Pavlov, Krastyo (1927-2020)

“Anarchism - is a combination of humanity, solidarity, freedom, equality and social justice. That's why I adopted these ideas.” Krastyo Pavlov.

Krastyo Ivanov Pavlov was on 19th December 1927.in the town of Sandalski, Bulgaria. Under the influence of his brothers Slaveyko and Radko he became an active anarchist.

He was arrested by the Communist authorities on June 13th, 1949, and after 115 days of interrogation and beatings, he was sent to the Belene concentration camp, to which his two brothers had already been sent for “re-education”.

He was released on June 19th, 1951. Two years later, he managed to illegally leave Bulgaria, crossing into Greece. Two years later he moved to France. In 1957 he studied architecture in Geneva, Switzerland. He met a German woman there and subsequently moved to Germany, where he graduated as an architect.

In Germany, he was involved with an Amnesty International Group that provided information about repression in Bulgaria. He was in contact with many anarchists in Europe, America and Australia.

In 1991 he returned to Australia and took part in the activities of the Bulgarian Anarchist Federation (FAB), the organisation that replaced the old Bulgarian Anarchist Communist Federation (FAKB).

In August 2001 he invited Bulgarian anarchists to participate in the inauguration of a monument to the anarchist poet Krastyo Hadzhiivanov, gunned down by the Communists in 1952, and created by Pavlov. In 2015 he wrote and published the book Memories of Nikola Yankov, and contributed financially to the publication of a book on his friend and comrade Borislav Menkov.

He died on 29th October 2020 in the village of Pokrovnik. He was buried alongside his older brother Slaveyko.

Nick Heath

Sources:

https://www.anarchy.bg/articles/в-памет-на-бай-кръстьо-павло