Socialist Republic of Macedonia

This article is about the predecessor state to the current North Macedonia. For other uses, see Macedonia.

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Социјалистичка Република Македонија, romanized: Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia, Yugoslav Macedonia or simply Macedonia, was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and a nation state of the Macedonians.^[10][11][12] After the transition of the political system to parliamentary democracy in 1990, the Republic changed its official name to Republic of Macedonia in 1991,^[13] and with the beginning of the breakup of Yugoslavia, it declared itself an independent country and held a referendum on 8 September 1991 on which a sovereign and independent state of Macedonia, with a right to enter into any alliance with sovereign states of Yugoslavia was approved.

Democratic Federal Macedonia (1944–1946) Демократска Федерална Македонија Demokratska Federalna Makedonija People's Republic of Macedonia (1946–1963) Народна Република Македонија Narodna Republika Makedonija Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1963–1991) Социјалистичка Република Македонија Socijalistička Republika Makedonija Republic of Macedonia (1991) Република Македонија Republika Makedonija
1944–1991
Flag (1946–1991) Emblem
Anthem: March of the Macedonian Revolutionaries (1944) Денес над Македонија (1945–1991) Denes nad Makedonija (English: "Today Over Macedonia")
Macedonia within Yugoslavia
Status	Constituent republic of Yugoslavia
Capital	Skopje
Common languages	Macedonian Albanian Serbo-Croatian
Religion	Secular state (de jure) State atheism (de facto)^[1]^[2]
Government	1946–1990: Titoist one-party socialist republic 1990–1991: Parliamentary republic
Historical era	Cold War
• ASNOM	2 August 1944
• End of World War II	8 May 1945
• Breakup of Yugoslavia	1991
• Independence declared by referendum	8 September 1991
Currency	Albanian lek (1944) Bulgarian lev (1944–1945)^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Yugoslav dinar (1945–1991)^[7]^[8]^[9]
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Bulgaria Albanian Kingdom (1943–44) Republic of Macedonia
Today part of	North Macedonia

Second World War memorial - Memorial Ossuary Kumanovo. Celebrating the Yugoslav Partisan movement became one of the main components of the post-World War II Macedonian culture.

Monument of Lazar Koliševski in his hometown Sveti Nikole. Kolishevski was the first Prime Minister of the SR Macedonia.

Geographically, SR Macedonia bordered Albania to the west, Greece to the south and Bulgaria to the east. Within Yugoslavia, it bordered SR Serbia (including SAP Kosovo) to the north. It was one of two constituent republics of Yugoslavia that were landlocked.

Background

The first Macedonian state was formally proclaimed under the name Democratic Federal Macedonia^[14] (Macedonian: Демократска Федерална Македонија, romanized: Demokratska Federalna Makedonija) at the First Plenary Session of the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) during World War II. It was set up clandestinely on 2 August 1944 in the Bulgarian occupation zone in Yugoslavia (in the Prohor Pčinjski Monastery, now in Serbia).^[15][16] This date is now celebrated in North Macedonia as the Republic Day. It was chosen intentionally, as it was the date of the Ilinden Uprising against Ottoman rule in 1903. However, after the Bulgarian Army retreated from the region under Soviet pressure, on 8 September, right-wing IMRO nationalists declared a pro-German Macedonian puppet-state.^[17] In early October, under the leadership of the new Bulgarian pro-Soviet government, the Bulgarian Army re-entered Yugoslavia to block the German forces in their withdrawal from Greece.^[18][19] In Macedonia the Bulgarians fought side-by-side with the fighters of the People's Liberation Army of Macedonia.^[20]

Vardar Banovina was de facto liberated from the Germans and their collaborationists in late November 1944, so the ASNOM became operational in December, shortly after the German retreat. Nevertheless, in December anti-communist Albanian nationalists in Western Macedonia tried to remain in control of the region after the Yugoslav Partisans announced victory.^[21] They aimed to resist incorporation of the area into communist Yugoslavia and it was only in early 1945 that the Yugoslav Partisans were able to establish their control over the mountainous area.

The nature of the new Yugoslav state remained unclear immediately after the war. Yugoslavia was envisioned by the Partisans as a "Democratic Federation", including six federal states.^[22] When Tito's nomination as Prime Minister was accepted on 29 November 1945, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was declared, with its constitution coming into force in 1946. As a result, Macedonia changed its name to the People's Republic of Macedonia and was incorporated as a constituent republic in the Yugoslav Federation.

People with various degrees of allegedly being pro-Bulgarian orientation (in the most cases they were pro-Independence and anti-Yugoslav) were purged from their positions, then isolated, arrested and imprisoned on fabricated charges. In many cases they were executed en masse, such as during the Bloody Christmas of 1945. The number of victims remains unclear, many academic sources put the number at 1,200 people ^[23] although according to Bulgarian estimates, the number is estimated to be around 50,000, including those executed, imprisoned, deported, subject to forced labor, etc. Some additional purges followed after the Tito–Stalin split.

The national Macedonian language was codified in 1945 and the first publishing house "Prosvetno Delo" was established on 16 April 1945. The state was formed on the territory of Vardar Banovina, a part of the wider geographical region of Macedonia, which was divided between several countries. Some Macedonian politicians from the Republic advocated the idea of a United Macedonia, which would include Aegean Macedonia and Pirin Macedonia. The idea was somewhat supported by the federal Yugoslav authorities on some occasions, or repressed, depending on the regional and international political situation.

Some people were against the federation and demanded greater independence from the federal authorities, leading to their persecution. One of the notable victims of these purges was the first president, Metodija Andonov-Čento. To wipe out the remnants of Bulgarophile sentiments, the Yugoslavian communists started a process of Macedonization and nation-building.^[24][25]

Constitution

Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, 1974 – Official Gazette (in Macedonian)

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia, which was defined as a nation-state of the Macedonians and also a state of its ethnic minorities, had some powers normally associated with an independent state. The Constitution also recognized the right of self-determination and secession. The borders of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia could only be changed by decision of the republic's parliament. Its inhabitants held both Yugoslav citizenship and an internal Macedonian citizenship for state business.

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own constitution, presidency, government, parliament, official language, state symbols, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Secretariat of Internal Affairs (Interior ministry), Bureau for Foreign Relations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)^[26] and other state prerogatives. Also, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own Territorial Defence armed forces (Macedonian: Територијална одбрана, Teritorijalna odbrana).^[27]

System

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a one-party communist state, the ruling political party being the League of Communists of Macedonia (in Macedonian: Сојуз на Комунистите на Македонија, Sojuz na Komunistite na Makedonija, abbreviation: СКМ, SKM). Being a constituent state of Yugoslavia, a leading founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, SR Macedonia pursued a neutral foreign policy and maintained a more liberal communist system compared to other communist states. The ruling ideology was based on Titoism and Workers' self-management (Macedonian: самоуправување, samoupravuvanje).

Minorities

While the Macedonians were the majority and were one of the constituent nations of SFR Yugoslavia (official term: narod) the rights of the ethnic minorities (official term: narodnosti) were guaranteed by the Constitution. The official language of SR Macedonia was Macedonian,^[28] however Macedonian Albanians and Macedonian Turks had the right to use their own languages within the school system and the media.^[29] The constitution of the SR Macedonia defined the state as the national state of the ethnic Macedonians, but also as the state of Albanians and Turks.^[29]

From the start of Yugoslav rule in Macedonia, accusations surfaced that the new authorities were involved in retribution against people who did not support the formation of the new Macedonian national identity.^[30] The number of victims due to organized killings of Bulgarians is unclear. Bulgarian sources claim that thousands of people were killed after 1944 and that more than 100,000 people were put in prison under the "Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honor".^[31] In SR Macedonia the Bulgarophobia increased to the level of State ideology.^[32][33]

Religion

Although the ruling communists discouraged religion, religious freedom was allowed to a certain extent. The authorities allowed the existence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which proclaimed autocephaly in 1967. In 1972 the construction of the largest orthodox church St. Clement of Ohrid in the capital of Skopje began. Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and other religious communities also could maintain their own organisations and places of worship.

Geography

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was the 4th largest constituent country of SFR Yugoslavia both by area and population. Within Yugoslavia, it had an internal border with the Socialist Republic of Serbia to the north and its subunit the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo to the northwest, and had international borders with the People's Socialist Republic of Albania to the west, Greece to the south, and the People's Republic of Bulgaria to the east.

Transition

In 1990 the form of government peacefully changed from socialist state to parliamentary democracy. The first pluralist elections were held on 11 November the same year. The once ruling communist party took a reformist direction and renamed itself League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Change led by Petar Gošev. After the head of the last communist presidency Vladimir Mitkov^[34] resigned, Kiro Gligorov became the first democratically elected president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on 31 January 1991.^[a]

On 16 April, parliament adopted a constitutional amendment removing "Socialist" from the official name of the entity, and on 7 June the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established.^[13] After the process of dissolution of Yugoslavia began, the Republic of Macedonia issued a Sovereignty Declaration on 25 January 1991^[35] and later proclaimed itself a fully independent country, following a referendum held on 8 September 1991.

The Republic of North Macedonia is the legal successor to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. It was known as the Republic of Macedonia until February 2019 when it underwent an official name change following the Prespa agreement with Greece in June 2018 which resolved a long-standing naming dispute.

Heads of institutions

Presidents of ASNOM

• Metodija Andonov-Čento
• Lazar Koliševski

Presidents of Presidency of Parliament

• Lazar Koliševski
• Vidoe Smilevski

Presidents of Parliament

• Dimče-Mire Stojanov
• Lazar Koliševski
• Ljupčo Arsov
• Vidoe Smilevski
• Mito Hadživasilev
• Nikola Minčev

Presidents of Presidency

• Vidoe Smilevski
• Ljupčo Arsov
• Angel Čemerski
• Blagoja Talevski
• Tome Bukleski
• Vančo Apostolski
• Dragoljub Stavrev
• Jezdimir Bogdanski
• Vladimir Mitkov

Prime Ministers

• Lazar Koliševski (1945–1953)
• Ljupčo Arsov (1953–1961)
• Aleksandar Grličkov (1961–1965)
• Nikola Minčev (1965–1968)
• Ksente Bogoev (1968–1974)
• Blagoja Popov (1974–1982)
• Dragoljub Stavrev (1982–1986)
• Gligorije Gogovski (1986–1991)

Notes

1. Kiro Gligorov was elected president on 31 January 1991, when SR Macedonia was still an official name of the nation. After the change of the state's name, he continued his function as a President of the Republic of Macedonia – The Official Site of The President of the Republic of Macedonia

References

1. Kideckel, David; Halpern, Joel (2000). Neighbors at War: Anthropological Perspectives on Yugoslav Ethnicity, Culture, and History. p. 165. ISBN 9780271044354.
2. Avramović, Sima (2007). "Understanding Secularism in a Post-Communist State: Case of Serbia" (PDF).
3. Веднаш штом е завршено штембилувањето на бугарските левови и албанските лекови, со цел упростување на валутното прашање во Македонија, лековите се заменети со левови. За тоа повереникот за финансии при Президиумот на АСНОМ реферира пред претставниците на народноослободителните одбори на конференцијата што е одржана во ослободено Скопје во врска со финансиските проблеми. На тој начин, штембилуваниот лев остана единствена валута на подрачјето на Македонија... Види и Закон за курсевите за повлекување на окупационите банкноти и за регулирање на обврските (Сл. лист на ДФЈ“, број 23 од 19 април 1945). For more see: ASNOM vo sozdavanjeto na državata na makedonskiot narod. Referati od naučen sobir održan od 29 do 31 oktomvri 1984 godina vo Skopje (1987) Makedonska akademija na naukite i umetnostite, str. 380.
4. Howard M. Berlin (2015) World Monetary Units. An Historical Dictionary, Country by Country. McFarland Incorporated, ISBN 9781476606736, p. 100.
5. Bulgarian currency had been used by the short-lived pro-German puppet government in the autкmn of 1944. After the capture of Skopje in November 1944, the new Macedonian authorities confiscated лв.430 million, stamps, and other securities from the former Bulgarian National Bank building. They refused to give the funds to Sofia, and General Damyan Velchev ordered a Bulgarian artillery regiment to return from South Serbia to shell Skopje and confiscate the funds. The order was rescinded after the intervention of Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin, preventing an armed conflict. For more see: Добрин Мичев, Македонският въпрос и българо-югославските отношения: 9 септември 1944-1949, Унив. изд-во "Св. Климент Охридски", 1994, ISBN 9540701821, стр. 119.
6. According to the article, the author of which is a Bulgarian banking expert and doctor of finance, the used Bulgarian banknotes were stamped with the inscription: Democratic Federative Yugoslavia Finance Commission for Macedonia. When withdrawing at the beginning of September 1944, the Bulgarian authorities took the available banknotes to the headquarters of the Bulgarian National Bank in Skopje. However, the Bulgarian currency remained in circulation under German occupation. By order of Adolf-Heinz Beckerle, additional quantities lev were printed at the German Reich printing house in Berlin, where the Bulgarian banknotes were printed, and were sent to Macedonia. For more: Костадин Христов, За първите македонски банкноти. Управление на риска ООД, 20.09.2017 г.
7. In April 1945 war - time and pre - war currencies were called in and replaced by a new dinar with an exchange rate of one new to ten old dinars. For more: Clifford Darby (1966) Short History of Yugoslavia, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521046763, p. 237.
8. "National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. Annual Report 1993" (PDF). www.nbrm.mk.
9. Tomasevich, Jozo (2002) War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804779241, p. 705.
10. Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, 1974 – Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia (in Macedonian)
11. sr:Устав Федеративне Народне Републике Југославије (1946)  (in Serbian) – via Wikisource.
12. sr:Устав Социјалистичке Федеративне Републике Југославије (1963)  (in Serbian) – via Wikisource.
13. On This Day – Macedonian Information Agency – MIA 25 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine, see: 1991 (in Macedonian)
14. Constitutional History of the Republic of Macedonia 27 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine by Dr. Cvetan Cvetkovski, Faculty of Law, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
15. Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN 0810855658, p. 240.
16. The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building And Legitimation, 1918–2005, Sabrina P. Ramet, Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253346568, p. 139-140.
17. Das makedonische Jahrhundert: von den Anfängen der nationalrevolutionären Bewegung zum Abkommen von Ohrid 1893–2001, Stefan Troebst, Oldenbourg Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3486580507, S. 234.
18. Axis Forces in Yugoslavia 1941–45, Nigel Thomas, K. Mikulan, Darko Pavlović, Osprey Publishing, 1995, ISBN 1-85532-473-3, p. 33.
19. World War II: The Mediterranean 1940–1945, World War II: Essential Histories, Paul Collier, Robert O'Neill, The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010, ISBN 1-4358-9132-5, p. 77.
20. War and revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: occupation and collaboration, Jozo Tomasevich, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3615-4, p. 168.
21. . www.zemrashqiptare.net. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
22. Ramet, Sabrina P.; The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005; Indiana University Press, 2006 ISBN 0-253-34656-8
23. Phillips, John (2004). Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-1-86064-841-0.
24. Nikolaos Zahariadis, Essence of political manipulation: emotion, institutions, & Greek foreign policy, Peter Lang (publisher), 2005; ISBN 0820479039, p. 85.
25. Yugoslav Communists recognized the existence of a Macedonian nationality during WWII to quiet fears of the Macedonian population that a communist Yugoslavia would continue to follow the former Yugoslav policy of forced Serbianization. Hence, for them to recognize the inhabitants of Macedonia as Bulgarians would be tantamount to admitting that they should be part of the Bulgarian state. For that the Yugoslav Communists were most anxious to mold Macedonian history to fit their conception of Macedonian consciousness. The treatment of Macedonian history in Communist Yugoslavia had the same primary goal as the creation of the Macedonian language: to de-Bulgarize the Macedonian Slavs, and to create an national consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia. For more see: Stephen E. Palmer, Robert R. King, Yugoslav communism and the Macedonian question, Archon Books, 1971, ISBN 0208008217, Chapter 9: The encouragement of Macedonian culture.
26. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia Official Site 16 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
27. Ministry of Defence of Republic of Macedonia 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
28. РЕШЕНИЕ на Антифашиското собрание на народното ослободуене на Македонија за заведуене на македонскиот јазик како службен јазик во македонската држава (Rješenje Antifašističkog sobranja narodnog oslobođenja Makedonije o uvođenju makedonskoga jezika kao službenog jezika u državi Makedoniji), dokument br. 8, 2. kolovoza 1944., Prohor Pčinjski, Metodije Andonov Čento (predsjedatelj ASNOM)
29. Spasov, Ljudmil; Arizankovska, Lidija. Hierarhizacija jezikov v Republiki Makedoniji in Republiki Sloveniji glede na jezikovno politiko Evropske unije, (161. – 169.) 18 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine u: Vidovič-Muha, Ada. (ur.) Slovenski knjižni jezik – aktualna vprašanja in zgodovinske izkušnje : ob 450-letnici izida prve slovenske knjige, Zbirka »Obdobja – metode in zvrsti« (vol. 20, ISSN 1408-211X), Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik pri Oddelku za slovenistiko Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, 2003., ISBN 961-237-057-5, str. 163., 164.

    Prvi člen Ustave SR Makedonije (Ustav na SRM, 1974) je SRM definiral kot nacionalno državo makedonskega naroda ter albanske in turške narodnosti v njej. V členih 220 in 222 je bilo zapisano, da ljudje lahko prosto uporabljajo svoj jezik in pisavo za izražanje in razvijanje svoje kulture.

    — Vidovič-Muha, 2003., 163.

    Poleg tega so makedonske (in slovenske) javne osebe v okvirih SFRJ (zunaj SR Makedonije oziroma SR Slovenije) zelo redko upoštevale pravico do uporabe svojega jezika v javnem sporazumevanju, in to je dajalo vtis, da je edini uradni jezik na ravni države SFRJ srbohrvaščina.

    — Vidovič-Muha, 2003., 164.

30. Djokić, Dejan (2003). Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918–1992, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers (pg. 122); ISBN 1-85065-663-0.
31. Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans by John Phillips, I.B. Tauris (publisher), 2004; ISBN 186064841X, p. 40.
32. [1] 24 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
33. Anastas Vangeli, Antiquity musing: reflections on the Greco-Macedonian symbolic contest over the narratives of the ancient past, MA thessis; Central European University, Budapest; 2009, p. 87.
34. Faculty of Law, University of Skopje Archived 30 June 2012 at archive.today (in Macedonian)
35. Sovereignty Declaration – Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia

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