Revolutionary Stoyko Botushanov

Stoyko (Stoyan) Angelov Botushanov, called Madzhere, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of Hristo Botev's detachment.

He was born in the village of Yakoruda, then part of the Ottoman Empire, as the first child of Angel and Erina Botushanov. From his youth he showed exceptional hunting skills, speed and physical strength. When the village authorities assigned him to take an important document to Pazardzhik, he successfully completed the task in less than a day. This incident earned him the nickname Madzhere: amazed by his speed and endurance, his fellow villagers compared him to a Hungarian horse.

Stoyko fell in love with a Bulgarian Muslim woman, leading to persecution by the authorities. He fled to Orhanie, where he worked as a farmhand, and later went to Romania. According to some sources, his Muslim wife fell in love with him, but he refused to convert to Islam and married a Christian woman named Maria Belicheva.

In Romania he joined the revolutionary émigrés and became part of Hristo Botev's circle. He participated in the April Uprising and joined Botev's detachment. After its defeat he was captured and imprisoned in Orhanie, then transferred to Sofia, where he was tortured. He was released on 1 August 1876. He died from excitement while welcoming Russian troops on the Orhanie road in Sofia in December 1877.

In memory of Stoyko Angelov Botushanov, a chitalishte cultural centre named Stoyko Angelov was founded in Yakoruda in 1909. A street in Yakoruda also bears his name, and a commemorative plaque stands on his birthplace.