Revolutionary Vasil Boychev

Vasil Boychev Rashkov, also called Doctor Sokolski, was a Bulgarian physician, pharmacist and participant in the national liberation movement.

He was born in Zheravna village, where he spent his childhood as a shepherd. He subsequently worked as a servant in various places, including Constanța and Kodzha Balkan. In 1864–1868, he became a hajduk in Kodzha Balkan and joined the revolutionary movement. He was imprisoned in Varna after his capture but was released after about a year and a half.

He decided to pursue a medical career and went to the Medical School in Bucharest, where he established contact with the revolutionary émigré community. After completing his education, he returned to his native Zheravna in 1873 and moved the following year to join his teacher, Dr Venko Gramnikov, in Sliven. He continued to practise as a physician and pharmacist in various towns, including Pazardzhik and Perushtitsa.

In Perushtitsa, after Dr Gramnikov's death, he became actively involved in revolutionary activities as a member of the local revolutionary committee and an assistant to Petar Bonev. He represented the town at the National Assembly in Oborishte and helped draw up plans for the forthcoming uprising.

During the April Uprising, he served as a physician in Georgi Benkovski's Flying Detachment. He was captured in the Etropole Balkan Mountains and sentenced to death by the Plovdiv court, then hanged in Plovdiv on 3 August 1876.

Vasil Boychev Rashkov was described with admiration by authors including Konstantin Velichkov and Zahari Stoyanov.