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{{Short description|Bulgarian mystic (1911–1996)}}
{{Tone|date=August 2014}}

{{Family name hatnote|Pandeva|Surcheva'' or ''Gushterova|lang=Bulgarian}}


{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Baba Vanga
| name = Baba Vanga
|image = Vanga.jpg
| native_name = Баба Ванга
| native_name_lang = bg
|image_size = 200px
| image = File:Baba Vanga.jpg
|caption = Supposed [[clairvoyant]] and healer
| alt =
|birth_date = {{birth date|1911|01|31|df=y}}
| caption =
|birth_place = [[Strumica]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| birth_name = Vangeliya Pandeva Surcheva
|death_date = {{death date and age|1996|08|11|1911|01|31|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|10|3|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Raymond Detrez |date=2014 |title=Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria |edition=3rd |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=57 |isbn=978-1442241800}}</ref>
|death_place = [[Sofia, Bulgaria]]<ref>[http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/notes-from-history-baba-vanga/id_13025/catid_64 NOTES FROM HISTORY: Baba Vanga]</ref>
| birth_place = [[Strumica]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
|occupation =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|8|11|1911|10|3|df=yes}}
|nationality = Bulgarian<ref>Christianity and Modernity in Eastern Europe, Bruce R. Berglund, Brian A. Porter, Central European University Press, 2010, ISBN 9639776653, pp. 252-253; 265.</ref><ref>Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe, Anthropological yearbook of European cultures, Karl Kaser, Elisabeth Katschnig-Fasch, LIT Verlag Münster, 2005, ISBN 3825888029, p. 90.</ref><ref>Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria, Нistorical Dictionaries of Europe, Raymond Detrez, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, ISBN 1442241802, p. 57.</ref>
| death_place = [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]]
|spouse = Dimitar Gushterov,<br />(m. 1942-1962; his death)
| citizenship = Ottoman, Bulgarian, Yugoslav
| occupation = {{hlist| [[Clairvoyant]] (attributed)|Healer (attributed)}}
| spouse = {{Marriage| Dimitar Gushterov |1942|1962|reason=died}}
}}
}}


'''Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova''' ({{Neé|'''Surcheva'''}}; {{Langx|bg|Вангелия Пандева Гущерова, {{Née|Сурчева}}}}, {{IPA|bg|vɐnˈɡɛlijɐ ˈpɑndevɐ ɡuˈʃtɛrovɐ (ˈsurt͡ʃevɐ)|}}; 3 October 1911 – 11 August 1996), commonly known as '''Baba Vanga''' ({{Langx|bg|Баба Ванга|lit=Grandmother Vanga|link=no}}),<ref name="cultures">{{cite book |editor1-last=Roth |editor1-first=Klaus |editor2-last=Kartari |editor2-first=Asker |title=Cultures of Crisis in Southeast Europe: Part 1: Crises Related to Migration, Transformation, Politics, Religion, and Labour |date=2016 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=9783643907639 |pages=308–309}}</ref> was a Bulgarian attributed [[Mysticism|mystic]] and healer who claimed to have foreseen the future.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morrow|first=Daniel|date=2020-10-03|title=Blind mystic Baba Vanga 'predicted Donald Trump's coronavirus plight'|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/blind-mystic-baba-vanga-predicted-22787551|access-date=2020-11-10|website=Daily Record|archive-date=2020-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110202513/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/blind-mystic-baba-vanga-predicted-22787551|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kettley|first=Sebastian|date=2020-10-11|title=Baba Vanga 2020: Did the blind mystic predict coronavirus? COVID-19 will be 'all over us'|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1256073/Baba-Vanga-2020-prediction-coronavirus-blind-mystic-COVID19-virus-prophecy|access-date=2020-11-10|website=Express.co.uk|archive-date=2020-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113052814/https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1256073/Baba-Vanga-2020-prediction-coronavirus-blind-mystic-COVID19-virus-prophecy|url-status=live}}</ref> Blind since her early childhood, she spent most of her life in the [[Rupite]] area of the [[Belasica]] mountains in [[Bulgaria]].<ref name="his">{{cite book |title=The History of Bulgaria, The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations |author=Frederick B. Chary |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2011 |isbn=978-0313384479 |pages=145–146}}</ref>
'''Baba Vanga''' ({{lang-bg|баба Ванга}}) (31 January 1911 – 11 August 1996), born '''Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova''' ({{lang|bg|Вангелия Пандева Димитрова}}), known after her marriage as '''Vangelia Gushterova''' ({{lang|bg|Вангелия Гущерова}}), was a [[blindness|blind]] Bulgarian mystic, [[clairvoyance|clairvoyant]], and herbalist, who spent most of her life in the [[Rupite]] area in the [[Kozhuh]] mountains [[Bulgaria]].<ref>[http://books.google.bg/books?id=9aYqjnjDzBQC&pg=PA25&dq=baba+vanga&hl=bg&sa=X&ei=kN2xUZW7A8GXPcKngPAF&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=baba%20vanga&f=false The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal: Abductions, Apparitions, ESP, Synchronicity, and More Unexplained Phenomena from Other Realms, Judith Joyce, Weiser Books, 2011, ISBN 1609252985, pp. 21-25.]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.bg/books?id=gUcVrH0jcBAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=baba+vanga&hl=bg&sa=X&ei=mN6xUfz5FYTZOrrwgfAC&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=baba%20vanga&f=false The History of Bulgaria, The Greenwood histories of the modern nations, Frederick B. Chary, ABC-CLIO, 2011, ISBN 0313384460, pp. 145-146.]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.bg/books?id=W7_jdu2-j3EC&pg=PA35&dq=baba+vanga&hl=bg&sa=X&ei=ON-xUbWQDYuLOdqXAQ&ved=0CHQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=baba%20vanga&f=false In Search of Destiny: The Universe and Man, Robert A. Welcome, AuthorHouse, 2012, ISBN 147723747X, pp. 35-36.]</ref> Millions of people around the world were convinced that she possessed paranormal abilities.<ref>Прoрoчeствaтa нa Вaнгa. Жeни Кoстaдинoвa, Издателство Труд, ISBN 954-528-074-3,Страници 696.</ref>


In the late 1970s and 1980s, she was widely known in [[Eastern Europe]] for her alleged abilities of [[clairvoyance]] and [[precognition]]. After the [[fall of communism]], including after her death in 1996, her persona has remained popular.<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Maeva |editor1-first=Mila |editor2-last=Erolova |editor2-first=Yelis |editor3-last=Stoyanova |editor3-first=Plamena |editor4-last=Ivanova |editor4-first=Vanya |title=Between the Worlds: Magic, Miracles, and Mysticism |journal=IEFSEM – BAS & Paradigma |date=2020 |volume=2 |pages=261–263 |publisher=Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies |location=Sofia |issn=2683-0213}}</ref>
==Life==
Vanga was born in [[Strumica]], then in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. She was a [[preterm birth|premature baby]] who suffered from health complications. In accordance with local tradition, the baby was not given a name until it was deemed likely to survive. When the baby first cried out, a midwife went into the street and asked a stranger for a name. The stranger proposed ''Andromaha'' ([[Andromache]]), but this was rejected for being "too Greek" during a period of anti-Hellenic sentiment within Bulgarian society. Another stranger's proposal was a [[Greek name]], but popular with Bulgarians in the region: ''Vangelia'' (from [[Evangelos]]).<ref>According to [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]At the beginning of the 20th century [[Bulgarians]] constituted the majority of the population in the region of Macedonia. They are described in the encyclopaedia as "Slavs, the bulk of which is regarded by almost all independent sources as Bulgarians": 1,150,000, whereof, 1,000,000 Orthodox and 150,000 Muslims (the so-called Pomaks); Turks: ca. 500,000 (Muslims); Greeks: ca. 250,000, whereof ca. 240,000 Orthodox and 14,000 Muslims; Albanians: ca. 120,000, whereof 10,000 Orthodox and 110,000 Muslims; Vlachs: ca. 90,000 Orthodox and 3,000 Muslims; Jews: ca. 75,000; Roma: ca. 50,000, whereof 35,000 Orthodox and 15,000 Muslims; In total 1,300,000 Christians (almost exclusively Orthodox), 800,000 Muslims, 75,000 Jews, a total population of ca. 2,200,000 for the whole of Macedonia.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.bg/books?id=UgQdAAAAYAAJ&q=%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE+%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F&dq=%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE+%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F&hl=bg&sa=X&ei=6yuyUeSvJK2h7Aa9toCIBA&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg Честотно-тълковен речник на личните имена у българите, Николай П. Ковачев, Държавно издателство "Д-р Петър Берон", 1987 г. стр. 58.] Dictionary of Personal Names of the Bulgarians, Nikolai P. Kovatchev State Publishing House "Dr Petar Beron", 1987, p 58. (Bg.)</ref>


== Life ==
In her childhood, Vangelia was an ordinary child with brown eyes and blonde hair. Her father was an [[IMRO]] activist, conscripted into the [[Bulgarian Army]] during [[World War I]], and her mother died soon after. This left Vanga dependent on the care and charity of neighbours and close family friends for much of her youth. After the war, Strumica emigrated from Bulgaria to Serbia. The Serbian authorities arrested the father, because of his pro-Bulgarian activity. They confiscated all his property and the family fell into poverty for many years.<ref>Стоянова, Красимира. Ванга ясновидящая. София, „Вариант“, „Два слона“, 1991. ISBN 5808600316. с. 30.</ref> Vanga was considered intelligent for her age. Her inclinations started to show up when she herself thought out games and loved playing "healing" – she prescribed some herbs to her friends, who pretended to be ill. Her father, being a widower, eventually remarried, thus providing a stepmother to his daughter.
Vanga was born on 3 October 1911 to Pando Surchev and Paraskeva Surcheva in [[Strumica]] in the [[Salonica vilayet]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]] (now [[North Macedonia]]). She was a [[preterm birth|premature baby]] who suffered from health complications. In accordance with local tradition, the baby was not given a name until she was deemed likely to survive. When the baby first cried out, a [[midwife]] went into the street and asked a stranger for a name. The stranger proposed ''Andromaha'' ([[Andromache]]). Per her biographer Krasimira Stoyanova, many women in Strumica then had Greek names, but the midwife rejected the proposed name because she did not like it. Another stranger's proposal was also a [[Greek name]], which was accepted due to its popularity and adapted to the Bulgarian version: ''Vangeliya''.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|p=32}} According to the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)|Bucharest treaty (1913)]], Strumica was ceded to Bulgaria.


During her childhood, her father was an [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] activist in the pro-Bulgarian branch, who seemed to have a strong sense of local Macedonian identity.<ref name="vanga">{{cite book |editor1=Bruce Berglund |editor2=Brian Porter-Szűcs |title=Christianity and Modernity in Eastern Europe |publisher=Central European University Press |date=2010 |isbn=9786155211829 |pages=252–256}}</ref> Her mother died while giving birth when Vanga was three years old, while her father was conscripted into the [[Bulgarian Army]] during [[Bulgaria during World War I|World War I]]. This left Vanga dependent on the care and charity of her neighbor.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|p=35}} After the war, Strumica was ceded to the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (i.e., [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]). Royal Yugoslav authorities arrested her father because of his [[Bulgarophiles|pro-Bulgarian]] activity. They confiscated all of his property and the family fell into poverty for many years.<ref>{{cite book |author=Krasimira Stoyanova |title=Ванга ясновидящая |publisher="Вариант" - "Два слона" |date=1991 |isbn=5808600316 |page=30 |language=bg}}</ref> Her father, being a widower, eventually remarried, thus providing a stepmother to his daughter.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|p=36}}
A turning point in her life was a tornado which lifted Vanga up and threw her in a nearby field (this claim has not been verified with meteorological records or other accounts from that time). She was found after a long search. Witnesses described her as very frightened, and her eyes were covered with sand and dust, she was unable to open them because of the pain.There was money only for a partial operation to heal the injuries she had sustained,<ref>''The truth about Vanga'', p. 42</ref> This resulted in a gradual loss of sight.


In 1923, she and her father moved to [[Novo Selo, Novo Selo|Novo Selo]].<ref name="cultures" /> A [[whirlwind]] lifted her into the air and threw her into a nearby field. She was found after a long search, covered with dirt, stones and branches. Stoyanova described her as very frightened, and her eyes were covered with sand and dust; she was unable to open them because of the pain. There was money only for a partial operation to heal the injuries she had sustained. This resulted in a gradual loss of sight.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|pp=37-39}}
In 1925 Vanga was brought to a school for the blind in the city of [[Zemun]] ([[Kingdom SHS]]), where she spent three years, and was taught to read [[Braille]], play the piano, as well as do knitting, cooking, and cleaning.<ref>''The truth about Vanga'', pp. 43-44</ref> After the death of her stepmother she had to go back home to take care of her younger siblings. Her family was very poor, and she had to work all day.


In 1925, Vanga was taken to a school for the blind in the city of [[Zemun]], in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now [[Serbia]]), where she spent three years and was taught to read [[Braille]], play the piano, knit, cook, and clean. After the death of her stepmother, she returned home to take care of her younger siblings. The family lived in poverty.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|pp=40-44}} In 1939, Vanga contracted [[pleurisy]] and was ill for eight months. The doctor's opinion was that she would die soon, but she recovered.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|p=47}}
In 1939 Vanga contracted [[pleurisy]], although remained largely inactive for some years. The doctor's opinion was that she would die soon, but she quickly recovered.


[[File:Gr Petrich kushtata na baba Vanga v grada.jpg|thumb|right|The house of Vanga in Petrich]]
[[File:Gr Petrich kushtata na baba Vanga v grada.jpg|thumb|right|Vanga's house in Petrich]]
[[File:Vanga's last house in Rupite.jpg|thumb|Vanga's last house (built in 1970) in [[Rupite]], [[Petrich]]]]
[[File:Vanga's last house in Rupite.jpg|thumb|Vanga's last house (built in 1970) in [[Rupite]], [[Petrich]]]]
During [[World War II]], Vanga attracted believers in her ability to heal and soothsay –a number of people visited her, hoping to get a hint about whether their relatives were alive, or seeking for the place where they died. On 8 April 1942 the Bulgarian tzar [[Boris III of Bulgaria|Boris III]] visited her.<ref>{{cite book|last=Joyce|first=Judith|title=The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal: Abductions, Apparitions|year=2010|publisher=Weiser Books|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9aYqjnjDzBQC&pg=PA22&dq=baba+Vanga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=h1GdUPC0D--n0AHflIG4Dw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
During [[World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia|World War II]], Yugoslavia was invaded and dismembered by the [[Axis powers]] and Strumica was annexed by Bulgaria. At that time Vanga attracted believers in her alleged ability to heal and [[Fortune-telling|soothsay]]—a number of people visited her, hoping to get a hint about whether their relatives were alive, or seeking the place where they died.{{sfn|Valtchinova|2005|p=96}} [[List of Bulgarian monarchs|Bulgarian tzar]] [[Boris III of Bulgaria|Boris III]] had visited her too.<ref name="vanga" /><ref name="birn">{{cite web |title=Dead Bulgarian's Prophecies Intrigue UK Media |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/12/25/dead-bulgarian-s-prophecies-intrigue-uk-media-12-25-2017/ |website=Balkan Insight (BIRN) |access-date=May 16, 2023 |date=December 25, 2017}}</ref>


On 10 May 1942, Vanga married Dimitar Gushterov, Bulgarian soldier from the village of [[Krandzhilitsa]] near [[Petrich]], who had come asking for the killers of his brother, but had to promise her not to seek revenge. Shortly before marriage, Dimitar and Vanga moved to Petrich, where she soon became well-known. Dimitar was then conscripted in the [[Bulgarian Army]] and had to spend some time in [[Northern Greece]], which was annexed by Bulgaria at the time. He got another illness in 1947, fell into alcoholism, and eventually died on 1 April 1962.<ref>''The truth about Vanga'', pp. 61-65, 69-70, 80-81</ref>
On 10 May 1942, Vanga married Dimitar Gushterov. Gushterov, a Bulgarian soldier from the village of [[Krandzhilitsa]] near [[Petrich]], had come to town seeking revenge for his brother's killing. Shortly before marriage, Dimitar and Vanga moved to Petrich, where she soon became well-known. Dimitar was then conscripted in the [[Bulgarian Land Forces|Bulgarian Army]] and was stationed in [[Northern Greece]], which was annexed by Bulgaria at the time. Gushterov became ill, fell into alcoholism, and eventually died on 1 April 1962.{{sfn|Stoyanova|1989|pp=56-60, 69-71}}


After World War II, the Bulgarian police and communist party tried to suppress Vanga's activities, but she continued to be visited by people.<ref name="vanga" /> After police control and social pressure reduced in the 1960s, she was employed by the [[Petrich Municipality|Petrich municipality]] and Institute of Suggestology (part of the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]]). The former supported Vanga materially and took part of her income, while the latter tried to scientifically justify her activities.<ref name="vanga" /> Members of the [[Politburo]] of the [[Bulgarian Communist Party]] and leading intellectuals also consulted her,<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Kaser |editor1-first=Karl |editor2-last=Katschnig-Fasch |editor2-first=Elisabeth |title=Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe |date=2005 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=9783825888022 |page=90}}</ref> including, reportedly, [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] [[Leonid Brezhnev]].<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web |author=Stephen Kinzer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/05/world/rupite-journal-for-a-revered-mystic-a-shrine-now-of-her-own.html |title="Rupite Journal; For a Revered Mystic, a Shrine Now of Her Own" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807085957/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/05/world/rupite-journal-for-a-revered-mystic-a-shrine-now-of-her-own.html |archive-date=2019-08-07 |website=The New York Times |date=5 April 1995}}</ref> In the 1990s, a church was built in Rupite with money left by her visitors,<ref name="nytimes.com" /> which was consecrated on 14 October 1994.<ref name="vanga" /> Vanga died on 11 August 1996 from [[breast cancer]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Greenwood encyclopedia of women's issues worldwide, Volume 3 |author=Lynn Walter |publisher=Greenwood Press |date=2003 |page=110}}</ref><ref name="his" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Southeast Europe: History, Religious Tourism and Contemporary Trends |editor1=Mario Katic |editor2=Tomislav Klarin |editor3=Mike McDonald |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |date=2014 |isbn=978-3643905048 |page=85}}</ref>
She continued to be visited by dignitaries and commoners. After the Second World War, Bulgarian politicians and leaders from different Soviet Republics, even [[Leonid Brezhnev]], sought her counsel; in the 1990s, a church was built in Rupite by [[Bogdan Tomalevski]] with money left by her visitors.<ref name="nytimes.com">Stephen Kinzer, [http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/05/world/rupite-journal-for-a-revered-mystic-a-shrine-now-of-her-own.html "Rupite Journal; For a Revered Mystic, a Shrine Now of Her Own"], "The New York Times", April 5, 1995. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref> Vanga died on 11 August 1996 from [[breast cancer]]. Her funeral attracted large crowds, including many dignitaries.<ref>[[:ru:Файл:Vanga's-Grave-Rupite.JPG]]</ref>
[[File:Vanga's-Grave-Rupite.JPG|thumb|right|Baba Vanga's grave in Rupite, Bulgaria]]


== Work ==
Fulfilling Vanga's last will and testament, her [[Petrich]] house was turned into a [[museum]], which opened its doors for visitors on 5 May 2008.<ref>[http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/prophetess-baba-vanga-s-petrich-house-becomes-museum/id_29132/catid_70 Prophetess Baba Vanga's Petrich house becomes museum], The Sofia Echo,</ref>
[[File:Rupite TodorBozhinov (25).JPG|right|thumb|200px|St Petka of Bulgaria, Baba Vanga's church and grave.]]
Vanga was semi-literate in [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]; she could read some Braille in [[Serbian language|Serbian]]. Numerous [[esoteric]] books on Vanga's life and alleged predictions were written. In the 1960s, the main task of the newly established Institute of Suggestology employing her was to study her alleged abilities.<ref name="vanga" /> According to former ''[[Journal Metro]]'' columnist Jeff Yates, there is no written record of her alleged predictions, but her followers frequently attribute predictions to her.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://journalmetro.com/opinions/inspecteur-viral/901689/non-la-voyante-bulgare-baba-vanga-na-pas-predit-une-guerre-mondiale-en-2016/ |title=Non, la «voyante» bulgare Baba Vanga n'a pas prédit une guerre mondiale en 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112065751/https://journalmetro.com/opinions/inspecteur-viral/901689/non-la-voyante-bulgare-baba-vanga-na-pas-predit-une-guerre-mondiale-en-2016/ |date=10 January 2016 |website=[[Metro International|Metro]] |archive-date=12 November 2019 |language=fr}}</ref> Many of the people who were close to her have stated that she never made some of the predictions attributed to her.<ref name="bulg">{{Cite web |url=https://www.24chasa.bg/Article/547281 |title=Баба Ванга не е предсказвала края на света |website=www.24chasa.bg |access-date=2022-01-29 |archive-date=2022-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129142528/https://www.24chasa.bg/Article/547281 |url-status=live |language=bg}}</ref><ref name="independent">{{cite news |date=8 December 2015 |title=Baba Vanga: Who is the blind mystic who 'predicted the rise of Isis'? |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/baba-vanga-who-is-the-blind-mystic-who-predicted-the-rise-of-isis-a6765071.html |access-date=29 January 2018 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229140153/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/baba-vanga-who-is-the-blind-mystic-who-predicted-the-rise-of-isis-a6765071.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
<!-- List contains major and notable attributed predictions. It is not intended to include every attributed prediction. -->
Some predictions attributed to her by her followers include:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dp4xpw/baba-vangas-predictions-of-natural-disasters |title=Baba Vanga's Predictions of "Natural Disasters" |website=[[Vice News]] |date=29 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Ryan Barrell |title=Blind Bulgarian Mystic Baba Vanga, Who 'Predicted' The Rise Of Isis, Says They'll Invade Europe In 2016 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/01/blind-mystic-baba-vanga-predicts-isis-invasion-of-europe_n_8903050.html |website=The Huffington Post UK |access-date=16 May 2023 |date=1 January 2016}}</ref>{{bulleted list |[[World War II]] |The [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]], [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]] and [[Breakup of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] |The [[Chernobyl disaster]] |The date of [[Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin|Stalin's death]] |The date of Tsar [[Boris III of Bulgaria|Boris III]]'s death |The date of her own death<ref name="bulg" /> |The [[Kursk submarine disaster]] |[[Death of Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana's death]] |1985 Northern Bulgaria earthquake<ref name="nytimes.com" /> |The [[September 11 attacks]] |[[2004 Boxing Day Tsunami]] |The election of an [[African-American]] as the [[Barack Obama|44th President of the United States]]<ref name="independent" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/08/fair-warning-bulgarian-prophet-says-obama-will-be-americas-last-president/ |title=Fair warning: Bulgarian prophet predicted Obama would be last U.S. president |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2020-04-15 |archive-date=2021-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107093751/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/08/fair-warning-bulgarian-prophet-says-obama-will-be-americas-last-president/ |url-status=live}}</ref>}}


Some predictions which have proved false include:<ref name="independent" />
==Work==
* A [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]], between 2010 and 2016, which would lead to the abandonment of Europe.
{{More footnotes|date=April 2009}}
* That the 44th President of the United States would be the "last US President".
[[Image:Rupite TodorBozhinov (25).JPG|right|thumb|200px|St Petka of Bulgaria, Baba Vanga's church and grave.]]
Vanga was illiterate or semi-literate. She did not write any books herself. What she said or allegedly said had been captured by staff members. Later numerous [[esoteric]] books on Vanga's life and predictions were written.


== Legacy ==
Vanga claimed that her extraordinary abilities had something to do with the presence of invisible creatures, but she could not clearly explain their origin. She said that those creatures gave her information about people, which she could not transmit to them, because distance and time didn't matter. According to Vanga, the life of everyone standing in front of her was like a film to her from birth until death. But changing "what was written on the generation" was beyond her power.
Fulfilling Vanga's last will and testament, her [[Petrich]] house was turned into a [[museum]], which opened its doors for visitors on 5 May 2008.<ref name="his" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Навършват се 12 години от смъртта на Ванга (видео) |url=https://btvnovinite.bg/116483-Navarshvat_se_12_godini_ot_smartta_na_Vanga_(video).html |website=bTV Новините |language=bg |date=8 August 2008}}</ref> Her [[Rupite]] house was also opened for visitors on 25 March 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=House of Bulgaria's Baba Vanga opens to visitors |url=https://sofiaglobe.com/2014/03/26/house-of-bulgarias-baba-vanga-opens-to-visitors/ |website=The Sofia Globe |access-date=31 May 2023 |date=26 March 2014}}</ref> In 2012, she was posthumously awarded the title "Honorary Citizen" by the Municipal Council of Petrich.<ref>{{cite web |title=На Ванга днес посмъртно бе присъдено званието "Почетен гражданин" на град Петрич |url=https://bnr.bg/blagoevgrad/post/100371676/na-vanga-dnes-posmyrtno-be-prisydeno-zvanieto-pocheten-grajdanin-na-grad-petrich |website=BGNES |language=bg |date=25 October 2012 |access-date=8 October 2023}}</ref>


Her alleged predictions and persona remain popular in parts of [[Southeast Europe]], primarily [[Bulgaria]] and [[North Macedonia]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Зорница Стоилова |url=http://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/obshtestvo/2014/04/04/2275476_zashto_se_vurna_vanga/ |title=Защо се върна Ванга |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109111723/https://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/obshtestvo/2014/04/04/2275476_zashto_se_vurna_vanga/ |website=[[Capital (Bulgarian newspaper)|Capital]] |date=4 April 2014 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |language=bg}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kanal5.com.mk/dolgometrazhen-dokumentaren-film-za-baba-vangja-na-kanal-5/a212585 |title=Долгометражен документарен филм за "баба Ванѓа на Канал 5 |website=[[Kanal 5 (North Macedonia)|Kanal 5]] |date=23 August 2014 |language=mk}}</ref> as well as parts of [[Eastern Europe]], especially [[Russia]].<ref name="birn" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Max Fisher |title=Fair warning: Bulgarian prophet predicted Obama would be last U.S. president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/08/fair-warning-bulgarian-prophet-says-obama-will-be-americas-last-president/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=16 May 2023 |date=8 November 2012}}</ref> Russian publications about her persona are numerous. "The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga" is a Russian online project dedicated to her.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga |url=http://vanga.ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710064245/http://vanga.ru |archive-date=10 July 2020 |access-date=11 December 2015 |website=The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga |language=ru}}</ref> ''Vangelia'', a Russian-language 24-episode TV series with elements of mysticism, was commissioned in 2013 by [[Channel One Russia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://favoritfilm.ru/ru/katalog-filmov/movies/148-vangeliya |title=Vangelia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108094903/http://favoritfilm.ru/ru/katalog-filmov/movies/148-vangeliya |archive-date=8 January 2021 |website=Favorite Film |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vanga, aka "Nostradamus of the Balkans": A Mysterious Personality Respected or Ridiculed |url=https://www.bta.bg/en/news/culture/534448-vanga-aka-nostradamus-of-the-balkans-a-mysterious-personality-respected-or-r |website=BTA |access-date=15 October 2023 |date=3 October 2023}}</ref>
Sources such as "Wuide to the Paranormal" claim that she foretold the [[History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)|break-up of the Soviet Union]], the [[Chernobyl disaster]], the date of [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]]'s death, the sinking of the Russian submarine ''[[Russian submarine K-141 Kursk|Kursk]]'', the [[September 11 attacks]] and [[Veselin Topalov|Topalov]]'s victory in the world chess tournament.<ref>Press Review, Notes from History: Baba Vanga, by Lucy Cooper Mon 19 Dec 2005 [http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/notes-from-history-baba-vanga/id_13025/catid_64]</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|title= The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal
|chapter= Baba Vanga
|last= Joyce
|first= Judith
|authorlink=
|year= 2010
|publisher= Red Wheel/Weiser
|location= San Francisco, CA
|isbn= 978-1-57863-488-0
|pages= 21–25
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=9aYqjnjDzBQC&pg=PA21
|accessdate= 1 January 2011
}}
</ref> However, the people who were close to her claim that she never prophesied about ''Kursk'' or other subjects circulating the Internet, and that many of the myths about Vanga are simply not true, which ultimately hurts and crudely misrepresents her and her work.<ref name = "docu">{{YouTube|cV3LWT0RWt0|''Ванга. Мир видимый и невидимый'' first aired 31 January 2011 on RTV}}</ref><ref name = "bulg">[http://www.24chasa.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=547281. Баба Ванга не е предсказвала края на света]</ref>


== See also ==
In early August 1996, just two months before her death, Bosnian actress and singer [[Silvana Armenulić]] was on tour in Bulgaria and decided to seize the opportunity to meet with Baba Vanga. The meeting was unpleasant. Vanga only sat and stared out a window with her back to Silvana. She did not speak. After a long time, Vanga finally spoke: ''"Nothing. You do not have to pay. I do not want to speak with you. Not now. Go and come back in three months."'' As Silvana turned around and walked towards the door, Vanga said: ''"Wait. In fact, you will not be able to come. Go, go. If you can come back in three months, do so."''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=1161559|title=Srpski Nišvil|publisher=Vreme|date=26 December 2013|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref> Silvana took this as confirmation that she would die and left Vanga's home in tears.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dobojcaffe.com/forum/biografije-muzicara/silvana-armenulic-biografija/|title=Silvana Armenulic - Biografija|publisher=dobojcaffe|date=|accessdate=19 October 2012}}</ref> Armenulić died two months later, 10 October 1976, in a car crash with her sister [[Mirjana Bajraktarević (sevdalinka)|Mirjana]].
{{div col}}
* [[Cheiro]]
* [[Edgar Cayce]]
* [[Eschatology]]
* [[Eugenia Davitashvili]] (Djuna)
* [[Nostradamus]]
* [[Pythia]], the Oracle of Delphi
* [[Slava Sevryukova]]
* [[Vlaycho Zhechev]]
{{div col end}}


== References ==
Vanga incorrectly predicted that the [[1994 FIFA World Cup Final]] would be played between "two teams beginning with B". Some say that she foretold it that way because of the penalty that [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] wasn't given. One finalist was [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], but Bulgaria was eliminated by [[Italy national football team|Italy]] in the semifinals.<ref>[[Stephen Kinzer]]: ''[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDB1E39F936A35757C0A963958260 Rupite Journal; For a Revered Mystic, a Shrine Now of Her Own]'' in [[The New York Times]], April 5, 1995.</ref> Vanga predicted that a [[World War III]] would start in November 2010 and last until October 2014.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McLain|first=Sean|title=The year that wasn't: failed predictions of 2010|journal=The National|date=January 1, 2011|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/the-year-that-wasnt-failed-predictions-of-2010}}</ref><ref>[http://english.pravda.ru/society/anomal/106459-0/ Pravda]</ref> However, according to close friends, Vanga was not the type to voice predictions she saw if they were catastrophic because she knew that chaos that would ensue around those she told. Witnesses and close friends also claim that she never made such prophecies, and in fact when asked claimed that there will be no World War III.<ref name = "bulg"/><ref>[http://www.theastralworld.com/prophecies/babavanga.php Baba Vagna], ''The Astral World''</ref> Nevertheless, after North Korea — a nuclear nation — [[Bombardment of Yeonpyeong|attacked South Korea]] on 23 November 2010,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/korea-attack-yeonpyeong-island_n_787294.html#s189509 | work=Huffington Post | title=Korea Attack: Yeonpyeong Island Shelled By North Korea (PHOTOS, VIDEO) | date=23 November 2010}}</ref> there was a spike in internet interest about Vanga concerning this alleged prophecy.<ref>[http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%20baba%20vanga%20 Google Trends]</ref>
{{Reflist|30em}}


===Other sources===
Vanga attempted to prophesy about newborn or unborn children. She said that she was "seeing" and "talking" to people, who had died hundreds of years ago. Vanga talked about the future, although she did not like to. In her words, in 200 years man will make contact with brothers in mind from other worlds. She said that many aliens have been living on the earth for years. They came from the planet, which in their language is called ''Vamfim''<!-- It was originally translated as "Wamfim", but that's ambiguous to pronounce. "Vamfim" is less likely to get mispronounced by an English speaker. -->, and is the third planet from the Earth.


* {{cite book|last=Stoyanova|first=Krasimira|title=Vanga|language=bg|publisher=Balgarski Pisatel|year=1989|location=Sofia|isbn=973-910-405-3}}
Followers of Vanga believe that she predicted the precise date of her own death,<ref name = "bulg"/> dreaming that she would die on 11 August, and be buried on 13 August. Shortly before that she had said that a ten-year-old blind girl living in France was to inherit her gift, and that people would soon hear about her.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Valtchinova|first1=Galia|year=2005|title=Vanga, la "Pythie bulgare": idées et usages de l'Antiquité en Bulgarie socialiste|language=fr|journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne|volume=31|issue=1|pages=93–127|doi=10.3406/dha.2005.2487|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_0755-7256_2005_num_31_1_2487|access-date=1 January 2011|archive-date=16 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616070410/http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_0755-7256_2005_num_31_1_2487|url-status=live}}

* {{cite journal|last1=Ivanov|first1=Petko|last2=Izmirlieva|first2=Valentina|year=2003|title=Betwixt and Between: The Cult of Living Saints in Contemporary Bulgaria|journal=Folklorica, Journal of the Slavic and East European|volume=8|issue=1|pages=33–53|url=https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/folklorica/article/viewFile/3733/3572|access-date=1 January 2011|archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721173705/https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/folklorica/article/viewFile/3733/3572|url-status=live}}
Vanga reached news headlines after apparently predicting the 9/11 terror attacks.
{{Quote|text=Horror, horror! The American brethren will fall after being attacked by the steel birds. The wolves will be howling in a bush, and innocent blood will be gushing. |author=Predicted in 1989 by Baba Vanga<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/blind-mystic-whose-followers-claim-7101651|title=Blind mystic whose followers claim she predicted 9/11 attack, ISIS and 2004 tsunami has chilling vision for 2016|publisher=Mirror Online|date=1 January 2016|accessdate=6 February 2016}}</ref>}}

Vanga predictions that have yet to happen include that the 44th President of the United States will be the last US president. Europe will be transformed into an Islamic caliphate and the transformation will be complete in the year 2043. Communism will return to Europe and the rest of the world in 2076. There will be a war on Mars in 3005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/heres-what-blind-prophet-baba-vanga-predicted-for-2016-and-beyond-its-not-good/news-story/6adaca964c9bde14e21103ee7d4fbc1d|title=Baba Vanga: ‘Bulgarian Nostradamus’ predicted ISIS, 9/11, Fukushima?|publisher=News Limited|date=9 December 2015|accessdate=3 February 2016}}</ref> Followers of Vanga believe these events could happen. However, due to the subjective nature of many predictions, many remain skeptical. Predicting a specific event before it occurred can be seen as being correct after by coincidence or chance.

==Studies==
One recent attempt to systematically summarize the existing knowledge about Vanga was made in the documentary ''Vanga: The Visible and Invisible World''.<ref name = "docu"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Зачем Ванга звала к себе Бориса Ельцина?|url=http://kp.by/daily/25628.3/793360/|accessdate=11 June 2011|newspaper=Комсомольская правда|date=27 Jan 2011}}</ref> The movie includes interviews with some of the people who met Vanga in person, including Sergey Medvedev (press secretary to President of [[Russia]] [[Boris Yeltsin]] in 1995–96; Sergey Medvedev visited Vanga as Yeltsin's envoy following Vanga's request to meet her), [[Neshka Robeva]] (Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast and coach), [[Sergey Mikhalkov]] (Soviet and Russian writer, author of the Soviet Union anthem), [[Nevena Tosheva]] (director of the first documentary about Vanga), [[Kirsan Ilyumzhinov]] ([[Kalmyk people|Kalmyk]] multi-millionaire businessman and politician). According to the documentary, Baba Vanga predicted Yeltsin's second electoral victory in 1995, and warned him about his heart condition.

Several researchers have studied the phenomenon of Vanga in the attempt to establish whether she has any extraordinary capabilities. One of the first studies was initiated by the Bulgarian government and is described in the 1977 movie ''Fenomen''<ref>{{cite web|title=Fenomenat|publisher=IMDB|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291904/|accessdate=11 June 2011}}</ref> directed by Nevena Tosheva. Prominent Bulgarian psychiatrists [[:bg:Никола Шипковенски|Nicola Shipkovensky]] and [[Georgi Lozanov]] also studied the capabilities of Vanga. Reportedly, some of the studies concluded that about 80% of predictions of Vanga turned out to be accurate.<ref>{{cite book
|title= The Roots of Consciousness
|chapter= Psionics
|last= Mishlove
|first= Jeffrey
|authorlink=
|year= 1975
|publisher= Random House
|location=
|isbn= 0-394-73115-8
|pages=
|url= http://www.williamjames.com/Folklore/PSIONICS.htm
|accessdate= 11 June 2011
}}</ref>

==Baba Vanga in popular culture==
''Vangelia'', a 12-episode biographical TV series with elements of mysticism, was commissioned in 2013 by [[Channel One Russia]].<ref>[http://favoritfilm.ru/ru/katalog-filmov/movies/148-vangeliya ''Vangelia''] on the official site of Favorite Film. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref>

Clairvoyant's supposed predictions, political speculations with them and their criticism continue to appear in the mass media in different countries and in different languages.<ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref>Зорница Стоилова, [http://www.capital.bg/politika_i_ikonomika/obshtestvo/2014/04/04/2275476_zashto_se_vurna_vanga/ "Защо се върна Ванга"], Bulgarian weekly business newspaper "[[Capital (newspaper)|Capital]]", April 4, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://bnt.bg/part-of-show/za-vanga-i-vangeliya "Regarding Vanga and "Vangelia"], talk show of the [[Bulgarian National Television]] about the Russian TV series, March 19, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref><ref>Documentary [http://www.kanal5.com.mk/vesti_detail.asp?ID=46919 "Baba Vangja, the last Macedonian prophet"], shot by the [[Kanal 5 (Macedonia)|Macedonian "Kanal 5"]], August 23, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.24sata.hr/news/prorocanstva-babe-vange-uz-izdanje-24sata-za-samo-5-kuna-449281 "The secrets of Baba Vanga's predictions"], Croatian daily newspaper [[24sata (Croatia)|"24sata"]], November 11, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraf.rs/jetset/1895721-udaces-se-za-coveka-u-belom-lepa-brena-otkrila-sta-joj-je-baba-vanga-prorekla-pre-30-godina-foto "You'll marry a man in white"], prediction about [[Lepa Brena]]'s marriage, Serbian online media "Telegraf", December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://www.blic.rs/Slobodno-vreme/Vesti/612550/SVETSKI-MEDIJI-O-BABA-VANGI-Bugarska-prorocica-predvidela-pojavu-Islamske-drzave "Global media on Baba Vanga. Bulgarian prophetess predicted the emergence of the Islamic State?"], Serbian tabloid newspaper "[[Blic]]", December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref>

Her image is particularly popular in the Balkans and in Russia. Russian publications related to the mysterious prophetess are numerous. "The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga" is a Russian online project, dedicated to her.<ref>[http://vanga.ru/ "The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga"]. Retrieved December 11, 2015.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Eugenia Davitashvili|Djuna]]
*[[Edgar Cayce]]
*[[End time|Doomsday]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book
| last = Стоянова [Stoyanova]
| first = Красимира [Krasimira]
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Истината за Ванга
| trans_title = The truth about Vanga
| language=Bulgarian
| publisher = Balgarski Pisatel
| year= 1996
| location = Sofia
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 954-443-170-5
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Ostrander
| first1 = Sheila
| last2 = Schroeder
| first2 = Lynn
| authorlink =
| title = Psychic discoveries behind the Iron Curtain
| chapter = Vanga Dimitrova: The Bulgarian Oracle
| publisher = [[Prentice Hall]]
| year= 1970
| location = Englewood Cliffs, NJ
| pages = 259–281
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 978-0-13-732230-5
}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Valtchinova
|first1=Galia
|year=2005
|title=Vanga, la "Pythie bulgare": idées et usages de l'Antiquité en Bulgarie socialiste
|language=French
|journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne
|volume=31
|issue=1
|pages=93–127
|publisher=
|doi=10.3406/dha.2005.2487
|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_0755-7256_2005_num_31_1_2487
|accessdate=1 January 2011
}}
* {{cite journal
|last1=Ivanov
|first1=Petko
|last2=Izmirlieva
|first2=Valentina
|year=2003
|title=Betwixt and Between: The Cult of Living Saints in Contemporary Bulgaria
|journal=Folklorica, Journal of the Slavic and East European
|volume=8
|issue=1
|pages=33–53
|publisher=
|doi=
|url=https://journals.ku.edu/index.php/folklorica/article/viewFile/3733/3572
|accessdate=1 January 2011
}}


==External links==
== External links ==
{{Commons}}
*[[Stephen Kinzer]]: ''[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDB1E39F936A35757C0A963958260 Rupite Journal; For a Revered Mystic, a Shrine Now of Her Own]'' in [[The New York Times]], April 5, 1995
* {{IMDb name|nm9204589}}
*''[http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/8-11-33.shtml Ideological Drive Against Paraperception]'' [[Radio Free Europe]] Research, March 24, 1983, in ''[[Open Society Archives]]''
*(in Russian) [http://www.peoples.ru/state/divinators/vanga/ An article by Natalia Baltzun], translated by Kristina Hristova (Bulgaria)
* [http://www.peoples.ru/state/divinators/vanga/ An article by Natalia Baltzun], translated by Kristina Hristova (Bulgaria) {{in lang|ru}}
*(in Russian) [http://www.skeptik.net/extras/gorny1.htm Vanga's Prophecies: Product of the Bulgarian Secret Services]
* [http://www.skeptik.net/extras/gorny1.htm Vanga's Prophecies: Product of the Bulgarian Secret Services] {{in lang|ru}}
*(in French) [http://www.khatloona.org/infos/728-fr-Les-propheties-de-Baba-Vanga.html An article in french about Vanga's propheties, by K8 Transmission]
*[https://web.archive.org/20150727021514/http://www.sofiaecho.com:80/article/notes-from-history-baba-vanga/id_13025/catid_64 NOTES FROM HISTORY: Baba Vanga], [[The Sofia Echo]], December 19, 2005
*[https://web.archive.org/20110122060312/http://www.babavanga-predictions.com:80/baba-vanga/baba-vanga-2012.html Baba Vanga say about 2012]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Strumica]]
[[Category:People from Strumica]]
[[Category:Prophets]]
[[Category:Psychics]]
[[Category:Bulgarian psychics]]
[[Category:Clairvoyants]]
[[Category:Clairvoyants]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer]]
[[Category:20th-century Bulgarian people]]
[[Category:20th-century Bulgarian people]]
[[Category:20th-century Bulgarian women]]
[[Category:Macedonian Bulgarians]]
[[Category:Macedonian Bulgarians]]
[[Category:Blind people]]
[[Category:Bulgarian blind people]]
[[Category:Women mystics]]

Latest revision as of 07:13, 22 December 2024

In this Bulgarian name, the patronymic is Pandeva and the family name is Surcheva or Gushterova.
Baba Vanga
Баба Ванга
Born
Vangeliya Pandeva Surcheva

(1911-10-03)3 October 1911[1]
Strumica, Ottoman Empire
Died11 August 1996(1996-08-11) (aged 84)
Sofia, Bulgaria
CitizenshipOttoman, Bulgarian, Yugoslav
Occupations
Spouse
Dimitar Gushterov
​
​
(m. 1942; died 1962)​

Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova (née Surcheva; Bulgarian: Вангелия Пандева Гущерова, née Сурчева, [vɐnˈɡɛlijɐ ˈpɑndevɐ ɡuˈʃtɛrovɐ (ˈsurt͡ʃevɐ)]; 3 October 1911 – 11 August 1996), commonly known as Baba Vanga (Bulgarian: Баба Ванга, lit. 'Grandmother Vanga'),[2] was a Bulgarian attributed mystic and healer who claimed to have foreseen the future.[3][4] Blind since her early childhood, she spent most of her life in the Rupite area of the Belasica mountains in Bulgaria.[5]

In the late 1970s and 1980s, she was widely known in Eastern Europe for her alleged abilities of clairvoyance and precognition. After the fall of communism, including after her death in 1996, her persona has remained popular.[6]

Life

[edit]

Vanga was born on 3 October 1911 to Pando Surchev and Paraskeva Surcheva in Strumica in the Salonica vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (now North Macedonia). She was a premature baby who suffered from health complications. In accordance with local tradition, the baby was not given a name until she was deemed likely to survive. When the baby first cried out, a midwife went into the street and asked a stranger for a name. The stranger proposed Andromaha (Andromache). Per her biographer Krasimira Stoyanova, many women in Strumica then had Greek names, but the midwife rejected the proposed name because she did not like it. Another stranger's proposal was also a Greek name, which was accepted due to its popularity and adapted to the Bulgarian version: Vangeliya.[7] According to the Bucharest treaty (1913), Strumica was ceded to Bulgaria.

During her childhood, her father was an Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization activist in the pro-Bulgarian branch, who seemed to have a strong sense of local Macedonian identity.[8] Her mother died while giving birth when Vanga was three years old, while her father was conscripted into the Bulgarian Army during World War I. This left Vanga dependent on the care and charity of her neighbor.[9] After the war, Strumica was ceded to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (i.e., Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Royal Yugoslav authorities arrested her father because of his pro-Bulgarian activity. They confiscated all of his property and the family fell into poverty for many years.[10] Her father, being a widower, eventually remarried, thus providing a stepmother to his daughter.[11]

In 1923, she and her father moved to Novo Selo.[2] A whirlwind lifted her into the air and threw her into a nearby field. She was found after a long search, covered with dirt, stones and branches. Stoyanova described her as very frightened, and her eyes were covered with sand and dust; she was unable to open them because of the pain. There was money only for a partial operation to heal the injuries she had sustained. This resulted in a gradual loss of sight.[12]

In 1925, Vanga was taken to a school for the blind in the city of Zemun, in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now Serbia), where she spent three years and was taught to read Braille, play the piano, knit, cook, and clean. After the death of her stepmother, she returned home to take care of her younger siblings. The family lived in poverty.[13] In 1939, Vanga contracted pleurisy and was ill for eight months. The doctor's opinion was that she would die soon, but she recovered.[14]

Vanga's house in Petrich
Vanga's last house (built in 1970) in Rupite, Petrich

During World War II, Yugoslavia was invaded and dismembered by the Axis powers and Strumica was annexed by Bulgaria. At that time Vanga attracted believers in her alleged ability to heal and soothsay—a number of people visited her, hoping to get a hint about whether their relatives were alive, or seeking the place where they died.[15] Bulgarian tzar Boris III had visited her too.[8][16]

On 10 May 1942, Vanga married Dimitar Gushterov. Gushterov, a Bulgarian soldier from the village of Krandzhilitsa near Petrich, had come to town seeking revenge for his brother's killing. Shortly before marriage, Dimitar and Vanga moved to Petrich, where she soon became well-known. Dimitar was then conscripted in the Bulgarian Army and was stationed in Northern Greece, which was annexed by Bulgaria at the time. Gushterov became ill, fell into alcoholism, and eventually died on 1 April 1962.[17]

After World War II, the Bulgarian police and communist party tried to suppress Vanga's activities, but she continued to be visited by people.[8] After police control and social pressure reduced in the 1960s, she was employed by the Petrich municipality and Institute of Suggestology (part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). The former supported Vanga materially and took part of her income, while the latter tried to scientifically justify her activities.[8] Members of the Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist Party and leading intellectuals also consulted her,[18] including, reportedly, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev.[19] In the 1990s, a church was built in Rupite with money left by her visitors,[19] which was consecrated on 14 October 1994.[8] Vanga died on 11 August 1996 from breast cancer.[20][5][21]

Baba Vanga's grave in Rupite, Bulgaria

Work

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St Petka of Bulgaria, Baba Vanga's church and grave.

Vanga was semi-literate in Bulgarian; she could read some Braille in Serbian. Numerous esoteric books on Vanga's life and alleged predictions were written. In the 1960s, the main task of the newly established Institute of Suggestology employing her was to study her alleged abilities.[8] According to former Journal Metro columnist Jeff Yates, there is no written record of her alleged predictions, but her followers frequently attribute predictions to her.[22] Many of the people who were close to her have stated that she never made some of the predictions attributed to her.[23][24]

Some predictions attributed to her by her followers include:[25][26]

Some predictions which have proved false include:[24]

  • A nuclear war, between 2010 and 2016, which would lead to the abandonment of Europe.
  • That the 44th President of the United States would be the "last US President".

Legacy

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Fulfilling Vanga's last will and testament, her Petrich house was turned into a museum, which opened its doors for visitors on 5 May 2008.[5][28] Her Rupite house was also opened for visitors on 25 March 2014.[29] In 2012, she was posthumously awarded the title "Honorary Citizen" by the Municipal Council of Petrich.[30]

Her alleged predictions and persona remain popular in parts of Southeast Europe, primarily Bulgaria and North Macedonia,[31][32] as well as parts of Eastern Europe, especially Russia.[16][33] Russian publications about her persona are numerous. "The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga" is a Russian online project dedicated to her.[34] Vangelia, a Russian-language 24-episode TV series with elements of mysticism, was commissioned in 2013 by Channel One Russia.[35][36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Raymond Detrez (2014). Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 57. ISBN 978-1442241800.
  2. ^ a b Roth, Klaus; Kartari, Asker, eds. (2016). Cultures of Crisis in Southeast Europe: Part 1: Crises Related to Migration, Transformation, Politics, Religion, and Labour. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 308–309. ISBN 9783643907639.
  3. ^ Morrow, Daniel (2020-10-03). "Blind mystic Baba Vanga 'predicted Donald Trump's coronavirus plight'". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  4. ^ Kettley, Sebastian (2020-10-11). "Baba Vanga 2020: Did the blind mystic predict coronavirus? COVID-19 will be 'all over us'". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  5. ^ a b c Frederick B. Chary (2011). The History of Bulgaria, The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations. ABC-CLIO. pp. 145–146. ISBN 978-0313384479.
  6. ^ Maeva, Mila; Erolova, Yelis; Stoyanova, Plamena; Ivanova, Vanya, eds. (2020). "Between the Worlds: Magic, Miracles, and Mysticism". IEFSEM – BAS & Paradigma. 2. Sofia: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies: 261–263. ISSN 2683-0213.
  7. ^ Stoyanova 1989, p. 32.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Bruce Berglund; Brian Porter-Szűcs, eds. (2010). Christianity and Modernity in Eastern Europe. Central European University Press. pp. 252–256. ISBN 9786155211829.
  9. ^ Stoyanova 1989, p. 35.
  10. ^ Krasimira Stoyanova (1991). Ванга ясновидящая (in Bulgarian). "Вариант" - "Два слона". p. 30. ISBN 5808600316.
  11. ^ Stoyanova 1989, p. 36.
  12. ^ Stoyanova 1989, pp. 37–39.
  13. ^ Stoyanova 1989, pp. 40–44.
  14. ^ Stoyanova 1989, p. 47.
  15. ^ Valtchinova 2005, p. 96.
  16. ^ a b "Dead Bulgarian's Prophecies Intrigue UK Media". Balkan Insight (BIRN). December 25, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Stoyanova 1989, pp. 56–60, 69–71.
  18. ^ Kaser, Karl; Katschnig-Fasch, Elisabeth, eds. (2005). Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 90. ISBN 9783825888022.
  19. ^ a b c Stephen Kinzer (5 April 1995). ""Rupite Journal; For a Revered Mystic, a Shrine Now of Her Own"". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-08-07.
  20. ^ Lynn Walter (2003). The Greenwood encyclopedia of women's issues worldwide, Volume 3. Greenwood Press. p. 110.
  21. ^ Mario Katic; Tomislav Klarin; Mike McDonald, eds. (2014). Pilgrimage and Sacred Places in Southeast Europe: History, Religious Tourism and Contemporary Trends. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 85. ISBN 978-3643905048.
  22. ^ "Non, la «voyante» bulgare Baba Vanga n'a pas prédit une guerre mondiale en 2016". Metro (in French). 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Баба Ванга не е предсказвала края на света". www.24chasa.bg (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  24. ^ a b c "Baba Vanga: Who is the blind mystic who 'predicted the rise of Isis'?". The Independent. 8 December 2015. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  25. ^ "Baba Vanga's Predictions of "Natural Disasters"". Vice News. 29 June 2012.
  26. ^ Ryan Barrell (1 January 2016). "Blind Bulgarian Mystic Baba Vanga, Who 'Predicted' The Rise Of Isis, Says They'll Invade Europe In 2016". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Fair warning: Bulgarian prophet predicted Obama would be last U.S. president". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  28. ^ "Навършват се 12 години от смъртта на Ванга (видео)". bTV Новините (in Bulgarian). 8 August 2008.
  29. ^ "House of Bulgaria's Baba Vanga opens to visitors". The Sofia Globe. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  30. ^ "На Ванга днес посмъртно бе присъдено званието "Почетен гражданин" на град Петрич". BGNES (in Bulgarian). 25 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  31. ^ Зорница Стоилова (4 April 2014). "Защо се върна Ванга". Capital (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 9 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Долгометражен документарен филм за "баба Ванѓа на Канал 5". Kanal 5 (in Macedonian). 23 August 2014.
  33. ^ Max Fisher (8 November 2012). "Fair warning: Bulgarian prophet predicted Obama would be last U.S. president". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  34. ^ "The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga". The Great Encyclopedia of Vanga (in Russian). Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  35. ^ "Vangelia". Favorite Film (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Vanga, aka "Nostradamus of the Balkans": A Mysterious Personality Respected or Ridiculed". BTA. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.

Other sources

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