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Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...
are an ethnic minority in North Macedonia. Bulgarians are mostly found in the
Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...
area, but over the years, the absolute majority of southeastern North Macedonia have declared themselves
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
. The town of
Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...
and its surrounding area (including Novo Selo) were part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria between the
Balkan wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...
and the end of World War I, as well as during World War II. The total number of Bulgarians counted in the 2021 Census was 3,504 or roughly 0.2%. Around 97,000 nationals of North Macedonia have received Bulgarian citizenship since 2001, and some 53,000 are still waiting for such. In the period when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarians from the so called
Western Outlands The Western (Bulgarian) Outlands () is a term used by Bulgarians to describe several regions located in southeastern Serbia. The territories in question were ceded by Bulgaria to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1920 as a resul ...
in Serbia.


History


Middle ages and Ottoman rule

Throughout the Middle Ages and up until the early 20th century the Slavic speaking majority in the Region of Macedonia was more commonly referred to (both, by themselves and outsiders) as Bulgarians.


Yugoslavia

Until the
Balkan wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...
the majority of the Slav population of all three parts of the wider
region of Macedonia Macedonia () is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid 19th century. Tod ...
had Bulgarian identity. In 1913, the region of present-day Republic of North Macedonia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbia, thus becoming ''Southern Serbia''. During World War I and World War II, when most regions of Macedonia were annexed by Bulgaria, a pro-Bulgarian sentiment still existed among the Slavic majority. However, harsh treatment by occupying Bulgarian troops reduced significantly the pro-Bulgarian orientation of the Macedonian Slavs. After the end of World War II, the creation of
People's Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
and the codification of a new Macedonian language, a process of ethnogenesis started and a distinct national Macedonian
identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
was inaugurated into an established system. The new Yugoslav authorities began a policy of removing of any Bulgarian influence, making North Macedonia a connecting link for the establishment of new
Balkan Communist Federation The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century f ...
and creating a distinct Slavic consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia. The authorities took also repressive measures that would overcome the Bulgarian national identity of the population, such as the Bloody Christmas in 1945. In North Macedonia the ''Bulgarophobia'' increased almost to the level of state ideology, and the communists were successful in removing all Bulgarian influence in the region. A special
Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour The ''Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour'' was a statute passed by the government of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (SR Macedonia) at the end of 1944. The Presidium of Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Mac ...
was passed by the government of the SR Macedonia at the end of 1944. The Presidium of
Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia The Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia ( mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Македонија (АСНОМ), ''Antifašističko sobranie za narodno oslo ...
established a
special court An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infri ...
for the implementation of this law, which came into effect on January 3, 1945. Bulgarian sources claim that in early 1945, around 100,000
Bulgarophiles Bulgarophiles ( bg, българофили; Serbian and Macedonian бугарофили or бугараши ; ; ro, Bulgarofilii) is a term used for Slavic people from the regions of Macedonia and Pomoravlje who are ethnic Bulgarians. In Bulga ...
were imprisoned and over 1,260 were allegedly killed due to this ''Law''. In the period between 1945 and 1991, when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarian population from
SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...
to the SR Macedonia. The number of these migrants is unofficially estimated at 20,000.


The fall of Communism to present-day

By the time the then-Republic of Macedonia proclaimed its independence those who continued to look to Bulgaria were very few. Some 3,000 - 4,000 people that stuck to their Bulgarian identity (most from
Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...
and surroundings) met great hostility among the authorities and the rest of the population. With the fall of Communism the hostility decreased, but still remains. Occasional trials against ''
Bulgarophiles Bulgarophiles ( bg, българофили; Serbian and Macedonian бугарофили or бугараши ; ; ro, Bulgarofilii) is a term used for Slavic people from the regions of Macedonia and Pomoravlje who are ethnic Bulgarians. In Bulga ...
'' have continued until today. In the period after 1991 ca. 100,000 citizens of North Macedonia have acquired Bulgarian citizenship (which represents 10% of the self-declared ethnic Macedonians in the country in the 2021 population census), almost all of them acquired by descent and always on 1st position by acquired citizenship per country. On 11 December 2020 at the Parliament, the Minister of Justice of Bulgaria Desislava Ahladova reported that from 1 January 2010 to 22 October 2020, 77,829 files have been opened for the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by citizens of North Macedonia, 77,762 of them based on declared Bulgarian origin. Macedonian citizens are starting to take out Bulgarian passports due to the fact that Bulgaria is becoming a member of the European Union, and with that, the only prospect for Macedonian citizens is to be able to work and live in European countries where there are greater conditions for prosperity. Per Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in 2021 some 120,000 Macedonian citizens held
Bulgarian passport A Bulgarian passport ( bg, Български паспорт, Bŭlgarski pasport) is an international travel document issued to nationals of Bulgaria, and may also serve as proof of Bulgarian citizenship. Besides enabling the bearer to travel in ...
s and thus Bulgaria insists on putting them into the North Macedonia's constitution, which already lists Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks and Roma.


Politics

Bulgarians in North Macedonia do not have their own political parties, but still have political activity. Many politicians have revealed their affiliation to Bulgaria after leaving the political stage, such as
Ljubčo Georgievski Ljubčo Georgievski or Lyubcho Georgievski ( mk, Љубчо Георгиевски, ; bg, Любчо Георгиевски; born 17 January 1966) is a politician from North Macedonia who served as the only Vice President of Macedonia and as th ...
.


Association Radko

Association Radko is an illegal Bulgarian political organisation in North Macedonia. The "Radko" association was registered in Ohrid in 2000. In 2001 the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
of North Macedonia banned the organization Radko as "promoting racial and religious hate and intolerance". The association is named after the conspiration pseudonym of Ivan Mihailov, leader of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization during the
interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...
. In official Macedonian historiography, Mihailov is a terrorist and a Bulgarian
chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...
. In 2009 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, condemned North Macedonia because of violations of the European Convention of Human Rights in this case.


Bulgarian clubs

In the autumn of 2022, the
parliament of North Macedonia The Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia ( mk, Собрание на Република Северна Македонија, sq, Kuvendi i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut), or the Sobranie ( mk, Собрание, "Assembly"), is t ...
adopted changes to the Law on Associations and Foundations in which clubs and organizations cannot be registered if their names reference fascism and
national socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
or if they incite religious, national or racial hatred or intolerance. This change came after the opening of two Bulgarian clubs - one named after Ivan Mihailov and the other named after
Tsar Boris III Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
. There was also an attempt to register a third club, named after Tsar Ferdinand I. After the opening of the two clubs, protests were organized and the clubs were attacked. The Commission for Protection against Discrimination concluded that the club names discriminate against the Macedonian public on a national and ethnic grounds. The Commission was referred by the Association of Fighters the National Liberation War and the anti-fascist war. According to the Bulgarian co-chairman of the common Bulgarian-Macedonian historical commission Angel Dimitrov, the arguments for these changes remind him of the
Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour The ''Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour'' was a statute passed by the government of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (SR Macedonia) at the end of 1944. The Presidium of Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Mac ...
. Per Dimitrov, this shows that the Macedonians still use propaganda from the early times of Communist Yugoslavia.


Hate-Crime Motivated Assaults

There has been a wave of hate-crime motivated attacks on Bulgarian cultural clubs in North Macedonia since the beginning of 2022. On 7 February 2022, the glass windows of the Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club in
Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki b ...
were smashed. On 5 June 2022, the entire building of the club was set on fire. Although the attacker, Lambe Alabakovski was swiftly apprehended, he was only given a 6 months' suspended sentence and was largly celebrated on social media as a national hero. On 12 October 2022, the sign above the front door of the Boris III Cultural Club in Ohrid was smashed. On 20 November 2022, the glass facade of the same club was smashed by three masked men throwing stones, an incident that was followed by gun fire opened at the club from a car on 22 November. As a rule, the openings of all Bulgarian clubs so far have been accompanied by protests involving anti-Bulgarian slogans, shouting of anti-Bulgarian slur such as "''Tatars''", "''Fascists''" or "''Nazis''", throwing eggs, burnings of the Bulgarian flag, etc. This stands in stark contrast to the opening and work of the equivalent Macedonian Cultural Club in
Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
, which has largely been marked by indifference. The attacks have also been accompanied by vandalism and pressure against members of the Bulgarian clubs. On 30 January 2022, the car of the Chairman of the Association of Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship in Skopje was vandalised. On 12 December 2022, the chairman of the Bulgarian club in Bitola, Lyupco Georgievski was charged, without further details, with "racism and xenophobia", to which Georgievski himself responded by saying that "''This is how he North Macedonian authoritiesdefine everything Bulgarian or everyone who identifies as a Bulgarian"''. However, the most serious incident to date is the assault on the Secretary of the Bulgarian club in Ohrid, Hristian Pendikov, on 20 January 2023, resulting in brain injury, broken jaw and broken teeth, which made the news all over the world. Pendikov has been airlifted to
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
, where he is hospitalised.


Historical Connection with World War II

As a reason for the hate crimes, North Macedonian authorities have referred to their names, as Tsar
Boris III Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
and Vanche Mihailov are regarded as Fascists and the Bulgarian occupation during World War II is considered one of the darkest periods in the history of the country. However, their Bulgarian opponents have argued that these claims do not correspond to historical facts and that the very existence of
Fascism in Bulgaria The extent of fascism in Bulgaria is contentious. Many authors state that it never became a mass movement, remaining marginal there, and proved considerably less successful than in the neighboring Balkan states. Bulgaria's fascists were not only ...
is highly contentious, as it is thought to have been fabricated to serve Bulgarian communist historiography. For example, in contrast with the dogmas of
Macedonian historiography Historiography in North Macedonia is the methodology of historical studies used by the historians of that country. It has been developed since 1945 when SR Macedonia became part of Yugoslavia. According to the German historian it has preserv ...
, the Bulgarian Army is recorded to have largely been greeted as liberators by the Macedonian population in April 1941. Bulgarian Campaign Committees in Macedonia - 1941
Dimitre Mičev (Dimiter Minchev). Hosted on Kroraina.com, retrieved 2007-08-21.


' (''Macedonia 1941 Resurrection''), Сотир Нанев (Sotir Nanev), 1942, reprinted 1993 with , publisher Труд (Trud). Memoirs of a Macedonia-born Bulgarian lieutenant participating in the occupation of the Yugoslavian and Greek parts of Macedonia.
''Between Past and Future: Civil-Military Relations in Post-Communist Balkan States]'', by Biljana Vankovska, 2003, , page 270. The
Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia The Regional Committee of Communists in Macedonia was the provincial communist organization in Vardar Macedonia from 1939 to 1943. History At the beginning of 1939, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia decided that Vardar ...
headed by Metodi Shatorov refused the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
's orders to denounce the Bulgarians as occupiers or start armed struggle, instead calling for the incorporation of the local Macedonian Communist organizations into the
Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
"По врвулиците на македонската историја" Иван Катарџиев. Скопје, 1986 Moreover, the relative war losses of ethnic Macedonians during World War II (6,724) were by far the lowest among any other ethnic group in former Yugoslavia and even among them, more than half lost their lives on the
Syrmian Front The Syrmian Front ( sh, Srijemski front/Sremski front) was an Axis line of defense during World War II. It was established as part of the Eastern Front in late October 1944 in Syrmia and east Slavonia, northwest of Belgrade. After the Yugosla ...
in 1945, well after the end of the occupation. In addition, up to one half of the army stationed in Vardar Macedonia (approx. 30,000) from 1941 to 1944 and most of the police consisted of local conscripts. Thus, the greatest "Bulgarian" atrocity perpetrated in the region, the massacre of 12 young civilians at the village of Vataša was actually perpetrated by an officer born in
Kriva Palanka Kriva Palanka ( mk, Крива Паланка ) is a town located in the northeastern part of North Macedonia. It has 14,558 inhabitants. The town of Kriva Palanka is the seat of Kriva Palanka Municipality which has almost 21,000 inhabitants. ...
, while the only victim of the attack on 11 October 1941, celebrated as the Day of the Macedonian Uprising against fascism, was from the North Macedonian village of
Smilevo Smilevo () is a village in North Macedonia, municipality of Demir Hisar municipality, Demir Hisar. It is famous for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising which started in the village in the morning of August 2, 1903 (see Battle of Smilevo). The deci ...
and was kin of revolutionary
Dame Gruev Damyan Yovanov Gruev (,The first names can also be transliterated as ''Damjan Jovanov'', after Bulgarian Дамян Йованов Груев and Macedonian Дамјан Јованов Груев. The last name is also sometimes rendered as ''G ...
, who is otherwise revered in the country. There are currenty minority revisionist opinions in North Macedonia that question the official historical narrative inherited from the
communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...
. For example, former North Macedonian Prime Minister
Zoran Zaev Zoran Zaev ( mk, Зоран Заев, ; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022. Prior to entering ...
has stated that Bulgarians were not fascist occupiers and that many other historical facts that have been altered and concealed for decades in North Macedonia. According to the Macedonian researcher Katerina Kolozova, this terminology today is groundless, because significant part of these "occupiers" were practically local collaborators of the Bulgarian authorities. She maintains the descendants of the Yugoslav communist partisans in her country who form the post-Yugoslav elite are the main factor that ignites these anti-Bulgarian sentiments there. According to the former Macedonian Prime Minister Lyubcho Georgievski, the "Bulgarian occupiers" were welcomed as liberators from Serbian occupation, which was much longer and more difficult than the Bulgarian one, but in regard to which, the Macedonian society has fallen into a long historical amnesia.Любчо Георгиевски: В националната памет на македонците е останало само "български фашистки окупатор"
БНР, 25.09.2021


See also

*
Ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria Ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria ( mk, Македонци во Бугарија, Makedonci vo Bugarija) are a group in Bulgaria concentrated within Blagoevgrad Province and the capital Sofia. According to the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in 1 ...
*
Macedonian Question The region of Macedonia is known to have been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Еarliest historical inhabitants The earliest historical inhabitants of the region were the Pelasgians, the Bryges and the Thracians. The Pelasgians occupied E ...
*
Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of eth ...
* Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations * Bulgarian Cultural Club – Skopje


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonia Ethnic groups in North Macedonia Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations Macedonia