The Bulgarian Secret Central Committee, founded by émigré Bulgarians in Bucharest in 1866, continues Rakovski's mission under the leadership of Vasil Levski and Liuben Karavelov

These ideologues refine Rakovski's idea of armed revolutionary groups, creating a cadre of intellectuals who will prepare the people to rise for independence.

Beginning in 1868, Levski founds the first revolutionary committees in Bulgaria.

Captured by the Turks, he becomes a national hero when he is hanged in 1873.

In 1870 Karavelov founds the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC) in Bucharest.

The death of Levski temporarily shatters the group, but the committee resumes its activities when Georgi Benkovski joins its leadership in 1875.

By this time, the political atmosphere of the Balkans is charged with revolution, and the Ottoman Empire looks increasingly vulnerable.

Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary were growing concerned about the implications of those trends for the European balance of power.

In 1875 Bosnia and Herzegovina revolt successfully against the Turks, and the next year Serbia and Montenegro will attack the Ottoman Empire.