Vasil Levski

Vasil Levski (born July 18 [July 6, Old Style], 1837, Karlovo, Rumelia—died February 18 [February 6, Old Style], 1873, near Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary leader in the struggle for liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

Initially a monk (1858–64), Vasil Kunchev soon dedicated himself to the work of freeing Bulgaria and for his courage was nicknamed Levski (“Lionlike”). Levski united the two legions of Bulgarian volunteers organized in Serbia (1862 and 1868) but, disappointed in the Serbian government, decided to return to Bulgaria in order to organize an uprising. He introduced a new phase in the Bulgarian national movement by transferring revolutionary activity from abroad into Bulgaria itself.

In 1869 in Bucharest, Levski, together with Lyuben Karavelov, organized the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, which established a network of agents (called apostles) in Bulgaria. In 1872, during one of his secret missions to Bulgaria, Levski was caught by the Turks, and he was later hanged.