Because of his connections with progressive Serbian circles, he was banished first from Serbia, then from Austro-Hungary and had to settle in Bucharest. There he started publishing the newspaper 'Svoboda' (Freedom) and later, knezavissimost' (Independence). These newspapers turned into rostrums for Bulgarian national-revolutionary and revolutionary-democratic thought. They subjected to sharp criticism the decaying Ottoman Empire, its western supporters, and the well-to-do conservatively-minded circles in Bulgarian society (the chorbadjis) who were against the revolutionary methods of struggle. Karavelov, a convinced democrat and internationalist, was ardently favouring the idea of a federation of the Christian Balkan peoples, a federation built on democratic principles.

At the same time when Karavelov was successfully substantiating and propagating the national-revolutionary ideology among the Bulgarian emigrants in Romania, Levski was giving proof of his brilliant qualities of a revolutionary organizer. He was modest and extremely charismatic, with an iron will, daring and inventive, fanatically faithful to his people, and his name became a legend, while he was still alive. In three years only he established a dense network of secret revolutionary com-mittees throughout the country. This is what Levski wrote in a letter to one of his followers: 'We are dying to see our native land free, and after that – come what may'. When he was asked what he would become after the liberation, he answered simply that he would go to some other country to fight for the liberation of other enslaved peoples.

Internal revolutionary organization

Strict conspiracy was the rule in the work of the internal revolutionary organization. The members of the committees did not know each other's real names but used aliases. A courier service was functioning with amazing accuracy between the committees, and there was also a committee secret police to watch over the activities of the committees and to gather intelligence about the enemy.

The newly-recruited members of the committees swore allegiance to the organization and Bulgaria late at night at the twinkling light of a candle over a revolver and a dagger crossed over a Bible. The leading organ of the internal revolutionary organization was called I ''Provisional Bulgarian Government' and later – Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee. Its seat was in the town of Lovech, hidden at the northern foothill of the Balkan Range. The means for the purchase of arms and ammunition came from voluntary donations but the wealthy Bulgarians who refused to cooperate were subjected to revolutionary reprisals.

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