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1887 Silistra mutiny

Immediately after the Liberation, the Liberal Party had a strong influence in South Dobrudja. That is why the coming to power of the conservatives here was greeted with mistrust, and the powers regime (1881-1883) with strong resistance. The struggle for the restoration of the constitution is particularly strong in Silistra Province. Here it was led by a large group of intellectuals who propagated anti-monarchist and Russophile ideas.

After a temporary ebb, the workers' struggles entered a new dynamic phase in connection with the coup d'état and the Stefan Stambolov regime (1886-1894). An important episode in the activities of the Russophile opposition was the rebellion in Silistra.

Already after the establishment of the regency (August 25, 1886), the movement of Russophiles in Southern Dobrudja intensified. Their supporters distribute illegal literature, collect signatures under various exhibitions and campaign against the government. Towards the end of 1886, an illegal committee was founded in Silistra. It was led by Captain Hr. Krastev, commander of the second company of the 5th Danube Infantry Regiment and head of the garrison.

The preparations for the uprising did not remain hidden from the government. On February 15, 1887, the increased police protection along the Danube River captured the committee's courier, in whose possession compromising letters were found, and Captain Krastev was ordered to appear in the Ministry of War.

Learning about the failure, Captain Krastev decided to raise the uprising prematurely. It began early in the morning of February 16, 1887. Military units occupied the city. Telegrams were sent to the Revolutionary Committee in Bucharest and to the Russian government, martial law was declared, new province and district governors were appointed, and an order was issued to call up the reserve soldiers and officers. About 2,000 reservists came to the city, but Captain Krastev kept only 1,200, who, together with the nine hundred regular troops, represented a serious military force. The surrounding heights and approaches to Silistra are occupied, to which meanwhile government troops are concentrated on February 17. The same day, Captain Krastev calls them to join the uprising in the name of a "peaceful fraternal agreement to save Bulgaria". A city-wide rally was also called. A five-member delegation of citizens meets with the command of government troops to clarify the objectives of the insurgents. She returns with the message that if the insurgents do not surrender, the city will be demolished by artillery. Realizing that they were isolated, and in order not to spill fraternal blood, the mutinous officers decided to withdraw to Romania, and the soldiers to surrender without a fight. Meanwhile, some of the members of the "Bulgaria for Itself" Silistra group are preparing to help the government troops. During the retreat of the officers to the Danube River on the morning of February 19, not far from the river, Captain Krastev was killed, and the others managed to transfer to Romania. Subsequently, mass arrests of military and civilian persons were carried out, many of whom were severely ill-treated.

Despite the serious blow that was dealt to the Russophiles with the suppression of the rebellion, their activity did not stop. An unknown but interesting episode of this activity is the preparation for a new rebellion in the Silistra Province, held in the summer and autumn of 1888. The struggle of the Russophiles and the popular masses to change the political regime in the country and the foreign policy orientation of Bulgaria ended with the fall of the Stambolov government (1894).