Revolutionary Ivan Kuyumdzhiev-Popeto

Ivan Draganov Kuyumdzhiev, called Popeto, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and active member of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO).

He was born in 1880 in Razgrad into a family living in poverty. While still a pupil, he joined the revolutionary movement and became a member of IMARO. In 1903 he went to Macedonia with a detachment operating in the Ohrid area. He participated in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising as a fighter in the Ohrid district. After the uprising was suppressed, he continued operating in Ohrid and Resen until mid-1905. In May 1906 he returned to Macedonia after a brief stay in Bulgaria.

During the First Balkan War he volunteered for the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Corps and served in the 4th Company of the 6th Ohrid Battalion. For his bravery he received the Order of Bravery, Fourth Class. He also participated in the Second Balkan War and the First World War.

In 1920 he joined the IMRO restored by Todor Alexandrov. From 1921 he was a district voivode in the Thessaloniki region, and in 1922 he was elected Thessaloniki district voivode. He fought numerous battles against the Greek army.

In 1924, after a prolonged battle at Lake Butkovo, he developed a severe cold. Despite treatment in Bulgaria, he failed to recover and died on 14 April 1927 in Sofia.