this affair there
were about fifty killed. We have arrested six Bulgarians who are undergoing an
examination.
The inhabitants of Djadi-Gueul, after having inflicted the last outrages on the
Mussulman women and girls taken from the village of Lefedji, which they had just
committed to the flames horribly mutilated and massacred them. A mother and her two
daughters were equally violated, but made good their escape from death, thanks to
the timely arrival of the Imperial troops, who found them in a house at Djadi-Gueul
and sent them to Cara-Bounar.
The Bulgarians of Djadi-Gueul, men, women and children, to the number of 35, who had
not time to take flight, have been generously received by our soldiers and sent on
to Adrianople via Cara-Bounar.
To the right and to the left of the line we saw two other villages burning, which
the Bulgarian inhabitants had taken care to abandon. The Bulgarians of Djadi-Gueul,
who joined those from other villages situated to the right and to the left of the
railway line, and burnt by their own inhabitants, have destroyed the railway by
means of dynamite furnished by the Russians.
In their turn the detachment under Khouloussi Pasha, after having repaired the line
of Cayadjik, were returning to the station of Segbanli, when they saw on their way a
considerable village burning, which was situated to the right of the Maritza and on
the two summits of a valley. The horsemen went immediately to the spot, and found
themselves in the centre of a Turkish and Bulgarian village. The Bulgarians of the
locality took to flight on the approach of the Imperial troops, who pursued them and
arrested six. Having been conducted to Cara-Bounar the latter are undergoing an
examination. The Bulgarians, it is stated, have taken to burning not only the
Mussulman villages, but also their own, for the express purpose of afterwards
retiring with their families into the Balkans.
No. 36
(From the Governor General of the Danube to His Highness the Grand Vizier, July
14, 1877).
The Russians have burned to-day the village of Bedjandja situated 4 hours distance
from Roustchouk.
No. 37
(From His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to the Ministry of war, July 14, 1877).
According to the report of Brigadier General Salix Pasha, from Segbanli, the
inhabitants of Boya-Mahalessi, on their flight to Aladagh, in the district of
Eski-Zaghra, confided their cattle to the care of 12 of their countrymen who
remained in the village.
On Wednesday last the Bulgarians of the villages of Rassan and Tekké under the
direction of one named Pankar, the agent of a merchant of Adrianople, called
Boghiani, together with half a squadron of Cossacks assailed without reason the
twelve watchmen of whom they killed ten and wounded the two others, and then divided
the cattle. The two wounded men who escaped the slaughter reached the station of
Segbanli where they furnished the above report to Salih Pasha, who has forwarded
them to Adrianople.
No. 38
(Telegram from the Governor General of the Danube to His Highness the Grand
Vizier, July 15, 1877).
The Christian inhabitants of the village of Torlak, in the district of Rasgrad, not
being willing to submit to the Russians, the latter have burned their dwellings and
churches.
This village, which is distant seven hours from Roustchuk, numbers 400 houses, two
thirds of the inhabitants of which are Christians.
No. 39
(Telegram from Reouf Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier. July 16, 1877).
I arrived to-day at Yeni-Zaghra where a crowd of women surrounded me and recounted
to me the following circumstances:--“In their retreat from Yeni-Zaghra, the
Russians fell upon the villages of Yidi-Khidir Bey, Djart-Cazli, Youmlou, Kelemek,
Archak-Keulé, Khirissima and Prassouri, in the district of Eski-Zaghra, and
massacred about 345 Mussulmans. The above mentioned women alone succeeded in
escaping the massacre and regaining Yeni-Zaghra. I am just going to open an inquiry
into this matter. I will not fail to communicate all the information which I may
gather to your Highness.
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No. 40
(From the Governor General of Adrianople to His Highness the Grand Vizier. July 18,
1877).
The Russians and Bulgarians continue to commit acts of barbarous cruelty against the
Mussulman population. On Monday last, some Bulgarian villagers, from the district of
Eski-Zaghra, made their appearance in the village of Torkhan and wounded two Mussulman
women, named Azizé and Fatma. The same day the Bulgarians attacked the village of
Baba-Muslim and wounded five Mussulmans. At Aladagh four Mussulmans were put to death.
Ahmed and Moustapha from the village of Echekdji; a child of two years named Zelika, and
Fatma belonging to Gulfar (Tirnovo), were wounded by fire arms and bayonets.
At Hidir Baba, a village of the district of Djiari Moustapha Pasha, four Bulgarians
treated in the most savage manner two persons, named Hassan and Kodja Mehemmed, who have
succumbed under their wounds.
Twelve Mussulman emigrants, amongst whom were women and children, were massacred between
Arabli and Anbarli in the district of Kizil Aghatch.
Similar acts were committed at Selimno, Yeni-Zaghra, Yamboli and in other localities of
the vilayet. All the wounded, and the bodies of Hassan and Khodja Mehemmed, have been
transported to Adrianople where Mr. Blunt, the British Consul of Salonica, who is at
present in this town, and Mr. Dupuis, Vice- Consul, together with the correspondents of
the Daily Telegraph and Times have seen the cases with their own eyes. The wounded are
being cared for in the hospital at Adrianople.
No. 41
(From Reouf Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier, July 18, 1877).
The Russians have massacred nearly all the Mussulman families of Kidir-Keuy, as well as
those who had taken refuge there. Having been informed that those who had escaped the
massacre were guarded as prisoners in the granaries, I immediately dispatched the
Circassians to deliver them. Three hundred were set at liberty. We found 15 women and 7
children wounded. The number of Mussulmans killed is very considerable. Most of them are
women. I shall soon ascertain the exact number of killed and will not fail in making it
known to your Highness. The wounded have been sent for the present to Yeni-Zaghra. The
local authorities have received orders to have them well taken care of.
No. 42
(Telegram from His Excellency Ismail Hakki Pacha to the Ministry of War. July 18,
1877).
The Russians have just committed fresh acts of cruelty in spite of the pretended adherence
to the principles of humanity and civilisation.
At Alashguerd they have pillaged all the goods of Cheikh Husseïn, and of Dolca Youssouf,
of the village of Ichgali, and have taken their families prisoners.
At Tahir Guedik five or six Kurd chiefs whom the enemy had called to him, as well as the
notable Bedir Agha, of the tribe of Yachimi, and his suite, composed of 57 individuals,
have been massacred without cause or reason in the parish of Utch-Kilissé.
In their retreat the Russians have destroyed all the villages they came across during
their passage, notably those situated in the environs of Kutchuk-Guedik in the direction
of Massoun-Guedik. A great number of Mussulman and Christian inhabitants of these same
localities have been carried away by force, with their families. At Sinek and at
Caraboulak twelve tribes, each composed of 32 families, have been despoiled of their all.
Two notables of the tribe of Fekri Verdi Bey, established at Kerker, a village of Kara-Kilissé
and about forty inhabitants of Bayazid, who had taken refuge in the mountains, when it was
invaded by the Russians, have been taken to the Russians who, during their march towards
Erivan, successively put them to death, as well as a host of others, unfortunate old men,
women and children. All the Mussulman Russian subjects of Erivan have been transported,
some of them to Siberia, others were pitilessly massacred without distinction of age or
sex. These particulars gathered from authentic sources, I hasten to communicate to your
Excellency in order that the facts to which they relate may be brought to the knowledge of
the European Powers.
Another telegram identical with the above has been addressed to the Imperial Palace.
No. 43 & 44
(Telegram from the Governor General of Adrianople to His Highness the Grand Vizier,
July 19, 1877).
I have the honor of communicating the following telegram from the Governor of Selimno,
dated July 17. The day before yesterday the Russians penetrated into the village of Hozir
Bey, in the district of Eski-Zaghra, and massacred without distinction of age or sex 400
Mussulmans who had met together from different quarters. Three women, of whom two were
wounded, a child and a young man of about 30 years, who managed to escape the slaughter,
have, according to a telegram from the Deputy Governor of Yeni-Zaghra, recounted the
massacre to Brigadier General Mehemmed Pasha, who is in that town. More than thirty
Mussulmans who had emigrated to Tirnovo have been brought back by force by the Cossacks
and their accomplices the Bulgarians, who have inflicted upon them the most brutal
treatment obliging the women besides to dress themselves in Christian style.
I have the honor of communicating to your Highness the following telegram dated the 18 th
inst. which I have just received from the Governor of Philippopoli: “The Bulgarians of
Karadja Viran and of Alana-Keuy in the district of Tchirpan, after having disarmed the
Mussulmans of the first named village, massacred and cut to pieces five men and one woman.
They then dragged the others into the church and forced them to abjure their religion.
Being attacked by the Imperial troops the Bulgarians took flight after having set fire to
their dwellings. These facts have just been telegraphed by the Deputy Governor of Tchirpan.”
No. 45
(Telegram from Reouf Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier, July 19, 1877).
The cruelties committed by the Russians upon the Mussulman population of the village of
Eski-Zaghra are really frightful and indescribable. In a neighbouring village, all the
male population has been massacred by the enemy, who forced the women to change their
names and throw away their veils. In the camps, and in other places that have been several
killed. The male inhabitants of the village of Gulli have also been killed; the women and
children were shut up in a granary and burned alive. If the Russians still persevere in
their atrocities we cannot answer for the bad consequences of the excitement of the
Mussulman population hereabouts. We rescued yesterday two hundred Mussulmans of the
neighbouring villages who were hiding in order to escape the cruelties of the Russians.
No. 46
(Telegram from the Caimakam of Loftcha to the Grand Vizier. July 21st 1877)
On the entry of the Russians into Loftcha, the Mussulmans were obliged, in order to escape
outrage or death, to abandon their goods and even their children. These unfortunates took
flight with bare feet in the direction of Orkhanié and Plevna. On their road there were
several cases of death caused by exhaustion. More than fifteen women were killed by the
enemy’s artillery fire, more than a hundred babies were abandoned by their mothers, I
have received the following statements: The Bulgarian Deputy-Governor, nominated by the
Russians, imprisoned the Mussulman notables of the town and by dint of torture took from
them all their money. Under the instigation of resident Bulgarians, the Cossacks
penetrated into the dwellings of many of the principal Mussulman families and divided
between them all objects of value, such as jewelry, gold, watches, etc., which they found.
The rest of the houses were pillaged by the Bulgarians who entering the Mussulman
dwellings pulled off the chalvars (or veils) of the women under the pretext of looking for
precious objects. The Bulgarians then conducted all the young and beautiful girls to where
the Cossacks were and offered them as presents.
Hafiz Ahmed Effendi muderris of the district of Servi, Hadji Cherif Agha, a retired
adjutant-major, and Hachim Effendi were shot and other barbarous acts were committed.
The Russian troops encamped at a little distance from Loftcha, conjointly with the
Bulgarian volunteers, roamed over the neighbouring Mussulman villages and committed
unwarrantable acts, including assassination, tortures, carrying away of money, animals,
etc. Several ulemas were put to death, some being shot, others massacred with the sword.
Not a single family of the emigrants have re-entered the place. The Russians and
Bulgarians continue to burn and ruin the Mussulman villages in the neighbourhood of their
camp, the plantations only have not been destroyed.
A telegram identical with the above has been addressed to the Ministry of War.
No. 47
(A Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to the Imperial Palace, July 21, 1877).
During the eleven days that they occupied Eski-Zaghra the Russians commenced by disarming
the Mussulman population. They then undertook to bring up for the purpose of massacring
them, one hundred men per day ordering the Bulgarians who, were charged to find out these
unfortunates, to be energetic. In the space of eleven days 1100 Mussulmans have been put
to death. All the women of Eski-Zaghra have suffered the greatest indignities.
No. 48
(A Telegram from Said Pacha, Governor of Tirnovo to the Ministry of Interior, July 22,
1877).
On Wednesday last about 10 p.m. a certain number of Cossacks and Bulgarians made their
appearance at Seïranler, a locality distant a quarter of an hour from Pirva, and, after
having disarmed the Mussulmans, the enemy placed them under the guard of a Bulgarian
detachment who massacred six of them. It was with difficulty that about thirty women and
children were saved, thanks to the timely assistance of the Mussulmans of the
neighbourhood. The villages of Cadi, Vizler and Arassili were burnt by the enemy. It is
only, a few days since that the Bulgarians tied up to a tree, leaving him exposed for
three days to the rays of the sun, one Hadji Moustapha Effendi, next garroted him, and
then took him to Alna together with his daughter in law, whom they obliged to wear the
Christian costume. After a detention of twenty days this functionary, disguised in woman’s
clothes, managed to effect his escape.
An identical telegram has been addressed by Mehemed Ali Pacha to the Minister of War.
No. 49
(Telegram from the Caimakam of Loftcha to the Grand Vizier, July 22, 1877).
The Russians brought to Servi Hadji Ahmed Agha, a retired officer of the village of
Akendjilar and killed him. Several other notable inhabitants of the villages depending on
Loftcha suffered the same fate. A Mussulman who was traveling by carriage with his child
was attacked with the bayonet by the Russians and the child was killed.
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No. 50
(Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to the Ministry of War. July 22,
1877).
The Bulgarians in the village of Kara-Atli, in the district of Tchirpan, set fire to
the neighbouring Mussulman villages. Those which were situated in the environs of
Tchoulha on the high road to Zaghra suffered the same fate. A certain number of
Mussulmans have been massacred. The Bulgarians of Canoukdji have on their part burnt
all in the villages in the environs. All the Mussulmans, men and women, who fell
into their hands have been killed and cut to pieces.
No. 51
(Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier,
July 23, 1877).
On Friday last the Russians and Bulgarians dragged the Mussulmans from the village
of Christe, distant one hour from Eski-Zaghra in the direction of Yeni-Zaghra, and
burned all the men and some of the women. Their ashes were then enclosed in boxes
and buried in the ground. We are able positively to state this, having seen the
remains with our own eyes on our passage to Christe. The rest of the women were
carried away by the Bulgarians into the mountains situated behind the village. One
woman only made good her escape.
On our arrival at Yuk-Limé (Dalioka), where we spent the night, we learnt that
similar barbarities have just taken place there, seventy Mussulmans and the Imam of
the village were shut in a granary by the Bulgarians, and were set fire to after the
place was surrounded by Cossacks. Forty five other Mussulmans of the same village
have been massacred. All the mussulman women have suffered the last indignities;
eight girls who resisted were killed, and two others burnt alive at the same time as
the men. The rest of the women with their children were then conducted for the most
part into the suburbs of the village, where they were placed in a line, each one
with a child at her side, and were then butchered. I saw with the deepest regret the
bodies of the victims. The British military attaché has also been an ocular witness
of the scene. Twenty women and mussulman children who managed to evade the
Bulgarians have been rescued by the Imperial troops. After their entry into the
country the Russians disarmed all the Mussulmans of Eski-Zaghra, Kezanlik and the
neighbouring localities and distributed their arms to the Bulgarians. Four hundred
Mussulmans of Muflis, a dependency of Kezanlik, were dragged to the banks of the
river and were there massacred. At Eski-Zaghra, at Kezanlik, and in the environs the
Bulgarians continue pitilessly to maltreat and kill the mussulman population.
No. 52
(Telegram addressed from Rasgrad to the «Tagblatt » August 4th 1877.)
During the 14 days that they occupied Kezanlik and Eski-Zaghra the Russians
committed the greatest cruelties against the Mussulman population. Independently of
the wounded abandoned, more than 100 women and children, old men and young girls
were killed daily. The enemy inflicted upon the latter the greatest indignities. The
Russian soldiers act, so we hear, according to the orders of their officers. At
Eski-Zaghra alone, 1,100 maimed men have been killed.
No. 53
(Telegram from the Governor of Tirnovo to the Ministry of Interior, 24th July,
1877.)
Nineteen inhabitants of the village of Tchair-Keny, of whom, three were men and the
rest women and children flying from the invader, were directing their steps towards
Kodja Bounar Dagh, when they were caught by the Russians who killed eight of them.
Four children were abandoned near the bodies of their mothers. One woman who was
among these unfortunate fugitives arrived today at Osman Bezar in the family way,
having lost her husband and a child in this massacre. This unfortunate Mussulman,
native of the village of Dilli of the district of Sistowa, had five wounds caused by
fire arms and lance; one ball had traversed her shoulder. And it is to be remarked
that only 20 days ago the mussulmans of Pirva, in an attack they made, respected the
church where they knew the Bulgarians had enclosed their families.
A telegram identical with the above was addressed on the next day by Mehemet Ali
Pacha to the Ministry of War.
No. 54
(Telegram from His Excellency Hassan Pacha, Commander at Varna, to Sublime Porte,
July 25th 1877).
The Bulgarians of Mangalia and Kustendjé, joined with those from the cazas, despoil
of every thing those whom they meet, even to the last rag on their backs. Several
villages have been burnt. Hadji Zechéria of Bazarli (Kustendjé), one of the
richest Tartars of the Dobrudja, having emigrated with his family, his children and
servants were assailed, on their arrival at Gabridja, by a crowd of Bulgarians, who
took from him all his cattle, effects, and in short every thing, including the sum
of Piastres 180,000 in specie. This unfortunate family thus is reduced to a state of
complete destitution.
No. 55
(Telegram from the Governor General of Adrianople to the Ministry of Interior,
July 25th 1877).
I have the honor of communicating to you the following telegram dated the 25 th
which I have just received from the Deputy Governor of Tchirpan. I ought to remark
that the enemy seems to have undertaken the extermination of the mussulman element.
Here follows the telegram. The enemy who drew his forces, composed for the most part
of Bulgarian insurgents, towards Chipka, surrounded the Mussulman villages of the
district of Kezalik with Cossacks and pitilessly massacred the inoffensive Mussulman
population men, women and children. Since yesterday this work of extermination was
going on with an extraordinary amount of celerity.
No. 56
(Telegram from Mr. Lowy, Correspondent of the « Weiner Estrablatt » and
«Pester Lloyd » to His Highness the Grand Vizier, 27/8 August 1877).
Returning from the seat of war I hasten to confirm the atrocities committed by the
Bulgarians and the terrible measures taken against the Mussulman populations in the
Balkans.
No. 57
(Telegram from His Excellency Suleyman Pacha to Imperial palace, 27th July,
1877).
Searches made in the forests of Eski-Zaghra bring every day to light fresh
discoveries of numbers of mussulman women and children belonging to the district of
Kezanlik, who had hidden in the woods to escape the massacre. The column which was
sent yesterday in search of these unfortunates, returned with 250 women and children
all of them with bare feet, and in a most deplorable condition. They have been
looked after and conducted to Yeni-Zaghra, 78 other women and children were
discovered to day. All these poor wretches are being sent to Adrianople. Amongst the
women there were several wounded who have received the care their condition demands.
We have only found 18 men, the rest as well as a great number of women and children
belonging to their families have been massacred by the Bulgarians.
No. 58
(Telegram from Suleyman Pacha to Imperial Palace July 26, 1877).
Twelve thousand Mussulmans of Kezanlik, men and women, had fallen into the hands of
the Russians and Bulgarians. Of this number ten thousand have been rescued by the
Imperial troops. Measures were taken to deliver the rest, but we have since received
the sorrowful news that after the departure of the Imperial troops who were
convoying hither the people who have been saved, the Mussulmans that remained fell a
sacrifice to the Bulgarians, who massacred them in the most savage manner. As for
the women and children, they were carried away into the Balkans.
No. 59
(Telegram from Osman Pacha to the Ministry of War, July 29th 1877).
A soldier named Youssouf, a native of Tirnovo, who was taken prisoner by the
Russians, in the last battle, was interrogated on several occasions respecting the
commander and the forces of our corps d’armée. Having persisted in replying that
he knew nothing he was beaten, despoiled of all his clothes and completely crippled.
In this state he was exposed to the sun during three days without receiving any
thing whatever, he was threatened to be burnt alive, and the sentinels who kept
guard over him, did no cease to maltreat him in every possible way. The wretch at
last regained his liberty and presented himself at the general head-quarters,
narrating to us the above facts. I have seen with my own eyes the body of Youssouf
covered with sores, from top to bottom. It is very sad that the Russians ignore in
this way the laws of humanity and the principles of the rights of men, by inflicting
tortures on the Ottoman prisoners, whilst those who fall into our hands are treated
with the greatest kindness and want for nothing in the shape of food and lodging.
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No. 60
(Telegram from Suleyman Pacha).
The three detachments which I sent towards Kezanlik to the succour of the mussulman
inhabitants there, have just returned. From what they heard it appears that the Russians
on the morrow of their entry into this town, gathered the arms from the Mussulmans whom
the Cossacks and the Bulgarians then despoiled of every thing, even to the very last
stitch on their backs. To extract the last farthing, the men were put to all kinds of
torture before the eyes of their wives. Those who said they had nothing to give were
immediately strangled. The Caïmakam of Kezanlik had his eyes and teeth pulled out and
after having walked the streets in this state for three days, was thrown into prison;
later on he was sent to Chipka. In consequence of the defeat at Eski-Zaghra the Russians
and Bulgarians evacuated Kezanlik, but they returned on the morrow and since then murder
and violence have increased. Independently of Mussulmans killed in their houses, not a day
has passed but twenty or thirty have been publicly strangled. About a third of the
inhabitants of the villages of Mufliss, Iflejanli, Baighinli, Kichla, Sofoular, Tchanakli,
Koslidja, Chekrelli, Oumourli, Thoelli, Elbova, Biela, Ota, Djedid, Ketchi-Déré and
Hasskeuy took flight on the approach of the Russians, the rest were massacred; fire
followed pillage of villages. The Russians and Bulgarians dressed in Christian costume the
Turkish girls and most of the younger of the Mussulman women and carried them away with
them into the Balkans. When the three detachments mentioned above, accompanied the
inhabitants (who had escaped the carnage), the Mussulmans declared to them that if the
troops had been delayed two hours, they would have been strangled by the Cossacks and
Bulgarians. They expressed a desire of emigrating in one body and in less than three
hours, ten thousand five hundred men and women were on the march flying from their homes.
On the road they were attacked by Cossacks and Bulgarians who carried away five hundred
more of these fugitives and conveyed them back to Kezanlik. The others managed to reach
Carabounar after two days march prostrated by fatigue and dying of hunger. It is
impossible to picture the misery of these unfortunates, they were covered with filth, the
Russians having taken their clothes to almost the last rag. It may be added that the young
girls who were left, are still half naked and in a state of complete distress.
No. 61
(Telegram from the Governor of Tirnovo to the Ministry of War, July 29, 1877)
The enemy burns and systematically destroys all the Mussulman villages which he encounters
in his advance. He set fire yesterday and the day before yesterday to the villages of
Mehemmedi, Seïdi (Hezargrade), Mostan, Cadi, and Kazler (Tirnovo), Alakeuy and Courouo (Pirva),
as well as many other villages, of which we can see the smoke from here. Not being able to
satisfy their desire for destruction, the Russians have given themselves up to burning
even the plantations. Witnessing this conduct, we ask ourselves if the enemy thus wishes
to illustrate those principles of civilization and justice, which Mr. Gladstone and
colleagues eulogize as sentiments of humanity.
No. 62
(Telegram from the Governor of Tchildir, dated July 29 th 1877, communicated by Hassan
Tahsin Pacha to the Ministry of Interior, July 30th , 1877.)
“In the engagement which took place some few days ago at Keulé, “between the villages
of Dédéachine and Arouth, the Russians burned some “villages and killed some people.
As soon as the fact became known our “inspectors were sent on the spot. These agents
returned yesterday. They “report that the mosque of Dédéachine, the house of Riza Bey,
as well as “all the dwellings of the village have been burnt; that at Arouth also, the
“house of Hassan Bey was demolished and that the enemy killed two “inhabitants of the
two villages and wounded sixteen.”
I have the honor of bringing to the knowledge of Your Excellency the above telegram from
the Governor of Tchildir, concerning the barbarous acts committed by the Russians in the
villages of Arouth and Dédéachine.
An identical telegram was addressed by His Excellency Ahmed Mouktar Pacha to the Ministry
of War.
No. 63
(Telegram from the Governor of Philippopoli to the Ministry of Interior, July 31st
1877).
The troops that were dispatched to deliver the Mussulman population of the villages
situated on the road from Kalofer to Kezanlik, have rescued some persons named Issa
Pehlivan and Hassan, of the village of Sarhatli, in the district of Kezanlik, both
wounded, the former so grievously as not to be able to speak. We therefore interrogated
the later who said as follows:
The Bulgarians after having surrounded and disarmed all the Mussulman inhabitants of
Sarhatli and the neighbouring villages, shut up in a mosque a number of men, women, and
children, tied their arms to the middle of their waists and then cut their throats with
knives. Hassan and his companion, though wounded, managed to escape death. Both have been
sent into hospital.
No. 64
(Telegram from the Governor of Tirnovo to the Ministry of Interior, August 1st 1877).
When the occupation of the village of Terenbich Dagh, district of Tirnovo, was effected by
the Russians, one hundred and twenty inhabitants of whom three were men and the rest
women, managed to escape under the cover of the night. After having wandered about for
several days in the mountains, living on nothing but herbs and fruit, they succeeded with
great difficulty in finding the sentinels of the village of Yaïla; by this time being
however almost exhausted with hunger and privation. The fugitives who were in a most
pitiable condition were sent to Osman Bazar where every care and attention was paid them.
In a few days they will be sent to Shoumla. According to their depositions, the Bulgarians
having gathered together the Mussulmans of their village inflicted all kinds of torture
upon them and stole whatever was left by the Russians in the place. Then each Bulgarian
carried away a young women sometimes taking also as prisoner her father, or brother, or
husband, as the case might be, we are ignorant of the fate of these unfortunate people.
Russian painter Vassili Vereshchagin's "The
Apotheosis of War" (1871) was inspired by the conquests of Tamerlane,
but it came to be associated with the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. That is,
before the Armenians appropriated
the painting for usage as "Armenian genocide" evidence.
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No. 65
(Telegram from Suleyman Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier, August 3rd 1877).
A Column of troops has been dispatched to day to Iflehanli. All the male population
of this village from 5 years and upwards and a certain number of women have been
massacred by the Bulgarians. The young women and girls were obliged to dress in the
Christian style and were then all carried away into the Balkans. The Imperial troops
found nothing in the village except young children and a few women in a state of
complete nakedness. Twenty five wagons were sent from headquarters, to take these
women and children to Haïn Keuy where they are now being cared for.
No. 66
(Telegram from Suleyman Pacha to His Highness Grand Vizier, August 3rd 1877),
Skirmishers forwarded towards Kezanlik encountered and attacked some Bulgarians near
the village of Maglass. The latter were defeated and fled to the mountains leaving
20 of their companions dead on the field. Our skirmishes then entered the village
and found about a hundred mussulman women and young children, who were brought to
head-quarters. Other women numbering to more than a hundred had been shut up by the
Bulgarians in a neighbouring convent. Our skirmishers after having received
reinforcements marched towards this convent to deliver them.
No. 67
(Telegram from Suleyman Pacha to His Highness the Grand Vizier, August 4th 1877).
A British Naval Captain who accompanied the Imperial army to Haïn-Boghaz went to
the village of Iflehanli where he saw the following:
A hundred and twenty mussulman inhabitants had been massacred in the most savage
manner by the Bulgarians and Cossacks. Amongst those who were dead we remarked a
young women of great beauty, who had been strangled and thrown into the water,
despoiled of all her clothes, the body of another woman was exposed in the open
street, many others were thrown into pits and wells. The same fate had befallen the
members of an entire family including even the children. The British officer
recognised from the richness of their dress that the victims belonged to notable
families. The Bulgarians and Cossacks had kept for ten days the wives of the
mussulman inhabitants whom they had massacred, as well as other young girls, and
inflicted upon them the greatest indignities, they then set fire to the dwellings
where they lived and left 15 persons to perish in the flames. The Bulgarians on the
arrival of the Imperial troops at Haïn-Boghaz fled towards the Balkans, carrying
with them all the women from 30 years of age and upwards, as well as many children.
The British officer saw the bodies of the victims of the Bulgarians and Cossacks,
they had been gathered together, placed in a line and then massacred. There were
many more cases of assassination but the British officer had no time to go and see,
as he had to return to headquarters. These sorrowful facts have also been witnessed
by Captain Fife, British Military attaché, and by the Correspondents of the Daily
Telegraph, Morning Post, and Times, who have respectively addressed a report to the
Embassy, and to their different journals.
No. 68
(Telegram from Captain Gambier R. N. to Mr. Austin Times Correspondent. Therapia,
August 4th , 1877).
The day before yesterday I accompanied the Ottoman army to Haïn Boghaz. Yesterday I
went to Iflehanli 2 ½ hours distance from the defile, I saw one hundred and twenty
persons massacred in the most savage manner by the Bulgarians and Cossacks. Amongst
those dead, were two women one of them young and of great beauty who had been
despoiled of her clothes, strangled and thrown into the water, the other was left
lying in the open street. There were many more who were thrown into wells. I saw
with my own eyes, the members of an entire family including the children who had met
the same fate. To judge from their embroidered dresses of good stuff, the victims
were well to do people. The wives of the victims and other young beauties were
locked up in a house, where the Cossacks and Bulgarians inflicted on them during ten
days the greatest indignities. According to information gathered from an old woman,
whom I met on the spot, they set fire to the house in which these women were, and
fifteen persons perished in the flames. Informed of the arrival of the ottoman army
at Haïn Boghaz the Bulgarians fled to the mountains, carrying with them all women
from thirty years of age and upwards. The victims of whom I have spoken above had
been gathered together ranged in a line and successively massacred. There were many
more persons killed, but I had no time to go and see them.
No. 69
(Telegram from Major Leader to Mr. Gay, Daily Telegraph Correspondent, Hôtel d’Angleterre
Pera, August 5th 1877).
Yesterday, I was at the neighbouring village of Iflehanli, accompanied by Captain
Fife, military attaché, and the correspondents of the Morning Post, and Times. I
saw in this place more than hundred and twenty bodies of mussulman men and women
whom the dogs were devouring, I also saw from five to ten bodies of girls thrown
into wells as also a young woman of great beauty strangled and thrown into the
water, despoiled of all her clothes. According to the assertions of an old woman who
was on the spot, the Cossacks and Bulgarians after having violated the young
mussulmans carried them away to the Balkans. The above is what I have seen.
Elsewhere according to positive information which I gathered, with the exception of
a few old women, all the mussulman population had been massacred, all the dwellings
burnt and all their goods pillaged. It results according to our information from the
survivors that these misdeeds were committed, at the instigation of the Russians, by
the Bulgarians and Cossacks. There is no doubt that the massacre was encouraged by
the Russians.
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No. 70
(Telegram from the Governor General (ad interim) of Adrianople to the Ministry of
Interior, August 5th , 1877).
I have the honor of transmitting to you the following telegram which I have just received
from the Governor of Pilippopoli. The Bulgarians met together in the villages of Melemez
and massacred seven soldiers. The assassins were attacked and defeated by the Imperial
troops. The mussulman inhabitants of Kara-Kilissa, a village situated about one hour’s
distance from Melemez, were locked up in a church by the Bulgarians. The massacring had
already commenced when the Imperial troops informed of the fact by several fugitives,
immediately marched to the spot and dispersed these rascals and delivered the inhabitants
of the village, and later on those of the village of Kutchuk Stinli. The enemy has
evacuated Kezanlik and retired on Chipka carrying away with him all the mussulman and non-mussulman
population.
The authorities are charged to take care of the cattle which had been abandoned.
No. 71
(Telegram from the Governor General (ad interim) of Adrianople to the Ministry of
Interior, August 6th 1877).
I am sorry to inform you that more than half of the Jewish inhabitants of Kezanlik men
women and children have been massacred by the Russians and Bulgarians.
A SERIES OF PRIVATE TELEGRAMS.
_______
No. 72
(Telegram from Mr. Gay to “Daily Telegraph,” London. Pera. 26th June, 1877.)
Chumla.—Five women and three children from the Tirnova district, wounded by the
Cossacks, arrived here last night. Mehemed Ali Pasha visited the refugees to-day.
No. 73
(Telegram from Mr. Huyshe to Mr. Bennett, London. Chumla, 1st July, 1877.)
It is reported that the country between Biela and Sistowa is the theatre of important
operations. The Bulgarians are in a disturbed condition pillaging Mussulmans.
No. 74
Translation.
(Telegram from Mr. Simon to Reuter’s Agency, London. Chumla, 1st July, 1877.)
Russians continue to bombard Roustchouk with inexplicable persistence. Principle buildings
are destroyed, amongst Consulates, Italian, Russian remain intact, the others are in
ruins; great desolation exists; the population is flying to Varna. Many families remain
without shelter; international telegraphic service is suspended at Roustchouk, service
Turk continues. The number of Russians at Sistowa is thirty thousand. The marching on
Biéla is arrested at Pavlo by Turks. No details of engagement. News from Dobrudja signal
cruelties committed by Russians on few Mussulman people; Turkish civil authorities have
evacuated Toultcha and are established at Medjidié.
No. 75
Translation.
(Telegram from Mr. Jacquot to “Journal des Debats,” Paris. Chumla, July 2nd ,
1877.)
Bombardment of Roustchouk continues; Consulates, Hospitals, ambulances, are complexly
destroyed; important military events are imminent on the river Jantra, which forms a good
line of defence. Authorities and Mussulman population are forwarded on Medjidié. Old
Mussulman men left to look after the harvest have been massacred and the farms pillaged by
Bulgarian brigands.
No. 76
(Telegram from Mr. Gay to “Daily Telegraph,” London. Pera, July 2nd , 1877.)
Soukoum-Kaleh, June 25. The Military Commissioner just returned from scenes of Russian
outrages, found whole districts destroyed and hundreds families destitute. Russians having
carried off everything, even bedclothes, owing to the pastoral habits of the people, it is
impossible to arrive at present at a just estimate of the damage done, still more dreadful
deeds are done in districts still held by the Russians, such as murders, outrages, and
cruelties. Every village in Zannis district burnt. 1,500 families starving in the valley
Ardlera, Fazli Pasha is sending up stores for their relief.
Soukoum-Kaleh, June 26 th . News just reached here that Fazli’s stores are useless for
Ardlera valley, as 1,500 families are all dead from starvation. Help too late. Russian
brutality triumphant.
No. 77
(Telegram from Mr. Barrère to “Guardian,” London. Chumla, July 3rd , 1877.)
Russian shells continue devastation in town. Today hospital and barracks were fired and
burnt to the ground. Turkish population of all the villages and towns down to Rasgrad
hurriedly evacuating towards Varna. Rus
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