Panayot Volov

Panayot Volov, alias of Petar Vankov, was born in 1850 in the town of Shoumen. He finished the local school in Dobri Voynikov’s class. Then he studied in Bucharest, Bolgrad, and Odessa. Forced to go back to Shoumen, he became chief teacher and headmaster of the class school, organized an evening school, and participated in the activity of the local community center. He carried out vigorous revolutionary activity in Shoumen and the district. In August 1874 he took part in the general meeting of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee in Bucharest. He became chairman of the Shoumen Revolutionary Committee. At the beginning of 1875 he was arrested and imprisoned because of taking part in the conflict between the local youth and the European engineers that were constructing the railroad Kaspichan-Shoumen-Yambol. After a few months of prison he was freed and left for Romania. Later he participated in the uprising attempt in September 1875. He was one of the founders and leaders of the Gyurgevo Revolutionary Committee and was appointed chief apostle of the Fourth (Plovdiv) Revolutionary District, with Georgi Benkovski for assistant. They established dozens of revolutionary committees and joined many local patriots. Volov and Benkovski had some arguments, but in the name of the common interest Volov gave up his leadership to Benkovski. Volov was one of the initiators for the general meeting of the committees of the Fourth Revolutionary District, held in the Oborishte district, near the town of Panagyurishte. When the April Uprising burst out in 1876, Volov was in Panagyurishte, and together with the other apostles he raised the local people to revolt. After the Uprising was defeated, Volov and Georgi Ikonomov were handed over to the Ottomans, and while they were trying to get to Romania, on 26 May they drowned in the Yantra River, near the town of Byala, Rousse district.