Revolutionary Tashko Mitsev

Tashko Mitsev Traykov was a Bulgarian revolutionary whose sacrifice and martyr's death are remembered as a symbol of dedication and determination in the struggle for freedom. Born in 1876 in the village of Shlyopintsi in the Gevgelija district, then in the Ottoman Empire and now Doganis, Greece, Tashko Mitsev was a teacher by profession and taught in Stoyakovo.

He joined the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO), becoming involved alongside his father Mitso and his brother Hristo. In 1901, after the outbreak of the Thessaloniki and Bayaltsi affairs, Tashko Mitsev was forced to hide from the authorities and in February went underground with the teacher Argir Manasiev and Grigor Totev from Shlyopintsi.

Shortly afterwards, Tashko Mitsev joined Krastyo Balgariyata's detachment, and from March 1901 he was an independent voivode in the Kukush district. On 27 June 1901 the detachment, including Tashko Mitsev, settled in the village of Kalinovo in the Kukush district. However, on 28 June they were betrayed by a local resident, Hristo Petsanov (Petsev). The following day, 29 June, a Turkish counter-detachment of troops from Doyran and Kukush besieged the detachment in Dyado Doncho Petkov's house. Despite the fierce attacks, Tashko Mitsev and Hristo Kyuryushev fought bravely throughout the night and day, but at five in the afternoon on 29 June the house was set on fire, and both died in the fighting.

Their martyrdom was described by Iliya Doktorov, highlighting the heroism and devotion of Tashko Mitsev and Hristo Kyuryushev in the name of freedom. After their deaths, their remains were recovered from the burned house and buried in Kalinovo's cemetery.