Dilijannis, Theodoros

Theodoros Diliiannis was born in the Arcadian village of Langadia in 1824, when the Liberation War was fought in the Peloponnese . He was the son of a war veteran, Panagos Dilijannis, and the grandson of a major landowner Ioannis Dilijannis ^[2] .

He studied law.

He began his political activity as a delegate to the Second National Assembly in 1862 ^[1] .

He was elected to the parliament since 1862.

First became Minister in 1863 (Minister of the Interior in the Government of D. Kiryakos ) ^[3] .

He was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister for Church Affairs (Government of Konstantin Kanaris in 1877 and Alexander Kumunduros in 1878) and Minister of the Interior in other governments.

In 1885, he became Prime Minister for the first time ^[1] .

Another 4 times briefly headed the Greek governments (1885–1886, 1890–1892, 1895–1897 and 1902–1903).

He was Minister of War in 1886, 1890, 1903 ^[4] .

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Western governments, and mainly Britain, exerted pressure on Greece so that it would not enter the war on the side of Russia. Under pressure from the demonstrations of the people on the streets of Athens from January 14/26 to January 16/28, the king entrusted the formation of the government to Alexander Kumundouros and on January 19/31, the parliament allowed him to occupy Thessaly . On the same day, a Russian-Turkish truce was signed. January 21 / February 2, 25 thousand Greek soldiers crossed the Ottoman border and entered Thessaly. At the same time, Dilijannis announced to the Western powers that Greece’s only desire was to protect its citizens, but not a war against Turkey. At the same time, the Cretan revolutionary committee announced the reunification of Crete with Greece ^[3] . The Western powers protested against these actions and Dilijannis, who was looking for an excuse to get away from popular pressure, asked the foreign ambassadors "to put pressure on him." The ambassadors complied with his request and the government, which by that time had received information about the Russian-Turkish armistice, issued an order on the withdrawal of troops on January 25 / February 6. However, some soldiers refused to obey the order and joined the irregular Greek forces. Kumunduros and Dilijannis hoped that their gesture would be rewarded with British support in resolving the issue by the powers. At the same time, they continued to provide tacit support to the Greek revolutionaries in Macedonia ^[3] .

Dilijannis represented Greece at the Berlin Congress in 1878, "with the right to speak, but not vote." He limited the territorial claims of Greece to Crete , Epirus and Thessaly.

But Congress decided to leave Crete under Ottoman control, maintaining the internal status of 1868.

And in other matters, Dilijannis achieved only the comforting words of Disraeli that “Greece has a future ahead” and she should show patience ^[3] .

The patience of Greece was short-lived. Empty promises. data to Diliiannis. led to the mobilization of the Greek army in 1880. The likelihood of a Greek-Turkish war led to the intervention of the Western powers ^[3] .

Ultimately, in 1881, Thessaly was granted to Greece, except for the Diocese of Elasson, and the Diocese of Art in Epirus ^[1] .

In 1883 , after the death of Alexander Kumunduros , Dilijannis led the conservative “National Party” and impeded the reformist activities of Harilaos Trikupis , which the latter began in 1881 ^[1] . Dilijannis declared that he “is fighting against everything that supports Trikupis” ^[3] . The demagogy of Diliiannis resonated with that part of the population that was affected by the tax system of Trikupis ^[1] . In April 1885, Dilijannis first became Prime Minister ^{[1] [3]} . Dilijannis developed a personal service system in his party, believing that this system, in contrast to liberalism, makes people happier ^[3] . Trikupis reforms demanded a 12 percent increase in taxation. But in this way, it was not possible to balance the budget and the budget deficit reached 60 million drams in 1885. Diliannis, having accepted the rule of the country, limited even expenses on education and recalled Trikupis reforms ^[3] .

In 1885, at the beginning of the reign of Dillianis, the Principality of Bulgaria created by Russia annexed Eastern Rumelia . This annexation directly influenced Greek national and economic interests. Dilijannis protested the violation of the provisions of the Berlin Congress and demanded compensation. Serbia went even further. The Bulgarian-Serbian war followed ^[3] . In Greece, "as is customary, without the necessary training," political leaders began to raise the people. Various patriotic organizations appeared, demanding to start a war against Turkey. Dilijannis, under popular pressure, began military preparations and on September 13/25 mobilized several calls from the reservists in the army. Dilijannis again stated that Greece did not intend to declare war on Turkey. Followed by the demarche of "powers" to withdraw mobilization. But behind the scenes, France and Russia advised Diliiannis not to concede. In February, the "powers" presented an ultimatum to Greece. Dilijannis proposed a phased demobilization. “To avoid revolution” ^[3] . The offer was not accepted. As a result, the combined fleets of European states, led by Britain, began in April 1885 a naval blockade of Greece. The blockade lasted almost a year ^[4] . Dilijannis was forced to resign. On May 9/21, Trikupis came to power, who stopped the skirmishes that started on the Greek-Turkish border and demobilized the army. Greece split up - half of the Greeks considered "Trikupis a traitor, and Dilijannis a hero", the other half considered Trikupisa the savior of the country and Dilijannis an irresponsible politician ^[3] . In addition, mobilization increased the budget deficit from 60 to 66 million drams ^[3] .

In October 1890, Dilijannis defeated Trikupis in the parliamentary elections and formed his second government (October 1890 - February 1892) ^[3] . But King George I was dissatisfied with the economic programs of Diliiannis and his "irresponsible foreign policy." The king dismissed Dilijannis, despite his majority in parliament and a vote of confidence. Military units that received orders directly from the royal court and ignored the instructions of the Minister of War surrounded the parliament. Attempts by Diliiannis to organize demonstrations of his supporters were unsuccessful. His political opponent, Trikupis, later agreed that the action was unconstitutional, agreed with the resignation of Diliiannis, but refused to head the new government before the election. Elections were held in May 1892 by the government government. Trikupis defeated them and headed the government in June ^[3] .

The revived Greek state was overgrown with debts from the very beginning of the War of Independence and continued to be a debtor of foreign capital for a century ^[5] . Between 1879-1890, Greece agreed to receive 6 new loans, totaling 630 million drams. Of this amount, in reality, Greece received only 459 million, due to the fact that loans were provided at 25% −30% below its nominal value. Most of this money was used to purchase weapons abroad and pay interest on previous loans. At the disposal of governments was 100 million drachmas, most of which went to close budget holes. There was no money for development. As a result, national debt continued to grow despite a doubling of taxation between 1873–1893. By the end of this period, debt absorbed a third of revenue. The situation worsened when the international market for raisins, which at that time was an important component of Greek exports, collapsed. The country was facing bankruptcy. Trikupis was not able to get a new loan and he voluntarily cut the percentage of repayments of old loans by 70%. This worried bondholders. Prime Minister Trikupis, Harilaos was a great reformer and statesman who did a lot to develop the infrastructure of the country and the fleet. But the people are best known for their historical phrase “unfortunately we went bankrupt” (1893) ^[5] . But while British bondholders behaved with restraint, the rest, and above all German, demanded the creation of an international committee to control Greek finance. In addition to the “personal hatred” of the German Kaiser for the Greek monarch, the position of the German capitalists, the holders of Greek bonds, who lost significant amounts during this bankruptcy, was more significant. The most influential of them was Wilhelm's personal banker, a Jew, Bleichröder ^[5] . Dakin writes that Trikupis overestimated the productive capabilities of the Greek economy, despite all the positive aspects of its reforms. The same Dakin writes that one was obvious that Greece did not have the means to follow a dynamic foreign policy, against the policy of the united powers ^[3] . G. Roussos writes that those who acquired Greek bonds before 1897 and sold them after the ensuing war and the establishment of international control over Greece made huge fortunes. Among them were not only German bankers and the Kaiser, but also Greek bankers and members of the Greek royal family.

Wilhelm II (the German Emperor) married his sister Sophia to the Greek Prince Constantine (future Constantine I (King of Greece) and was in a hurry to put him on the Greek throne as a Germanophile, instead of George I ^[5] Kaiser anti-Hellenism was partly explained by German politics . south-east, aims firmness Ottoman Empire and its gain the benefit 2nd Reich Cretan uprising served as an excellent opportunity for Kaiser to manifest their Sultan turkofilstvo ^[5] in addition, Kaiser harbored personal hatred to his relative, the Greek king. In turn, Georg, who came from the Danish Gliksburg dynasty and remembered that Germany had taken away two provinces from his parents' kingdom, responded with the same feelings. With the onset of the crisis in Crete, the Kaiser declared: "This little king he is constantly turned to his nephew, the Russian tsar, to his son-in-law, the prince of Wales, to the emperor of Austria and to republican France. He does not even look at me, the brother of his daughter-in-law, the most powerful of the monarchs! Who is he in the end? ”(Georg was married to the Russian Grand Duchess Olga . Edward VII was married to George’s sister Alexander ^[5] If the English Prime Minister Salisbury, Robert was against the union of Crete with Greece, then old Victoria (Queen Britain) wanted to help Greece, supported in this by her son Edward, daughter-in-law Alexandra and her daughter, former German Empress Augusta ( Victoria Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Empress of Germany) ), the mother of the Greek princess and in the future Queen Sofia . Victoria requested transfer to the Kaiser, through the ambassador in Berlin , that she was surprised and horrified by the rude language that he uses in relation to the country where his sister lives. "

With the end of the Greek Revolution in 1829, which remained under Ottoman control, the island of Crete constantly rebelled. When the next uprising began to brew on the island by the end of the 80s and the Cretan Committee began to develop violent activity in the territory of the Greek kingdom , Trikupis tried not to aggravate relations with the Powers and the Ottoman Empire. In turn, Dilijannis, who came to power in 1890, also tried to muffle the activities of the "Cretan Committee" in the territory of the Greek kingdom ^[3] . In December 1895, the Turks appointed Turkhan Pasha ruler, after which the “committee” was transformed into a “revolutionary assembly”. In the meantime, the “committee” began to receive the support of the secret Greek organization Ethnic Eteria , which was also preparing uprisings in Macedonia and Epirus ^[3] . In the activities of Eteria, which was created in 1894 and remained a secret until 1896, historians have not received a complete answer to the fact that by the end of its existence an ardent Germanophile had become the head of the organization, and another member of the leadership had secret connections with the German General Staff. On the other hand, the royal court was fully informed about the activities of Etheria. The king demonstrated to the officers that it was not the throne, but the politicians (in this case Dilijannis) that hindered the activities of Etheria, which, according to T. Gerosisis, “was to a certain extent true” ^[4] .

In response to the Turkish persecution, the “committee” took action. On May 6/18, 1896, 1,600 Turkish soldiers were surrounded at Vamos . With great difficulty, the Turks managed to free them. In response, the Turks began the massacre in Chania . The Greek government was inactive. After the landing of new Turkish troops, volunteers and weapons from Greece began to arrive on the island, but not from the government, but from Eteria. Although the War Minister invited the government to get in touch with Eteria to control it, Dilijannis remained indecisive and, on the contrary, strengthened the garrisons on the northern border to prevent the irregular detachments from sending to Macedonia ^[3] . In June 1896, Greek officers, "deserting from the army", captured the ship "Mina" in Piraeus, on which they sailed to Crete ^[4] . Austria proposed to appoint a Christian ruler, convene a Cretan meeting and grant amnesty. The Turks accepted the offer. After that, the "Powers" on June 24 / July 6 demanded that Athens stop sending volunteers and weapons to Crete. The Cretan assembly demanded autonomy, similar to the autonomy of Samos ( Principality of Samos ). The Turkish military's ignorance of the Christian ruler led to the resumption of fighting and massacre ^[3] .

The proposal of Germany on naval operations against Greece, as well as Austria on a "peaceful blockade" of Crete was rejected by Britain. On 13/25 August, the Turks presented new reform proposals that were not rejected by the Greek government and the “committee”. At the same time, the Greek opposition and Eteria continued their activities, which made it possible for the Turks to respond with repressions and indicate to the "Powers" that the Cretans were behaving irresponsibly. New fights and massacres followed ^[3] .

January 13, 1897, the massacre of Christians by local Muslims began, with the participation of Turkish soldiers, in Heraklion and Rethymnon . On January 18, the "methodical massacre" spread to Chania . On January 23, Muslims burned the Christian quarters of the city. European consuls were forced to move to warships ^{[6] [7]} .

Yielding to popular pressure, Prime Minister Diliannis sent to Crete a small group of ships, under the command of Aristide Rainek ^[3] . At the same time, Diliiannis told the Turkish ambassador that the mission of the ships is peaceful ^[1] . According to some historians, not the prime minister, but King George, with British encouragement, made this decision. This step led to the fact that the rebels hoisted the Greek flag in the suburbs of Haniyeh, Halepe and proclaimed reunion with Greece on January 25, 1897 ^[5] . The proclamation of "enosis" provoked a protest from the ambassadors of the Powers. The assurances of the Greek prime minister about the peaceful role of the Greek ships were respected. Only captain K. Zotos, commander of the light cruiser Admiral Miaulis , decided to stop the Turkish transport with two salvos, transferring bash-bazouks from Heraklion to Sitia ^[5] .

In the British parliament of Curzon, George Nathaniel stated that the Turkish army’s behavior in Crete was “excellent” and that the attackers were “likely Christians,” refuting the atrocities of the Turks. Only Gladstone, William defended Greece. The Salisbury, Roberta faction drew its line in the English press, which was supported by the French press. More aggressive was the German press, behind which stood the Kaiser and bank capital, which had suffered losses from Greek bankruptcy and longed for Greek defeat, to establish international economic control over Greece. The diplomatic atmosphere was more fully expressed by the Austrian court: “if all the Powers cooperate in order to preserve Turkish inviolability, the Cretan uprising will remain without necessity without results” ^[5] .

On February 1, 1897, the hastily knocked together corps of the Greek army was sent to the island, led by Colonel Vassos , adjutant of the king, to occupy the island on his behalf. The corps totaled 1,500 fighters ^[5] . Upon the arrival of the corps to Crete (1/13 February), the island was under the auspices of the "Great Powers" who landed troops here. Vassos landed 24 km west of Chania , where he was welcomed by 5 thousand Cretans. The next day, Vassos launched an offensive, occupying the Monastery of Gonies. From the monastery, he issued a proclamation "on behalf of the King of the Hellenes", declaring that Crete was liberated ^[5] . While moving Vassos to Chania, an Italian officer appeared before him as a representative of 5 European admirals and announced that the city was under the protection of the "powers." The international occupation of the city interrupted the intervention of Greece on Crete and "the Cretan question was cast aside by this action in the dead end labyrinth of diplomacy" ^[5] . Vassos was forbidden to conduct military operations within a radius of 6 km from the city, and Greek ships were forbidden to prevent the landing of Turkish troops ^[5] . On February 3/15, the "Powers" landed troops and called on Greece to withdraw its troops. Greece refused. This aroused the anger of the Kaiser, who called for the blockade of Greek ports, which would lead to the enthronement of Prince Constantine. The German proposal was rejected by Britain. The proposal of France, supported by Russia, was adopted, according to which Crete received autonomous status, while remaining part of the Ottoman Empire. The proposal was accepted by the Turks. Greece was ready to recall the ships, but wanted to leave the hull on the island, to maintain order. Greece also demanded a referendum. Friction between the Powers was allowed, they came to an agreement. Vassos had his hands tied, but he did not remain inactive. On February 6, his corps, with the support of the rebels, took Vukolia fortress on the road to Chania. According to the French writer Henry Turot, the rebels captured 600 Muslims ^[1] . On February 7, the Vassos corps fought with 4,000 Turks at Livadia and won a “glorious victory”. The Turks lost 500 people killed and 107 prisoners. The rest fled, pursued to Chania, where they found protection from European troops. At the same time, Greek historians characterize the Pyrrhic victory, but not because of losses. The victory of Vassos and the ease with which she was won supported the political wing in Greece, expressed by Etheria, and requiring the declaration of war by the Ottoman Empire. “If a single corps wins such easy victories, then what will happen when the whole army enters the battle?” ^[5] . Greece went to "a strange war, which was the game of the royal court with Western European financial circles and became a national treason" ^[5] .

The Greek government did not withdraw Vassos' corps, but did not send reinforcements. Admirals of the "Powers" called on the rebels to lay down their arms. On February 22, rebels besieged the city of Ierapetra . The Italian battleship intervened, firing 40 shells and forcing them to retreat ^[5] . The position of the European monarchies was expressed by the ambassador of Russia in Paris: “Crete can by no means unite with Greece in today's circumstances” ^[5] and was repeated in the ultimatum of the Powers to the Greek government on March 2, 1897 ^[1] . On March 6/18, the sea blockade of Crete was declared. On March 11/23, the "Powers" landed 3,000 sailors on the island. The British occupied Heraklion , the Russian Rethymnon , the French Sitia , the Italians Chania , the Germans of the Court and the Austrians of Kissamos ^[4] . Greek ships were recalled. The corps of Vassos remained on the island, but was doomed to inaction. Another Cretan rebellion ended, not having achieved reunion with Greece ^[5] "Powers" picked up a new ruler. Russia proposed Prince George , the second son of the Greek king, the Turks insisted that the ruler should be a Turkish subject]] ^[3] . Kaiser opposed the solution of the issue, but accepted the proposals of other Powers. “Kaiser was not interested in Crete, but in the destruction of Greece” ^[5] .

Back in October 1896, Dilijannis found a compromise with the creditors of Greece ^[3] , but “for an unknown reason” did not sign the agreement. "There was a need to find a solution, a way to force Greece to submit to international control. There was a need in this satanic plan to make unconscious tools for politicians in Greece, its people, army, navy, everything the country had chosen (..) There was a need to play a bloody comedy against the honor of the nation ( ..) and the comedy was played under the name “war of 1897” (..) Dilijannis, this cunning old man, was deceived by George. And only at the end of this “bloody comedy” he also realized that Greece fell into a trap and exclaimed at the fran Tsuzsky: Quelle machine infernale ^[4] Ottoman Empire was preparing for war. On the other hand, Eteria began sending 34 detachments of irregular fighters to Macedonia, including Italian volunteers. This worried Russia. English historian D. Dakin writes that Russia was not hostile to Greek claims for Crete, but Greek claims in the north impeded its plans for the Pan-Slavic era, and Russia proposed a blockade, then the northernmost Greek port of Volos (city) . The offer was rejected by Britain ^[3] . Diplomatic relations between Greece and the Ottoman Empire were interrupted on April 17. Eteria detachments entered Ottoman territory, but after repulsing their actions by the Ottoman forces, they returned to Greek territory. This provided the Turks with the reason they were looking for to start a war. On the same day in parliament, Dillianis introduced Turkey as the outbreak of war “which we must accept and have accepted” ^[1] . Participants in the ensuing war in Thessaly and Epirus, especially Italian volunteers, claimed that the withdrawal of the Greek army was planned before the war. Cipriani, Amilkara wrote of "a predetermined, programmed retreat." Another Italian volunteer turned to the Greeks “popolo tradito” (devoted people). It is noteworthy that the Turkish General Staff in its report “recognizes the courage of the Greek troops”, but concludes that “the Greeks did not show the intention to really fight” (de ne pas combattre serieusement) and calls this war “a simulation of war” (simulacre de guerre). In the last line of this report: “Following from this, we believe that the Supreme Greek military command had the order to leave the territory step by step, without endangering the lives of their soldiers” ^[5] . When news began to come from Thessaly, the situation in the capital began to get out of control. In order to avoid a revolutionary explosion, the royal court asked Dilijannis to resign. Dilijannis refused. Then King George dissolved the Dillianis government on April 18/30 and entrusted the formation of the new government to the opposition leader D. Rallis ^[1] . By his action, the king defused the crisis and, most importantly, anger against the throne ^[1] . This strange war was stopped after the intervention of the Russian emperor Nicholas II on May 5/17, 1897. The cessation of war also meant the cessation of the Cretan rebellion ^[5] . Colonel Smolensky, Konstantinos, emerged from the war as a hero. The wounded national soul ennobled Smolensky. If he had more distant plans and ambitions, he could become a master of the situation and a dictator. “Unfortunately, Dilijannis lured him into politics and used his hero fame in his party interests.” When the hero became (military) minister, he squandered his prestige, won on the battlefields ^[4] .

The new Greek government in April 1897 recalled the corps of Vassos from the island ^[3] . Greece practically did not lose territories, but was obliged to pay compensation to the Ottoman Empire. At the suggestion of Russia and with the support of Britain, Prince George became the ruler of the island. The Turks were in no hurry with the withdrawal of troops from Crete. This led to new unrest. On August 25 / September 6, 500 Christians and 14 British sailors were killed. Britain, France, Russia and Italy demanded the evacuation of Turkish troops within 15 days. The Turks, counting on the support of Germany, hesitated. On October 28 / November 9, admirals of the four powers presented an ultimatum to them. On August 31 / September 12, Turkish troops left Crete. On November 18/30, four "Powers" announced to the Ottoman Empire that Prince George was elected ruler of Crete. The prince arrived in Crete in December 1898. Crete has become an autonomous province. According to Dakin, Crete was practically promised to Greece, which despite the outcome of the 1897 war was won. He believes that Greece owes this to Britain and Russia, which, despite the antagonism, once again joined forces against Germany in southeastern Europe ^[3] . Perris Land, in his work “The Eastern Crisis of 1897”, considers events as follows: “... the war of 1897 was a false war, a virtual diplomatic war, first of all, to establish international economic control over Greece, which neither the king nor the king could agree to the government, nor parliament, since this was a restriction on the independence of the state .... What should be done? The capitalists were then omnipotent ... this war was invented as a means of establishing control ... Secondly, the pill was gilded by appointing the Greek prince George as ruler of Crete, thus promoting the Cretan question ... The fact that this false war was planned in advance, obviously from that the fact that the military preparations of Turkey began long before the departure of Vassos to Crete ” ^[4] . The Cretan Assembly, convened after the elections of January 24 / February 5, 1899, proclaimed the "Constitution of the Cretan State ."

Dilijannis came to power for the last time in November 1902, organizing mass demonstrations against the increase in taxation according to his favorite method. Upon arrival, he announced his intention to reduce the number of civil servants and members of parliament, and consular expenses ^[3] . His proposals, in turn, provoked a response and in June 1903 G. Theotokis came to power ^[3] . With the start of the Struggle for Macedonia , the political leader of the Greeks of Macedonia, Bishop Herman (Caravangelis) maintained contact with politicians in Athens, including Dilijannis ^[3] .

Dilijannis was the persecutor of the card clubs, which were a scourge at the time. He was killed on May 31, 1905 on the steps of the (old) Parliament of Greece (now the National History Museum of Greece ) as a gambler and a frequent club member ^[1] Antonios Gerakaris, due to a ban on the activities of the gambling clubs ^[8] .

According to another version, the murder was the result of the refusal of Diliiannis to resolve the Cretan question (Reunite Crete with Greece).

His embalmed heart is kept in the Church of the Archangels in the native village of Diliiannis in Langadia Arcadia .