Krste Misirkov
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Krste Petkov Misirkov (Macedonian Cyrillic: Крсте Петков Мисирков, Bulgarian Cyrillic: Кръсте (also Кръстю or Кръстьо) Петков Мисирков) (born: 18 November 1874 in Agioi Apostoloi (Greek: Άγιοι Απόστολοι, Slavic: Постол - Postol), Greek Macedonia - died, 26 July 1926 in Sofia Bulgaria); he was a philologist and publicist. His ethnic self-identity and views are a matter of dispute between Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia.
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[edit] Republic of Macedonia's view
Misirkov was the most prominent Macedonian publicist, philologist and linguist who set the principles of the Macedonian literary language in the late 19th century. He clearly identified the population of Macedonia as belonging to the Slavic populations, expressing the need for "we Slav peoples [...] to unite our own Macedonian Slav population".
His opinions on the political and national issues of his time express the struggle of Macedonian intellectuals and their contribution to the fight for the liberation of the Macedonians from the Ottomans and the creation of an independent Macedonian state. In 1903, while in Sofia, he published the book Za Makedonckite Raboti (On Macedonian Matters) in which he laid down the principles of the modern Macedonian language. According to this book, the Macedonian language should be based on dialects around Veles. He also used those dialects in the book itself. Misirkov's principles played a crucial role in the future codification of the Macedonian language, right after World War II.
While he often declared himself a Bulgarian until two years before his death, he seemed to have returned to Macedonian positions towards the end of his life. His ethnic Macedonian identity is clearly shown in one of his last articles before his death: "The awareness and the feeling that I am Macedonian should stand higher than everything else in the world. Macedonians should not let themselves been assimilated and to lose their individuality living among Bulgarians and Serbs. We can acknowledge the closeness of the Serb, Bulgarians and Macedonian interests, but we need to evaluate them from the Macedonian stand point of view." [ K. Misirkov: The self-determination of Macedonians, “Mir”, 7427, 25. III 1925, 1.][[1]]
[edit] Bulgarian view
Misirkov considered himself Bulgarian, even writing, in 1924, "We [the Slavs of Macedonia] are more Bulgarians than those in Bulgaria", and advocated a Greater Bulgaria encompassing territories which belonged to Yugoslavia (today's Republic of Macedonia), and north eastern Greek Macedonia. In a separate publication in the Bulgarian newspaper "Mir" from 1919 he refers to the part of Macedonia occupied by Serbia as a "purely Bulgarian country", since the 6th century.
Krste Misirkov wrote in "On Macedonian Matters": "...We speak the Bulgarian language and we believed with Bulgarians is our strong power...The future of Macedonia is the spiritual union of the Bulgarians in Macedonia... The Macedonian Slavs are called Bulgarians...The biggest part of the population are called Bulgarians... All spoke that Macedonians are Bulgarians..."
He also wrote in an article in the "20th of July" newspaper in Sofia, 1919: "Whether we call ourselves Bulgarians or Macedonians, we have always maintained a separate, unified, and different nationality from the Serbs, and we have Bulgarian consciousness."
Bulgarians believe that his writings were significantly altered by the post-WWII Yugoslavian Communist regime to support the notion of a "Macedonian nation", distinct from the Bulgarian nation. They point to significant omisions from the officially published texts, and the addition of specific pro-Serbian statements not found in his original writings.
Bulgarians also note that Misirkov chose Bulgarian citizenship, that he lived in Sofia, Bulgaria and worked there for Greater Bulgaria until his death in 1926.
In his recently discovered 381 page diary, written in 1913 while he resided in Odessa, Misirkov identified as "Macedonian Bulgarian".[2]
[edit] Misirkov's diary
Misirkov's diary was discovered in late 2006 in a Bulgarian antiquity shop. It is going to jointly be published by Macedonian and Bulgarian State Archives in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Russia. Its authenticity has been confirmed by Bulgarian and Macedonian experts. [3] [4] [5]
