#venizelos

[vaginawonka]

Excerpt from Vladimir Mayakovsky’s play The Bedbug (1929)

A mad-dog gutter-snipe opportunist indeed this Venizelos! Say it twice!

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Μου το στειλαν και... ορίστε ✨

[wordsmithic]

A Turkish politician chases a Greek "butterfly" for his "non-aggression pact" collection. (Cem 1 October 1927. 14498.a.91)

The butterfly, to me, resembles Eleftherios Venizelos (Ελευθέριος K. Βενιζέλος), a remarkable Greek politician of the time who played a big part in the Greco-Turkish relations of the time.

[today-in-wwi]

King Alexander of Greece Dies of a Monkey Bite

King Alexander of Greece (1893-1920, r. 1917-1920)

October 25 1920, Tatoi--In 1917, Allied pressure had forced Greek King Constantine to abdicate and leave the country, along with his eldest son, George, as they were perceived as being too pro-German.  Constantine’s second son, Alexander, took the throne, and Greece joined the war on the Allied side soon thereafter.  Greece was richly rewarded for its participation, receiving Bulgaria’s southern coast (the port of Dedeagach being renamed Alexandropouli for the King), European Turkey outside of Constantinople, the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, and effective control of Smyrna and its environs.  Prime Minister Venizelos called for new elections for early November, hoping the gains from Sèvres would lead to an increased majority for his party in the first elections since 1915.

On October 2, Alexander was walking with his dog, Fritz, a German Shepherd, when the dog became embroiled in a fight with a Barbary ape kept on the grounds of the royal estate.  Alexander attempted to separate the two, but was bitten by a second monkey in multiple places.  These wounds would soon become infected, and on October 25, Alexander died of sepsis at the age of 27.

The unexpected death of the young king triggered a succession crisis.  Constantine wanted to return to the throne, but Venizelos was understandably opposed to both Constantine and George.  The throne was instead offered to Alexander’s younger brother, Paul, but he refused, saying the exclusion of his father and brother from the succession was illegal.  Venizelos considered inviting a foreign noble from a different house; foreign press speculated that the candidates might include Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma (who had played a role in Austrian peace overtures in 1917) and King George V’s uncle, Prince Arthur.  Another possible candidate existed, though it is unclear who was aware of it at the time; King Alexander’s wife was four months pregnant, and the unborn child could succeed their father posthumously.  Alternatively, the monarchy could be abolished entirely.

The upcoming elections, though pushed back by a week, suddenly became a referendum on the future of the monarchy.  The divisions of the time of the National Schism had never healed---Venizelos was nearly assassinated at the Gare de Lyon while returning from the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres---and they flared up dramatically with the prospect of Constantine’s return.  

[aniavouloudi]

[monkismymoniker]

[epestrefe]

Στις 18 Μαρτίου του 1936, ο Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος πεθαίνει από καρδιακή προσβολή στο Παρίσι.Τάφηκε στο Ακρωτήρι με την ψυχή του Έθνους να τον συνοδεύει.

Στον τάφο του χαράκτηκε ο «Επιτάφιός» του, που είχε εκφωνήσει στην Βουλή το 1932: «Ο προκείμενος νεκρός ήτο ένας αληθινός άνδρας με θάρρος μεγάλο, με αυτοπεποίθησιν και δι’ εαυτόν και δια τον λαό τον οποίο εκλήθη να κυβερνήσει. Ίσως έκαμε πολλά σφάλματα, αλλά ποτέ του δεν απέλειψε το θάρρος, ποτέ δεν υπήρξε μοιρολάτρης, διότι ποτέ δεν επερίμενε από την μοίραν του να ίδη την χώραν του προηγμένην, αλλά έθεσε εις την υπηρεσίαν της όλον το πύρ το οποίο είχε μέσα του – κάθε δύναμιν ψυχικήν και σωματικήν».

[greek-politics]

Eleftherios Venizelos,7 times Greek prime minister,is pictures here with his nephew Constantine Mitsotakis.Mitsotakis was the Greek prime minister from 1990 to 1993.While Venizelos had his own party,The Liberals,Mitsotakis was a member of New Democracy,became it’s leader and then prime minister at the greek elections of 1990.