Revolutionary Iliya Babanakov

Iliya Georgiev Babanakov was a Bulgarian revolutionary born around 1850–1856 in the village of Koprivshtitsa, then part of the Ottoman Empire. A cattle herder by occupation, he lived in the locality named after his family, Babanakovi Kolibi.

In March 1876, as a young man, Babanakov learned of the Revolutionary Committee's plans for an uprising. His knowledge of the Sredna Gora region and suitable secret paths led to his admission to the committee. Until the uprising was proclaimed, he served as a secret committee courier and supplier of weapons and ammunition.

On 20 April 1876, when the uprising broke out in Koprivshtitsa, Babanakov was at the disposal of the revolutionary committee's military council. He was appointed to lead a section of Georgi Tosunov's group and sent to guard the eastern ridge of Sashtinska Sredna Gora. During the battle against Tosun Bey's bashi-bazouks in the Zli Dol locality, Babanakov was sent to reinforce insurgent Klisura, and his detachment suffered no losses.

After the Turks captured the village on 2 May, Babanakov fled into the forests and hid there throughout the summer, avoiding the arrest and hanging that befell most of his comrades.

Iliya Babanakov was the only insurgent of 1876 to preserve his insurgent uniform and military insignia until Koprivshtitsa's liberation in late December 1877. He died at an unknown date after 11 November 1911, when he submitted an application for a liberation fighter's pension, written by his witnesses and comrades-in-arms because he was illiterate.