Rayko Ivanov (Yoanov) Zhinzifov orRajko Ivanov (Jovanov) Žinzifov, (Bulgarian:Райко Иванов (Йоанов) Жинзифов,Macedonian:Рајко Иванов (Јованов) Жинзифов; 15 February 1839 – 15 February 1877), bornKsenofont Dzindzifi (Cyrillic:Ксенофонт Дзиндзифи), was aBulgarian National Revivalpoet andtranslator fromVeles in today'sNorth Macedonia, who spent most of his life in theRussian Empire.
Zhinzifov was born on 15 February 1839 into anAromanian family inVeles in theOttoman Empire, today inNorth Macedonia.[1][2][3] His father Yoan Dzindzifi was aHellenophile, who named him Xenophon (Ksenofont) and taught him Greek, although he also gained Slavic literacy. He sent him to study at aGreek secondary school.[3][4] In 1855, he moved toPrilep and metDimitar Miladinov.[5] He became an assistant teacher inPrilep at Dimitar Miladinov's school in 1856. Miladinov sent him to teach in Kukush (modernKilkis,Greece) in the next year.[3] Under his influence, he abandoned his Hellenophile views and Miladinov was the one who started calling him Rayko.[4][6]
Zhinzifov went to theRussian Empire with the aid of Miladinov,[7] in July 1858, in pursuit of higher education. He arrived inOdessa (modernUkraine), where he became close withGeorgi Rakovski.[3] He studied at a local gymnasium there.[5] Inspired by Rakovski, he changed his Greek birth name Xenophon to the Bulgarian Rayko.[6] At the end of the year, at the invitation of Konstantin Miladinov, he moved toMoscow, where he joined the Slavic Charity Committee. In 1860, he enrolled into the Faculty of History and Philology atMoscow University.[3] He had a scholarship of 20,000rubles but it was not enough to cover his expenses so he requested money from his father, who did not answer. The Slavic Committee helped him instead.[6] Zhinzifov became close to the Slavophiles in Moscow, who provided him with both material and moral support, and became an adherent ofSlavophilia himself.[3] He graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology in 1864.[8]
Zhinzifov lived among the young Bulgarian diaspora in Moscow, along withLyuben Karavelov,Nesho Bonchev,Konstantin Miladinov,Vasil Popovich, etc., and issued theBrotherly Labour magazine. In the Russian press of the time, Zhinzifov was particularly active in the information of the Russian society about the tough fate of theBulgarianpeople underOttoman rule. He co-operated with the Bulgarian newspapersDanubian Dawn,Macedonia,Liberty,Bulgarian Bee,Age andTime, the magazinesChitalishte,Periodical Magazine,Bulgarian Booklets, etc. He also contributed to the Russian periodicalsMoscow,Moscow News,Den (Day), etc.[4][3] Zhinzifov spent time in Ottoman Macedonia in 1866 before returning to the Russian Empire and acquiring Russian citizenship.[7] In early 1868, he became a member of the Moscow Slavic Committee. His work in the committee gave him the opportunity to help Bulgarian schools (where books were sent), Bulgarian students studying in Russia and he supported a project of founding a girls' school for the South Slavs in Russia. On 8 February 1868, at the suggestion ofNil Popov, Zhinzifov was elected as a member of the Ethnographic Department of the Imperial Society of Lovers of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography.[3] He was a teacher of Greek in theLazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, as well as two Moscow gymnasiums.[6] In 1870, Zhinzifov was elected as a member of theBulgarian Literary Society (modern Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). He died in 1877, on his 38th birthday, in Moscow.[3][9]
Some of his notable poems include:
While he was a student (in 1863), Zhinzifov published his first book in Bulgarian in Moscow -Novobolgarska sbirka (New Bulgarian Collection). The book was prominent in the Russian press. The newspaperDay published a positive review in the same year. On the other hand, in the newspaperBulgarian Bee, a review of the book was published by Karavelov, who criticized Zhinzifov for his Slavophile views. He wrote in two languages: Bulgarian and Russian (Zhinzifov wrote poetry in Bulgarian and journalistic pieces in Russian).[3] Zhinzifov inserted Russian words into modern Bulgarian.[2] Zhinzifov translatedVáclav Hanka's 'Rukopis Královédvorský' (Manuscript of the King's Court, a forgery of the early 19th century, although Zhinzifov was not aware about its nature),[3]Old East Slavic textThe Tale of Igor's Campaign, poems by Taras Shevchenko, into Bulgarian.[8][10] The themes of his poetry were mostlypatriotic and it was strongly influenced by the work of the Ukrainian poetTaras Shevchenko.[5][8] Due to his poetical heritage, he has been described as aRomantic poet.[11] He had two works which he did not get to complete, such as "Road builder in Macedonia, or otherwise a geographical and statistical description of Macedonia" and a Russian-Bulgarian dictionary. His Bulgarian works contributed to theBulgarian national revival.[6]
Zhinzifov wasconservative and an Orthodox Christian.[3][4][5] He opposed all cultural imports (dress, dances, languages, foreign words) as a Slavophile with the aim to preserve traditional patriarchal morality.[12] He expressed love for music, theater and painting.[6] Zhinzifov was of the view that Bulgarians constituted the majority inVardar Macedonia andPirin Macedonia, which was confirmed by international diplomats.[13] In all of his works Zhinzifov regarded himself as a Bulgarian, his language - Bulgarian, his fellow compatriots -Macedonian Bulgarians, and his homeland asBulgaria. Zhinzifov denied the existence of Macedonians and Thracians as separate nations. He defined the boundaries of his homeland as consisting ofMacedonia (which he often called "Lower Bulgaria"),Thrace and Upper Bulgaria (or "Balkan Bulgaria").[3]
In his honorRayko Nunatak onGraham Land inAntarctica was named after him. Thehistoriography in North Macedonia regards him as an ethnic Macedonian writer.[14] Schools inNorth Macedonia are named in honor of him.[15] Writers such asIvan Vazov andPetko Slaveykov denied the value of his work, while others likeAnton Strashimirov andStefan Mladenov defended him. His poetry has been republished.[5]
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