Voivode Kosta Mazneykov

Kostadin (Kosta, Kotse) Dimitrov Mazneykov, also called Daskala (Daskalcheto), meaning the Teacher, was a Bulgarian educator and revolutionary, a participant in the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO). He was born in 1872 or, according to other sources, in 1882 in Strumitsa, Ottoman Empire. He graduated in Bulgarian philology from the Higher School in Sofia and returned to his native region, where he taught in various villages.

Between 1899 – 1901, Mazneykov spent time in free Bulgaria, carrying out terrorist operations on Boris Sarafov's orders. He returned to Macedonia in 1900, where he participated in the internal revolutionary organisation.

In 1901 he became regional voivode for the Radovish area. In March 1903 Mazneykov, together with other voivodes such as Hristo Chernopeev and Nikola Dechev, entered Macedonia and took part in battles in the Kochani district and the Plachkovitsa Mountains. In May 1903 Mazneykov died in a battle with the Turkish army near Inevo, together with his entire detachment of about fifteen men.

His contribution to IMARO and his participation in revolutionary activities in Macedonia make him an important figure in the history of the liberation struggle of Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire.