By IFIMES
The International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies*
The goal is to improve Macedonian-Bulgarian relations by respecting the status of both nations as independent, sovereign, and equal states. It is essential to reach a historical agreement based on the strength of reasoned arguments, rather than the use of power or the privileged position of either state. This is particularly important, as these two neighbouring countries are NATO allies and, with Macedonia’s forthcoming EU membership, are expected to become partners within the EU as well.
Factual historical realities
To properly address the issue, it is necessary to confront the factual historical realities of Macedonian-Bulgarian relations, which are as follows:
1. Yugoslavia played an active role in the deterioration of Macedonian-Bulgarian relations – and there were valid reasons for this
For Serbs, Bulgarians will forever remain ‘backstabbers‘ because they treacherously struck the Serbian state from behind during the crucial moments of World War I, thus causing the infamous Serbian Golgotha, when the Serbs, overrun by the Austro-Hungarian army, were forced to retreat across Albania to the Ionian Island of Corfu. As a result, one in four people in Serbia lost their lives, and with 26% of its population perished, Serbia was by far the greatest victim of World War I. Nevertheless, Bulgarian policy skilfully succeeded, albeit indirectly, in escalating the conflict between Serbs and Albanians to a point of deep-seated hatred, the consequences of which are still felt today. This fact is often silenced and forgotten.
Due to all of this, and the genuine threat of excessive Bulgarian influence in Vardar Macedonia, a powerful and widespread anti-Bulgarian campaign was launched in 1919. As a result, the first Yugoslavia actively contributed to the artificial division between the two most similar peoples in the Balkans – the Macedonians and the Bulgarians. Between 1919 and 1941, the Serbian administration in Vardar Macedonia did virtually nothing but hunt for Bulgarian spies and carry out extensive anti-Bulgarian propaganda at every possible opportunity.
This practice continued even after 1948, when, following the events surrounding Informbiro (Cominform), the new communist Yugoslavia embraced the old Serbian tactic of demonizing Bulgaria by all possible means. This extensive anti-Bulgarian campaign spanned the intelligence services, the military, the education system, and even cultural activists, leading to such a successful outcome that, after 45 years, Sofia, once the centre of Macedonian free thought, became the most reviled place for the Macedonian state, government, and even a large portion of the Macedonian people.
However, after Yugoslavia’s split from the Informbiro, the Bulgarian regime remained highly pro-Soviet (or pro-Russian) and, as such, was strategically and doctrinally aligned against Yugoslavia. Todor Zhivkov took this political stance to its extreme.
2. The Bulgarian army simultaneously occupied, governed, and for some, even liberated
The Bulgarians left Macedonia as butchers, responsible for the massacres in Vataša, Poreč, Prilep, and many other places, leaving behind tens of thousands of grieving mothers and families whose sons had been killed, imprisoned and tortured. Yet, in 1941, just three years earlier, that same Bulgarian army had been welcomed with flowers in Vardar Macedonia.
In 1941, the Bulgarian army did not enter a free and independent Macedonia but rather the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which, according to many, was under Serbian occupation. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that some historians view this as merely a change in the administration of the territory. Nor is it surprising that many Macedonians, who had been marginalized under Serbian rule, perceived the Bulgarians as liberators.
It is therefore no wonder that the Macedonian people rose up against the fascist occupier much later than the other Yugoslav nations. While the uprising officially began on 11 October 1941 (six months after the others), in reality, it only gained momentum with the arrival of Svetozar Vukmanović Tempo in 1943.
3. The Macedonian literary language is deliberately or unintentionally alienated from Bulgarian
Much like how Serbian and Montenegrin literary languages are closely related today, in the early 20th century, Macedonian and Bulgarian were quite similar on both sides of the border. While there were differences, they were far smaller compared to the significant divergence that exists today.
The main culprits for this are primarily the Bulgarians themselves. Likely out of frustration over all the failures and losses they experienced in Macedonia, they carried out two or three new codifications of the language, favouring the Eastern Bulgarian dialect and literally altering the native language of all Western Bulgarians, which was originally very similar to Macedonian. As a result, the official Bulgarian language was brought much closer to Russian linguistically, especially in terms of articulation and melody.
A similar approach was adopted in the newly liberated Macedonian state, where, intentionally or not, the first codification of the new literary language was based on the model of Vuk’s Serbian Cyrillic, which at that time was quite divergent from the original Macedonian dialect. Letters that were objectively necessary for accurately writing the spoken language were discarded, simply because they were part of the Bulgarian alphabet and not the Serbian one.
Though it was never officially confirmed, many associate this change with Macedonia’s leading linguistic authority at the time, Venko Markovski, and the then-student Blaže Koneski. Without delving into conspiracy theories, the fact remains that 79 years later, many Macedonians can barely understand modern Bulgarian, and the same is true on the other side of the border.
4. There are more Macedonians living in Bulgaria than in the Republic of North Macedonia
While Australia is often regarded as the second homeland of the Macedonian people, with the largest diaspora, the facts show that no country can rival Bulgaria in this respect.
It is well known that after the brutal campaign of Bahtiyar Pasha and the bloody end of the Ilinden Uprising, more than 300,000 people were forced to leave Macedonia. It has also been confirmed that the majority of them resettled in Bulgaria.
A similar historical pattern, though perhaps less massive, was repeated in 1913, when those who had fought alongside the Bulgarians against the Serbs and Greeks fled from Macedonia to Bulgaria, including many Macedonians. There were also mass pogroms after World War I in 1918, followed by smaller waves of migration after the end of World War II.
The total number of descendants of these so-called “pure-blooded” Macedonians in Bulgaria today exceeds two million, with some estimates suggesting as many as three million. What’s most intriguing is that the Bulgarian state not only acknowledges this but takes pride in it. Officially, they are referred to as Bulgarians of Macedonian origin. As it turns out, 90% of them hold views similar to those of Vancho Mihajlov or, in today’s context, Krasimir Karakachanov, maintaining that Macedonia is not a nation but merely one of several geographical regions (like Thrace, Southern Dobrudja, Edirne…) inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians.
Additionally, several hundred thousand Macedonians in Bulgaria sincerely believe they are a distinct nation. Combined, this forms a group of Macedonians significantly larger than the 1.3 or 1.5 million ethnic Macedonians residing in present-day North Macedonia. Despite this, Bulgaria still refuses to implement the 14 rulings already issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which affirm the existence of Macedonians in Bulgaria.
5. Bulgarian army units took part in the liberation of Macedonia in 1944
Finally, this is perhaps the most difficult fact to come to terms with, no matter how strange, offensive, or unacceptable it may seem to some. At the end of World War II, when the Macedonian partisan forces lacked the strength to liberate the country and to face the overwhelming German forces retreating from Greece through the Vardar valley (the entire army group of the Wehrmacht’s Southeast Zone E), newly formed units of the Fatherland Front from Sofia were called in to help. Interestingly, some of these units didn’t even manage to withdraw to Bulgaria to change their clothing; instead, they simply removed the fascist insignia from their uniforms and joined the fight against the remaining German forces. After the change of government in Sofia, the situation on the battlefield quickly shifted, with the Germans and Bulgarians turning from allies to warring enemies.
There are reports that a Bulgarian unit marched down Marshal Tito Street (now Macedonia Street) as liberators of Skopje. In one version of events, other Macedonian partisans forcibly stopped them from participating in the parade. Nevertheless, the fact remains that, one way or another, they were invited and present at the parade.
These facts are even found in Macedonian history books and encyclopedias written during the socialist era, though until now, they have not been publicly discussed for “understandable” reasons.
Bulgarians in the Macedonian, Macedonians in the Bulgarian Constitution
It is generally known that Western Europe was liberated through Operation Overlord after the D-Day landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944 by the American forces. However, the United States never used this as a reason to lay claim to Western Europe. On the contrary, the Marshall Plan facilitated the economic and, later, political development of Western Europe, leading to the creation of what is now the EU.
Analysts believe that, despite all the aforementioned facts, we are now living in completely different times and circumstances. This is an era of mutual cooperation, solidarity, and interdependence, rooted in universal and European values. Such policies are often difficult to recognize in the Balkans and are even scorned by certain nationalist, radical, and reactionary forces. This is best illustrated by the extreme reactions of some prominent Bulgarian government and opposition politicians and officials. They promote a 19th-century policy that bears no relevance to present-day realities or a forward-looking vision. Yet, driven by strong emotions, this populist and pseudo-policy remains appealing to a segment of the public, as evidenced by the reactions from a significant part of the Macedonian political spectrum. Those who share such views fail to recognize the present, are unable to engage with contemporary European trends, and likely, due to their own vested interests and privileges, have no desire to do so.
It is paradoxical that these political forces are closely aligned with Bulgarian proponents whose insistence on blocking the EU enlargement, traditionally seen as a response to major internal EU crises, puts the process into serious question. This is a historic error, a misguided approach, and a one-way path. History always takes its course, ultimately rejecting such deviations, as forces like these cannot halt its progress. In the end, the Macedonian state will become a full-fledged member of the EU – a union of modern, democratic, free, and prosperous nations. With Macedonia’s entry into NATO, for the first time since 1948, Macedonians and Bulgarians now find themselves in the same military alliance.
Macedonian-Bulgarian relations must be built on mutual reciprocity. The inclusion of Bulgarians in the Macedonian constitution and Macedonians in the Bulgarian constitution would be a step in the right direction. The EU is making a mistake and engaging in clear discrimination against Macedonia by aligning itself with Bulgaria. Bulgaria must end its humiliating treatment of Macedonia. History should not be held hostage by retrospective nationalism.
