Revolutionary Hristo Andonov

Hristo Andonov Ushinov, known by the nicknames Garchishki and the Key to the Vardar, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and voivode of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation, referred to in the source as IMRO.

He was born in Garchishte village in the Gevgelija region in 1887. He joined IMRO and in autumn 1911 became a clandestine member of Kosta Popeto's detachment, which escorted deserters to free Bulgaria. He participated in various activities of the detachment and returned to Macedonia in May 1912 with Kosta Popeto's men, armed by the Supremists around Stefan Nikolov. That same year, he fought Ottoman forces in the Battle of Sermenin.

During the Balkan Wars, he volunteered in the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Corps, serving in the detachments of Ichko Dimitrov and Kosta Hristov Popeto and in the Fourth Company of the Fifteenth Štip Battalion. After the war, he continued his revolutionary activities, taking part in the Valandovo Action as assistant to the voivode Hristo Chausha, as well as in other battles.

During the First World War, he served as a soldier in the Bulgarian army. After the war, he helped restore IMRO and joined Georgi Hadzhimitrev's Strumica detachment. In 1923, he became IMRO's district voivode for Doiran and participated in various organisational activities.

In 1928, after Aleksandar Protogerov's murder, Andonov supported the Mihaylovist faction in IMRO. On 29 August 1928, near Dimidovo village, he was killed by Hristo Goglev, sent by Dimitar Dimashev, an envoy of the Protogerovist Central Committee. After the murder, Goglev surrendered to the Serbian authorities and became a renegade.

Andonov was described as quiet, kind-hearted and thoughtful, yet determined and ready to sacrifice himself for his detachment and comrades-in-arms. He was known for his courage and bravery, successfully organising and leading various IMRO activities in Macedonia.