Revolutionary Nikola Lefterov

Nikola (Kolyo) Lefterov Pavlov was a Bulgarian officer and revolutionary, known as the Poroy voivode of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee. He was born in 1876 in the village of Gevrekler in the Varna region, now called Kalimantsi, Bulgaria. In 1895 he enlisted in the 8th Primorski Regiment, where he held various posts, including sergeant major.

Lefterov took an active part in revolutionary activities, joining the People's Shooting Society in Varna and helping organise a detachment in the Kočani region. In 1901 he became voivode of a detachment operating in the Poroy, Petrich and Strumica regions.

He participated in a number of uprisings and struggles for the liberation of the Macedonian and Adrianople Bulgarians. In September 1902 he was involved in the Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising, and in April 1903 he fought a major engagement with Ottoman troops, losing eleven men from his detachment. That year he also took part in the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising.

After the uprising, in 1905 Lefterov continued operating in the Strumica and Maleshevo regions. During the Balkan War in 1912 he headed a partisan company, which later became the 4th Company of the 10th Prilep Battalion of the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Corps. His force fought several important battles and occupied Pehčevo.

After the war Lefterov continued serving in the Bulgarian army; in 1907 he worked as second secretary at the Bulgarian commercial agency in Thessaloniki. In 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant.

Nikola Lefterov is described as one of the most successful partisan commanders of the Balkan War.