Hristo Botyov Petkov, known as Hristo Botev, is a Bulgarian revolutionary, poet, and publicist. He is considered a national hero and one of the prominent figures of the Bulgarian National Revival period.
Hristo Botev was born on December 25, 1847 (new style – January 6, 1848), in the town of Kalofer, in the family of teacher Botyo Petkov and Ivanka Boteva. From 1854 to 1858, he studied in Karlovo and later returned to his native Kalofer. He continued his education under the guidance of his father, and in 1863, he graduated from the Kalofer School.
In October 1863, he went to Russia and enrolled as a private student at the Second Odessa Gymnasium, from which he was expelled in 1865. He briefly worked as a teacher in the Bessarabian village of Zadunaevka.
In 1867, he returned to Kalofer, where he began preaching rebellion against the wealthy elite (chorbadzhi) and the Turks, after which he permanently left Kalofer. During this time, his first poem, „To My Mother,“ was published in the newspaper „Gayda,“ edited by P. R. Slaveykov.
He worked in Braila as a typesetter under Dimitar Panichkov, where the newspaper „Dunavska Zora“ was printed. In the following years, he moved from city to city and lived with Vasil Levski for a certain period. In 1872, he was arrested for conspiratorial revolutionary activities and sent to Focsani Prison but was later released due to the advocacy of Levski and Lyuben Karavelov. He started working as a printer for Karavelov and later as a collaborator and co-editor of the revolutionary publication. From October 1867, he lived in Romania. There, he began his active career as a journalist, and under his editorship, the new organ of the revolutionary party, the newspaper „Zname,“ was established. In 1875, together with Stefan Stambolov, he published the poetry collection „Songs and Poems.“
Following the news of the April Uprising in May 1876, Botev began organizing a detachment and became its leader. He boarded the ship „Radetski“ with part of the detachment from Giurgiu, and on May 17, they forced the captain to stop on the Bulgarian shore. The poet-revolutionary’s last battle took place on June 2, 1876, at the foot of Mount Vola, where he was fatally shot.
