Revolutionary Vasil Chekalarov

Vasil Hristov Chekalarov, also known as Chakalarov or Ravachol, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation in the Kastoria region. He was a principal opponent of Greek armed propaganda in the area, and the British historian Douglas Dakin described him as a "cruel but brave and very competent leader".

In 1900, Vasil Chekalarov was sent by the Supreme Committee to support the revolutionary activities of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation. Together with Lazar Kiselinchev, he established channels for buying weapons from Greece. In 1901, Chekalarov moved to Sofia and became chairman of the Kastoria Charitable Society.

After the exposure of the Ivancho Affair, Vasil Chekalarov was sent by the Bitola District Revolutionary Committee as a voivode to assist Pando Klyashev and Lazar Moskov in the Kastoria Revolutionary Region. In early 1902, Gotse Delchev designated the region's leaders, including Kuzman Stefov, Lazar Poptraykov, Lazar Moskov, Pando Klyashev and Mihail Nikolov. During this period, Vasil Chekalarov continued buying weapons from Greece.

In the summer of 1903, the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising broke out, and about 2,000 insurgents rose in the Kastoria region. Vasil Chekalarov took part in a series of battles, including the capture of the small town of Neveska. After many battles in August, the detachments under Chekalarov's leadership decided to withdraw from the Kastoria region to protect the civilian population from the Turkish army. During this period, Chekalarov initiated the preparation of a memorandum describing Turkish atrocities in the Kastoria region, which was presented to foreign diplomats in Bitola.

At the end of the uprising, Vasil Chekalarov led a unit and participated in fighting in various regions. Eventually, he and other leaders, including his sister Zoya, Pando Klyashev and Lazar Kiselinchev, secretly crossed the border into Greece and returned to Bulgaria by steamer.