Todor Stanković

Todor Stanković
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Born	1852 February 13 Belgrade
Died	July 15, 1925(1925-07-15) (aged 73) Belgrade
Nationality	Serbian
Citizenship	Serbia
Occupation	National worker

Todor Stanković (Serbian Cyrillic: Тодор Станковић; Niš, Principality of Serbia, 13 February 1852 - Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, 15 July 1925) was a national worker and Serbian consul in Priština, Skopje, Bitola and Thessaloniki.He participated in all the wars from 1876 to 1918.

Biography

He was born on 13 February 1852, in Niš. He devoted himself early on to work for the national liberation and cultural renaissance of his people. Stanković was a favourite and respected, especially in Niš. He acted as Consul General, District Chief and Member of Parliament for many years. He was a reserve cavalry lieutenant colonel in the Serbian army. He was a prominent Serbian national worker in Old Serbia and Macedonia. He was the holder of several domestic and foreign awards and decorations. He received the "Medal for Military Virtues" in 1903 as a reserve cavalry major. He was awarded in 1921 with the Order of Saint Sava first degree.

In October 1927, the remains of Todor and his wife Persida were ceremoniously transferred from Belgrade to Niš. They were both buried there in the family tomb.

In Prizren

In Prizren, he edited the Serbian part of the Turkish-Serbian newspaper Prizren from 1871 to 1874.He used his stay in Prizren for national and political work, where he met the Russian consul Ivan Jastrebov, who was protecting the Serbs. At the time, the Prizren Serbian Orthodox Seminary was founded there, at the instigation of Sima Igumanov, whose first rector was Sava Dečanac, and Stanković wrote many complaints to the Turkish authorities and the Serbian government for numerous crimes committed against the Serb population, in order to alert European powers.

Niš Committee

Stanković, a fluent Turkish-speaker and translator,became one of the members of the Niš Committee who worked illegally to liberate the territory from Turkish rule. As soon as the First Serbian-Turkish War broke out in 1876, together with prominent members of the Niš Committee, he helped the Serbian army. During the Second Serbian-Turkish War, he and his comrades were behind Turkish lines, causing confusion in the Turkish army.

Consul in Priština

After the end of the war, he was awarded the position of district chief. He enjoyed the support of Jovan Ristić, the trust of Prince Milan Obrenović and others.Serbia opened a consulate in Priština in 1889, and the first consul, Luka Marinković, was assassinated after only a few months of service. In June 1890, Todor Stanković took over the duty of consul in Priština by order of the Serbian consulate in Skopje, Vladimir Karić. Stanković especially advocated for the renewal and improvement of the work of Serbian schools, which were important for maintaining Serbian national consciousness and literacy. In his reports, he cited numerous cases of murder, robbery, kidnapping and violence against Serbs.He cited in one of his many reports an example of a village in which the number of Serb houses was reduced from 50 to four in just 15 years due to Arnaut violence.

Consul in Skopje

Todor Stanković was the Serbian consul in Skopje from 24 October 1892, to 25 June 1895. He conducted quite difficult negotiations about the status of Serbian priests. At that time, the Bulgarian Exarchate was separated from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which did not recognize the separate Bulgarian Orthodox Church nor the Serbian Orthodox Church which were both in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople at the time. The Bulgarian Exarchate gained a population in Macedonia due to its service in the Slavic language. Todorović proposed a strategy to negotiate the status of metropolitan and bishop with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, seeking only the position of the bishop for the Serbs, and proposing a Greek for the vacant position of metropolitan, when the Serbs bribed with money. That strategy went first to the approval of the Serbian minister, and then to the king. After the approval of the strategy, it was successfully implemented, so the Serbs got bishops in the Diocese of Skopje, Strumica and Veles-Debar. The Serbian Orthodox Church then gained much stronger support in stopping the performance of the Bulgarian Exarchate.

Again in Pristina

Todor Stanković was appointed consul in Priština for the second time in 1897, based on the merits of his past service which was noted by influential politicians and diplomats. The violence in Arbanasi continued with such intensity that Stanković believed that only the hope of imminent liberation would keep the people. He suggested that he get in touch with prominent Albanian leaders and persuade them to cooperate, and then he himself established good contacts with about 40 of their leaders. Stanković was recalled from the consular position in 1898. In 1903, by order of King Aleksandar Obrenović, he travelled to reconnoitre the situation in Skopje, Priština and Prizren.

Participation in wars

He took part in the Serbian-Bulgarian war in 1885 as a battalion commander. In the First Balkan War with the cavalry detachment, he was the first to enter Priština on 9 October 1912, then just liberated from the Ottomans. In the Second Balkan War, with the 2nd Regiment of Elders, he conquered Belogradchik. In September 1913, he was appointed the first Serbian governor - commander of Belogradchik. During 1915, Stanković commanded the IV Regiment of Niš Reserve Troops, mostly composed of Arnauts who expressed the same desire as the Serb population to be free of their Turkish overlords.

Written historical works

The importance of Todor Stanković should be talked about, because he translated many events in which he participated, as well as his memories, on paper, which were printed in the form of books. In that way, he left us very important evidence and first-order sources, which we can use today in the fight for truth and prevention of distortion of historical facts by certain interest groups and peoples related primarily to the history of Serbs and their status in Kosovo and Metohija.

• Putne beleške po Staroj Srbiji 1871-1898.
• Učešće Nišlije u Oslobodilačkom ratu 1876-1877.
• Uspomene, Piot.

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