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Macedonism

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For the religious terminology see Macedonianism.

Macedonism (Macedonian, Serbian: Македонизам, Bulgarian: Македонизъм) is a term which does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary , although may appear in certain non-English dictionaries, denotes a political idea, which according to mainly Bulgarians and Serbs, is prevalent in the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian diaspora. The idea presents itself as an extreme form of ethnic nationalism, according to which the Slav-speaking population in Macedonia forms a separate ethnic group, possessing unique language and separate history, independent of the Bulgarian ethnic group, language and history respectively. The term can also be used as an epithet by Bulgarians or their supporters against any Macedonians from the Republic of Macedonia seeking to downplay their connections with Bulgarians, or in some way exert claims of Macedonian heritage over certain groups of people outside the Republic of Macedonia - e.g. "macedonistic organization", "macedonistic orientation". The term was coined by Stojan Novakovich, describing the Serbian nationalist strategy with regard to the Bulgarians from Macedonia.

The following are some of the major claims put forward by the Macedonism supporters:

  1. The Slav-speaking inhabitants of the contemporary region of Macedonia constitute a separate ethnic group (independent of their self-determination). A typical Macedonistic statement would be: "Those Slavs live in Macedonia, therefore they are ethnic Macedonians" . In other words, ethnicity is prescribed on a regional basis, rather than being self-expressed.
  2. The inhabitants of the Republic of Macedonia are largely the descendents of the Ancient Macedonians, because of which claims are made over various insignia from the kingdom of Macedon, notably the Vergina Star, which is presented as "symbol of all ethnic Macedonians"
  3. There existed a distinct Macedonian national consciousness in the Middle Ages, culminating with the rule of Tsar Samuil and his Macedonian/Slavic kingdom, despite Samuil being internationally recognized as "King of all Bulgarians" and various stone tablets from the time period confirming the Bulgarian ethnic character of his kingdom.
  4. There exist large and oppressed ethnic Macedonian minorities in the region of Macedonia, located in neighboring Albania (up to 350,000 people), Bulgaria (upto 200,000, mainly in Blagoevgrad Province), Greece (200,000 to 800,000 in Greek Macedonia) and Serbia (about 20,000 in Pčinja District). Because of those claims, irredentist proposals are being made calling for the expansion of the borders of the Republic of Macedonia to encompass the territories allegedly populated with ethnic Macedonians, either directly or through initial independence of Blagoevgrad province and Greek Macedonia, followed by their incorporation into a single state. (See United Macedonia).
  5. The Macedonian language has evolved largely independently of the Bulgarian language, rooted at the Macedonian dialects of Old Church Slavonic.
  6. The name Bulgarian meant Christian or Slav before the beginning of the 20th century, instead of referring to the Bulgarian people. For that reason, people born in the region such as Goce Delchev, Kuzman Shapkarev and Grigor Parlichev were declaring that they are Bulgarian. Also Macedonists use this claim to explain the fact that no Macedonians were recorded in any census conducted prior to the 1920s, rather a mixture of Albanians, Aromanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Serbs and Turks. See Demographic history of Macedonia#Statistical data.

This term is widely used in Bulgaria due to the Bulgarian reaction against alleged attempts at falsification of history by the Republic of Macedonia. It is often used by nationalists, extreme nationalists, like Dr. Bozhidar Dimitrov, the author of The Ten Lies of Macedonism. The term is also used in the Republic of Macedonia, mainly to address issues raised by the critics of Macedonism.

Criticism

According to the critics of Macedonism, its usage of historical sources and documents is generally selective and inconsistent, as anything adverse to the Macedonistic perspective is deemed to be foreign (usually Bulgarian, Greek or Serbian) propaganda, with the intent to deny the Macedonian nation (see also petitio principii). For example, throughout high schools in the Republic of Macedonia, the organization of revolutionaries from the late 19th century is presented under the name Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees, instead of its true name - Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. Until the early 1990's the name of the collection entitled Bulgarian Folk Songs by Miladinov Brothers was presented as Macedonian Folk Songs.

Quotes

Excerpt from the letter of the Serbian professor and politician Stojan Novakovich to Vladan Djordjevich, minister of education of Serbia, 1888 , containing one of the earliest known references to the word Macedonism:

Because of the Bulgarian idea, as we all know, being deeply rooted in Macedonia, I think that it is almost impossible to weaken it, presenting against it only the Serbian idea. This idea, I fear, will not be able as a sole opposite to push away the Bulgarian idea, and because of that the Serbian idea will be in need of some kind of ally, which will stand firmly against Bulgarism, and which will contain in itself elements which will appeal to the people and the people's feelings, separating it from the Bulgarism. This ally in my view is Macedonism, or in definite and wisely set boundaries, presentation of Macedonian dialect and Macedonian specifics. There is nothing more opposing to Bulgarian tendencies than this - there is no other situation where Bulgarians can find themselves in more unrest than against Macedonism.

Notes

  1. The Oxford English Dictionary (2005)
  2. Дипломатски архив - Дубровник, ПП одель., ф. I - 251/1888 г.

See also

External links

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