Revolutionary Prodan Tishkov Chardafon

Prodan Tishkov Prodanov, known as Chardafon and Chardafon the Great, was a Bulgarian Volunteer Corps veteran and patriot whose contribution to national history was of immense importance. He was born in Gabrovo in 1860.

Tishkov actively participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 as a member of the Bulgarian Volunteer Corps. After Bulgaria's Liberation, he served as a sergeant major in the Eastern Rumelian militia and was responsible for reservists from Golyamo Konare village, now Saedinenie.

In 1884, Tishkov bore the nickname Charda, associated with a herd of cattle. Its ironic character culminated in its transformation into Chardafon the Great when the director of Eastern Rumelia's militia and gendarmerie, General August von Drigalski, added the particle 'von' to the nickname, treating it as a sign of aristocratic origin.

Tishkov actively helped prepare and proclaim the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia in 1885. He belonged to the Secret Revolutionary Committee in Plovdiv and organised the largest detachment, that of Golyamo Konare, which played an important role in the Bulgarian forces' entry into Plovdiv.

Tishkov subsequently served in the Bulgarian army's cavalry and attained the rank of major. He died in his native Gabrovo in 1906, leaving an unforgettable legacy in Bulgarian history.