Todor Krstić ( sr-cyr, Тодор Крстић; 1904–34), known by the nickname Toša (Тоша) and ''
nom de guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war.
In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' Algunjski (Алгуњски), was a
Serbian Chetnik commander in
Old Serbia and
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
during the
Macedonian Struggle. In Bulgaria he is considered a Bulgarian
renegade who switched sides, i.e. (sic) ''
Serboman''.
Life
Krstić was born in the village of
Algunja in the
Kosovo Vilayet of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(present-day
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
). Algunja was surrounded by Albanian-inhabited villages of
Čukarka,
Suševo and
Mutilovo; Krstić had even before joining the organized Chetnik action, jumped into the region from
Vranje
Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...
, assassinating known ''zulumćari'' (persecutors of Christians). On April 18, 1902, together with
Krastyo Kovachev, he joined the Bulgarian cheta of the
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee with a commander
Sotir Atanasov, which operated in
Kriva Palanka area. With this company he moved later to the Bulgarian town of
Kyustendil. He and his comrades were interned under Ottoman pressure by the Bulgarian authorities in
Varna and later in
Kavarna. From there, Krastev left for Russia and then settled in Belgrade, Serbia. He himself became one of the regional ''vojvoda'' (duke) and worked closely with ''vojvoda''
Petko Ilić. After the
Battle of Stratsin against a Bulgarian squad in March 1912, in which Petko Ilić died, Krstić succeeded him as the unit's commander. He fought in the great battle at
Šumata Trnica on March 21, 1912, in which eight Serbian rebels were killed, including
Svetozar Mihajlović-Purca from
Tuzla
Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...
.
[Trifunović 1930, p. 44]
See also
*
List of Chetnik voivodes
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krstic, Todor
19th-century births
20th-century deaths
People from Staro Nagoričane Municipality
People from Kosovo vilayet
Serbian rebels
Serbian military personnel of the Balkan Wars
Serbian military personnel killed in action