Vasil Hristov Chekalarov (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

/ mk, Васил Христов Чекаларов) or Vasil Tcakalarov (22 February 1874 – 9 July 1913) was a

revolutionary and one of the leaders of

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

in Macedonia.

H. N. Brailsford Henry Noel Brailsford (25 December 1873 – 23 March 1958) was the most prolific British left-wing journalist of the first half of the 20th century. A founding member of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage in 1907, he resigned from his job a ...

described Chekalarov as the "cruel but competent general" of the Bulgarian insurgents in Macedonia. Despite his Bulgarian self-identification, and the fact he considered the adherents of

Macedonist Macedonian nationalism (, ) is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Emp ...

ideas to be

Grecomans Grecoman or Graecoman (Greek: Γραικομάνοι, ''Grekománoi'', Bulgarian: Гъркомани, ''Garkomani'', Macedonian: Гркомани, ''Grkomani'', Romanian: ''Grecomani'', Albanian: ''Grekomanë'', Aromanian: ''Gricumanji'') is a ...

, per post-WWII

Macedonian historiography Historiography in North Macedonia is the methodology of historical studies used by the historians of that country. It has been developed since 1945 when SR Macedonia became part of Yugoslavia. According to the German historian it has preserve ...

he was an ethnic Macedonian. Vasil Chakalarov2

He was a leading ''

komitaji Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...

'' in the bands of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees and took part in the battles against the Ottoman authorities as well before the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/Macedonian Cyrillic: Илинден) or Ilindan (Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning "Saint Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías'' ...

as after it. In 1901-1902 he created a channel for illegal purchase and transfer of firearms from Greece to Southern Macedonia. In 1904 he migrated into Bulgaria and became one of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

(IMRO) organizers of the military campaign against the Greek Struggle for Macedonia. As a commander of a Bulgarian guerilla band, Chekalarov supported the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

1912-1913. Later he fought on the side of the Bulgarian Army on the front in

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in the composition of the

Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps ( bg, Македоно-одринско опълчение, ''Makedono-odrinsko opalchenie'') was a volunteer corps of the Bulgarian Army during the Balkan Wars. It was formed on 23 September 1912 ...

. He was killed by Greek troops during the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

and his head was publicly displayed in Florina. Vasil Chekalarov head

In 1934 a Bulgarian village was renamed Chakalarovo in honour of Vasil Chekalarov.Мичев, Николай, Петър Коледаров. Речник на селищата и селищните имена в България 1878-1987, София, 1989, стр. 68.

External links

Chekalarov, Vasil. Diary 1901-1903, Sofia 2001 (in Bulgarian)

A folk song about Vasil Chakalarov
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Лазар Поптрайков - "Въстанието в Костурско; от 20 юлий до 30 август вкл.", публикувано в "Бюлетин на в. Автономия; Задграничен лист на Вътрешната македоно-одринска организация", брой 44-47, София, 1903 година
Report about the Ilinden uprising written by Lazar Poptrajkov, Vasil Chakalarov, Manol Rozov, Pando Klyashev and Mihail Nikolov

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chekalarov, Vasil 1874 births 1913 deaths Bulgarians from Aegean Macedonia Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Bulgarian revolutionaries Macedonian Bulgarians Balkan Wars casualties Bulgarian military personnel killed in action People from Florina (regional unit)