Charalambos Boufidis

Charalambos Boufidis (Greek: Χαράλαμπος Μπουφίδης) or else known as Captain Fourtounas (Καπετάν Φουρτούνας), was a significant Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle.

Boufidis with his armed group, second sitting from left.

Biography

He was born in the 1880s in Kolešino of Strumica, then part of the Ottoman Empire (now North Macedonia). He was the first cousin of fellow chieftain Pantelis Papaioannou (Nikotsaras). When his cousin was killed on August 26, 1907, he took over the command of his armed group. He also recruited young people from the surrounding villages. He decided to avenge the death of his cousin, abandoning his wife and child in Kolešino.

Armed action

He acted with his body in the regions of Strumica, Petrich and in the Belasica mountain range. His armed group was strengthened by uniting with the group of the chieftain Dimitrios Tsitsimis, which consisted of local Greeks of Strumica region. Together they managed to oppose a strong resistance to the action of the Bulgarian komitadjis. With their actions they also managed to gain full control of the Belasica mountain range. At the beginning of January 1908, Boufidis avenged the death of his cousin by executing Peche, who had betrayed Papaioannou, on the latter's tomb in Kolešino. The same year, Boufidis cooperated with the Hellenic Army officer Vasileios Tsirogiannis, who guided the rebels of the Strumica region.

Sources

• D. Papakonstantinou, Υπόμνημα περί της καταστάσεως του ελληνισμού εν τη επαρχία Στρωμνίτσης, Athens, 1882.
• Konstantinos A. Vakalopoulos, Ο ένοπλος αγώνας στη Μακεδονία 1904-1908, publications Ηρόδοτος, Thessaloniki, 1999, p. 287, 324