Bulgarians in North Macedonia

Not to be confused with Macedonian Bulgarians.

Bulgarians are an ethnic minority in North Macedonia. Bulgarians are mostly found in the Strumica area,^[1] but over the years, the absolute majority of southeastern North Macedonia have declared themselves Macedonian. The town of Strumica and its surrounding area (including Novo Selo) were part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria between the Balkan wars 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%. Over 100,000 nationals of North Macedonia have received Bulgarian citizenship since 2001 and some 53,000 are still waiting for such, almost all based on declared Bulgarian origin.^[2] In the period when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarians from the so called Western Outlands in Serbia.^[3]

Bulgarians in
North Macedonia

Total population
3,504 (census 2021)
Regions with significant populations
Strumica and surrounding region
Languages
Bulgarian and Macedonian
Religion
Macedonian Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Bulgarians, Macedonians

History

See also: Macedonian Bulgarians

Yugoslavia

Number and percentage of the Bulgarian ethnic minority in Macedonia from 1948-2021^[4]^[5]^[6]
Ethnic group	census 1948		census 1953		census 1961		census 1971		census 1981		census 1991		census 1994		census 2002		census 2021
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Bulgarians	889	0.1	920	0.1	3,087	0.2	3,334	0.2	1,984	0.1	1,370	0.1	1,682	0.1	1,417	0.1	3,504	0.2

Until the Balkan wars the majority of the Slav population of all three parts of the wider region of Macedonia had Bulgarian identity.^[7] 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.^[8][9] However, harsh treatment by occupying Bulgarian troops reduced significantly the pro-Bulgarian orientation of the Macedonian Slavs.^[10] After the end of World War II, the creation of People's Republic of Macedonia and the codification of a new Macedonian language, a process of ethnogenesis started and a distinct national Macedonian identity 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 and creating a distinct Slavic consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia.^[11] The authorities took also repressive measures that would overcome the Bulgarian national identity of the population, such as the Bloody Christmas in 1945.^[12][13] In North Macedonia the Bulgarophobia increased almost to the level of state ideology,^[14] and the communists were successful in removing all Bulgarian influence in the region.^[12] A special Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour 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 established a special court for the implementation of this law, which came into effect on January 3, 1945.^{[15][16][17][18]} Bulgarian sources claim that in early 1945, around 100,000 Bulgarophiles were imprisoned and over 1,260 were allegedly killed due to this Law.^[19][20] In the period between 1945 and 1991, when North Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia, there was also migration of Bulgarian population from SR Serbia to the SR Macedonia.^[21] The number of these migrants is unofficially estimated at 20,000.^[22]

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.^[12] Some 3,000 - 4,000 people that stuck to their Bulgarian identity (most from Strumica 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.^[12] Occasional trials against Bulgarophiles have continued until today.^[23][24] 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.^[2] 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.

Year	Period	Acquired citizenships	Position
2002-2012^[25]	22.01.2002-15.01.2012	44,211	1
2012^[26]	23.01.2012-22.01.2013	8,185	1
2013^[27]	23.01.2013-22.01.2014	4,388	1
2014^[28]	01.01.2014-31.12.2014	1,874	1
2015^[29]	01.01.2015-31.12.2015	4,315	1
2016^[30]	01.01.2016-31.12.2016	6,196	1
2017^[31]	14.01.2017-31.12.2017	1,150	1
2018^[32]	01.01.2018-31.12.2018	3,619	1
2019^[33]	01.01.2019-31.12.2019	5,628	1
2020^[34]	01.01.2020-31.12.2020	9,098	1
2021^[35]	01.01.2021-31.12.2021	7,696	1
2022^[36]	01.01.2022-31.12.2022	1,992	1
2023^[37]	23.01.2023-22.01.2024	4,388	1
Total	22.01.2002-22.01.2024	102,740	1

There were 37 ethnic Bulgarians born in North Macedonia who lived in the United States of America in 2015.^[38]

In 2021, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev claimed that some 120,000 Macedonian citizens held Bulgarian passports and insisted on putting them into North Macedonia's constitution, which lists the Albanian, Serbian, Bosniak, Turkish, Romani peoples, as well as the other peoples inhabiting the country.^[39][40] A total of 169 people in North Macedonia voted in the 2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election.^[41]

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.^[42]

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 of North Macedonia banned the organization Radko as "promoting racial and religious hate and intolerance".^[43] The association is named after the conspiration pseudonym of Ivan Mihailov, leader of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization during the interbellum. In official Macedonian historiography, Mihailov is a terrorist and a Bulgarian chauvinist. 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.^[44]

Bulgarian clubs

In the autumn of 2022, the parliament of North Macedonia 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 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. 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.^[45] The Commission for Protection against Discrimination concluded that the club names discriminate against the Macedonian public on national and ethnic grounds. The Commission was referred by the Association of Fighters the National Liberation War and the anti-fascist war.^[46] 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, which allowed the sentencing of Yugoslav citizens from SR Macedonia for pro-Bulgarian leanings. Per Dimitrov, this shows that the Macedonians still use propaganda from the early times of Communist Yugoslavia.^[47]

Ethnically motivated attacks

On 5 June 2022, the entrance of the "Vancho Mihaylov" club was set on fire.^[48] The attacker, Lambe Alabakovski was swiftly apprehended and was given a 6 months suspended sentence.^[49][50] On 12 October 2022, the sign above the front door of the "Boris III" cultural club in Ohrid was smashed.^[51] On 20 November 2022, the glass façade 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.^[52][53] On 30 January 2022, the car of the Chairman of the Association of Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship in Skopje was vandalised.^[54] On 20 January 2023, the secretary of the club in Ohrid was attacked.^[55][56][57] Three suspects have been apprehended, one of them has Bulgarian citizenship.^[58][59][60] On 8 February 2023, the Ohrid District's Attorney charged the detainees with an "ethnically-motivated hate crime".^[61][62] The President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski condemned the incident and stated that certain political subjects in Bulgaria have used this case for their political goals.^[63]

See also

• Ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria
• Macedonian Question
• Macedonian Bulgarians
• Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations
• Bulgarian Cultural Club – Skopje

References

1. Yugoslavism: histories of a failed idea, 1918–1992, Dejan Djokić, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003, ISBN 1-85065-663-0, p. 122.
2. ЧЕТИРИСТОТИН ТРИДЕСЕТ И СЕДМО ЗАСЕДАНИЕ София, петък, 11 декември 2020 г. Открито в 9,04 ч.
3. Проф. Пламен Павлов: Македония трябва да се откаже от антибългаризма и записването на българщината в официалните й документи може да бъде крачка напред. 12 март, 2021, Агенция Фокус.
4. Kostovska, Lidija (2016). (PDF). Skopje: State Statistical office of the Republic of Macedonia - Skopje. p. 64. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
5. For more detailed census results, please see: Demographics of North Macedonia#Ethnic groups
6. Barnett R. Rubin, Victor A. Friedman (1996). Toward comprehensive peace in Southeast Europe. Observing the Observers. New York: The twentieth century fund. p. 90.
7. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
8. The struggle for Greece, 1941–1949, Christopher Montague Woodhouse, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2002, ISBN 1-85065-492-1, p. 67.
9. Who are the Macedonians?, Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.
10. Kaufman, Stuart J. (2001). Modern hatreds: the symbolic politics of ethnic war. New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 193. ISBN 0-8014-8736-6. While Bulgarian was most common affiliation then, mistreatment by occupying Bulgarian troops during WWII cured most Macedonians from their pro-Bulgarian sympathies, leaving them embracing the new Macedonian identity promoted by the Tito regime after the war.
11. Europe since 1945. Encyclopedia by Bernard Anthony Cook. ISBN 0-8153-4058-3, pg. 808.
12. Djokić, Dejan (2003). Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918-1992. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 1-85065-663-0.
13. Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. I.B.Tauris. pp. 40. ISBN 1-86064-841-X.
14. Mirjana Maleska. Editor-in-chief. WITH THE EYES OF THE "OTHERS". (about Macedonian-Bulgarian relations and the Macedonian national identity). New Balkan Politics - Journal of Politics. ISSUE 6 . Archived from the original on 24 September 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
15. Kostov, Chris (2010). Contested Ethnic Identity: The Case of Macedonian Immigrants in Toronto, 1900-1996. Peter Lang. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9783034301961. Furthermore, between April and August of 1945, the Court for the Defence of the Macedonian National Honour was set up by Yugoslav authorities, and its targets were Macedono-Bulgarian intellectuals who openly expressed their Bulgarian identity. Writers, lawyers, journalists, doctors, teachers, priests and other prominent people received death sentences or prison terms. Mayors and other administrators during the Bulgarian regime were sentenced to death. 1,260 prominent Macedono-Bulgarians were killed by these farce processes. In 1946, Dimitar Gyuzelev, Yordan Chkartov and Dimitar Chkartov were sentenced to death, whereas seventy-four other Macedono-Bulgarian nationalists led by Angel Dimov were sentenced to jail for plotting to join Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria.
16. Stojčev, Vanče (1996). Bugarskiot okupaciski sistem vo Makedonija, 1941-1944 [Bulgarian occupation system in Macedonia, 1941-1944] (in Slovenian). Grigor Prličev. ISBN 9789989661310. Подоцна, Президиумот на АСНОМ формирал и Суд за судење на злосторствата против честа на македонскиот народ и за казнување лица што ја извалкале македонската национална чест за време на окупацијата. [Later, the Presidium of ASNOM established a Court to try crimes against the honor of the Macedonian people and to punish persons who tarnished the Macedonian national honor during the occupation.]
17. Битовски, Крсте; Панов, Бранко (2003). Историја на македонскиот народ, Том 3 [History of the Macedonian people, Volume 3] (in Slovenian). Institute of National History. ISBN 9989624763. Президиумот на АСНОМ со посебно решение формирал Суд за судење на престапите против македонската национална чест. [The Presidium of ASNOM with a special decision established the Court for trial of the offenses against the Macedonian national honor.]
18. Makedonski arhivist, Volumes 11-12 [Macedonian Archivist, Volumes 11-12] (in Slovenian). Društvo na arhivskite rabotnici i arhivite vo SR Makedonija. 1981. Судот за судење по престапите против македонската национална чест е формиран со решение на Президиумот на Народното собрание на Македонија (ACHOM). [The Court for Trial of Offenses against the Macedonian National Honor was established by a decision of the Presidium of the National Assembly of Macedonia (ACHOM).]
19. Bulgarian sources assert that thousands lost their lives due to this cause after 1944 , and that more than 100 , 000 people were imprisoned under the law for the protection of Macedonian national honour 'for opposing the new ethnogenesis'. 1,260 leading Bulgarians were allegedly killed in Skopje, Veles, Kumanovo, Prilep, Bitola and Stip... For more see: Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians? C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 1850655340, p. 118.
20. John Phillips, Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. (2004) I.B. Tauris (publisher), ISBN 186064841X, p. 40.
21. Богослав Јанев, Босилегратчани во Македонија, Скопје: Здружение на граѓани. "Босилеградско", 2006, Куманово: Графотекс. ISBN 9989-57-472-3.
22. Александър Димитров, Колко са българите в РС Македония? Глас, Прес 10 март 2021 г.
23. Violations of Human Rights of Macedonian citizens with a Bulgarian ethnic consciousness 1990–1997
24. Court for waved Bulgarian flag in Macedonia.
25. Предоставяне на българско гражданство, Справка за преиода 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 г. (Bulgarian citizenship Information for the period 22.01.2002-15.01.2012 year)
26. Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за 2012-2013 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for 2012-2013 year), p. 7
27. Доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 23.01.2013 – 22.01.2014 година (Report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 23.01.2013–22.01.2014 year), p. 6
28. Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2014-31.12.2014 year), p. 5
29. Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2015-31.12.2015 year), p. 6
30. Годишен доклад за дейността на КБГБЧ за периода 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 година (Annual report on the activities of the CBCBA for the period 01.01.2016-31.12.2016 year), p. 6
31. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 14 януари – 31 декември 2017 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 14 January - 31 December 2017)
32. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2018 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2018)
33. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2019 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2019)
34. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2020 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2020)
35. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2021 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2021)
36. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство за периода 01 януари – 31 декември 2022 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship Commission for the period 01 January - 31 December 2022)
37. Доклад за дейността на комисията по българско гражданство и българи в чужбина за периода 23 януари 2013 – 22 януари 2014 г. (Activity Report of the Bulgarian Citizenship & Bulgarians Abroad Commission for the period 23 January 2024 - 22 January 2024)
38. "Explore Census Data".
39. Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Fact-Check: Can North Macedonia Meet Bulgaria’s Six Demands for Breakthrough? [1]BIRN, Skopje, October 19, 2021.
40. "Assembly Republic of North Macedonia - The Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia". www.sobranie.mk. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
41. "Списък на потвърдените заявления за гласуване в секция извън страната". Central Election Commission. 2 April 2023.
42. Утрински весник, 07.08.2009, Непотребно заострување на односите, Филип Петровски.
43. РЕШЕНИЕ НА УСТАВНИОТ СУД НА РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА Публикувано во СЛУЖБЕН ВЕСНИК НА РМ Бр. 27 од 10.04.2001г. 7 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
44. Judgment 15 January 2009, (Application no. 74651/01) 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
45. Скопие преименува българските клубове "Ванче Михайлов" и "Цар Борис III". Спряха и регистрацията на трети клуб с името "Цар Фердинанд" в Богданци. Dir.bg, 3 ноември 2022.
46. КСЗД: Бугарските здруженија ги дискриминираат Македонците 24.mk, 14 октомври 2022.
47. Проф. Ангел Димитров: РСМ не се държи като кандидат за ЕС. Епицентър, 18 окт. 2022.
48. Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Bitola Set on Fire, Skopje and Sofia Condemn Attack (Wrap-up for June 4–5) [2]
49. НМ (27 September 2022). "Ламбе Алабаковски осуден на условна казна од шест месеци". Нова Македонија (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
50. "Je suis Lambe Alabakovski! Македонците защитават подпалвача на българския културен център". Mediapool.bg (in Bulgarian). 8 June 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
51. Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action [3]
52. Gun shots fired at Bulgarian club in North Macedonia
53. Attacks on Bulgarian Club Further Complicate Skopje-Sofia Relations
54. "Посегнаха на колата на председателя на македонско-българското сдружение (СНИМКИ)". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 30 January 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
55. Sofia denounces ‘hate crime’ against Bulgarian cultural official in North Macedonia [4]
56. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the attack on Bulgarian club in Ohrid: We expect institutions in North Macedonia to take action - Българска национална телевизия". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
57. Bulgaria, North Macedonia condemn ethnic-related violence
58. Nastoski, Zarko (20 January 2023). "Полицијата уапси тројца за претепувањето на охридскиот Бугарин Пендиков". Слободен печат (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
59. 365.com.mk (30 January 2023). "Бугарски пратеник: Еден од напаѓачите на Пендиков е бугарски државјанин". 365.com.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
60. НМ (31 January 2023). "Тепачот во бегство е со бугарски пасош – и тој и тепаниот Пендиков се со бугарски национални чувства". Нова Македонија (in Macedonian). Retrieved 4 February 2023.
61. ОЈО Охрид поднесе обвинение за нанесување на тешка телесна повреда од омраза против напаѓачoт на Христијан Пендиков [5]
62. Прокуратурата в Охрид: Пендиков е бил пребит заради етническа принадлежност [6]
63. "Пендаровски: Одредени субјекти во Бугарија го искористија случајот со Пендиков за политички цели". Радио Слободна Европа (in Macedonian). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.