Hajduk Aleksandar Vasilev

Aleksandar Vasilev Chitakliev was born in Ploiești, Wallachia, in 1849 into the family of a merchant from Sliven. He was educated at the Bulgarian school in Brăila, where he briefly taught before continuing his teaching career in Ploiești. In 1867, he joined the Bulgarian Secret Revolutionary Committee in Ploiești.

Vasilev joined Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha's detachment at about 19, becoming one of its youngest volunteers. Although he had never previously been to Bulgaria, he expressed a deep love for his homeland that prompted him to participate in the revolutionary movement. In 1866, he published the plays Добри войвода (Dobri Voivode) and Стоян войвода след падането на българското царство (Stoyan Voivode after the Fall of the Bulgarian Empire) in his hometown. Subsequently, he donated money to arm the detachment and joined it.

On 6 July 1868, before crossing into Bulgarian territory, Vasilev wrote a letter expressing his deep love for his homeland and bidding his parents a heartfelt farewell. He and another member of the detachment, Arso Martinov, were the first casualties of the battle near the Karaisen vineyards. They repeatedly left their positions, exposing themselves to danger. On one such occasion, they came under crossfire and were killed by Circassians. After the battle, the detachment's standard-bearer, Dimitar Kodzha Ibrahim, cut off the heads of Aleksandar Vasilev and the other fallen members and buried them.