Voivode Manush Georgiev

Manush Georgiev, known as Turnovski, Strumishki, Strumski or simply Manush Voivode, was an active participant in the struggle to liberate the Bulgarians in Macedonia and a voivode of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO).

He was born on 10 August 1881 into a family with militant national convictions. Different sources give different birth years and birthplaces: Novo Selo in the Strumica region or Turnovo. Despite these disagreements, he is known to have studied at Bulgarian lower secondary and teacher training schools in Strumica and Serres.

While still a pupil, Georgiev became involved in IMARO's cause and led a student revolutionary circle. In 1903, he participated in a protest against the school headmaster and was subsequently expelled. Following these events, he went underground and joined Hristo Chernopeev's detachment, later becoming secretary to the voivode Dimitar Popstamatov.

In 1904, Georgiev was appointed the regular district voivode of the Petrich revolutionary district and played an important role in organising local revolutionary committees and protecting the Bulgarian population.

In 1908, a clandestine conference was organised in Dolna Ribnitsa village in the Petrich region. Georgiev and his detachment arrived, together with representatives of Petrich's district revolutionary committee and local IMARO activists. Following a betrayal, Turkish troops and bashi-bazouks surrounded the village. Manush Voivode led the clandestine detachment out of the village and organised the local village detachment. After a ten-hour battle in the Trankata locality near Dolna Ribnitsa, all 24 Bulgarian revolutionaries were killed.

This epic battle is remembered as the Petrich Epic. A memorial ossuary was unveiled at the battlefield, containing some of the heroes' bones. Today, the locality is called Manushov Grob, or Manush's Grave. Bust monuments to Georgiev stand in Petrich and Novo Selo, and commemorative plaques mark places associated with his struggle.