Revolutionary Trayko Kitanchev

Trayko Tsvetkov Kitanchev, also known as Daskaletina, was a Bulgarian teacher, public figure, poet, publicist, politician and revolutionary. He was born in 1858 in the village of Podmočani in the Resen region. At an early age he was sent to study at the Bulgarian school in Constantinople under Petko Slaveykov and Dimitar Blagoev. In 1874 he continued his education at the Theological Seminary in Kyiv, graduating in 1879.

Over the years, Trayko Kitanchev worked as a teacher in various Bulgarian towns, including Thessaloniki, Gabrovo and Sofia. From 1886 to 1890 he was a school inspector in the Tarnovo region.

Kitanchev actively participated in Bulgaria's political life and was associated with the Liberal and Democratic parties. In 1892 he was sentenced to three years in prison as an accomplice in the assassination attempt against Stefan Stambolov. He was released in 1894 and quickly returned to politics.

In late 1894, Kitanchev became chairman of the Macedonian emigrant organisation "Fraternal Union". He was among the founders of the Macedonian Committee and became chairman of the Sofia Macedonian-Adrianople Society in April 1895. Kitanchev died in the summer of 1895, deeply distressed by the failure of the armed-detachment campaign.

Trayko Kitanchev played an important role in preparing the armed-detachment campaign of 1895, which aimed to organise an uprising in Macedonia and the Adrianople region. He headed the Macedonian Committee and organised the campaign.