Krastyo Krastev

Krastyo Kotev Krastev (Bulgarian: Кръстьо Котев Кръстев [ˈkrɤstjo ˈkɔtɛf ˈkrɤstɛf]; also transliterated as Krǎstjo Krǎstev, Krustyo Krustev, etc.)

(31 May 1866 – 15 April 1919), popularly known as Dr. Krastev (д-р Кръстев), was a Bulgarian writer, translator, philosopher and public figure most notable as Bulgaria's first professional literary critic.

Krastyo Krastev was born in the Ottoman town of Pirot (then part of the empire's Niš district in Danube Province), today in eastern Serbia.

[2] Krastev finished high school in 1885, and in 1888 graduated in philosophy from the University of Leipzig in the German Empire, where he wrote a doctorate under Wilhelm Wundt,[3] the father of experimental psychology.

The circle, which consisted of Krastev, Pencho Slaveykov, Peyo Yavorov and Petko Todorov, aimed to introduce modernism to the Bulgarian public and to develop an aesthetic sense in the readers.

He was often critical towards the "old" representatives of Bulgarian literature, such as Vazov, Zahari Stoyanov, Elin Pelin, and Lyuben Karavelov, as he was more favourable towards the modern trends and "young" writers, the careers of some of which his reviews boosted.