Draft:Nikola Kole Rasic

Nikola "Kole" Rašić (Niš, Ottoman Empire, 1839 - Niš, Kingdom of Serbia, 6 August 1898) was the Chetnik voivode of Niš and one of the leaders of the organization of the Niš Committee (department) from the period of the Serbian-Turkish wars (1876-1878), and later a politician in times of peace.

As a merchant from Niš, he had good trade connections in the Serbia, which helped him to operate in Serbian territories under the Turkish occupation, particularly in the area of ​​Donja Toplica, Dobrich and around Morava, he visited villages, established contacts and prepared the peasants for an uprising.[1]

During the war, he led companies between Niš and Leskovac, where he himself formed a company of 300 people. His task was to prepare the way for the army and facilitates so that they can further penetration to the south. In the First Serbian-Turkish War (1876), together with Todor Stanković and some other prominent leaders of the Niš Committee, he greatly helped the Serbian army.

In the Second Serbian-Turkish War, on 9 December 1877, at the head of a combined detachment of the Serbian army and volunteers, he liberated the villages of Kočane, Pukovac and the bridge on the Morava near Čečina, which was of great strategic importance, because Niš was thus cut off to the south.

The first, with his detachment and the vanguard of the Serbian army, entered Leskovac on 11 December 1877 and gave a speech to the liberated people. By order of the Supreme Command, he continued to organize an uprising in the direction of Vlasotinac, Rudar and Turekovac. Nikola Rašić, who set out with volunteers from the liberated Leskovac, was met by the Vlasotina insurgents who had previously disarmed 170 Turks.

During several weeks of fighting for the liberation of Niš, in addition to the army of the Principality of Serbia, 6,000 insurgents from newly occupied territories from the Ottoman Empire participated. They were led by Kole Rašić.

Awards and recognition

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For his merits in the national work and the liberation movement, he was awarded the Takovski cross with chest V degree. He was buried at the Old Cemetery in Niš. Today's Palace of Justice in Niš was built in 1909 as the District Court on the site of Nikola Kole Rašić's house.

Today, an elementary school in Nis is named after him, as well as half one street in Niš and Leskovac



References

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  1. ^ Стара српска фотографија. Народна Библиотека Србиjе. 2005. ISBN 978-86-81695-06-7.