Portraits of the overman: Raina Knyaginya
Raina Knyaginya
The girl who sewed the flag
Who is she?
Raina Knyaginya sews the flag for the April Uprising and waves it among the citizens of Panagyurishte, signaling that the fight for freedom has begun.
Why is she an overman?
Raina Knyaginya is the gentler image of the Bulgarian struggle for freedom. She has the distinctive fervor and rebelliousness, but also the purity and mysticism of a Bulgarian girl. In a patriarchal society, it is significant that a young woman waves the flag of rebellion alongside its leaders.
As a person, Raina is devoted, generous, and faces difficulties with dignity. Her proud and uncompromising character is best described in the song “Who Sewed the Flag,” where her very name becomes a symbol of the overman.
Short biography:
18 January 1956 – 29 July 1917
Raina Popgeorgieva Futekova was born in Panagyurishte into a priest’s family. She had five brothers and sisters. She studied at the Girls’ School in Stara Zagora, graduating with honors.
During the preparations for the April Uprising, Georgi Benkovski entrusted her with sewing the rebel flag. This task took almost a month, and on April 20, the flag was consecrated. When the uprising was suppressed, her family’s house was attacked by the Ottomans, and her father was killed.
After the defeat, she was captured, interrogated, and tortured by the Ottomans. Her realease came thanks to the intervention of European diplomats. She left for Moscow, where she completed her studies in obstetrics. When she returned to Bulgaria, she worked as a teacher in Tarnovo, Panagyurishte, and Plovdiv.
In Panagyurishte, Raina married Vasil Dipchev and they had two sons and an adopted daughter. Her husband died young when, as a member of parliament, he became a victim of political persecution. Raina continued to help women as a midwife and worked for the opening of a maternity hospital in Sofia.
The story of Raina Knyaginya is told by Zahari Stoyanov in Notes on the Bulgarian Uprisings and by Januarius MacGahan.
See also:
Who Sewed the Flag – a folkloric song
