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Internal Revolutionary Organization
Вътрешна Революционна Организация
Leader(s) Vasil Levski
Foundation 1869
Dissolved 1872
Merged into Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
Country  Bulgaria
Headquarters Lovech
Ideology Bulgarian nationalism
Democratic republicanism
Part of National awakening of Bulgaria
Opponents  Ottoman Empire

The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (IRO; Bulgarian: Вътрешна Революционна Организация (ВРО), romanized: Vatrešna Revolyutsionna Organizatsiya (VRO)) was a Bulgarian revolutionary group. It was started and built by the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski. This happened between 1869 and 1871.

The IRO was a network of local revolutionary groups. These groups were guided by a main committee in the town of Lovech. Levski believed that the fight for freedom should happen inside Bulgaria. He thought it should not just be led by Bulgarians living in Romania.

In 1871, Levski wrote the rules for the organisation. His main ideas were clear. Bulgaria needed to be free from the Ottoman Empire. This would happen through a revolution across the whole country. After that, Bulgaria would become a democratic republic. Everyone would be equal, no matter their background or beliefs.

By the end of 1872, Levski and Lyuben Karavelov realized something important. Karavelov was the leader of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC). This group was based in Bucharest. They understood that groups both inside and outside Bulgaria needed to work together. This was key for success against the Ottomans.

So, the two organisations created a shared plan and rules. They voted to combine their groups. This merger happened at a big meeting in Bucharest in May 1872. The new combined group was called the BRCK. The goals and ideas of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation were very important. They inspired many other Bulgarian revolutionary groups that came later.

Learn More About Bulgarian History

  • Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
  • Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee
  • Vasil Levski

Sources

  • Historical dictionary of Bulgaria, Item 46 of European historical dictionaries, Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006, ISBN: 0-8108-4901-1, p. 228.
  • Bones of Contention: The Living Archive of Vasil Levski and the Making of Bulgaria's National Hero, Maria N. Todorova, Central European University Press, 2008, ISBN: 963-9776-24-6, PP. 276-278.
  • The establishment of the Balkan national states, 1804-1920, Volume 8, A History of East Central Europe, Barbara Jelavich, University of Washington Press, 1986, pp. 136-137 ISBN: 0-295-96413-8
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