The Life of Raycho Nikolov in Light of New Sources: Hero of Three Wars and Three Countries

Abstract

Raycho Nikolov is among the builders of the modern Bulgarian army, a typical person of the nineteenth century, charged with ardent patriotism driving him to brave exploits on the battlefields. This work observes the life of this man, a popular hero in Bulgaria and Russia, involved in military conflicts also in Poland and Serbia. Strangely, his popularity has not led to serious scholarly research so far, and until recently, knowledge about him was shrouded in obscurity. The present study of a long-unused collection of his documental heritage at the Plovdiv Regional History Museum reveals various misunderstandings and wrong interpretations by previous researchers, who in many cases created an image far removed from the actual one.