Revolutionary Yona Markova

Yona (Yonka) Markova, known as the woman in a soldier's greatcoat, was born in 1855 in the village of Boynitsa in the Vidin district.

After an unhappy marriage, she left her husband and married again. Under the name Ivan Markov, she volunteered for the army during the Serbo-Bulgarian War in 1885. Yona Markova was assigned to the Second Vidin Volunteer Unit, led by Dimitar Ganchev. She impressed her contemporaries with her fighting spirit.

Yona participated in numerous battles, including at Tran, Slivnitsa, Tsaribrod and Pirot. For her military service she received the Order of Bravery, Fourth Class, and a silver medal for participation in the Serbo-Bulgarian War.

She also participated in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903 and distinguished herself in the fighting at Adrianople during the First Balkan War. For her long military service she received a second Order of Bravery.

After the wars, Yona Markova settled in Sofia, where she was one of the first women to wear trousers boldly in the city's streets.

She died in 1923 at the age of sixty-eight and was buried with honours and military music.