Where is the Oromo Youth? – Opinion

By Siiban Abbichuu
There is no doubt that the youth has a heavy responsibility in determining the future fate of its society. Especially in nations like the Oromo, which is still under tyranny, the role of the youth is the most important. As it is very clear for most of us, nowadays, the participation of the Oromo youth in the political leadership areas is not satisfactory. When I compare the activities of the Oromo youth in the 1960s-1970s with those of the nowadays, I become worrisome. One may surprisingly ask me about this. ‘What do you mean? Why do you become worrisome? What about all the Oromo students protest across Ethiopian universities, colleges and high schools? What about all the Fincila Diddaa Gabrummaa in Oromia? Why do you forget all the sacrifices paid by the Oromo youth, especially, since the beginning of this millennium?’
Of course, these are important questions that should be raised here. And, the answer goes: ‘Yes, of course, all the mentioned activities of the Oromo youth are as they are. History has been recording all the heroic roles of the Oromo students of yesterday to today. The immense nationalism of the Qubee Generation is believed to be as a guarantee for the future self-governing of the Oromo nation and, at the same time, it is a higher threat to the enemy.’ I do not want to discredit the role of the new young generation. The author of this article himself is in the beginning of thirties. I believe that the Oromo youth can be effectively mobilized in the right direction of the struggle under a brilliant political leadership that will be emerged from the youth itself.
My concern is not about being mobilized by someone. It is about empowering the youth itself to enable it mobilize the whole nation. Let me try to compare the situation with the truth of the old days. As everybody knows, the Oromo youth in the 60s-70s was self-united, self-organized, and self-mobilized. In other words, it can be said it was SELF-EMPOWERED. In fact, here, I don’t want to forget the movement under the Matcha-Tulama Self-Help Association and the Bale Oromo Uprisings of that time. However, the association was no longer operating its duty. It was banned after a few years of socio-political movement. The Bale Oromo Uprisings under the Oromo hero, General Waqo Gutu, also failed due to lack of modern organization at that time. The students of that time had no senior intellectuals to take as role models in their political movement of building modern nationalism. There was no such career among the elders. We can say that the birth of the modern Oromo nationalism was the Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) University in 1960s-70s. Not only for Oromo, but also for those old politicians of TPLF and the ‘Ethiopians’ (Amharas) of nowadays, Finfinnee University was the birth place of modern politics at the same time. During the struggle against the feudal regime under the slogan of ‘Land to the Tillers’, the students movement was at its peak.
In that historical movement, the role of Oromo students was also a shining one. Young students of the time, such as Baaroo Tumsaa, Magarsaa Barii, Lencho Lata, Hayle Fida (from abroad) and many others, were the rising stars in Oromo and Ethiopian politics. Especially, Hayle Fida and Baro Tumsa were the young icons, not only in Oromo, but also in the whole Ethiopian politics. Baro Tumsa was the organizer of the historical mass movement under the slogan of ‘Land to the Tillers’ in 1965. He was also the founder of the organization Struggle of Ethiopian Oppressed Forces (ECHEHAT) in 1975. The other Oromo star, Hayle Fida, was the founder of MEISON, the first opposition political organization in Ethiopia in the early of 1960s. MEISON was the organization that believed in self-determination and genuine ethnic-based federalism. Hayle was also the first Oromo intellectual who made meaningful research on the importance of Latin alphabet (QUBEE) to use in Afan Oromo.
Even though the trend of the Oromo nationalism among Oromo students at that time had a little bit ideological differences, over all, the beginning was smart. It was historic time because of many victories recorded by the youth: the Oromo nationals from West to East, North to South as well as Central, were able to introduce themselves to each other that they were of ONE NATION. They heard the sweet dialects of their common language, Afan Oromo, for the first time. They addressed each other that their people were under tyranny, and they needed to be free by any mechanism. Thus, that youth generation embarked on the struggle against tyranny through establishing political organizations with few fellow non-Oromo politicians. Organizations like, the All Ethiopian Socialist Movement [MEISON], the Ethiopian National Liberation Front [ENLF], the Struggle of Ethiopian Oppressed Forces [ECHEHAT], and finally, the Oromo Liberation Front [OLF], were emerged by the Oromo youth of that time. Although the former three organizations had not played meaningful roles through peaceful struggle under the dictatorial regime, they paid unforgettable sacrifices to address the true cause of the struggle of the Oromo nation as well as other oppressed peoples. That brave Oromo youth generation was an evidence to convince everybody that Oromo intellectuals were not ‘narrow politicians’ by nature, as many anti-Oromo forces try to criticize today. Those brilliant members of the Oromo youth endeavored to look for solution under the name ‘Ethiopia’, but in vain. It was after demolition and ban of those three organizations that the OLF decided to strengthen itself and to engage in the armed struggle under the bold name OROMO. All these are historical roles of the youth of the 60s-70s.
Advantages of Nowadays for the Youth
As the time between now and then is too long, the youth of the past time and the present day have some differences. Today, there are so many advantages for the youth as technology grows faster and access of social infrastructures has increased. Let me mention few:
The number of Oromo students in higher educational levels in the past time was very limited. May be there were few hundreds. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Oromo students in higher educational levels and graduate civil servants. No lack of educated manpower today when compared with yesterday.
There were no different kinds of fast means of communication during that time. Thus, it was too difficult to contact people from around the country as fast as possible. Today, there are fast communication technologies, such as email, online chats, mobile phone and SMS.
Awareness of nationalism in the Oromo society was very limited in the past time. Oromo nationals who could introduce themselves that they were OROMO were very few. The rest used to express themselves using the regional names given to them by the oppressors, not the original name, Oromo. Some others even used to tell the religion they belonged to as an ethnic identity, i.e. instead of saying ‘I am an Oromo’, they would say ‘I am a Muslim’, ‘I am a Christian’, etc. However, today every Oromo national, be it in urban or rural areas, can simply express his/herself as an Oromo. That means, now it is not as difficult as those old days to agitate the Oromo people to fight for their rights.
In 1960s-70s there was no Oromo community in Diaspora. Today, there are thousands of Diaspora Oromo nationals in different corners of the world. Exchange of ideas, financial supports and addressing the Oromo cause to the international community by means of demonstrations, writing letters and petitions are advantages of these days.
During the old days, the international community had not addressed the Oromo question. Most had no idea even what the name ‘Oromo’ did mean. Today, the world, especially the Westerns at least, simply understand who the Oromo is and what the cause of their struggle is.
In addition to these, the new generation is lucky for two big reasons:
First, the youth is not beginning the struggle from zero point. There are some victories that have been gained by our elders. The question is now, how to pursue the way that has already been paved by our hero elders. It is the question of how to finalize the already started struggle.
Second, the five-point advantages mentioned above would strengthen and sharpen the role of this generation. For example, the report of student protests of Finfinnee University at the beginning of the 1970s might take many days to be heard in Jimma or Diredawa. But today, such news can simply be reported live to the whole world using modern technologies. The young generation should be able to use these advantages meaningfully. The five-point advantages of our time must be means of acceleration for the journey of the struggle.
Generally speaking, I can say that carrying out the Oromo political struggle in today’s world is not as difficult as the old days, because of the above mentioned advantages. However, unfortunately, our goal is still not reached. There is lack of best efficiency among our elites. So, what is the solution for this problem? Let me try to state some ‘change agents’ to overcome the lack of efficiency.
1. The Youth Must Take the Responsibility
As I stated in the first and second paragraphs of this piece, even today, our youth is the main actor in the struggle of the Oromo nation against tyranny. However, participating in the struggle in certain numbers is still not enough. To succeed, more activities are needed. The youth must also be able to call on for struggle, not only be called upon to participate in the struggle. That means, it ought to take over almost all the responsibilities of the struggle. Since they have better chance to be aware of the meaning and need of Oromo nationalism just starting form their childhood, (as most of them are Qubee Generation), they must be ready to take over the burden of the struggle that their elders should transfer to them. The youth must be able to responsibly determine the means of the struggle that match this era, including making the vision clear. The main thing that damages the Oromo struggle now is the separation of the diaspora-based armed and homeland-based peaceful struggles. In other words, the problem is the lack of coalition between the ‘banned’ OLF and the ‘legal’ Oromo parties that work under the constitution of the regime. This separation must come to an end. I hope the potential power, the youth, can do it by any means!
2. The Older Should Raise the Younger Seedlings
It is well known that most of our political leaders are over 60 years of age now. In fact, this truth is not only for Oromo, but also for all Ethiopian politicians. The older leaders, who have emerged from the 1960s-70s movements, are still giving leadership. These old men are nationalists; they were born in the Cold War era. Thus, they may still have Marxist-Leninist tendency in some degrees. In this case, the TPLF regime is now busy to raise young politicians, who are going to take over its dictatorial regime as it is, in the next five years. The so called ‘Revolutionary Democracy’ is the main lesson in youth training for Wayyanes. Here, I have some questions regarding our elder politicians, especially the OLF leaders. What are they doing at this juncture? Don’t they want potential youth politicians to take over the burden of the leadership? Do they want to give leadership till the end of their lives? Are they ‘power’ ambitious? What is the gap between the old leadership and the youth? What is our true ideology today? What kind of democracy do we pursue? When the Marxist-Leninist Wayane discovers a fake ideology (the so called ‘Revolutionary Democracy’) as a means to stay in power, what are we thinking about ourselves? Is the ideological differences between the two (Marxist-Leninist-oriented old and Democratic-oriented youth) irreconcilable in Oromo politics? Why does the youth (including those elected as CC members) leave the struggle after working in OLF for very short time? Does the youth lack commitment to push the struggle? Is the struggle of the Oromo for self-determination boring? … I think these are very important questions that need answers. All those to whom the questions concern should speak out here.
3. ‘All that Glitters is Not Gold’
Our elder politicians have paid many sacrifices to enable the struggle reach this stage. They lived, not for themselves, but for the need of their people. They have historical roles in bringing the Oromo people to the brighter today. So they deserve great respect. However, as they have honorable identities that we proud of, they have also a little bit weaknesses. Regionalism is one of the problems that has emerged with our elders. The youth should ruthlessly be able to bring this shameful tendency to an end. The era of regionalism should come to an end through a radical change by the youth. All political characteristics of the elders need not pass on to the young generation. Negative and positive aspects should be carefully identified. All that glitters is not gold. The youth should take over the golden identities of their elders, and burn out the useless and harmful ones. It is time to say no! for regionalism viruses. The youth need not choose the either side of QC, Shanee or Jijjiirama. It must work hard to melt all these factions together.
4. The Need for Youth Political Icons
In every political struggle there is a need for iconic leaders. In 1960s-70s, youth leaders like Hayle Fida and Baro Tumsa were political icons among the Oromo as well as Ethiopian political societies. Obbo Lencho Lata was/is the political icon of Oromo politics until recent times. Who is the youth icon today?? Who is Lencho Senior of today? Who is Hayle Fida of these days? Who is our Baro Tumsa of now? I can’t see the boldest name among our elites, particularly in the youth. However, I believe that youth politicians like Jawar Siraj Mohammed might be the hope in the future. Certainly, Jawar is a rising star Oromo young man of this time. Everybody should say him ‘Guddadhu Jawaaroo!’ But such activities should not be limited in the Diaspora. I need to see more Jawar’s in our homeland youth.
There is some things that should be taken into account when we talk about the need for icons. To rise as an icon means is not to engage in negative competitions. The youth should compete with their praised roles in the quest for freedom and democracy. It is the people that judge who is better than who, or who is the best of all. The Oromo struggle for freedom and democracy needs an Oromo Mandela, Gandhi, ML King or Obama!
 The author, Siiban Abbichuu, can be reached at abbichuuu@gmail.com

The Oromo Genocide Solemnly Confessed by Official Russian Explorer in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia

The Oromo Genocide Solemnly Confessed by Official Russian Explorer in Abyssinia (Fake Ethiopia)

Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
July 16, 2010
Alexander Bulatovich, the 19th – early 20th century Russian noble, explorer, military officer, and monk, is still conveniently unknown even to Russians, let alone Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Latin Americans and Africans. I don´t expect anyone in the US to have heard of Bulatovich, except the person is a historian and political scientist locked in a remote research center, safely enough for the gangsters of Wall Street, and the masquerades of the Senate and the Congress.
The incestuous, cruel and disreputable Amhara and Tigray gangsters are covered with cold sweat whenever they hear the name of the Russian Orthodox explorer. They know of his report about Abyssinia, and they are well aware that their momentarily successful but genuinely evil propaganda will collapse, once focus is shifted on Bulatovich´s books.
Alexander Bulatovich was for almost three years (1897 - 1899) in a mission in Abyssinia, thus becoming an extraordinary eye-witness of the Oromo genocide and of the Abyssinian expansion outside the borders of their tiny and barbarous kingdom.
One must redraw in his mind Africa at the times of the criminal colonial onslaught that, under the coverage of an immoral, highly criminal, genuinely fake and otherwise useless Christianization, ended up with the destruction of socio-cultural structures maintained for thousands of years, i.e. an immense cultural genocide of disproportionate size, and a still unprecedented physical genocide – that of the Oromo nation.
Tsarist Russia was left very behind the other colonial powers in Africa. Of course, the Central and Western European colonial countries considered Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia as Russia´s colonies, and they were right in this; however, although late, Russia attempted to extend influence in the Horn of Africa whereby France, England and Italy were in harsh competition to expand their spheres of influence.
The lewd and barbarous gangster Sahle Maryam, son of an idiotic soldier Besha Warad and a prostitute named Ijigayehu who divorced her husband less than a year after her son was born ( ! ), had become an Abyssinian king, which means the filthiest litter throughout Africa.
This was precisely the type of ruler the colonial powers wanted to have as a tool. To prevent Italy´s expansion in the Red Sea coast and the Horn of Africa region, France and England selected this trash of king as an ally, and delivered thousands of guns to his soldiers in order to both, avert Italy´s expansion and exterminate their worst enemy in the world, the peaceful and paradisiacal African societies that in and by themselves demonstrated (already at that time) the failure of the Western world, and the inhumanity of the corrupt, hypocritical and devilish Western European societies.
The French were the first to be influential on Sahle Maryam, who became "king" under the ridiculous name of Menelik II, which is an aberration, because Menelik I is a mythical and inexistent person created only by the fallacious author of the Kebra Negast forgery.
Later on, the English increased their impact on this filthy pseudo-king, by bribing him, providing him with more guns, and allowing him to secretly practice slave trade in order to multiply his dirty money.
The Russian envoy arrived little time after the battle of Adwa whereby, helped by the English, and with an army of slaves, the Abyssinians managed to stop the Italian advance for some time.
The Russians believed that they could mark a success because of the widespread delusion that the Abyssinians are Orthodox Christians, just like the Russians.
However, despite the rapprochement achieved by Bulatovich, the religious differences were far greater than just the acceptance of Monophysitism in Abyssinia.
In fact, the Abyssinians are vicious Anti-Christian heretics and their daily life is at the antipodes of the average Christian life, their values (if we suppose that they are values, which is already an aberration) being counterfeit and profane.
Bulatovich understood that the Abyssinians play the "Christian card" in a highly politicized game in order to be allowed to perform crimes after crimes and genocides after genocides, sharing with the Anglo-French Freemasonry – in addition to other vicious feelings and malignant targets – a detrimental hatred of Islam and the Islamic world.
Bulatovich offered Menelik the chance for an extra ally, namely Russia. His military advice proved to be also useful, and thus the Russian explorer joined the Abyssinian military expedition against Kaffa and other southern nations that were then subjugated.
In his books, Bulatovich demonstrates a rather superficial understanding of the African societies and cultures. What becomes instantly clear is that he did not travel there without preconceived ideas; for him, as well as for any Russian and European, a ´non Christian African´ meant a ´savage´. He was not even predisposed to diffuse the objective truth; although he knew (and mentioned) that the Oromos call themselves Oromos, in his books he kept calling them Gallas, after the Amhara pejorative term.
It is in fact through his lines that we can get the reality; in some cases, he states the plain truth. Read this simple, 2-line sentence that has the validity of unequivocal judgment, irrevocable conviction and utmost condemnation of the Amhara and Tigray evilness:
"…… The dreadful annihilation of more than half the population during the conquest took away from the Galla all possibility of thinking about any sort of uprising……. "
This sentence belongs in the unit ´The Original Form of Galla Government´ which is part of Bulatovich´s book ´From Entotto to the River Baro´. I herewith republish the entire unit, adding also at the end the Wikipedia entry concerning the Russian explorer.
In further articles, I will republish further excerpts from Bulatovich´s groundbreaking contributions that reveal the plain truth about East Africa, the Oromos, many other subjugated nations, and the barbarous, Anti-Christian Amhara and Tigray Habesha (Abyssinians).
Not only Bulatovich´s excerpts must be in the hands of every Oromo, Sidama, Kaffa and other natives, but they must be also translated in many local languages (Afaan Oromo, Sidamuaffo, etc.) to offer Abyssinia´s subjugated nations an early and irrevocable testimony to the troubles they faced and to the genocide to which they have been exposed, and which has been criminally denied by the Freemasonic regimes of London, Paris and Washington for more than a century.
Ethiopia through Russian Eyes
An eye-witness account of the end of an era, 1896-98 consisting of two books by Alexander Bulatovich
From Entotto to the River Baro (1897)
With the Armies of Menelik II (1900)
Translated by Richard Seltzer (seltzer@samizdat.com, www.samizdat.com)
From Entotto to the River Baro
http://www.samizdat.com/entotto.html
An account of a trip to the southwestern regions of the Ethiopian Empire 1896-97 by Lieutenant of His Majesty's Life-Guard Hussar Regiment Alexander Bulatovich
Originally published in St. Petersburg, 1897, Printed by V. Kirshbaum, 204 pages
Reissued in 1971 as part of the volume With the Armies of Menelik II, edited by I. S. Katsnelson of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R."Science" Publishing House Chief Editorial Staff of Oriental Literature Moscow 1971, entire book 352 pages, Entotto pp. 32-156
Translated by Richard Seltzer (from the 1971 edition)
The Original Form of Galla Government
The original form of government of the Galla and the beginnings of their legal procedure and of criminal law were entirely changed with the conquest of the area by the Abyssinians.      
Originally, they were separated into a mass of separate clans, and each clan was a completely independent unit. A large part of them, namely all the western clans, had a monarchic form of government. But some southern clans had a republican form of government.
The republics of Goma and Gera chose several rulers, whom they drove away quickly whenever they had the slightest cause for dissatisfaction. In all the other clans, the eldest in the clan, descended by the eldest line from the founder of the clan, was the head of state. But his rights were completely fictitious.
He did not have the use of any revenues from his subjects, because he did not have the right to collect taxes. His revenues consisted of rare voluntary gifts, portions of military plunder and revenues from his own properties, cattle, and land. This was because, in the primogeniture system of inheritance he, descended by the eldest line from the founder of the clan, was the richest landowner in his tribe. In case of war, he was at the head of his clan, but he could neither begin nor end war, nor undertake anything at all independently without having consulted with the elders. He presided in the lube, but all the business was decided there without his knowledge.
The lube is a very unique institution. Each head of a family in the state has the right each 40 years to become a member of the lube for five years. If the head of a family turns out to be a young boy, this does not prevent him from taking part. This assembly of the leaders of the families of the state perform all the functions of court and of state government.
The court, whether civil or criminal court, is conducted in the following manner. The plaintiff and the respondent, or the accuser and the accused, each entrust their business to one of the members of the lube. Those entrusted explain the essence of the matter to the council, wrangle with one another; then when the matter has been made sufficiently clear, the lube decides on the verdict. For the duration of the trial, neither the respondent nor the plaintiff have the right interfere. They are not asked about anything. There are two criminal punishments -- fine and exile. And, in some western regions there is still sale into slavery.
There is no capital punishment for ordinary criminal acts.
Premeditated murder is punished the most severely. The property of the killer is confiscated for the use of the family of the victim, and he himself is expelled from the borders of the country. But if after some time he arrives at an agreement with the family of the victim on the extent of compensation, then he can return again. Theft is punished by large fines and, in some border regions, by sale into slavery. Adultery is punished by fines, if the deceived husband did not already deal with the insulter in some way.
Since the right of property in land in the majority of regions up to now has been identified with actual possession, law suits on this question could only arise in the thickly populated regions of Leka, Wollaga, and Jimma, where already there exist not only property in land but also servitude.
Aside from the administration of justice, it was likewise the duty of the lube to reconcile quarreling clans.66
Such was the form of government of Galla states up until their conquest by the Abyssinians. But from that time the peaceful, free way of life, which could have become the ideal for philosophers and writers of the eighteenth century, if they hadknown of it, was completely changed. Their peaceful way of life is broken; freedom is lost; and the independent, freedom-loving Gallas find themselves under the severe authority of the Abyssinian conquerors.
The Abyssinians pursue two goals in the governing of the region: fiscal and political -- security of the region and prevention of an uprising. All families are assessed a tax.
This is very small, not more than a unit of salt a year per family. In addition, families are attached to the land. Part of the population is obliged to cultivate land for the main ruler of the country, and part is divided among the soldiers and military leaders. The whole region is divided among separate military leaders who live off their district and feed their soldiers.
The dreadful annihilation of more than half the population during the conquest took away from the Galla all possibility of thinking about any sort of uprising. And the freedom-loving Galla who didn't recognize any authority other than the speed of his horse, the strength of his hand, and the accuracy of his spear, now goes through the hard school of obedience.
The lube no longer exists. The Abyssinians govern through clan leaders aba-koro and aba-langa (the aba-koro's assistant).
The aba-koro is the head of the clan, who gathers the Gallas for work, gathers coffee for the leader of the region, levies taxes for them, and, when it is necessary, collects durgo. The Abyssinian leaders only supervise the correctness of the actions of the aba-koro. The court of the first instance is the aba-koro, but important matters go straight to the leader of the region who punishes in accord with Abyssinian laws, and, in the case of political crimes, robbery, attempted murder or murder of an Abyssinian, uses capital punishment.
That's the way things are done in the conquered regions. But aside from these there are three states -- Jimma, Leka, Wollaga -- which voluntarily submitted to Abyssinia and pay it tribute.
In those places, the former order has been preserved, although the lube no longer exists. The Abyssinians obtain taxes from them and do not interfere in their self-government. Aside from payment of taxes, they also feed the troops stationed there.
After all that has been said above, the question automatically arises -- what are the relations of the conquered to the conquerors? Without a doubt, the Galla, with their at least five million population, occupying the best land, all speaking one language, could represent a tremendous force if they united. But the separatist character of the people did not permit such a union. Now subjugated by the Abyssinians, who possess a higher culture, they little by little adopt this culture from the Abyssinians, and accept their faith. Since there is no national idea, in all probability, they will with time blend with the Abyssinians, all the more because the Abyssinians skillfully and tactfully manage them, not violating their customers and religious beliefs and treating them lawfully and justly.
Only those states that pay tribute and preserve their independence represent a danger. Among these, hate for the Abyssinians is apparent in the ruling class, although they have adopted all the customs and even the household etiquette of the Abyssinians. In case of internal disorders, these states will certainly try to use such opportunity to their advantage. But Emperor Menelik doesn't disturb these states for the time being, in view of the fact that they are the most profitable regions of his empire.
Alexander Bulatovich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Bulatovich
Alexander Ksaverievich Bulatovich (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ксаве́рьевич Булато́вич; 26 September 1870 – 5 December 1919) tonsured Father Antony (отец Антоний) was a Russian military officer, explorer of Africa, writer, hieromonk and the leader of imiaslavie movement in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Alexander was born to a family of Oryol nobility. He studied in Alexandrovsky Lyceum, then served in the Hussar Leib Guard regiment.
In 1897 he was a member of the Russian mission of the Red Cross in Ethiopia, where he became a confidant of Negus Menelek II of Ethiopia. In 1897 - 1899 he became a military aide of Menelek II in his war with Italy and the southern tribes. Bulatovich joined the expedition of Ras Wolde Giyorgis and became the first European to provide a scientific description of the Kaffa province (conquered by Menelek II with Bulatovich's help). He was the first European to reach the mouth of the Omo River. Among the places named by Bulatovich is the Nicholas II Mountain range. He had to ask permission from the Emperor himself to name the range in his honour.
After Bulatovich returned to Russia he received a Silver Medal from the Russian Geographical Society for his work in Ethiopia and the military rank of a poruchik (later rotmistr) of the Leib Guard Hussars. He served in Saint Petersburg. In 1903 after his talks with Saint John of Kronstadt he resigned from the Army and became a monk (later hiero-schema-monk) of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. He also visited Ethiopia again trying to establish a Russian Orthodox Monastery there. He was tonsured as Father Antony and became known as Hieromonk Antony Bulatovich.
In 1907 after reading the book On Caucasus Mountains by the schema-monk Ilarion, he became one of the leaders of the imiaslavie movement within the Russian Orthodox Church. When the movement was proclaimed a heresy and disbanded by a Russian military force he was one of the leaders of the unsuccessful defence of the St. Panteleimon Monastery in 1913. He was caught and forcefully transferred to Russia on the prison ship Kherson. After the Synod hearings he was defrocked and exiled to his mother's estate in the village Lebedinka, Kharkov gubernia (now Sumy Oblast, Ukraine).
He continued his fight for the recognition of imiaslavie, published many theological books proving its dogmas, obtained an audience with the Tsar and eventually managed to secure some sort of rehabilitation for himself and his imiaslavtsy comrades. They were allowed to return to their positions in the Church without repentance "since there is nothing to repent about". On August 28, 1914 Antony Bulatovich received permission to join the Russian Army as an Army priest. During World War I Father Antony not only served as a priest but on "many occasions led soldiers to attack" and was awarded the Cross of St. George.
After returning from the war he took part in the discussion about the imiaslavie. In October 1918 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church canceled the decision allowing imyaslavtsy to participate in church services. The decision was signed by Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow. In January 1919 Anthony Bulatovich stopped any relations with the Holy Synod and Tikhon and returned to his family estate in Lebedinka, where he started a small skete and lived the life of a hermit. On the night from 5 to 6 December 1919 he was murdered. There are conflicting accounts if the killers were Red Army soldiers or some unaffiliated robbers.
Bulatovich in Russian literature
Antony Bulatovich was most probably the original for the grotesque Schema-Hussar Alexei Bulanovich from the novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov. He is also the hero of Valentin Pikul's story "The Hussar on a Camel". In addition he is the hero of the novel "The Name of Hero" by Richard Seltzer (published by Houghton Mifflin in 1981)
More on Bulatovich (in Russian):
http://www.geografia.ru/emp1.html
Note
Picture: Oromo peasants photographed by Bulatovich at the very end of the 19th century. These peaceful people have been mercilessly slaughtered by the uncivil, cruel and bestial Amhara in view of the eschatological imposition of a Satanic state falsely named Ethiopia, as conceived by the idiotic and ignorant debteras to be the state of Jesus in his second coming, whereas in truth the debteras are doomed to identify the Antichrist as Jesus Christ.
From: http://www.samizdat.com/bulatovichphotos/plates/Galla%20farmers.jpg