Revolutionary Nikola Tsvyatkov

Nikola Tsvyatkov, known by the nicknames Bakardzhiyata and Kazandzhiycheto, was born on 18 January 1849 in Lovech. He was educated in his home town and earned his living as a coppersmith, making copper vessels.

From the early 1870s, he was a member of the Lovech Local Revolutionary Committee of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation and actively engaged in national revolutionary work. He was an active member of the organisation and an associate of Vasil Levski.

On 26 December 1872, despite heightened security measures by the Turkish authorities, Nikola Tsvyatkov accompanied Vasil Levski on his final journey. He was arrested together with Levski and others by the Turkish police from Lovech at the Kakrina Inn. Despite the brutality he suffered at the hands of the guards, Tsvyatkov disclosed no information about Levski or the revolutionary activities.

During the following months, he remained a loyal national revolutionary and revealed no information during questioning before the extraordinary investigating commission. Although Dimitar Obshti did not know him, he was released under the guarantees of influential citizens of Lovech.

After his release, Nikola Tsvyatkov continued to participate actively in the national revolutionary movement and remained an important figure in the struggle to liberate the Bulgarian people.