Vasil Popov

Bulgarian anarchist guerrilla, who was one of the five members of the anarcho-communist Koprivshtitsa (Копривщенската) cheta that carried out the attack on Tsar Boris III's car in the Arakonakak (Арабаконак) pass on April 14, 1925, born. Already a convinced anarchist whilst still in High school, Popov acquired the nickname of Geroia (Героя/Hero) when he was able to solve a particularly difficult problem in his mathematics class there. However, he failed to complete his schooling and in 1915 applied to join the cavalry but, despite his excellent exam results, he was only offered a post in the infantry and returned to his high school studies. Later he applied to Sofia University hoping to take the mechanical engineering course but was only accepted by the chemistry department. Disappointed, he threw himself into political activity instead.
Following the coup d'état of June 9, 1923, which overthrew the Agrarian Union government of Alexandre Stambolijski (Александър Стамболийски) and installed a ultra-nationalist regime headed by Alexandre Tsankov (Александър Цанков), Popov participated at the end of that month in a clandestine anti-fascist meeting in the village of Kaltunets (Калтунец) near Lovech (Ловеч) who was repressed by the police; He managed to flee, but had to go underground with other colleagues. Between 1923 and the summer of 1924 he lived hidden in Pleven (Плевен) and other surrounding villages and established contacts with the anarchist Valko Shankov (Вълко Шанков) with whom he planned several large-scale attacks.

In early June 1924, with Shankov, he blew up a weapons warehouse near Pleven and on June 12th, the pair assassinated a police bailiff and prominent government supporter in a park in Pleven. This provoked a massive police hunt and they left the city for Lovech, and during the night of September 8-9, 1924, the house in the Dekisana (Ловешкия) district of Lovech where they were hiding was surrounded by police. After a long shootout, during which Valko Shankov was killed, Popov managed to escape. During October, he remained in hiding in Troyan (Троян) and on the 20th he was joined by the anarchist Nikola Katsarov (Никола Кацаров), who had just escaped from prison. The pair later made contact with the prominent anarchist Vasil Ikonomov (Васил Икономов) in Sofia in January 1925. It is at this period as a chetnik that he came to be called Doktora (Доктора/Doctor), due to the medical kit that he always carried with him.
With Tinko Simov (Тинко Симов), Nikola 'Kolyo' Katsarov (Никола 'Кольо' Кацаров), the brothers Nesho (Нешо) and Atanas Tumangelov (Атанас Тумангелов) and others, he created during

In the spring of 1925, he formed a guerrilla group together with Tinko Simov (Тинко Симов), Nikola 'Kolyo' Katsarov (Никола 'Кольо' Кацаров), the brothers Nesho (Нешо) and Atanas Tumangelov (Атанас Тумангелов) and others. Aligned to the Bulgarian Communist Anarchist Federation (Федерация на анархо-комунистите в България), the cheta operated in the Koprivshtitsa (Копривщица) area, carrying out acts of sabotage and expropriations from targets such as the Orient-Tobacco (Ориент-Табак) company and the match factory in Kostenets (Костенец). On April 14, 1925, five members of the Koprivshtitsa anarcho-communist cheta – Popov, Ikomonov, Nesho Tumangelov, Anton Ganchev (Антон Ганчев) and Nesho Mandulova (Нешо Мандулов) – attempted to kidnap King Boris (Борис) III as he crossed through the Arabakonak Pass (Прохода Арабаконак) in the Stara Plania (Стара планина) mountains. During the action, the entomologist Delcho Ilchev (Делчо Илчев), a hunter named Peter Kotev (Петър Котев), both of whom had been accompanying the king, and the driver of the carriage were all killed, but Boris III escaped unhurt. Shortly afterwards Tinko Simov and Popov travelled to Sevlievo (Севлѝево) with the intention of assassinating judges attending the town's courthouse. In the summer of 1925 the Koprivshtitsa group was joined by chetniks from the Srednogortsi (Средногорци) troop of Yordan Kiskinov (Йордан Кискинов), and plans were made to join together with the Trojan fighting group of Georgi Popov (Георги Попов). Popov then decided to leave with Kolyo Katsarov to set up a separate cheta together with Docho Uzunov (Дочо Узунов), Tinko Simov (Тинко Симов), and others. On November 23, 1925, close to the village of Bulgarene (Balgarene) the cheta assassinated Nicola Tifchev (Николай Тифчев) aka Krdži Osman (Кърджи Осман), Chief of Police of the Lovech Province.

During the autumn of 1926, Popov was wounded in a battle with the police and, along with his fellow chetniks, crossed over into Yugoslavia**. In the spring of 1927, with Tinko Simov, Docho Uzunov and others, he returned to Bulgaria and the group returned to operating in the Lovech and Troyan regions, carrying out expropriations and sabotage. Once again the bête noire of the local authorities and police, no effort was spared in trying to hunt down Popov and his cheta. On April 3, 1927, during an attempted robbery of the Agricultural Bank in Troyan, he and his comrades were surrounded by police. During the ensuing shoot-out, Popov was seriously wounded and unable to escape, he committed suicide rather than fall into the hands of his enemies. Tinko Simov however managed to escape and in November 1935, with his hiding place betrayed, Simov would also take the same course in order to escape being captured alive.

*d.o.b. also erroneously given as Apr. 4 [O.S. Mar. 23], 1879.

** Kolyo Katsarov separated from the group and left for Germany. He was later murdered by the Nazis at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

[ikonomov.a-bg.net/vasilpopov.html
bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Васил_Попов_(анархист)
www.estelnegre.org/anarcoefemerides/0408.html
ikonomov.a-bg.net/arabakonak.html
bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Копривщенска_анархо-комунистическа_чета]