Revolutionary Tseno Kurter

Tseno Kurtev was a Bulgarian non-commissioned officer and revolutionary, known for his active participation in the struggle to liberate the Macedonian and Adrianople Bulgarians from Ottoman rule.

He was born in Zlatitsa in 1877. He served as a non-commissioned officer in the 24th Black Sea Infantry Regiment in Burgas. He became an active member of the Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Brotherhoods of Non-Commissioned Officers, associated with the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee. In 1900 he joined the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO).

In late January 1903, Tseno Kurtev joined Mihail Gerdzhikov's detachment, which entered Adrianople Thrace and participated in the attempted attack at Sinekli railway station.

In July 1903 he was a delegate to the congress of the Adrianople Revolutionary District at Petrova Niva, where he was appointed leader of the İğneada revolutionary sector.

Tseno Kurtev led the uprising that began on 3 August 1903. His detachment killed the guards in Rezovo and fought at Madzhura, killing eighteen Turkish soldiers and capturing two. In the following days he distinguished himself through his courage and attacks at Korfu Kolibi and Ahtopol. On 8 August he blew up the lighthouse at İğneada to hinder the navigation of Turkish warships in the Black Sea. He continued fighting and attacking other settlements.

After the uprising ended, Tseno Kurtev withdrew to Bulgaria. In 1904 he was sent as voivode of a detachment to the Kočani region, where he operated under the district voivode Krastyo Balgariyata.

On 1 March 1905, Tseno Kurtev entered Macedonia with a fourteen-man detachment and headed towards the Kočani district. On 2 April 1905, his entire detachment, including the voivode himself, died in a battle near Dramche in the Kočani region.

Tseno Kurtev symbolises revolutionary spirit and self-sacrifice in the struggle for the freedom of the Bulgarian people in Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace.