Excerpt from the statute of BMARC, 1896 (in Bulgarian)

Statute of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees

Chapter I. - Goal
Art. 1. The goal of BMARC is to secure full political autonomy for the Macedonia and Adrianople regions.
Art. 2. To achieve this goal they [the committees] shall raise the awareness of self-defense in the Bulgarian population in the regions mentioned in Art. 1., disseminate revolutionary ideas - printed or verbal, and prepare and carry on a general uprising.

Chapter II. - Structure and Organization
Art. 3. A member of BMARC can be any Bulgarian, independent of gender,...

Excerpt from the statute of SMARO, 1902 (in Bulgarian)

Statute of the Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization

Chapter I. - Goal
Art. 1. The Secret Macedonian-Adrianople organization has the goal of uniting all the disgruntled elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople region, regardless of their nationality, to win, through a revolution, a full political autonomy for these two regions.
Art. 2. To achieve this goal the organization fights to throw over the chauvinist propagandas and nationalist quarrels that are splintering and discouraging the Macedonian and Adrianople populations in his struggle against the common enemy; acts to bring in a revolutionary spirit and consciousness among the population, and uses all the means and efforts for the forthcoming and timely armament of the population with all that is needed for a general and universal uprising.

Chapter II. - Structure and Organization
Art. 3. The Secret Macedonon-Adrianoplitan revolutionary organization consists of local revolutionary organizations (bands) consisting of the members of local towns or villages.
Art. 4. A member of SMARO can be any Macedonian, or Adrianoplitan...

Excerpt from the statute of IMARO, 1906 (in Bulgarian)

Statute of Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (amended at the general congress in 1906)

Chapter I. - Goal
Art. 1. - The goal of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization is to unite any and all dissatisfied elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople Vilyaet without regard to their nationality so that political autonomy can be gained for these two regions.
Art. 2. The Organization opposes any other country's intensions to divide and conquer these two regions.

Chapter II. - Means
Art. 3. To achieve this goal, the Organization aims to abolish chauvinist propaganda and nationalistic disputes, which split and weaken...

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (in Bulgarian: Vatreshna Makedonska Revolyutsionna Organizatsiya, Вътрешна македонска революционна организация, ВМРО, in Macedonian: Vnatrešna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija, Внатрешна Македонска Револуционерна Организација, ВМРО), commonly known in English as IMRO, was the name of a revolutionary political organization in the Macedonia and Thrace regions of the Ottoman Empire, as well as in Bulgaria, and after 1913 in the Macedonian regions of Greece and Serbia (later Yugoslavia). The organization has changed its name on several occasions (see below). Imaro 2006, Night Shade Books Imaro 1981, Daw Books Imaro is a Dark Fantasy novel written by Charles R. Saunders, and published by Daw Books in 1981. ... Image File history File links Ustavmakodr. ... Image File history File links Ustavmakodr. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Statute of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (in Bulgarian) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Statute of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (in Bulgarian) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak  Thrace (Bulgarian: , Greek: , Attic Greek: ThrāíkÄ“ or ThrēíkÄ“, Latin: , Turkish: ) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy [[Category:Former monarchies}}|Ottoman Empire, 1299]] Sultans  - 1281–1326... Anthem Serbia() on the European continent() Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian 1 Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Croatian, Slovak, Romanian, Rusyn 2 Albanian 3 Government Semi-presidential republic  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica Establishment  -  Formation 9th century   -  First unified state c. ... Motto: One nation, one king, one country Anthem: Medley of Bože pravde, Lijepa naÅ¡a domovino, and Naprej zastava slave Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croato-Slovenian (see: Serbo-Croat and Slovenian) [1] Government Value specified for government_type does not comply King  - 1918-1921 Peter I  - 1921-1934 Alexander...

In the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria several right-wing parties carrying the prefix "VMRO" were established in the 1990s. For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

IMARO in the Ottoman era

Origins and goals

The organization was founded in 1893 in Ottoman Thessaloniki by a group of Bulgarian exarchist revolutionaries from Macedonia led by Hristo Tatarchev, Dame Gruev, Petar Pop-Arsov, Andon Dimitrov, Hristo Batandzhiev and Ivan Hadzhinikolov. Its first name after Hristo Tatarchev's "Memoirs" was Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO). Ivan Hadzhinikolov in his memoirs underlines the five basic principles of the MRO's foundation: Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia. ... The Bulgarian Exarchate was an independent Bulgarian ecclesiastical organisation established on February 28, 1870 by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire. ... Hristo Tatarchev - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Damyan Yovanov Gruev (Macedonian: Дамјан Јованов Груев; Bulgarian: Дамян Йованов Груев) - (January 19, 1871, Smilevo, present day Republic of Macedonia - December 10, 1906, near Petlec peak, present day Republic of Macedonia) was a 19th-20th century Macedonian revolutionary. ... Petar Pop-Arsov (1868, Bogomila, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1941, Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, one of the founders of The Committee for Obtaining the Political Rights Given to Macedonia by the Congress of Berlin from which, as Petar Pop Arsov says in his writings, later developed the... Andon Dimitrov - (Agios Ahileos /Aivatovo/, today Greece - 1867, Sofia, Bulgaria - 1933) was a 19th-20th century Bulgarian revolutionary. ... Hristo Batandzhiev ( ? Goumenissa / Gyumendje, present day Greece - 1913, Aegean Sea) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, one of the founders of The Committee for Obtaining the Political Rights Given to Macedonia by the Congress of Berlin from which, later developed the IMRO known prior to 1902 as Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees... Ivan Hadzhinikolov (December 24, 1869, Kilkis, today Greece - July 9, 1934, Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. ...

1. The revolutionary organization should be established within Macedonia and should act there, so that the Greeks and Serbs couldn't label it as a tool of the Bulgarian government.
2. Its founders should be locals and living in Macedonia.
3. The political motto of the organization should be the autonomy of Macedonia.
4. The organization should be secret and independent, without any links with the governments of the liberated neighborly states, and
5. From the Macedonian emigration in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian society, only moral and material help for the struggle of the Macedonian revolutionaries should be required.^[1]

Hristo Tatarchev.

According to Dr. Hristo Tatarchev: Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Hristo Tatarchev - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Hristo Tatarchev - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

We talked a long time about the goal of this organization and at last we fixed it on autonomy of Macedonia with the priority of the Bulgarian element. We couldn't accept the position for "direct joining to Bulgaria" because we saw that it would meet big difficulties by reason of confrontation of the Great powers and the aspirations of the neighbouring small countries and Turkey. It passed through our thoughts that one autonomous Macedonia could easier unite with Bulgaria subsequently and if the worst comes to the worst, that it could play a role as a unificating link of a federation of Balkan people. The region of Adrianople, as far as I remember, didn't take part in our program, and I think the idea to add it to the autonomous Macedonia came later.^[2]

In Dame Gruev's memoirs, the MRO's goals are stated as follows: Damyan Yovanov Gruev (Macedonian: Дамјан Јованов Груев; Bulgarian: Дамян Йованов Груев) - (January 19, 1871, Smilevo, present day Republic of Macedonia - December 10, 1906, near Petlec peak, present day Republic of Macedonia) was a 19th-20th century Macedonian revolutionary. ...

We grouped together and jointly worked out a statute. It was based on the same principles: demand for the implementation of the Berlin Treaty. The statute was worked out after the model of the Bulgarian revolutionary organisation before the Liberation. Our motto was "Implementation of the resolutions of the Berlin Treaty". We established a "Central Committee" with branches, membership fees, etc. Swearing in for each member was also envisaged. In the regulations there was nothing concerning the Serbian propaganda but we intended to counteract it by enlightening the people. ^[3]

Based on circumstantial evidence^[4], it has been conjectured by Bulgarian^[5][6][7] and accepted by Western historians^[8][9] that in 1896 or 1897 this first and probably "unofficial" name was changed to Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC); and the organisation existed under this name until 1902 when it changed it to Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (SMARO). While some Macedonian historians^[10][11] acknowledge the existence of the name "ВMARC" in the very early period of the Organisation, in the Republic of Macedonia it is generally assumed that in the 1896–1902 period the name of the organization was "SMARO". Both sides lack conclusive documentary evidence, as neither of these names appears in the IMRO documents but is known from undated printed or handwritten statutes. However, Macedonian historians point to the fact that a copy of the "SMARO" statute is kept in London under the year of 1898.^[12] It is not disputed that the organization changed its name to Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) in 1905 and it is under this name referred to in Bulgarian historiography.^[13] After disbanding itself during the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia (1915–1918), the organization was revived in 1920 under the name Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), under which it is generally known today. The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (Bulgarian: Вътрешна революционна организация), IRO, was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871. ... In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the establishment of a Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of 3 March 1878. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Gotse Delchev.

The stated goal of the original Committee was to unite all elements dissatisfied with the Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and the Adrianople Vilayet, eventually obtaining political autonomy for the two regions. In this task the organisation hoped to enlist the support of the local Vlachs, Greeks and even Turks. Efforts were concentrated on moral propaganda and the prospect of rebellion and terrorist actions seemed distant. The organization developed quickly: only in a matter of a few years, the Committee had managed to establish a wide network of local organisations across Macedonia and the Adrianople Vilayet. These usually centered around the schools of the Bulgarian Exarchate and had as leaders local or Bulgarian-born teachers.^[14] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (Bulgarian: ); 1872-1903) was an important Macedonian 19th century revolutionary figure in Ottoman Macedonia region and Thrace. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy [[Category:Former monarchies}}|Ottoman Empire, 1299]] Sultans  - 1281–1326... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Bulgarian Exarchate was an independent Bulgarian ecclesiastical organisation established on February 28, 1870 by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire. ...

Although IMRO was predominantly ethnic Bulgarian since its establishment, it favoured the idea of an autonomous Macedonia and preferred to disassociate itself from official Bulgarian policy and was not under Bulgarian control. Its founding leaders believed that an autonomous movement was more likely to find favour with the Great Powers than one which was a tool of the Bulgarian government. ^[15] In the words of British contemporary observer Henry Brailsford: Henry Noel Brailsford (1873 - 1958) was the most prolific British left-wing journalist of the first half of the 20th century. ...

When, in addition to these advantages, the Bulgarophil Macedonians started their marvellously-organised revolutionary committee in 1893, the Servian cause received its death-blow. By way of emphasising her antagonism to Bulgaria, official Servia now adopted an openly Turcophil policy, and nothing could be more fatal to the prospects of any Christian race in Turkey. The Macedonian peasantry will bestow their allegiance only on a propaganda which promises them some speedy prospect of release from the Ottoman yoke. Finally, there is this great difference between the rival propagandas, that while the Bulgarians are working for the autonomy of Macedonia, the Servians and the Greeks aim only at its annexation to their own country. The result is that their activities seem to be for the profit of their own land, whereas the Bulgarians are undoubtedly creating a spirit of local Macedonian patriotism. The Servian movement is a purely official agitation, guided and financed in Belgrade; whereas, despite the sympathy of Sofia, the Bulgarian Revolutionary Committee is a genuine Macedonian organisation.^[16]

What is more, some of its younger leaders esposed radical socialist and anarchist ideas and saw their goal as the establishment of a new form of government rather than unification with Bulgaria. Eventually these considerations led the organisation to change its statute and accept as members not only Bulgarians but all Macedonians and Odrinians regardless of ethnicity or creed. In reality, however, besides some Vlach members, its membership remained overwhelmingly Bulgarian Exarchist.^[17]

A convoy of captured Bulgarian IMRO activists.

In regards to the socialist and cosmoplitan ideas within the revolutionary movement, the American Albert Sonnichsen says: Bulgarian IMARO activists - Comitadjii Captured by the Ottoman Police This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Bulgarian IMARO activists - Comitadjii Captured by the Ottoman Police This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

I think that was the force of the abstract thought, that they kept in their mind, a thought which was far from chauvinism, because freedom for them stood highly than the rule of the Bulgarian, for them it was one perfect system equally applicable to Bulgarians, Greeks and Turks, a kind of heaven to which the whole world should aim. ^[18]

It is claimed by contemporary Bulgarian historians that the right wing supporters within the IMRO were probably much more likely to see unification with Bulgaria as a natural final outcome of Macedonian autonomy. Among other documents, they cite as an expression of this understanding the official letter that Dame Gruev and Boris Sarafov, leaders of the headquarters of the Second Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary district during Ilinden uprising, wrote to the Bulgarian government:

The general staff considers for its duty to pay attention of the honoured Bulgarian government to the catastrophic consequences for Bulgarian nation, in case the government doesn't fulfill its duty toward its homogeneous brothers here in an impressible and energetic way, imposed by the circumstances and the danger, which threaten Bulgarian fatherland today.^[19]

During the First World War in Macedonia (1915-1918) the organization supported Bulgarian army and joined to Bulgarian war-time authorities when they took control over Vardar Macedonia temporarily until the end of war. In this period the autonomism as political tactics was abandoned from all internal IMARO streams and all of them shared annexationist positions, supporting eventual incorporation of Macedonia in Bulgaria.^[20] Combatants Austria-Hungary German Empire Bulgaria Triple Entente Serbia Greece Italy Commanders Oskar Potiorek Radomir Putnik Maurice Sarrail Adolphe Guillaumat Franchet dEsperey George Milne Panagiotis Danglis Conquest of Serbia, 1915 Both the Allies and the Central Powers tried to get Bulgaria to pick a side in the Great War. ... Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian: Вардарска Македонија, Vardarska Makedonija; Bulgarian: Вардарска Македония, Vardarska Makedoniya), also known as Southern Serbia]/Old Serbia (Serbian:Јужна Србија / Стара Србија, Južna Srbija / Stara Srbija) is the north-western area of the Macedonia region. ...

Armed struggle against the Ottomans

The initial period of idealism for IMARO ended, however, with the Vinitsa Affair and the discovery by the Ottoman police of a secret depot of ammunition near the Bulgarian border in 1897. The wide-scale repressions against the activists of the Committee led to its transformation into a militant guerilla organization, which engaged into attacks against Ottoman officials and punitive actions against suspected traitors. The guerilla groups of IMARO, known as "chetas" (чети) later (after 1903) also waged a war against the pro-Serbian and pro-Greek armed groups during the Greek Struggle for Macedonia. 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Greek Struggle for Macedonia 1904-1908 (in Greek language: Μακεδονικός Αγῶν, Macedonian Struggle) is how the Greeks describe their military conflicts against the Bulgarians (VMRO) and the Turkish forces in Ottoman occupied Macedonia during the first decade of the 20th century. ...

Hristo Chernopeev's band in 1903.

Rebels in the rising of 1903.

IMARO's leadership of the revolutionary movement was challenged by two other factions: the Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Committee in Sofia (Vurhoven мakedono-оdrinski komitet- Върховен македоно-одрински комитет) and a smaller group of Bulgarian conservatives in Salonica. The latter was incorporated in IMARO by 1902 but its members were to exert a significant influence on the organization. They were to push for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising and later became the core of IMRO right-wing faction. The former organisation became known earlier than IMRO, after the 1895 raids into Turkish territory it organised from Bulgaria. Its founders were Macedonian immigrants in Bulgaria as well as Bulgarian army officers. They became known as the "supremists" or "externals" since they were based outside of Macedonia. The supremists resorted to terrorism against the Ottomans in the hope of provoking a war and thus Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia. For a time in the late 1890s IMARO leaders managed to gain control of the Supreme Committee but it soon split into two factions: one loyal to the IMARO and one led by some officers close to the Bulgarian prince. The second one staged an ill-fated uprising in Eastern Macedonia in 1902, where they were opposed militarily by local IMARO bands led by Yane Sandanski and Hristo Chernopeev, who were later to become the leaders of the IMARO left wing. ^[21] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 460 pixelsFull resolution (820 × 471 pixel, file size: 114 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Postcard from 1903 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 460 pixelsFull resolution (820 × 471 pixel, file size: 114 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Postcard from 1903 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term... Hristo Chernopeev (1868 Lovech, today Bulgaria - November 1915, Krivolak, today Republic of Macedonia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Ilinden Uprising as seen by the English daily The Times, Aug. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Yane Sandanski Yane Ivanov Sandanski or Jane Ivanov Sandanski (May 18, 1872, Vlahi, present day Bulgaria - April 22, 1915 near Melnik, Bulgaria) was a Macedonian revolutionary, one of the leaders of the BMARC since 1895 (SMARO from 1902 and IMRO from 1906). ... Hristo Chernopeev (1868 Lovech, today Bulgaria - November 1915, Krivolak, today Republic of Macedonia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia. ...

In Spring 1903, a group by young anarhysts connected with IMARO from the Gemidzhii Circle - graduates from the Bulgarian secondary school in Thessaloniki launched a campaign of terror bombing with the aim to attract the attention of the Great Powers to Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia. ... In late April 1903, a group by young anarhysts from the Gemidzhii Circle - graduates from the Bulgarian secondary school in Thessaloniki launched a campaign of terror bombing. ... In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. ... Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include a dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the enduring Cyprus problem, Greek-Turkish differences over the Aegean, and relations with the USA. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Greek refusal to recognize the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia...

In the same time the undisputed leader of the organization, Gotse Delchev, was killed in a skirmish with Turkish forces. Although Delchev had opposed the ideas for an uprising as premature, he finally had no choice but agree to that course of action but at least managed to delay its start from may to August. After his death in 1903 IMARO organised the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans in Macedonia and the Adrianople Vilayet, which after the initial successes including the forming of the Krushevo Republic, was crushed with much loss of life. Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (Bulgarian: ); 1872-1903) was an important Macedonian 19th century revolutionary figure in Ottoman Macedonia region and Thrace. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Ilinden Uprising as seen by the English daily The Times, Aug. ... Edirne is a city in (Thrace), the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ... Kruševo Republic was a short-lived republic proclaimed by the rebels of the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising on 3 August 1903 in he city of Kruševo (then Ottoman Empire) - the first modern day republic in the Balkans. ...

Devastated villages after the Ilinden insurrection.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 271 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (719 × 1589 pixel, file size: 306 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 271 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (719 × 1589 pixel, file size: 306 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life...

After Ilinden

The failure of the 1903 insurrection resulted in the eventual split of the IMARO into a left-wing (federalist) faction in the Seres and Strumica districts and a right-wing faction (centralists) in the Salonica, Bitola, and Skopje districts. The left-wing faction opposed Bulgarian nationalism and advocated the creation of a Balkan Socialist Federation with equality for all subjects and nationalities. The Supreme Committee was disbanded in 1905 but the centralist faction of the IMORO drifted more and more towards Bulgarian nationalism as its regions became increasingly exposed to the incursions of Serb and Greek armed bands, which started infiltrating Macedonia after 1903. The years 1905-1907 saw lots of violent fighting between IMORO and Turkish forces as well as between VMORO and Greek and Serb detachments. Meanwhile the split between the two factions became final when in 1907 Todor Panitza killed the right-wing activists Boris Sarafov and Ivan Garvanov.^[22] The Balkan Communist Federation was a communist umbrella organisation in which all the communist parties in the Balkans were represented. ... Ivan Garvanov (December 23, 1869, Stara Zagora, today Bulgaria - November 23, 1907, Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. ...

Rebel leaders Tane Nikolov (left) and Apostol Petkov.

After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 both factions laid down their arms and joined the legal struggle. The federalist wing welcomed in the revolution of 1908 and later joined mainstream political life as the People's Federative Party (Bulgarian section). Some of its leaders like Sandanski and Chernopeev participated in the march on Istanbul to depose the counter-revolutionaries. The former centralists formed the Bulgarian Constitutional Clubs and like the PFP participated in Ottoman elections. Soon, however, the Young Turk regime turned increasingly nationalist and sought to suppress the national aspirations of the variopus minorities in Macedonia and Thrace. This prompted most right-wing and some left-wing IMARO leaders to resume the armed fight in 1909.^[23] In 1911 a new Central Committee of IMARO was formed consisting of Todor Alexandrov, Hristo Chernopeev and Petar Chaulev. Its aim was to restore unity to the Organisation and direct the new armed struggle against the Turks more efficiently. After Chernopeev was killed in action in 1915 as a Bulgarian officer in World War I, he was replaced by the former supremist leader General Alexander Protogerov. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Tane Nikolov (March 9 1873, Dimitrovgrad, today Bulgaria - January 19, 1947, Haskovo) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia, Thrace and Pomoravlje. ... Apostol Petkov or the Sun of Enije Vardar (May 6, 1869, Axioupoli , today Greece - August 2, 1911, Giannitsa, today Greece) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement in Aegean Macedonia. ... The 1908 Young Turk Revolution even though a popular constitutional movement, was a watershed in the history of the late Ottoman Empire. ... Todor Alexandrov, a Bulgarian revolutionary, was born on March 4, 1881 in the Novo Selo suburb of Shtip to Alexander Poporushev and Maria Alexandrova. ... Hristo Chernopeev (1868 Lovech, today Bulgaria - November 1915, Krivolak, today Republic of Macedonia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The partition of Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace in 1913.

During the Balkan Wars former IMARO leaders of both the left and the right joined the Macedono-Odrinian Volunteers and fought with the Bulgarian Army. Others like Sandanski with their bands assisted the Bulgarian army with its advance and still others penetrated as far as the region of Kostur in Southwestern Macedonia.^[24] In the Second Balkan War IMORO bands fought the Greeks and Serbs behind the front lines but were subsequently routed and driven out. Notably, Petar Chaulev was one of the leaders of the Ohrid Uprising in 1913 organised jointly by IMORO and the Albanians of Western Macedonia. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 454 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (646 × 852 pixel, file size: 223 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source This image is in the public domain in the United States. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 454 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (646 × 852 pixel, file size: 223 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source This image is in the public domain in the United States. ...

The result of the Balkan Wars was that the Macedonian region and Adrianople Thrace was partitioned between Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and the Ottoman Empire (the new state of Yugoslavia was created as after 1918 and started its existence as Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenians "SHS"), with Bulgaria getting the smallest share. In 1913 the whole Bulgarian population from the Ottoman part of Adrianople Thrace was forcibly expelled to Bulgaria^[25]. IMARO, now led by Todor Aleksandrov, maintained its existence in Bulgaria, where it played a role in politics by playing upon Bulgarian irredentism and urging a renewed war to liberate Macedonia. This was one factor in Bulgaria allying itself with Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I. IMARO organised the Valandovo action of 1915, which was an attack on a large Serbian force. Bulgarian army, supported by the organization's forces, was successful in the first stages of this conflict, managed to drive out the Serbian forces from Vardar Macedonia and came into positions on the line of the pre-war Greek-Serbian border, which was stabilized as a firm front until end of 1918. Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: Land of the South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913 (in Bulgarian Разорението на тракийските българи през 1913 година) is a book, published by Bulgarian academician Lyubomir Miletich in 1918, which describes the mass extermination and ethnic cleansing, caused to the Bulgarian population in Eastern Thrace and Eastern Rodopi. ... Todor Aleksandrov (March 4, 1881, Shtip - August 31, 1924, Pirin) was a 19th century Bulgarian revolutionary. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian: Вардарска Македонија, Vardarska Makedonija; Bulgarian: Вардарска Македония, Vardarska Makedoniya), also known as Southern Serbia]/Old Serbia (Serbian:Јужна Србија / Стара Србија, Južna Srbija / Stara Srbija) is the north-western area of the Macedonia region. ... Combatants Austria-Hungary German Empire Bulgaria Triple Entente Serbia Greece Italy Commanders Oskar Potiorek Radomir Putnik Maurice Sarrail Adolphe Guillaumat Franchet dEsperey George Milne Panagiotis Danglis Conquest of Serbia, 1915 Both the Allies and the Central Powers tried to get Bulgaria to pick a side in the Great War. ...

IMRO in the interwar period

Todor Aleksandrov.

The post-war Treaty of Neuilly again denied Bulgaria what it felt was its share of Macedonia and Thrace. After this moment the combined Macedonian-Adrianopolitan revolutionary movement separated into two detached organizations: Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (bulg. Вътрешна тракийска революционна организация) and Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation. ITRO was revolutionary organisation active in Western Thrace and southern Bulgaria between 1922 and 1934. The reason for the establishment of ITRO was the transfer of the region from Bulgaria to Greece in May, 1920. Later IMRO created as a satellite organisation the Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation (bulg. Вътрешна западнопокрайненска революционна организация), which operated in the areas of Tsaribrod and Bosilegrad, ceded to Yugoslavia. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Todor Aleksandrov (March 4, 1881, Shtip - August 31, 1924, Pirin) was a 19th century Bulgarian revolutionary. ... The Treaty of Neuilly, dealing with Bulgaria for its role as one of the Central Powers in World War I, was signed on the November 27, 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. ... The Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation ( Вътрешна тракийска революционна организация), ITRO, was a Bulgarian revolutionary... Western or Greek Thrace (Greek Δυτική ή Ελληνική Θράκη,Turkish Batı Trakya) is the part of Thrace located between the rivers Nestos and Evros in northeastern Greece. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... The Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation ( Вътрешна западнопокрайненска революционна орга&#1085... Dimitrovgrad (Serbian: Dimitrovgrad or Димитровград, Bulgarian: Цариброд, transliterated as Caribrod, Tzaribrod or Tsaribrod) is a town and municipality located in the Pirot District of Central Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro. ... Bosilegrad (Босилеград) is a town and municipality in Pčinja District of Central Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro. ...

IMRO began sending armed bands called cheti into Greek and Yugoslav Macedonia and Thrace to assassinate officials and stir up the spirit of the oppressed population. In 1923 IMRO agents assassinated Bulgarian Prime Minister Aleksandar Stamboliyski, who favoured a detente with Greece and Yugoslavia, so that Bulgaria could concentrate on its internal problems. IMRO had de facto full control of Pirin Macedonia (the Petrich District of the time) and acted as a "state within a state", which it used as a base for hit and run attacks against Yugoslavia with the unofficial support of the right-wing Bulgarian government and later Fascist Italy. Because of this, contemporary observers described the Yugoslav-Bulgarian frontier as the most fortified in Europe. Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aleksandar Stamboliyski (Александър Стамболийски, March 1, 1879-June 14, 1923) was the prime minister of Bulgaria from 1918 until 1923. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Blagoevgrad Province. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

In 1923 and 1924 during the apogee of interwar military activity according to IMRO statistics in the region of Yugoslav (Vardar) Macedonia operated 53 chetas (armed bands), 36 of which penetrated from Bulgaria, 12 were local and 5 entered from Albania. The aggregate membership of the bands was 3245 komitas (guerilla rebels) led by 79 voivodas (commanders), 54 subcommanders, 41 secretaries and 193 couriers. 119 fights and 73 terroristic acts were documented. Serbian casualties were 304 army and gendarmery officers, soldiers and paramilitary fighters, more than 1300 were wounded. IMRO lost 68 voivodas and komitas, hundreds were wounded. In the region of Greek (Aegean) Macedonia 24 chetas and 10 local reconnaissance detachments were active. The aggregate membership of the bands was 380 komitas led by 18 voivodas, 22 subcommanders, 11 secretaries and 25 couriers. 42 battles and 27 terrorist acts were performed. Greek casualties were 83 army officers, soldiers and paramilitary fighters, over 230 were wounded. IMRO lost 22 voivodas and komitas, 48 were wounded. Thousands local Macedonians were repressed by the Yugoslav and Greek authorities on suspicions of contacts with the revolutionary movement.^[26] The population in Pirin Macedonia was organized in a mass people's home guard. This militia was the only force, which resisted to the Greek army when general Pangalos launched a military campaign against Petrich District in 1925, speculatively called the War of the Stray Dog. In 1934 the Bulgarian army confiscated 10,938 rifles, 637 pistols, 47 machine-guns, 7 mortars and 701,388 cartridges only in the Petrich and Kyustendil Districts.^[27] Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... General Pangalos (1920) Theodoros Pangalos (Greek Θεόδωρος Πάγκαλος) (Born 1878, Salamina, Greece; died 1952, Athens, Greece) was a Greek general who briefly ruled the country in 1925 and 1926. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The War of the Stray Dog occurred in 1925 when a Greek soldier allegedly ran after his dog, which had strayed across the border from Macedonia. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kyustendil region shown within Bulgaria Kyustendil is a province of western Bulgaria, neighbouring Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro. ...

Nikola Pitu Gulev with interwar IMRO uniform.

In 1924 IMRO entered negotiations with the Comintern about collaboration between the communists and the Macedonian movement and the creation of a united Macedonian movement. The idea for a new unified organization was supported by the Soviet Union, which saw a chance for using this well developed revolutionary movement to spread revolution in the Balkans and destabilize the Balkan monarchies. Alexandrov defended IMRO's independence and refused to concede on practically all points requested by the Communists. No agreement was reached besides a paper "Manifesto" (the so-called May Manifesto of 6 May 1924), in which the objectives of the unified Macedonian liberation movement were presented: independence and unification of partitioned Macedonia, fighting all the neighbouring Balkan monarchies, forming a Balkan Communist Federation and cooperation with the Soviet Union.^[28] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Balkan Communist Federation (1919-1939) was a communist umbrella organisation in which all the Balkan communist parties were represented. ...

Failing to secure Alexandrov's cooperation, the Comintern decided to discredit him and published the contents of the Manifesto on 28 July 1924 in the "Balkan Federation" newspaper. VMRO's leaders Todor Aleksandrov and Aleksandar Protogerov promptly denied through the Bulgarian press that they've ever signed any agreements, claiming that the May Manifesto was a communist forgery.^[29] The Comintern (Russian: Коммунистический Интернационал, Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional – Communist International, also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the war communism period (1918-1921), by Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including...

Shortly after, Todor Alexandrov was assassinated in unclear circumstances and IMRO came under the leadership of Ivan Mihailov, who became a powerful figure in Bulgarian politics. While IMRO's leadership was quick to ascribe Alexandrov's murder to the communists and even quicker to organise a revenge action against the immediate perpetrators, there is some doubt that Mihailov himself might have been responsible for the murder. Some Bulgarian and Macedonian historians like Zoran Todorovski speculate that it might have been the circle around Mihailov who organised the assassination on inspiration by the Bulgarian government, which was afraid of united IMRO-Communist action against it. However, neither version is corroborated by conclusive historical evidence. The result of the murder was further strife within the organisation and several high-profile murders, including that of Petar Chaulev (who led the Ohrid uprising in 1913 against the Serbian occupation) in Milan and ultimately Protogetov himself.^[30] Todor Alexandrov, a Bulgarian revolutionary, was born on March 4, 1881 in the Novo Selo suburb of Shtip to Alexander Poporushev and Maria Alexandrova. ... Ivan Mihailov (Bulgarian: Иван Михайлов), also known as Vanche Mihailov (Bulgarian: Ванче Михайлов), (August 26, 1896, Novo Selo, present-day Republic of Macedonia – September 5, 1990, Rome, Italy) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization after 1924. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ...

Ivan Mihailov.

In this interwar period IMRO led by Aleksandrov and later by Mihailov took actions against the former left-wing assassinating several former members of IMORO's Sandanist wing, who meanwhile had gravitated towards the Bulgarian Communist Party. Gjorche Petrov was killed in Sofia in 1922, Todor Panitsa (who previously killed the right-wing oriented Boris Sarafov and Ivan Garvanov) was assassinated in Vienna in 1924 by Mihailov's future wife Mencha Karnichiu. Dimo Hadjidimov, Georgi Skrizhovski, Alexander Bujnov, Chudomir Kantardjiev and many others were killed in the events on 1925. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Ivan Mihailov (Bulgarian: Иван Михайлов), also known as Vanche Mihailov (Bulgarian: Ванче Михайлов), (August 26, 1896, Novo Selo, present-day Republic of Macedonia – September 5, 1990, Rome, Italy) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization after 1924. ... Gjorche Petrov Gjorche Petrov Petrov (Bulgarian: ; Macedonian: ) (1864/1865 - June 28, 1921) was a Macedonian revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, BMARC before 1902). ... Todor Panitsa (1876 Oryahovo, today Bulgaria -1925 Vienna) was an revolutionary figure in Macedonia region. ... Boris Sarafov (July 12, 1872, Gotse Delchev (town), present day Bulgaria - November 28, 1907 Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary from Macedonia, one of the leaders of the BMARC since 1895 (SMARO from 1902 and IMRO from 1906). ... Ivan Garvanov (December 23, 1869, Stara Zagora, today Bulgaria - November 23, 1907, Sofia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. ... Dimo Hadzhidimov (Ano Vrontou, today Greece - 1875, Sofia, Bulgaria - 1924) was a 20th century Bulgarian revolutionary. ...

Meanwhile, the left-wing later did form the new organisation based on the principles previously presented in the May Manifesto. The new organisation which was an opponent to Mihailov's IMRO was called IMRO (United). It was founded in 1925 in Vienna. However, it did not have real popular support and remained based abroad with no revolutionary activities in Macedonia. It remained active until 1936 and was funded by and closely linked to the Comintern and the Balkan Communist Federation.^[31] The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (United) (1925-1936) (in Slavo-Macedonian: Vnatrešna Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija (Obedinena), Внатрешна Македонска Револуционерна Организација, in Bulgarian: Vatreshna Makedonska Revolyucionna Organizaciya (?), Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация, VMRO), commonly known in English as IMRO (United) or VRMO (United), was the name of a revolutionary political organization active in Macedonia. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Comintern (Russian: Коммунистический Интернационал, Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional – Communist International, also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the war communism period (1918-1921), by Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including... The Balkan Communist Federation (1919-1939) was a communist umbrella organisation in which all the Balkan communist parties were represented. ...

Mihailov's group of young IMRO cadres soon got into conflict with the older guard of the organisation. The latter were in favour of the old tactic of incursions by armed bands, whereas the former favoured more flexible tactics with smaller terrorist groups carrying selective assassinations. The conflict grew into a leadership struggle and Mihailov soon in turn ordered the assassination in 1928 of a rival leader, General Aleksandar Protogerov, which sparked a fratricidal war between "Mihailovists" and "Protogerovists". The less numerous Protogerovists soon became allied with Yugoslavia and certain Bulgarian military circles with fascist leanings and who favoured rapprochement with Yugoslavia. Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

Vlado Chernozemski.

The policy of assassionations was effective in making Serbian rule in Vardar Macedonia feel insecure but in turn provoked brutal reprisals on the local peasant population. Having lost a lot of popular support in Vardar Macedonia due to his policies, Mihailov favoured the "internationalization" of the Macedonian question. Image File history File links Chernozemski. ... Image File history File links Chernozemski. ... Vlado Chernozemski Vlado Chernozemski (Bulgarian: ) (October 19, 1897 - October 9, 1934), born Velichko Dimitrov Kerin (Bulgarian: ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and assassin . ...

Assassination of Yugoslavian king Alexander.

He established close links with the Croatian Ustashi and Italy. Numerous assassinations were carried out by IMRO agents in many countries, the majority in Yugoslavia. The most spectacular of these was the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and the French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou in Marseille in 1934 in collaboration with the Croatian Ustashi. The killing was carried out by the VMRO terrorist Vlado Chernozemski and happened after the suppression of IMRO following the 19 May 1934 military coup in Bulgaria. Image File history File links King_Alexander_assasination_corected_aspect_contract_and_sharpness. ... Image File history File links King_Alexander_assasination_corected_aspect_contract_and_sharpness. ... King Alexander I of Yugoslavia also called King Alexander Unificator (Serbian Краљ Александар I Карађорђевић, Latin: Kralj Aleksandar I KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević) (Cetinje, Montenegro, 16 December 1888 – Marseille, France, 9 October 1934) of the Royal House of KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–34) and before... The Ustaše (often spelled Ustashe in English; singular Ustaša or Ustasha) was a Croatian right-wing organisation put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers in 1941. ... King Alexander I of Yugoslavia also called King Alexander Unificator (Serbian Краљ Александар I Карађорђевић, Latin: Kralj Aleksandar I KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević) (Cetinje, Montenegro, 16 December 1888 – Marseille, France, 9 October 1934) of the Royal House of KaraÄ‘orÄ‘ević was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–34) and before... French politician Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (August 25, 1862 – October 9, 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic. ... City flag Coat of arms Motto: By her great deeds, the city of Massilia shines Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country Region Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur Department Bouches-du-Rhône (13) Subdivisions 16 arrondissements (in 8 secteurs) Intercommunality Urban Community of Marseille Provence M... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ustaše (often spelled Ustashe in English; singular Ustaša or Ustasha) was a Croatian right-wing organisation put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers in 1941. ... Vlado Chernozemski Vlado Chernozemski (Bulgarian: ) (October 19, 1897 - October 9, 1934), born Velichko Dimitrov Kerin (Bulgarian: ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and assassin . ...

IMRO's constant fratricidal killings and assassinations abroad provoked some within Bulgarian military after the coup of 19 May 1934 to take control and break the power of the organization, which had come to be seen as a gangster organization inside Bulgaria and a band of assassins outside it. In 1934 Mihailov was forced to escape to Turkey. He ordered to his supporters not to resist to the Bulgarian army and to accept the disarmament peacefully, thus avoiding fratricides, destabilization of Bulgaria, civil war or external invasion.^[32] Many inhabitants of Pirin Macedonia met this disbandment with satisfaction because it was perceived as relief from an unlawful and quite often brutal parallel authority. IMRO kept its organization alive in exile in various countries, but ceased to be an active force in Macedonian politics except for brief moments during Word War II. Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Second World War period

As the Bulgarian army entered Yugoslav Vardar Macedonia in 1941, it was greeted by most of the population as liberators and former IMRO members were active in organising Bulgarian Action Committees charged with taking over the local authorities. Some former IMRO (United) members such as Metodi Shatorov, who were members of the Yugoslav Communist Party, also refused to define the Bulgarian forces as occupiers^[33] (contrary to instructions from Belgrade) and called for the incorporation of the local Macedonian Communist organisations within the Bulgarian Communist Party. This policy changed towards 1943 with the arrival of the Montenegrin Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo, who began in earnest to organise armed resistance to the Bulgarian occupation. Many former IMRO members assisted the authorities in fighting Tempo's partizans. Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian: Вардарска Македонија, Vardarska Makedonija; Bulgarian: Вардарска Македония, Vardarska Makedoniya), also known as Southern Serbia]/Old Serbia (Serbian:Јужна Србија / Стара Србија, Južna Srbija / Stara Srbija) is the north-western area of the Macedonia region. ... The Bulgarian Action Committees in Macedonia were a patriotic deed of the Bulgarians in Macedonia in 1941, determined by the invasion of the German army in Yugoslavia and the ruining or at least the shaking of the suppressing rule in the region. ... The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (United) (1925-1936) (in Slavo-Macedonian: VnatreÅ¡na Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija (Obedinena), Внатрешна Македонска Револуционерна Организација, in Bulgarian: Vatreshna Makedonska Revolyucionna Organizaciya (?), Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация, VMRO), commonly known in English as IMRO (United) or VRMO (United), was the name of a revolutionary political organization active in Macedonia. ... Metodi Shatorov - Sharlo was a Macedonian communist leader. ... The Communist Party of Yugoslavia (after 1952 the League of Communists of Yugoslavia) was the ruling party of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until the 1991. ... Location of Belgrade within Serbia Coordinates: Country Serbia District City of Belgrade Municipalities 17 Government  - Mayor Nenad Bogdanović (DS) (since 2004)  - Ruling parties DS/DSS/G17+ Area  - City 3,222. ... The Bulgarian Communist Party (Balgarska Komunisticeska Partija) was the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when it ceased to be a Communist state. ... This article is about the republic in Serbia-Montenegro, Europe. ... Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo (1912-2000 ) A leading Montenegrin communist and member of the Central Commitee. ...

IMRO was also active in organising the resistance of the Bulgarian population in Aegean Macedonia against Greek nationalist and communist bands. With the help of Mihailov and Macedonian emigres in Sofia, several pro-German armed detachments "Ohrana" were organised in the Kostur, Lerin and Voden districts of Greek Macedonia in 1943-44. These were led by Bulgarian officers originally from Aegean Macedonia - Andon Kalchev and Georgi Dimchev.^[34] German soldiers raising the Nazi War Flag over the Acropolis. ... Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. ... Florina (Greek: Φλώρινα) is a city located in the central part of Florina Prefecture. ... Edessa (Greek: Έδεσσα, South Slavic: Воден, Voden) is an ancient town of 25,000 inhabitants in northern Greece, the capital of the Pella prefecture and is also the provincial capital of the province of the same name. ... The region called Macedonia (or Makedonia) in Greece is a large section of the north-northwestern part of the country which collectivally with Thrace, is forming Northern Greece. ... Andon Kalchev (1910 Spilia, today Greece - 1948, Thessaloniki) was a Bulgarian officer, politician and revolutionary, leader of the paramilitary organization Ohrana in Aegean Macedonia, during the Second World War. ...

On the 2nd of August 1944 (what in the Republic of Macedonia is referred to as the Second Ilinden) in the St. Prohor Pčinjski monastery at the Antifascist assembly of the national liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) with Panko Brashnarov (the former IMRO revolutionary from the Ilinden period and the IMRO United) as a first speaker, the modern Macedonian state was officially proclaimed, as a federal state within Tito's Yugoslavia, receiving recognition from the Allies. For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... Prohor Pčinjski (Serbian Cyrillic: Прохор Пчињски) is a Serb Orthodox monastery in the deep south of Serbia, located in Pčinja District near the border with the Republic of Macedonia. ... Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (in Macedonian: AntifaÅ¡ističko sobranie na narodnoto osloboduvanje na Makedonija, abbr. ... Panko Brashnarov (1883, Veles, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Goli Otok), present day Croatia, was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO). ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ...

After the declaration of war by Bulgaria on Germany, in September 1944 Mihailov arrived in German occupied Skopje, where the Germans hoped that he could form a pro - German Macedonian state with their support. Seeing that the war is lost to Germany and to avoid further bloodshed, he refused. Mihailov eventually ended up in Rome where he published numerous articles, books and pamphlets on the Macedonian Question.^[35] 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The church of St. ...

Post-war period

Members of the IMRO (United) participated in the forming of Republic of Macedonia as a federal state of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and some of the leading members entered the government: Dimitar Vlahov, Panko Brashnarov, Pavel Shatev (the latter was the last surviving member of "Gemidzhii" or "Varkarides" in Greek, the group that executed the Thessaloniki bombings of 1903). However, they were quickly ousted by cadres loyal to the Yugoslav Communist Party in Belgrade, who had has pro-Serbian leanings before the war. ^[36] According to Macedonian historian Ivan Katardjiev (quoted here) such Macedonian activists came from IMRO (United) and the Bulgarian Communist Party never managed to get rid of their pro-Bulgarian bias and on many issues opposed the Serbian-educated leaders, who held most of the political power. Pavel Shatev went as far as to send a petition to the Bulgarian legation in Belgrade protesting the anti-Bulgarian policies of the Yugoslav leadership and the Serbianisation of the Bulgarian language.^[37] Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Albanian, Hungarian and languages of other nationalities. ... Dimitar Vlahov (1878, Kilkis, present day Greece - 1953, Beograd, present day Serbia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, in Macedonia (region)). As with many other IMARO members of the time, historians from the Republic of Macedonia consider him an ethnic... Panko Brashnarov (1883, Veles, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Goli Otok), present day Croatia, was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO). ... Pavel Shatev (1882, Kratovo, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Bitola), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, BMARC before 1902). ... In late April 1903, a group by young anarhysts from the Gemidzhii Circle - graduates from the Bulgarian secondary school in Thessaloniki launched a campaign of terror bombing. ... Pavel Shatev (1882, Kratovo, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Bitola), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, BMARC before 1902). ...

From the start, the Yugoslav authorities organised frequent purges and trials of Macedonian communists and non-party people charged with autonomist deviation. Many of the left-wing IMRO government officials, including Pavel Shatev and Panko Brashnarov, were purged from their positions too, then isolated, arrested, imprisoned or executed by the Yugoslav federal authorities on various (in many cases fabricated) charges including: pro-Bulgarian leanings, demands for greater or complete independence of Yugoslav Macedonia, collaboration with the Cominform after the Tito-Stalin split in 1948, forming of conspirative political groups or organisations, demands for greater democracy, etc. One of the victims of these campaigns was Metodija Andonov Cento, a wartime partisan leader and president of ASNOM, who was convinced of having worked for a "completely independent Macedonia" as an IMRO member. A survivor among the communists associated with the idea of Macedonian autonomy was Dimitar Vlahov, who was used "solely for window dressing".^[38] Pavel Shatev (1882, Kratovo, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Bitola), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, BMARC before 1902). ... Panko Brashnarov (1883, Veles, present day Republic of Macedonia - 1951, Goli Otok), present day Croatia, was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO). ... The Cominform (from Communist Information Bureau) is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers Parties. It was the first official forum of the international communist movement since the dissolution of the Comintern, and confirmed the new realities after World... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Informbiro. ... Metodija Andonov Čento (мак. Методија Андонов Ченто) Macedonian first president after World War II, born August 18. ... Anti-Fascist Assembly of the National Liberation of Macedonia (in Macedonian: Antifašističko sobranie na narodnoto osloboduvanje na Makedonija, abbr. ... Dimitar Vlahov (1878, Kilkis, present day Greece - 1953, Beograd, present day Serbia) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the left wing of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement (IMARO, in Macedonia (region)). As with many other IMARO members of the time, historians from the Republic of Macedonia consider him an ethnic...

On the other hand, former Mihailovists were also persecuted by the Belgrade-controlled authorities on accusations of collaboration with the Bulgarian occupation, Bulgarian nationalism, anti-communist and anti-Yugoslav activities, etc. Notable victims included Spiro Kitinchev, mayor of Skopje, Ilija Kocarev, mayor of Ohrid and Georgi Karev, the mayor of Krushevo during the Bulgarian occupation and brother of Ilinden revolutionary Nikola Karev. ^[39] Another IMRO activist, Sterio Guli, son of Pitu Guli, reportedly shot himself upon the arrival of Tito's partisans in Krushevo in despair over what he saw as a second period of Serbian dominance in Macedonia.

IMRO's supporters in Bulgarian Pirin Macedonia fared no better. With the help of some former Protogerovists, their main activists were hunted by the Communist police and many of them killed or imprisoned. Because some IMRO supporters openly opposed the then official policy of Communist Bulgaria to promote Macedonian ethnic consciousness in Pirin Macedonia they were repressed or exiled to the interior of Bulgaria. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Blagoevgrad Province. ...

Despite the fact that Yugoslav Macedonian historical scholarship reluctantly acknowledged the Bulgarian ethnic self-identification of the Ilinden IMRO leaders, they were adopted in the national pantheon of Yugoslav Macedonia as ethnic Macedonians. Official Yugoslav historiography asserted a continuity between the Ilinden of 1903 and the Ilinden of ASNOM in 1944 ignoring the fact that the first one included the uprising in the Adrianople part of Thrace region as well. The names of the IMRO revolutionaries Gotse Delchev, Pitu Guli, Dame Gruev and Yane Sandanski were included in the lyrics of the anthem of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia Denes nad Makedonija ("Today over Macedonia"). Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak  Thrace (Bulgarian: , Greek: , Attic Greek: ThrāíkÄ“ or ThrēíkÄ“, Latin: , Turkish: ) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Denes nad Makedonija (Macedonian: Денес Над Македонија, Today Over Macedonia) is the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia. ...

The modern IMRO

Republic of Macedonia

VMRO-DPMNE logo.

With both Bulgaria and Yugoslavia under Communist rule, there was no scope for IMRO's revival. After the death of Josip Broz Tito in 1980 Yugoslavia began to disintegrate and democratic politics in Macedonia revived. Many exiles returned to Macedonia from abroad, and a new generation of young Macedonian intellectuals rediscovered the history of Macedonian nationalism. In these circumstances it was not surprising that the IMRO name was revived. A new IMRO was founded on June 17, 1990 in Skopje. Although IMRO claims a line descent from the old IMRO, there is no real connection between the old IMRO and the new one. Image File history File links Vmrodpmn. ... Image File history File links Vmrodpmn. ... Josip Broz Tito (Cyrillic: Јосип Броз Тито, May 7, 1892 [May 25th according to official birth certificate] – May 4, 1980) was the leader of the Second Yugoslavia, which lasted from 1943 until 1991. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... The church of St. ...

The Republic of Macedonia became independent on 8th of September 1991, and IMRO emerged as the leading nationalist party. The country's second presidential elections in 1994, however, were won by a moderate former Communist Kiro Gligorov. IMRO's appeal to Macedonian nationalism was helped by the refusal of Greece to recognize the new state. But IMRO was kept out of power until 1998 by the combination of President Gligorov and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM). For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Kiro Gligorov Kiro Gligorov (Киро Глигоров in Macedonian/Bulgarian, also known as Kiril Blagoev Gligorov/Кирил Благоев Глигоров), born May 3, 1917 in Å tip was the first democraticaly elected president of the Republic of Macedonia. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Missing image Image:.jpg Branko Crvenkovski in Macedonian Бранко Црвенковски is the President of the Republic of Macedonia. ... The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (Macedonian: Социјалдемократски Сојуз на Македонија Socijaldemokratski Sojuz na Makedonija, SDSM) is a political party in the Republic of Macedonia. ...

By the later 1990s the main issue in Macedonian politics was relations with the large Albanian minority, and in 1998 IMRO came to power under Ljubco Georgievski in coalition with the radical Democratic Party of the Albanians led by Arben Xhaferi. In 1999 the IMRO candidate Boris Trajkovski was elected President under disputed circumstances, completing IMRO's takeover. Once in office Trajkovski pursued a more moderate policy. In 2002 Georgievski's government was defeated at legislative elections. In 2004 Trajkovski was killed in a plane crash and Branko Crvenkovski was elected President, defeating the IMRO candidate. Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia, according to the 1981 census. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Ljubco Georgievski (born on January 17, 1966 in Stip) is Macedonian politician. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Boris (Kiril) Trajkovski (June 25, 1956 - February 26, 2004) (Борис Трајковски in Cyrillic) was a president of the Republic of Macedonia (1999 - 2004). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Missing image Image:.jpg Branko Crvenkovski in Macedonian Бранко Црвенковски is the President of the Republic of Macedonia. ...

VMRO-NP logo.

The party called the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (In Macedonian: Vnatrešno-Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija-Demokratska Partija za Makedonsko Narodno Edinstvo, or VMRO-DPMNE) describes itself as a Christian Democratic party which supports the admission of Macedonia to NATO and the European Union. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... VMRO-DPMNE symbol The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Macedonian: VnatreÅ¡no-Makedonska Revoluciona Organizacija-Demokratska Partija za Makedonsko Nacionalno Edinstvo), or VMRO-DPMNE is a political party in the Republic of Macedonia. ... Christian Democracy is a political ideology, born at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, in which the Vatican recognizes workers misery and agrees that something should be done about it, in reaction to the rise of... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague. ...

After series of internal conflicts Georgievski was replaced by Nikola Gruevski. Subsequently Georgievski's followers dissociated from VMRO-DPMNE and in 2004 founded separate new party, called Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party (In Macedonian: Vnatrešno-Makedonska Revolucionerna Organizacija-Narodna Partija, or VMRO-NP). Meanwhile other smaller parts from VMRO-DPMNE split from the core and formed different parties using historical abbreviation VMRO in their names - VMRO-DOM, VMRO-Vistinska, VMRO-DP, etc. Nikola Gruevski was the Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubco Georgievski until September 2002. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... VMRO-NP logo Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization–Peoples Party (VnatreÅ¡no-Makedonska Revoluciona Organizacija–Narodna Partija) is a conservative political party in the Republic of Macedonia formed by the followers of the former Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski who have split from the VMRO–DPMNE. The VMRO–NP was founded...

VMRO-DPMNE returned into power after gaining over 32% in the July 5 2006 parliamentary elections. With 45 of 120 seats, the party formed coalition with five other parties, which successfully elected new government with 68 votes. Nikola Gruevski became prime-minister. Ljubco Georgievski's VMRO-NP remained in opposition with 6 deputies. Elections in the Republic of Macedonia gives information on election and election results in the Republic of Macedonia. ...

Bulgaria

VMRO-BND logo.

A distinct IMRO organization was also revived in Bulgaria after 1989 first under the name VMRO-SMD (ВМРО-СМД - Съюз на македонските дружества) and then simply VMRO (ВМРО) as a cultural organisation. Image File history File links Vmro-bg-logo. ... Image File history File links Vmro-bg-logo. ...

In 1996 the leaders of the organisation registered it as a political party in Bulgaria under the name IMRO - Bulgarian National Movement (ВМРО - Българско национално движение). This group continues to maintain that Slav Macedonians are in fact Bulgarians. The group is not among the major parties but it was the only significant right-wing organization in Bulgarian politics until the unexpected success of extremist National Union Attack at the parliamentary elections on 25 June 2005. IMRO logo The IMRO-Bulgarian National Movement (ВМРО - българско национално движение, VMRO-Balgarsko Nacionalno Dvizhenie) is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria. ... The National Union Attack (Национален съюз Атака, Nacionalen Sayuz Ataka; also[citation needed] translated as the Attack Coalition) is a nationalist political party in Bulgaria. ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

At the very same election, the Bulgarian IMRO won 5.7% of the popular vote and 13 out of 240 seats in the parliament together with its partners from Bulgarian People's Union, the Bulgarian Agrarian People's Union-People's Union and the Union of Free Democrats. Thus, IMRO has a total of 5 MPs in the current Bulgarian parliament, including one from the traditional base of the movement in Blagoevgrad Province (Pirin Macedonia). The Bulgarian Peoples Union (Balgarskij Naroden Sajuz) is an electoral alliance(center-right) in Bulgaria. ... The Bulgarian Agrarian Peoples Union-Peoples Union (Balgarski Zemedelski Naroden Sajuz-Naroden Sajuz) is an agrarian-conservative party in Bulgaria. ... The Union of Free Democrats (Sajuz na svobodnite demokrati) is a conservative political party in Bulgaria, led by Stefan Sofiyanski. ... Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known as Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония, Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. ...

Notes

1. ^  "Illustration Ilinden", Sofia, 1936, b. I, p. 4-5
2. ^  "The first central committee of IMRO. Memoirs of d-r Hristo Tatarchev", Materials for the Macedonian liberation movement, book IX (series of the Macedonian scientific institute of IMRO, led by Bulgarian academician prof. Lyubomir Miletich), Sofia, 1928, p. 102 (in Bulgarian: "Първият централен комитет на ВМРО. Спомени на д-р Христо Татарчев", поредица "Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение" на Македонския научен институт на ВМРО, воден от българския академик проф. Любомир Милетич, книга IX, София, 1928; contemporary Macedonian translation: Tatarchev).
3. ^  Materials about the History of the Macedonian Liberation Movement, Book V, Memoirs of Damjan Gruev, Boris Sarafov and Ivan Garvanov, Sofia 1927, pp. 8 - 11; the original in Bulgarian.
4. ^  Gjorche Petrov in his memoirs speaking about the Salonica congress of 1896 writes: "There was pointed out the need for a statute and official rules. Until then we had a very short list of rules in force, drafted by Dame (with the oath). That little list was unsystematic, lytographed. It was decided to come up with a full list of rules, a statute. When I came to Sofia, I compiled it there (with Delchev)." Also here(Bulgarian) and here(Macedonian).
5. ^ Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Исторически преглед, 1969, кн. I, стр. 68—80. (Bulgarian)
6. ^  Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Извeстия на Института за история, т. 21, 1970, стр. 250-257. (Bulgarian)
7. ^  Константин Пандев, Национално-освободителното движение в Македония и Одринско, София, 1979, с. 129-130. (Konstantin Pandev, The National Liberation Movement in Macedonia and the Odrin Region, Sofia 1979, pp. 129-130.)
8. ^  Duncan Perry The Politics of Terror: The Macedonian Liberation Movements, 1893-1903 , Durham, Duke University Press, 1988. pp. 40-41, 210 n. 10.
9. ^  Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage: ihre entestehung und etwicklung bis 1908., Wiessbaden 1979, p. 112.
10. ^  Академик Иван Катарџиев, "Верувам во националниот имунитет на македонецот", интервjу, "Форум", also here. (Academician Ivan Katardzhiev, "I believe in Macedonian national immunity", interview, "Forum" magazine.)
11. ^  Битоски, Крсте, сп. "Македонско Време", Скопје - март 1997
12. ^  Public Record Office - Foreign Office 78/4951 Turkey (Bulgaria). From Elliot. 1898; УСТАВ НА ТМОРО. S. 1. punlished in Документи за борбата на македонскиот народ за самостојност и за национална држава, Скопје, Универзитет "Кирил и Методиј":Факултет за филозофско-историски науки, 1981, page 331 - 333.
13. ^  Prior to the publication of Pandev's article Bulgarian historiography seemed to agree that the name SMARO dates back to 1896/7 (e.g. Silyanov, 1933, vol. 1, p. 46). Contemporary Macedonian historians accuse Pandev of a nationalist bias.
14. ^  Ivo Banac, The Macedoine (pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", Cornell University Press, 1984) Also here: Banac
15. ^  Ivo Banac, The Macedoine (pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", Cornell University Press, 1984) Also here: Banac
16. ^  H. N. Brailsford , MACEDONIA: ITS RACES AND THEIR FUTURE, Methuen & Co., London, 1906. Also here: Brailsford
17. ^  Хр. Силянов , “Освободителнитe борби на Македония, том I”, изд. на Илинденската Орг., София, 1933; Also here: Silyanov (Hristo Silyanov, The Liberational Struggles of Macedonia, vol. 1, The Ilinden Organisation, Sofia, 1933.)
18. ^  Albert Sonnichsen: Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars, Narrative Press, ISBN 1-58976-237-1.
19. ^  A letter from the headquarters of the Second Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary district, centered around Bitola, represented by Dame Gruev and Boris Sarafov, to Bulgarian government from 9. IX. 1903. Macedonian translation here.
20. ^  Георги Баждаров, "Моите спомени", издание на Институт "България - Македония", София, 2001, стр. 78-81. (In Bulgarian, also here. In English: Georgi Bazhdarov, "My memoirs", published by the Institute "Bulgaria-Macedonia", Sofia, 2001, pp. 78-81.)
21. ^  "ДВИЖЕНИЕТО ОТСАМЪ ВАРДАРА И БОРБАТА СЪ ВЪРХОВИСТИТE по спомени на Яне Сандански, Черньо Пeевъ, Сава Михайловъ, Хр. Куслевъ, Ив. Анастасовъ Гърчето, Петъръ Хр. Юруковъ и Никола Пушкаровъ", съобщава Л. Милетичъ (София, Печатница П. Глушковъ, 1927); Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение. Издава „Македонскиятъ Наученъ Институтъ". Книга VII. Also here: Sandanski memoirs (L. Miletich, ed. Materials on the History of the Macedonian Liberation Movement, Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1927 - "The Movement on this Side of the Vardar and the Struggle with the Supremists according to the memories of Jane Sandanski, Chernjo Peev, Sava Mihajlov, Hr. Kuslev, Iv. Anastasov - Grcheto, Petar Hr. Jurukov and Nikola Pushkarov")
22. ^  Хр. Силянов , “Освободителнитe борби на Македония, том II”, изд. на Илинденската Орг., София, 1933; Also here: Silyanov (Hristo Silyanov, The Liberational Struggles of Macedonia, vol. 2, The Ilinden Organisation, Sofia, 1933.)
23. ^  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION To Inquire into the causes and Conduct OF THE BALKAN WARS, PUBLISHED BY THE ENDOWMENT WASHINGTON, D.C. 1914. Also here.
24. ^  Хр. Силянов От Витоша до Грамос, Походът на една чета през Освободителната война - 1912 г., Издание на Костурското благотворително братство, София, 1920. Also here: From Vitosha to Gramos (Hr. Silyanov, From Vitosha to Gramos, published by the Kostur charitable society, Sofia, 1920)
25. ^  Любомиръ Милетичъ, "Разорението на тракийските българи презъ 1913 година", Българска Академия на Науките, София, Държавна Печатница 1918 г. Also here: Miletich (L. Miletich, The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1918)
26. ^  "Македония. История и политическа съдба", колектив на МНИ под редакцията на проф. Петър Петров, том II, Издателство "Знание", София, 1998, pp. 140-141. (In Bulgarian. In English: P. Petrov, ed. Macedonia. History and Political Fate, vol. 2, Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1998, pp. 140-141.)
27. ^  "Македония. История и политическа съдба", колектив на МНИ под редакцията на проф. Петър Петров, том II, Издателство "Знание", София, 1998, p. 206. (In Bulgarian. In English: P. Petrov, ed. Macedonia. History and Political Fate, vol. 2, Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1998, p. 206.)
28. ^  Р.П. Гришина, "ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ВЗГЛЯДА НА МАКЕДОНСКИЙ ВОПРОС В БОЛЬШЕВИСТСКОЙ МОСКВЕ 1922-1924 гг." in МАКЕДОНИЯ - ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИСТОРИИ И КУЛЬТУРЫ, Институт славяноведения, Российская Академия Наук, Москва, 1999. Also here: Grishina (R. P. Grishina "Formation of a View on the Macedonian Question in Bolshevik Moscow 1922-1924" in Macedonia. Problems of History and Culture, Institute of Slavistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1999.)
29. ^  Р.П. Гришина, "ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ВЗГЛЯДА НА МАКЕДОНСКИЙ ВОПРОС В БОЛЬШЕВИСТСКОЙ МОСКВЕ 1922-1924 гг." in МАКЕДОНИЯ - ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИСТОРИИ И КУЛЬТУРЫ, Институт славяноведения, Российская Академия Наук, Москва, 1999. Also here: Grishina (R. P. Grishina "Formation of a View on the Macedonian Question in Bolshevik Moscow 1922-1924" in Macedonia. Problems of History and Culture, Institute of Slavistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1999.)
30. ^  Р.П. Гришина, "ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ ВЗГЛЯДА НА МАКЕДОНСКИЙ ВОПРОС В БОЛЬШЕВИСТСКОЙ МОСКВЕ 1922-1924 гг." in МАКЕДОНИЯ - ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИСТОРИИ И КУЛЬТУРЫ, Институт славяноведения, Российская Академия Наук, Москва, 1999. Also here: Grishina (R. P. Grishina "Formation of a View on the Macedonian Question in Bolshevik Moscow 1922-1924" in Macedonia. Problems of History and Culture, Institute of Slavistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1999.)
31. ^  Ivo Banac, The Macedoine (pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", Cornell University Press, 1984) Also here: Banac
32. ^  "Македония. История и политическа съдба", колектив на МНИ под редакцията на проф. Петър Петров, том II, Издателство "Знание", София, 1998, pp. 205-206. (In Bulgarian. In English: P. Petrov, ed. Macedonia. History and Political Fate, vol. 2, Macedonian Scientific Institute, Sofia, 1998, pp. 205-206.)
33. ^  Palmer, S. and R. King Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question, Archon Books (June 1971), pp. 65-67.
34. ^  Добрин Мичев. БЪЛГАРСКОТО НАЦИОНАЛНО ДЕЛО В ЮГОЗАПАДНА МАКЕДОНИЯ (1941 – 1944 г.), Македонски Преглед, 1, 1998. Michev (Dobrin Michev, "Bulgarian National Activity in Southwest Macedonia 1941-1944", Macedonian Review, 1, 1998.)
35. ^  Palmer, S. and R. King Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question, Archon Books (June 1971), pp. 112-113.
36. ^  Palmer, S. and R. King Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question, Archon Books (June 1971), p. 137.
37. ^  Katardjiev's foreword to Васил Ивановски. Зошто ние, Македонците, сме одделна нација?, Скопје, 1995, pp. 49-56. (Vasil Ivanovski, Why We Macedonians Are a Separate Nation?, Skopje, 1995)
38. ^  Palmer, S. and R. King Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question, Archon Books (June 1971), p. 137.
39. ^  Keith Brown. The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation, Princeton University Press (2003)

Nickname: Motto: Bitola, babam Bitola Location of the city of Bitola (red) within the Republic of Macedonia Coordinates: , Government  - Mayor Vlademir Taleski Area  - City 422. ...

Sources

• Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Исторически преглед, 1969, кн. I, стр. 68—80. (Bulgarian)
• Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Извeстия на Института за история, т. 21, 1970, стр. 249-257. (Bulgarian)
• Битоски, Крсте, сп. "Македонско Време", Скопје - март 1997, quoting: Quoting: Public Record Office - Foreign Office 78/4951 Turkey (Bulgaria), From Elliot, 1898, Устав на ТМОРО. S. 1. published in Документи за борбата на македонскиот народ за самостојност и за национална држава, Скопје, Универзитет "Кирил и Методиј": Факултет за филозофско-историски науки, 1981, pp 331 - 333. (Macedonian)
• Hugh Pouton Who Are the Macedonians? , C. Hurst & Co, 2000. p. 53. ISBN 1-85065-534-0
• Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage: ihre entestehung und etwicklung bis 1908., Wiessbaden 1979, p. 112.
• Duncan Perry The Politics of Terror: The Macedonian Liberation Movements, 1893-1903 , Durham, Duke University Press, 1988. pp. 40-41, 210 n. 10.
• Христо Татарчев, "Вътрешната македоно-одринска революционна организация като митологична и реална същност", София, 1995. (Bulgarian)
• Dimitar Vlahov, "Memoirs", 2nd edition, "Slovo" publishing, Skopje, 2003, ISBN 9989-103-22-4. (Macedonian)
• Series of memoirs, published by Macedonian scientific institute in Sofia during the interwar period in several volumes: Slaveiko Arsov, Pando Klyashev, Ivan Popov, Smile Voidanov, Deyan Dimitrov, Nikola Mitrev, Luka Dzherov, Georgi Pop Hristov, Angel Andreev, Georgi Papanchev, Lazar Dimitrov, Damyan Gruev, Boris Sarafov, Ivan Garvanov, Pavel Shatev, Yane Sandanski, Chernyo Peev, Sava Mihailov, Hristo Kuslev, Ivan Anastasov Gyrcheto, Petyr Hr. Yurukov, Nikola Pushkarov, Gyorcho Petrov, Mihail Gerdzhikov, Ivan Tatarchev, Alekso Stefanov. (Bulgarian) Macedonian translations, published by "Kultura" publishers, Skopje, in 2 volumes, ISBN 9989-32-022-5 and ISBN 9989-32-077-2: memoirs of Ivan Hadzinikolov, Dame Gruev, Boris Sarafov, Yane Sandanski, Mihail Gerdzhikov, Hristo Tatarchev, Slaveiko Arsov, Pando Kljashev, Luka Dzherov, Georgi Pop Hristov, Angel Andreev, Georgi Papanchev, Lazar Dimitrov. (Macedonian)
• Георги Баждаров, "Моите спомени", издание на Институт "България - Македония", София, 2001. In English: Georgi Bazhdarov, "My memoirs", published by Institute "Bulgaria-Macedonia", Sofia, 2001. The complete text here. (Bulgarian)
• Nikola Kirov Majski, "Pages from my life", "Kultura", Skopje. (Macedonian)
• Albert Londres, "Les Comitadjis (Le terrorisme dans les Balkans)", "Kultura", Skopje, ISBN 9989-32-067-5 (original edition: Arlea, Paris, 1992).
• Albert Sonnichsen, "Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars", The Narrative Press, ISBN 1-58976-237-1. Also here Confessions, Ch. XXIV (English), Bulgarian translation here and Macedonian translation here.
• Fikret Adanir, "Die Makedonische Frage", Wiessbaden, 1979.
• Константин Пандев, “Национално-освободителното движение в Македония и Одринско”, София, 1979.
• Ivo Banac, "The Macedoine", pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", "Cornell University Press", 1984.
• H. N. Brailsford, "Macedonia: its races and their future", "Methuen & Co.", London, 1906, also here.
• Христо Силянов , “Освободителнитe борби на Македония”, том I и II, изд. на Илинденската Организация, София, 1933 и 1943, also volume I here and volume II here. (Bulgarian)
• Любомиръ Милетичъ, "Разорението на тракийските българи презъ 1913 година", Българска Академия на Науките, София, Държавна Печатница, 1918 г., also here. (Bulgarian)
• "Македония. История и политическа съдба", колектив на МНИ под редакцията на проф. Петър Петров, том I, II и III, издателство "Знание", София, 1998.
• "Македония - проблемы истории и культуры", Институт славяноведения, Российская Академия Наук, Москва, 1999 (includes Р. П. Гришина, "Формирование взгляда на македонский вопрос в большевистской Москве 1922-1924 гг."), the complete symposium here. (Russian)
• Никола Петров, "Кои беа партизаните во Македонија", Скопje, 1998. (Macedonian)
• Palmer, S. and R. King, "Yugoslav Communism and the Macedonian Question", "Archon Books", 1971.
• Добрин Мичев, "Българското нацинално дело в югозападна Македония (1941 – 1944 г.)", "Македонски Преглед", 1, 1998. (Bulgarian)
• Keith Brown, "The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation", "Princeton University Press", 2003.

See also

• Macedonia (region)
• History of Bulgaria
• History of the Republic of Macedonia
• Internal Revolutionary Organisation
• Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation
• Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation
• Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe whose area was re-defined in the early 20th century. ... The history of Bulgaria as a separate country began in the 7th century with the arrival of the Bulgars and the foundation of the First Bulgarian Empire together with the local seven Slavic tribes, a union recognized by Byzantium in 681. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (Bulgarian: Вътрешна революционна организация), IRO, was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871. ... The Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation ( Вътрешна тракийска революционна организация), ITRO, was a Bulgarian revolutionary... The Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation (Bulgarian: Вътрешна добруджанска революционна организация; Romanian... The Internal Western Outland Revolutionary Organisation ( Вътрешна западнопокрайненска революционна орга&#1085...

External links

• Website of Bulgarian VMRO-BND (Bulgarian)
• Website of Macedonian VMRO-DPMNE (Macedonian)/(English)
• On-line books about Macedonia (in Bulgarian, Macedonian, English, Russian, French, German)
• Macedonian site about history of IMRO - includes Dr. Tatarchev's complete memoirs (Macedonian)
• Ottoman documents about the murder of Gotse Delchev
• The statute of BMARC from a Macedonian language website
• The complete statute of BMARC
• History of the Greek-Macedonian andartes, adversaries of the IMRO (English)