MR. ZAHARY KNYAZESKI - ACE TRANSLATOR FOR BULGARIA
In the year 1810, at the vicinity of Stara Zagora town, the eight son of Peter and Sanda Russevi is born. The boy is called Zhivko and, seemingly, nothing comes to indicate that a better future is stemmed for a community of thirty or so dwelling houses, buried in the mud of slavery and with a horizon of secularity not higher than a celebrity for Christmas and Easter. This is the vicinity of "Pishmani", today called "Pokayane", and a place for the early childhood of Zhivko. Poverty makes him turn at ten years of age and go to Stara Zagora as apprentice to daskal Doncho and to learn pottery and soapery /i.e. dialectically called "gruntcharstvo" and "sapundjiistvo"/. The revivalist wave blowing from Europe and the political ideas of bourgeois-democratic revolutions, reflected through the prism of Greek uprising from 1821-1828, give an impetus for development in the bulgarian society, included, cultural live in Stara Zagora. This make young Zhivko to launch on a traditional journey abroad - that is, he travel to Syria, Jerusalem, North Africa, Monte Negro, Serbia, Vlachia and, afterwards, to change his name at Zahary "hadji" Knyazeski.
In 1835, Zahary Knyazeski is, already, in the town of Gabrovo - where the secondary school of Neophit Rilski /1793-1881/ is functioning. Here Zahary excels to the rank of assistant and, subsequently, wins a stipend to the High Theological School in Odessa. From 1839 to 1845, Knyazeski lives and studies in Odessa and it is the bulgarian colony in the town that gives him a warm welcome. We do not aim to give full account for his russian period. It suffice to say that he made a lot of acquaintances for a lifetime and in the first time with famous bulgarian revivalists Vasil Aprilov /1789-1847/ and Nikola "Art" Palauzov /1776-1853/. His numerous letters make him an accepted member in the circle of russian academia and let me mention few of them - Pogodin, Bodyansky, etc. Facts on file is that his library measured in "poods" and "foonts", viz. the old russian metrology: 1 "pood" = 40 "foonts" = 16.38 kilograms. The rest is obsolete and no one knows for sure how this immense library made a transfer back to hometown Stara Zagora. Further, details on Zahary Knyazeski's book-treasure are lost in the mist. Someone said that it was donated to the Monastery of Mugliz but later perished in the fire of April uprising 1876 - personally, I do not know.
Whatever, graduating the Odessa Seminary in 1845, master Zahary Knyazeski traveled around Russia for two years. The year 1847 sees him, together with educator Alexander Exarch-Beyoglu /1810-1891/, to become one of the pillars and true entrepreneur of enlightenment in the town of Stara Zagora. His great influence and authority in Russia become a guarantee for advancement of culture not only in the region but in the country, as well. Main activity for Zahary Knyazeski is girls' erudition through stipend promotion and technical enhancement. This activity has, traditionally, been obliterated in the vast but rotting Ottoman Empire from the XIX c., cf. that the Ottoman Empire had sovereignty over Turkey, much of the Balkans and all the Arab lands except Morocco. Feminism, however, entered the communications parlance not earlier than the 1890s - probably, from France. Backwards as they were, bulgarians, tried their utmost to keep and tolerate maidens rights. So, Knyazeski is maybe one of the patriarchs in that movement. For instance in 1850, his legendary effort to smuggle two girls disguised as boys at Odessa is well documented, latter, in the autobiography of one Anastasia Tosheva /1837-1919/. The latter is founder of the first Bulgarian Woman Association "Mothers' Love" in 1869 at Gabrovo. More or less, Knyazeski & associates helped some 10 girls go and study midwifery for a period between the 60s and the 70s.
Hard times and broken finances make master Zahary Knyazeski to apply as a translator or "dragoman" at the Russian consulate in Turnovo. The year is 1863 and the region is Russe Villaette of Mithad Pasha. Wait here for a moment and see who Mithad Pasha is and what he did for the bulgarian people. That man, born in Tzarigrad and educated in most of the european capitals of the time, served for 15 years as a secretary in the Tzarigrad's Chancellery. Sometime about 1860, he is appointed governor or "valiya" to the Russe Villaette and here he excels as a bold reformator and organizator. In fact, he is the bulgarian Robert Owen and his co-ops near Russe at "Obraztzov chiflik" is a rudiment like the Rochdale's pioneers in Europe /more/. Well, further for the association between Zahary Knyazeski and Mithhad Pasha one can find in the archives but we must emphasize a point, namely … Zahary Knyazeski was, always, interested in the theory and practice of cooperatives. This is evident from a book he wrote and published - "Practical handbook on silkworn. Tzarigrad, 1859".
Knyazeski does not live to see the liberation. He died on 23 January 1877 in Russe.
We don't have full information whether Zahary Knyazeski had any special medical preparation. Most probably, he was self-educated like other revivalists Savva Dobroplodni, Tzani Ginnchev, etc. What is interesting for the purpose of our presentation are three books written by the author and a number of papers:
1. "The origins of alcoholism" is a small book, six pages in total, published in typography Damianoff at Smirna in 1842. The work centers on the psychological aspects of alcoholism and its reflection on physical beauty of man. Also, given are some symptoms of the alcoholic disease.
2. "On childbirth and how to feed a baby" is transliteration from russian, which, represents a book by french authors Tissot-Furcroa-Salmaud. Published in typography Tzarigradski vestnik at Tzarigrad in 1853. In brief, medical care for pregnancy is a task for grammercy by the parents and not so much a concern by the side of the medical practitioner. The book contains 34 rules for the young couple: how to get dressed, how to eat wholesome food, how to dwell in a spacious room. The author is negative about grandmotherly superstitions.
3. "First aid on syncope" is originally published as a serial in the Tzarigradski vestnik. In 1858 it has a second edition, revised and enlarged. The book is reviewed by G. Krustevich and marked "B".
