Ilinden was a veteran unpolitical organization established in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in 1921 with branches in a whole of Bulgaria.''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia'', Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, , p. 94. It was founded by leaders of the former Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization, who did not participate into the new

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

(IMRO) founded by

Todor Alexandrov Todor Aleksandrov Poporushov ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Тодор Александров Попорушов; 4 March 1881 – 31 August 1924), anglicised as Todor Alexandrov, was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary, Bulgarian army officer, pol ...

after the First World War. It supported the creation of a federal Macedonian state within a future

Balkan Federation In late 19th and throughout the 20th century, the establishment of a Balkan Federation had been a recurrent suggestion of various political factions in the Balkans. The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century among left-w ...

, which concept was similar to the ideas proclaimed by the Balkan Communist Federation at that time. In 1924 Alexandrov several times spoke with

Petar Atsev Petar Atsev (, ) was a Macedonian Bulgarians, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary,In 1917, Atsev signed the ''Memoir of Bulgarians from Macedonia'' dated December 27. It is a protest document of the Central Committee of the Internal Macedonian-Odr ...

, then president of the organization, on the occasion of a growing communist propaganda among its members. In 1924 Aleksandrov was killed, but as participants in the conspiracy against him were suspected the leaders of the Ilinden organization. Subsequently, many of them became victims of the '' Gorna Dzhumaya events'' and the subsequent fratricidal killings among the IMRO factions. In the following years Ilinden organization was primarily engaged in cultural and educational activities. The organization was formally dissolved after the military coup d'état from 19 May 1934, but it continued its existence. After the accession of most of the

Vardar Macedonia Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian language, Macedonian and ) is a historical term referring to the central part of the broader Macedonian region, roughly corresponding to present-day North Macedonia. The name derives from the Vardar, Vardar River and i ...

to Bulgaria in April 1941, the organization created there its branches. After the coup d'état from 9 September 1944 a new leadership was elected, loyal to the

Communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

. On 15 June 1947 the communist authorities disbanded the organization.

References

Sources

* "История на България - електронна енциклопедия", ИК Труд, (Илинденска организация) {{in lang, bg Bulgarian revolutionary organisations Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Balkan federalism Organizations established in 1921 Organizations disestablished in 1947 1921 establishments in Bulgaria 1947 disestablishments in Bulgaria 1947 in Bulgaria Defunct organizations based in Bulgaria History of Macedonia (region) Veterans' organizations

See also

References

Sources