Voivode Pitu Guli

Pitu Guli, or Pito Gulev, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and voivode of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO). He was born in 1865 in Krushevo into a Vlach family and settled and worked in Sofia in 1882. In 1885 he served in Adam Kalmikov's detachment in Kyustendil, after which he was exiled to Asia Minor and released around 1894. After returning to Krushevo, he became an active member of IMARO.

In 1902 Pitu Guli entered Macedonia with Captain Toma Davidov's detachment and participated in preparations for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, which broke out in 1903. During the uprising, when Krushevo was captured, he set fire to the Turkish barracks using bottles of spirits, helping bring about the final collapse of the Turkish position in the town. Despite the decision to retreat, Pitu Guli left the council of voivodes of the Krushevo Republic and confronted the Turkish troops, defending the rocky plateau of Mechkin Kamen in the Baba Mountains.

At Mechkin Kamen, Pitu Guli fought a prolonged and bloody battle in defence of Krushevo throughout 30 July 1903. During the battle he was killed by a shot to the chest, having spoken his final words: "Do not be afraid, lads! Keep fighting! Take my rifle!" His death acquired symbolic status, and folk songs were composed about him and the Battle of Mechkin Kamen.