Revolutionary Simo Sokolov

Simo Sokolov, also known as Voyvoda Simo or Captain Simo Groznatovski, was born in 1848 in the village of Groznatovtsi, Ottoman Empire, now in the Western Outlands in Serbia. He was the grandson of the voivode Hristo Plakata. At a very early age Simo left his native village and moved to Serbia, where he completed high school and began theological studies. His close contact with Lyuben Karavelov's revolutionary ideas led him to participate actively in the Bulgarian national liberation movement.

During the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876, the Russian command sent Simo Sokolov to Serbia to persuade the Serbian government to declare war on the Ottomans. He acted as a scout, providing important information to the Russian General Staff. The following year, during the Russo-Turkish War, Simo Sokolov headed Bulgarian volunteer units and participated in battles to liberate various regions from Ottoman rule.

After Bulgaria's Liberation, Simo Sokolov settled in Sofia, where he became a Bulgarian army officer and a deputy in the First Ordinary National Assembly. He was active in both political and social life, supporting and encouraging various initiatives for society's development.

Simo Sokolov's family included his wife Cecilia Halupa and six children. His son Aleksandar died as a detachment fighter in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising.

Simo Sokolov is an exceptionally important figure in Bulgarian history, leaving a lasting mark through his participation in the liberation struggle and Bulgaria's development after the Liberation.