Mihail Apostolov

Mihail Apostolov - Popeto
A photograph of Mihail Apostolov - Popeto
Born	1871 Gorna Dikanya, Bulgaria
Died	March 21, 1902 Gavalyantsi, today Greece
Organization	IMARO

Mihail Raynov Apostolov (Bulgarian: Михаил Райнов Апостолов), known also as Mihal Postolov or Popeto, was an officer in the Bulgarian army and a worker of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO).

Mihail Apostolov was born in the village of Gorna Dikanya, Radomir region, in 1871. He was raised in a very poor family. After his mother died, his father sent him to Sofia to study. He served his military service in the cavalry, in the First Cavalry Regiment, and was promoted to the rank of a sergeant. He left the army and became a policeman in the Cavalry police in Sofia. In 1895, when the Macedonian Committee in Sofia organized a revolutionary action in Macedonia, he left his police service and joined the revolutionary band of lieutenant Petar Nachev. After the action, he returned to Sofia. He met Gotse Delchev, who at that time organized the first revolutionary bands of the IMARO, which had the goal of entering Macedonia. Gotse Delchev decided to attract Bulgarian army officers to the IMARO in order to raise the authority and prestige of the revolutionary organization before the population and to improve the military skills of the freedom fighters. Mihail Apostolov – Popeto, Marko Lerinski and Hristo Chernopeev were among the first Bulgarian army officers in the IMARO.

Mihail Apostolov became the first leader of a revolutionary band for agitation and organization. During his 7 years of activities, a number of IMARO freedom fighters joined his revolutionary band as his trainees, such as: Mihail Gerdzhikov, Nikola Dechev, Petar Yurukov, Delcho Kotsev, Petar Samardzhiev, Nikola Zhekov, Atanas Babata, Andon Kyoseto (who was an assistant-leader of the band), Krastyo Balgariyata, Gone Beginin, Trayko Gyotov, Ivan Varnaliyata, Ivan Alyabaka and others. Mihail Apostolov also had Hristo Chernopeev in his band for 3–4 months, but Chernopeev later headed his own revolutionary band.