KUCHKOVENI

The village of Kuchkoveni was forcibly made to change its name by the Greek government to Perasma. It is a part of the Lerin region about 6 kilometres southeast of the town. It is in the middle of the Lerin plain at 21 degrees 28 minutes longitude and 40 degrees 45 minutes' latitude and 660 metres above sea level. It is about 6 square kilometres in area.

The village borders to the north with the village Pesochnitsa, to the east with the villages Vrtolom and Leskovets, to the southeast with the village Plishevitsa, to the southwest with the village Maala and to the northwest with the village Nevoljani and the town of Lerin.

The Menska River flows through the village and is also known as the Eleshka River.

Before the start of the Greek Civil War, about 880 Macedonian residents lived in the village. They were employed in agriculture, skilled trades and other activities.

During the Greek Civil War, the residents of the village actively took part in the organization of NOF and the armed forces of DAG with more than 100 active fighters. 23 gave their lives.

They were:

1. Butakov Marko
2. Vasov Stefo
3. Georgievski Itso
4. Delov Trajan
5. Donev Pandil
6. Donev Lazo
7. Klincharov Miti
8. Kostoredov Todor
9. Kochovski Gjorgi
10. Grstev Gjorgi
11. Meshkov Krste
12. Minchev Tanas
13. Petrevchev Miti
14. Popaginov Kitse
15. Popaginov Kotse
16. Popovski Tanas
17. Rapov Nikola
18. Rimpanov Pandil
19. Sivevski Vane
20. Tanev Itso
21. Tafilov Itso
22. Tikvev Kire
23. Tikvev Iljo

The details about the fallen fighters were obtained from Micho (Dimitar) Galabov from the same village, a participant and first line fighter in the Civil War.

After the Greek Civil War and the forced emigration from the village of Kuchkoveni, the number of residents fell significantly. The 1991 census in Greece recorded that there were 499 residents.

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Lerin in Mourning