Revolutionary Leonid Yankov

Leonid Traykov Yankov, known as Machukovski or Lev Balkanski (the Balkan Lion), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and Gevgelija voivode of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO). Born in 1878 in Machukovo, then in the Ottoman Empire, Leonid Yankov joined IMARO at an early age, carrying out courier duties. In 1901 he was arrested in connection with the Bayaltsi affair and, after his release, killed the spy Risto Doychinov and joined Argir Manasiev's detachment.

In 1905, during the illustrated Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, Leonid Yankov was the Gevgelija voivode. On 2 September 1905, in a battle with the Turkish authorities at Gyurov Dol near the village of Gyavato, Leonid Yankov was surrounded by Turkish regular troops and, after a firefight lasting all day, killed himself.

According to different sources, other members of the detachment also died in this tragic battle, including Mihail Ivanov Taushanov, Tushe Gonov Petrushev, Tome Kirov Donovski and Toma Firiev. The Turkish authorities participated in searching for the detachment, and Leonid Yankov himself, betrayed by a Catholic priest, committed suicide, ending his life.

His betrayal and death in battle were acknowledged by Tahsin, the kaymakam of Gevgelija. Tahsin stated that a Catholic priest had betrayed him and disclosed that the battle had caused many casualties among the Turkish forces. Leonid Yankov remains a respected figure in the history of Bulgarian revolutionaries, and his deeds are remembered in Macedonian history.