International Relations and Foreign Policy

Relations between Bulgaria and R Macedonia 

Books, Brochures and Articles

BOOKS, BROCHURES AND ARTICLES

The book “History of Southern and Western Slavs in the XXth century” was received at the Macedoinian Scientific Institute (in Ukrainian language), Harkov, 1998, 460 pages. Considerable place in this book has been given to Bulgarian history from the Liberation in 1878 until recent time. Though in brief this book treats the Macedonian problem as well. The national liberation movement of Macedonian Bulgarians is characterized as Bulgarian. The differences between VMRO and the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee have correctly been identifies as “tactical”. The authors however treat the availability of a “right” and a ‘left” wing in the movement and the struggle between them after 1905 quite traditionally. Balkan wars have probably been characterized not like liberation but like attempts to “enlarge” Bulgaria. The detachments of VMRO have been presented as “Macedonian”. Bulgaria’s participation in the World War I is characterized like an “act of revenge”. But it is pointed out that the detachments of Macedonian Bulgarians have supported the military action of the Bulgarian army in Tracia and in Macedonia. 

In the period between the wars authors emphasize the reconstruction of VMRO lead by T. Alexandrov, Al. Protogerov and P. Chaulev. But the ideology of the organization and the reasons for its struggle against the governm,ent of Bulgarian Agrarian Party (BZNS) are not properly explained. The negotiations of VMRO with the “Commintern” and the signing of the May manifest in 1924 in Vienne, the establishment of VMRO (unified) in 1925 as well as the crisis in VMRO after the murder of T. Alexandrov have been presented incorrectly. Iv. Mihaylov has incorrectly been indicated as participant in the murder of Alexandrov. Incorrect is the interpretation of fratricide in VMRO and the characteristic of the organization as “extremely reactional”. Still the authors defend the right positions regarding the so-called Macedonian nation as a creation of the Commintern. 

Considering the development of Bulgaria during World War II authors do not explain the integration of parts of Vardar Macedonia and Belomorian Tracia as liberation of Bulgarian lands. They call these lands “new lands”, they write that in this time the formation of a special “Macedonian nation” has begun. Generally this university book presents the Macedonian issue in the wrong light.

The big friend of Bulgaria and famous Austrian scholar Otto Kronsteiner published the book “Salzburger Bulgarian Studies“, Salzburg, 2000, 238 pages. Its author treats the development of Bulgarian studies in the European educational system, the history of Bulgarian studies in Salzburg 1968-2000 and its persepctive. The author also considers the Macedonian issues taking the right scientific positions. He pronounces for the abolition of the wall between Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia; he points out the big lies accumulated in the Republic of Macedonia about the roots of Slavic population, he defends the thought that there is “another truth”.

The Macedonian Scientific Institute has published the brochure “K. P. Missirkov” (No Comment), S. , 2000, 47 pages. Its preparation is the result of the efoorts of Prof. Iv. Kochev and P. Missirkov. They indicate in the preface that the work of Kr. Missirkov has been presented “biasedly” in the Republic of Macedonia from the positions of Macedonism. His whole work is however unknown here. The aim of the publication is to make some “insights” of Missirkov known to a wide range of readers that have so far not been published in the Republic of Macedonia. Kr. Missirkov answers a number of questions like the national name of the forefathers of Macedonian, what their conscious is, about peoples character of the population in Macedonia etc. The authors by means of quotations of Missirkov allow the reader to find out on his own what the real views of “the greatest Macedonian of the century” were. We have to note that the authors have managed excellently with their task. The brochure once again unmasks Macedonian falsifications and lies of the false-scientists of Linguistics and of historians in Skopie.

Issue number 4 of the Macedonian review magazine for the year 1999 was published. It contained the articles of Ass. Prof. Dr. D. Gotsev “78^th Congress of the Macedonian patriotic organization”, Prof. Dr. V. Vassilev “To the 80^th anniversary of the Neuilles dictate”, Prof. B. Cook (USA) “The W. Wilson`s Inquiry Group of and the Peace Treaty with Bulgaria”, R. P. Grishina (Russia) “Formation of a standpoint on the Macedonian issue in Bolshevik Moscow 1922 - 1924” (On documents of Russian archives), Prof. Iv. Kochev “Synonimousity of the names Bulgarians, Macedonians”, Dr Evd. Hristova “Dialectic text of Bulgarian women from Albania” , Dr A. Kocheva–Lefedzhieva “Verbal adverbs and the old name clauses in Bulgarian language” and I. Yustinianov “New large-scale Serbization is performed in the Republic of Macedonia”. There are also reviews of editions of the Institute for Balkan Research in Thessaloniki by prof. V. Traykov and of volume I part I of the collection “The Macedonian issue in the douments of the Commintern”, published in Skopie. The review is of scienfitic collaborator Dr. Al. Grebenarov.

The problems of the articles and reviews provide a lot of information about the Macedonian issue in the filed of politics and linguistics and deserve the attention of the interested readers.