Revolutionary Avram Stambolski

Avram Petkov Stambolski (1835–May 1876) was a Bulgarian revolutionary born in the village of Musina near Veliko Tarnovo. He was the eldest of Pauna and Petko Stambolski's six children. His family acquired the surname Stambolski through the activities of his father, Totyu Ivanov Stoynov, who successfully settled the question of the boundaries of Musina's lands in Istanbul.

After completing school in Tarnovo, Avram returned to Musina, where he founded and led a hajduk organisation. He became the village's protector and mayor, as well as an active member of the Tarnovo District Revolutionary Committee and chairman of the revolutionary committee in Musina.

He took an active part in preparing the April Uprising of 1876, purchasing weapons and gunpowder from Romania. The uprising began in Musina on 28 April (10 May) 1876, where Father Hariton's detachment had its headquarters. Avram Stambolski was one of the leaders of the uprising in the village, helped form the detachment and served as an adviser to its voivode.

The detachment fought an 11,000-strong Turkish force, defending Dryanovo Monastery for nine days. On the third day of the fighting, Father Hariton lost his sight, and the Russian officer Petar Parmakov assumed command. At the end of the battle, Avram Stambolski and about 40 men remained as the monastery's last defenders. Their choice was clear: the fight was unequal. His brother Pencho survived as the sole continuer of the Stambolski family line, while Avram and Yordan each left a daughter. The bones of the brothers who died are kept in the ossuary at Dryanovo Monastery.