Voivode Sirma Krasteva

Sirma Krasteva Strezova, called Sirma Voyvoda, was born in 1776 in the village of Tresonche in the Debar region, then part of the Ottoman Empire. She was a well-known Bulgarian female hajduk who operated in Macedonia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Sirma Voyvoda led a small detachment in the Debar, Kichevo and Krushevo districts and fought Albanian bandit gangs. She was known for her courage in battle, often disguising herself in men's clothing. Sirma Voyvoda is described as exceptionally brave and determined.

In 1818, at the age of eighty, she settled in the town of Prilep and married the standard-bearer Velko Spirov from Krushevo. Despite her advanced age, she remained active and committed to the struggle against Turkish rule.

Sirma Voyvoda was killed by Turks on the road from Prilep to Varosh in 1864. She is the subject of the hajduk song Sirma Voyvoda, and her legend is preserved in folk songs. The Miladinov brothers' collection Bulgarian Folk Songs contains a song about her that recounts many of her exploits and acts of bravery. A wax figure of Sirma Voyvoda has been placed in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Skopje as a reminder of her important role in the struggle for freedom.