| Pitu Guli Питу Гули | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1865 Kruševo, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1903 Kruševo, Ottoman Empire (now the Republic of Macedonia) |
| Monuments | Mečkin Kamen |
| Other names | Pitu the Vlach |
| Organization | Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization(IMRO) |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox christian(assumed) |
Pitu Guli (Cyrillic: Питу Гули) (1865, Kruševo — 1903, Kruševo, Ottoman Empire) was anethnic Aromanian revolutionary in Ottoman Macedonia, a local leader of what is commonly referred to as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).[1]
Born to a poor family, he demonstrated an independent and rebellious nature early in life. He left his home in Macedonia at the age of 17 in search of wealth in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. In 1885, he returned to Macedonia, formed a rebel squad and joined other elements of the revolutionary movement against the Ottoman Empire.
Upon his return to Macedonia, Pitu was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, seven years of which were spent in the prison in Trabzon, Turkey. In 1895, he again returned to Kruševo and became a member of IMRO. From this time on, he was fully committed to the independence of Macedonia from Turkish rule. In 1902, he once again traveled to Bulgaria where he met withToma Davidov. On his return to Macedonia, he was injured at the border and was forced to turn back.
In March 1903, he began commanding a revolutionary squad, crossing the Bulgarian-Ottoman border heading for Kruševo. From April to August 1903, he trained and prepared his troops for the upcoming Ilinden Uprising.
Pitu Guli is father of Tashko Gulev (Shula Guli), who died in 1918 as soldier of BulgarianMacedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps and of the revolutionary of IMRO Nikola Gulev (Lakia Guli), one of closest people to Todor Alexandrov, killed by Serbian police in 1924. Pitu Guli is also a father of Steryo Gulev, reportedly shot himself after Bulgarian withdrawal in 1944, upon the arrival of Tito's partisans in Krushevo in despair over what he saw as a second period of Serbian dominance in Macedonia.
Pitu Guli is a national hero in the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, and remembered as having fought heroically at Mečkin Kamen (Bear's Rock) near Kruševo, where he was killed during the Ilinden Uprising in defense of the Kruševo Republic. A Macedonian Partisan Brigade was named after him. He is also celebrated in folk songs and poetry throughout the region of Macedonia, being mentioned in the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia (Today over Macedonia).
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