Nikola Dechev was a Bulgarian revolutionary, a member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, leader of several detachments active in the region of the town of

Veles, Macedonia Veles ( mk, Велес ) is a city in the central part of North Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality. Veles is the sixth largest Macedonian city with a total population of 43,716 (census 2002). The lar ...

Biography

He was born in 1880 in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

, then in Eastern Rumelia. Dechev studied in the town of Samokov (1895–1898), where under the influence of Gotse Delchev he became a member of the IMRO. In 1900 he became a secretary in the detachment of Andon Kyoseto, and in 1901 Dechev was assistant voivode of Hristo Chernopeev in the Gorna Dzhumaya region. In 1901, together with Hristo Chernopeev and

Yane Sandanski Yane Ivanov Sandanski (, ) (originally spelled in older Bulgarian orthography ) (18 May 1872 – 22 April 1915), was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary.Per Julian Allan Brooks' thesis the term ‘Macedo-Bulgarian’ refers to the Exarchist po ...

, he took part in the abduction of Ellen Maria Stone. In 1902 Dechev was appointed voivode of Veles, where his detachment entered in April and set up committee networks. He opposed the actions of the local pro-Serbian guerrillas in the region and took part in battles with them. After the ecision to raise the Ilinden Uprising in January 1903, Nikola Dechev arrived in Bulgaria. In Sofia he met with Hristo Tatarchev and

Hristo Matov Hristo Apostolov Matov (Bulgarian: Христо Апостолов Матов, also spelled Christo Matoff) (10 March 1872 – 10 February 1922) was a prominent Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary, philologist, folklorist and publicist and one of t ...

, then foreign representatives of the IMRO. He also returned to Stara Zagora, where he met the leader of the IMRO

Ivan Garvanov Ivan Garvanov ( bg, Иван Гарванов) (December 23, 1869 in Stara Zagora, today Bulgaria – November 28, 1907 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Ottoman Macedonia and Southern Thrace. ...

. In March 1903 he went to Kyustendil, where a second Veles detachment was formed under his command. He entered Macedonia, where in April there was a major battle with a regular Turkish army. After the heavy losses suffered by Nikola Dechev's detachment, he withdrew back to Bulgaria. In the summer of the same year, he took part in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, trying to enter the interior of Macedonia with a new detachment in September. On September 25, they were surrounded and fought a heavy battle near the village of

Lukovo (Kratovo) Lukovo may refer to: * Lukovo, Bulgaria, a village in Bulgaria * Lukovo, Croatia, a village near Vrbovec, Croatia * Lukovo, Nikšić, Montenegro * Lukovo, Struga, a village near Struga, North Macedonia * Lukovo (Boljevac), a village in Serbia * Luk ...

. In the battle with several thousand Turkish troops, more than 30 victims fell, including Dechev, and the rest withdrew at night to the border of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...

. Николов, Борис Й. Вътрешна македоно-одринска революционна организация : Войводи и ръководители (1893–1934) : Биографично-библиографски справочник. София, „Звезди“, 2001. ISBN 954-9514-28-5. с. 45

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dechev, Nikola 1880 births 1903 deaths People from Stara Zagora Bulgarian revolutionaries Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization