The Stanka and Nikola Ikonomov House Museum today hosted the events for November 1 – the Day of the People’s Awakeners.
The celebration began with an award ceremony of the Ballet School at the community center “Development – 1869” – Razgrad with one of the largest awards of the Municipality of Razgrad – “Nikola Ikonomov”. The decision was taken unanimously by the Municipal Council on October 19th. The recognition is for the 46-year contribution of the ballet school to the local culture and 165 years of community center work in our country. The award was presented by the acting mayor of Razgrad Dobrin Dobrev to the principal Maria Kercheva and the teachers at the school Violeta Zhelyazkova and Milena Mileva.
The soloist of the Kapan ensemble Ruska Stancheva greeted the crowd with a Dobrudzha folk song.
Afterwards, wreaths and flowers in front of the memorial plaque of Stanka and Nikola Ikonomov were presented by the Municipality of Razgrad, the District Administration, community centers and other cultural institutes, political parties and citizens.
The Razgrad educators and writers Nikola and Stanka Ikonomov
The life of the Razgrad educators and writers Stanka and Nikola Ikonomovi is a testimony to the patriotic activity of the Bulgarian Revivalist, who carried out the process of cultural and spiritual growth of our people.
Nikola Ikonomov (Zheravnenetsa, Deliormanski) was born in 1820 in Zheravna in the family of a candle. Todor Gerasimov, who was a teacher at the local cell school and a priest. Nikola Ikonomov studied with his father and with teacher Mano (Emanuil P. Krastev), Dimitar Sabev, Hadji Tsoncho Nikulov, Rafail (priest Ranko). His father and brother spoke Greek, but teacher Mano knew him best, and he probably passed that knowledge on to Nicholas. After his father’s cell school, Nikola Ikonomov educated himself and accumulated a lot of knowledge, which turned him into a skilled teacher, progressive and searching.
From 1840 to 1846 Ikonomov taught in Shumen, where in 1844 he translated from Greek the book “Erminia” (Guide), which he called “A special book for mutual schools.” From March 1846 he lived in Razgrad, where he opened a mutual, girls’, and later a class school, where he taught.
Nikola Ikonomov also started the agricultural literature in Bulgaria. He wrote the first guide to agricultural issues, Agriculture, which was published in 1853 in Belgrade. The wide agronomic awareness of the author makes the book a valuable tool and is also used as a textbook on agriculture. An activist with extensive reformist, pedagogical and literary activity, Nikola Ikonomov also appeared as a literary artist – he wrote “teacher’s poetry”, which was published in the pages of “Tsarigradski Vestnik” in the period 1849-50. He developed active public activity as a member and chairman. of the Bulgarian municipality in the city. He took an active part in the struggle against the Greek Phanariot clergy and in the struggle for an independent Bulgarian church. In 1861 he was a representative of the municipality for submitting a petition of the Bulgarians from Razgrad to the sultan for an independent church hierarchy.
Nikola Ikonomov taught in the class school until 1866, when – due to a conflict with the local chorbadjii, with his wife Stanka Nikolitsa Spaso-Elenina, they were forced to move to Ruse, where they taught in the local girls’ school until 1871, when they returned. in Razgrad.
From 1871 until the end of his life he worked in Razgrad. Nikola Ikonomov did not remain indifferent to the national liberation struggles of the people. In 1872 he supported the activities of Angel Kanchev, who arrived in Razgrad with the task of founding a revolutionary committee. In 1874 he was ordained a priest so that “his people in the broadest sense of the word” would happen. During the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation / 1877-1878 / he organized the defense of the city against the retreating Turks. In 1879 he was elected a deputy in the Grand National Assembly.
For diligent service of the Fatherland Nikola Ikonomov was awarded in 1892 with the Order of Civil Merit IV degree.
He died on July 27, 1897 in Razgrad. As a sign of respect and gratitude, the citizens of Razgrad buried him in the baptistery of the church “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker”.
Stanka Nikolitsa Spaso-Elenina was born in 1835 in Razgrad in the family of the merchant Spas Stoyanov and Elena Spasoglu, settlers from Aranutkoy (Poroishte). She studied at the mutual school under Nikola Ikonomov, whom she married in 1852. She mastered Russian and Serbian well and became acquainted in the original with the works of famous writers. She formed as one of the most educated and progressive women in the city and became a teacher in the girls’ school. There he developed an active educational and social activity and continued his self-education. In 1853, a small booklet was published in Belgrade – “Two Tales of the Glorious Women and the Self of the Hatred Man” by Dosidej Obradovic, translated by Stanka Nikolica Spaso-Elenina (the poetic name of Stanka Ikonomov). The afterword to the translation (“Announcement”) bears the marks of vivid journalism and is a testimony to her progressive views on issues of women’s equality and education in our country. On the back of the booklet is printed a quatrain, which is considered the FIRST POEM OF A Bulgarian poet. As she herself announced in the announcement, Stanka Ikonomov translated and prepared for publication “Mnogostradalna Genoveva” and “Cassia Tsarina”, but for unknown reasons did not publish them. Nothing is known today about the fate of the two translated manuscripts.
From 1866 to 1871 Stanka Ikonomov taught with her husband at the girls’ school in Ruse. After 1871 she was an active participant in the women’s movement and became a co-founder of the women’s society “Mother’s Care” in Razgrad. He is a bright person in the social and cultural life of the city. He died on December 7, 1920.
