Hajduk Ivan Peev

Ivan Ivanov Peev, known as Plyushko or Uzun Ivan, was a well-known Bulgarian hajduk and a member of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha's detachment.

He was born in Kazanlak in 1841. As an émigré in Wallachia, he lived among the Bulgarian revolutionary exiles. When Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha's detachments were formed, he joined them and became Karadzha's standard-bearer. He distinguished himself by his bravery, but was captured near Sevlievo in the Kechidere locality and imprisoned in Saint-Jean d'Acre, where he died in 1869.

Ivan Peev was regarded as one of the detachment's most colourful figures because of his great height. His grandfather Peyo Terzi and his father were tailors by trade, migrants from Shipka village and somewhere in northern Bulgaria. From an early age, he associated with boisterous young men and joined them in causing trouble for the local Turkish authorities. In 1864, a murdered Turk was found on the lower floor of the Novensko School, and the investigation focused on a group of young men that included Peev.

Uzun Ivan belonged to a group of 14 hajduks who set off for Aglikina Polyana but lost contact with the main detachment. The group consequently fought a pursuing force and, being too few in number, failed to prevail. After the battle, the detachment members were captured.