Macedonia is a mountainous country. It is located within two large mountain systems: in the extreme west of the higher Pindus Mountains, which are a continuation of the Dinaric Highlands, and the lower Rhodopes - in the center and east. These mountain systems are separated by the Vardar River valley. The highest mountain ranges form the natural borders of the country: on the border with Serbia - Shar Planina with Mount Titov Vrh (2748 m), Crna Gora, Doganica, on the border with Bulgaria - Osogovska Planina and Malesevska Planina, on the border with Greece – Belasitsa, Kozjak, Kozhuf, on the border with Albania – Korabi with the Korab peak 2754 m high (the highest point in the country) and Jablanica. The central part of Macedonia is a mosaic of lower mountains and intermountain basins.

The climate of Macedonia is transitional from temperate to subtropical. It is characterized by warm summers, moderately cool winters, and even distribution of precipitation throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 11–12°C, the average July temperature is 21–23°C, January – approx. 0° C. Average annual precipitation is 500–700 mm, with more in the south.

The rivers are mountainous, non-navigable, but have significant hydroelectric potential. Some rivers dry up in summer. The largest river in Macedonia, the Vardar, crosses the entire country from north to southeast. Its main tributaries are the Crna, Bregalnica, and Pcinja. Almost all rivers belong to the Aegean Sea basin. The exception is the Drin River, which flows from Lake Ohrid and flows into the Adriatic Sea. In the southwest, on the border with Albania, there are large lakes Ohrid and Prespa, partly belonging to Macedonia, in the southeast, on the border with Greece, there is Lake Dojran.

The soils are brown and light brown mountain-forest, often gravelly. Forests occupy approx. 49% of the country's area. Various types of broad-leaved and mixed forests dominate, replacing one another as the terrain rises - from oak-hornbeam with an admixture of maple, linden, pine in the lower mountain zones to beech and beech-fir with an admixture of pine and spruce above 800–1000 m. Mountain the slopes in western Macedonia are often covered with shrubby vegetation. Above 2000 m above sea level subalpine meadows are common. In the extreme southeast, evergreen subtropical vegetation is common on brown soils.

The fauna is not rich. Large mammals include brown bear, lynx, wild boar, roe deer, chamois, fox, and wolf. Hares and other rodents, snakes, and lizards are numerous. The avifauna is rich. Its largest representatives are eagles, kites, partridges, cormorants (on Lake Ohrid), and bald eagle (in the vicinity of Lake Tikvesh). Lake Ohrid is home to dozens of fish species, including 13 species of cyprinids (one of them endemic), European eel, salmonids, including the endemic Ohrid salmon and trout.

Macedonia has small reserves of ore and non-metallic minerals: iron, lead-zinc, nickel, copper and manganese ore, chromite, magnesite, antimony, arsenic, sulfur, gold. In addition, there are deposits of brown coal, feldspars, dolomite, and gypsum.

Macedonia pays attention to nature conservation. Large national parks have been created on its territory - Mavrovo, Galchitsa, Pelister.

POPULATION

According to estimates as of July 2004, the country's population was 2 million 071 thousand 122 people. Of these, 21.5% are under 15 years of age, 67.8% are between 15 and 64 years of age, and 10.7% are 65 years of age and older. The average age of the population is 32.8 years, the average life expectancy is 74.73 years. Population growth in 2004 was 0.39%. The birth rate is estimated at 13.14 per 1000, mortality at 7.83 per 1000. The emigration rate is 1.46 per 1000. Infant mortality is 11.74 per 1000 births.

Largest cities: Skopje (the capital of the country, 449 thousand inhabitants), Bitola (75 thousand), Prilep (67 thousand), Kumanovo (66 thousand), Tetovo (50 thousand), Shtip (42 thousand), Ohrid (41 thousand), Strumitsa (33 thousand).

Ethnic composition of the population: Macedonians - 64%, Albanians - 25%, Turks - 4%, Roma - 3%, Serbs - 2%, others - 2%.

The official language is Macedonian, which belongs to the group of South Slavic languages ​​and is spoken by 70% of the country's population. At least 21% speak Albanian, which since 2001 has had official status in areas densely populated by Albanians. 3% of the country's residents each speak Turkish, Serbian and Croatian and other languages.

OK. 67% of religious residents belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, 30% are Muslims, 3% belong to other faiths.

Religion.

The majority of the country's inhabitants (approx. 67%) belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which declared its autonomy in 1958, and in 1967 declared its independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church, but its autocephaly is not recognized by other Orthodox churches. Muslims make up 30% of the total number of believers, adherents of other faiths – 3%. In total, there are 1,200 Orthodox churches and monasteries and 425 mosques in Macedonia.

STATE STRUCTURE

Vardar Macedonia, which was part of Yugoslavia from 1918 to 1991, was declared an independent state on September 8, 1991. The current constitution was adopted by parliament on November 17, 1991. In accordance with it, Macedonia is a democratic parliamentary-presidential republic. The constitution was amended in 1992 and 2001.

Central authorities. The head of state is the president, who is elected for a 5-year term in general elections and can serve only two consecutive terms. The President represents the country abroad, is responsible for conducting foreign policy, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the right of veto on bills approved by parliament in the first reading, nominates the Prime Minister, announces pardons, appoints ambassadors, nominates two members of the Republican Judicial Council and the Council on interethnic relations, appoints members of the Security Council. In 2004, Branko Crvenkovski, former leader of the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), was elected president of Macedonia.

The country's highest legislative body is the unicameral Assembly, consisting of 120 deputies (85 of them are elected by direct universal suffrage, 35 are elected by party lists). The term of office of deputies is 4 years. All citizens of the country who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote.

Parliament develops and approves the constitution, passes laws, approves taxes and the budget, ratifies international treaties and agreements, calls referendums, approves and removes the government, appoints and removes judges, and declares amnesty.

The highest executive body is the government. It consists of the prime minister, whom the president instructs to form a cabinet, and ministers proposed by the prime minister. After this, the government is elected by parliament and is responsible to it. Since 2004, the Prime Minister is Hari Kostov (SDSM).

Local authorities. Administratively, Macedonia is divided into 123 communities (7 of them constitute Greater Skopje). Communities have local elected bodies of self-government.

Political parties. Macedonia has had a multi-party system since 1990. Main political parties:

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia(SDSM) - founded in April 1991 as the successor to the Union of Communists of Macedonia - the Party of Democratic Change, which has had its current name since 1992. Social Democratic party, part of the Socialist International. Advocates for the social and national emancipation of citizens, the creation of a society of social justice with a democratic state of law, an effective market economy and joining the processes of European and Atlantic integration. In the field of economy, he calls for economic democracy, protection of the right to work and equality of economic entities. Before his election to the post of president of the country, the party was headed by B. Crvenkovski.

Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) - formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of the Liberal and Democratic parties. Stands for the sovereignty and integrity of Macedonia, for economic and political freedoms and in defense of the values ​​of liberal democracy. Leader – Risto Renov.

SDSM and LDP lead the ruling coalition " Together for Macedonia", which also includes Bosniak Democratic League,United Roma Party of Macedonia,Democratic parties of Serbs and Turks,Democratic Union of Vlachs,Working Agricultural Party,Socialist Christian Party of Macedonia And Green Party of Macedonia. In the parliamentary elections in September 2002, the coalition received 40.5% of the vote and 59 seats in the Assembly.

Democratic Union for Integration(DSI) is a radical party of the Albanian minority, created before the 2002 elections by former leaders of the Albanian rebel movement. Having received 11.9% of the vote and 16 seats in the Assembly, it became the largest Albanian party in the country. Joined the ruling coalition with SDSM and LDP. The leader is Ali Ahmeti.

Internal Macedonian revolutionary organization – Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity(VMRO – DPMNE) – the oldest party that has traditionally advocated the political independence of Macedonia. Formed in 1893, recreated in 1990. Currently, it characterizes itself as a party of Christian-democratic orientation, based on the Christian understanding of man and political responsibility. The party defends the concept of "Macedonism" (national unity of Macedonians). In the field of economics, he considers the market and private property as the basis of economic development. Supports integration into the EU and NATO. Leader – Lyubcho Georgievski.

Liberal Party of Macedonia(LPM) - broke away from the LDP in 1999. Advocates for the construction of a “civil society”, the development of the rule of law, freedom of the market and entrepreneurship. Leader – Stoyan Andov.

VMRO-DPMNE and LPM acted as a bloc in the 2002 parliamentary elections. They collected 24.4% of the votes and won 34 seats in the Assembly.

Democratic Party of Albanians(DPA) founded in 1997. Advocates for decentralization in favor of the Albanian minority, improving educational and employment opportunities for Albanians. In the 2002 elections, she received 5.2% of the vote and 7 seats in the Assembly. The leader is Arben Jaferi.

Democratic Prosperity Party(PDP) founded in 1990, the most moderate of the Albanian parties. In 2002 she received 2.3% of the votes and has 2 seats in the Assembly. The leader is Abdurrahman Haliti.

National Democratic Party(NDP) is a party of the Albanian minority. Received 2.1% of the votes, has 1 seat in the Assembly. The leader is Kastriot Hajireja.

Socialist Party of Macedonia(SPM) was founded in 1990. It describes itself as a “left-wing democratic socialist party.” Declares its commitment to the socialist idea and seeks to provide social and economic guarantees to all citizens of the country. The party seeks to give privatization a “human face”. In 2002 she received 2.1% of the vote; has 1 seat in the Assembly. The leader is Lyubisav Ivanov.

There are also parties in the country " Democratic alternative» (centrist, founded in 1998, leader - V. Tupurkovski), Democratic Union and etc.

Judicial system.

The country has a three-tier judicial system, including municipal, district courts and the Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial body of general jurisdiction. Judges are usually elected for an unlimited term. The general management of judicial institutions is carried out by the Republican Judicial Council (composed of 7 judges), which is elected by parliament for 6 years and has broad powers to review the composition of courts in cases provided for by the constitution and also nominates two candidates to the Constitutional Court. Constitutional control is within the competence of the Constitutional Court, consisting of 9 judges elected for a term of up to 9 years without the right of re-election. Every 3 years there is a rotation of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, elected from its own composition. Since 1997, parliament has appointed an ombudsman (people's human rights defender) for a period of 8 years, who is empowered to investigate cases of human rights violations.

Political parties.

In the mid-1990s, approx. 60 political parties, by 2002 their number had decreased to 32.

The largest political party is the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity (VMRO - DPMNE). In 1993, on the anniversary of its 100th anniversary, it was noted that it had 300 thousand members (probably this figure is greatly inflated). VMRO-DPMNE was re-established on June 17, 1990. It proclaims the unity of patriotic and democratic goals, as well as the idea of ​​national unity of all Macedonians (the concept of Macedonism as "restoring the honor and dignity of the people and their state." These priorities were proclaimed by Ljubco Georgievski, who was elected leader party on June 29, 1994. After Georgievski became prime minister on November 30, 1998, and another VMRO leader, DPMNE B. Trajkovski, became president of the country on December 5, 1999, the party softened the position of “Macedonism”, and after the exacerbation of the interethnic conflict, it came to an agreement with the Albanian national parties regarding amendments to the country's constitution. VMRO - DPMNE supports the country's accession to the EU and NATO.

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) – successor to the Union of Communists of Macedonia - Party of Democratic Change, SCM - PDP (from its founding in 1943 until April 1990 it was called the Union of Communists of Macedonia). Formed on April 20, 1991, in May 1992 it was renamed SDSM. In the program adopted in 1993, it declared itself a civil party based on the provisions of modern social democracy and the ethical principles of European humanism, social justice and personal dignity. Chairman – Branko Crvenkovski; General Secretary - Georgi Spasov. Since 1996 SDSM has been represented in the Socialist International.

Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM) – founded on September 22, 1990. Adheres to a socialist orientation, the program is based on the principles of the Socialist International. Considers it impossible to achieve well-being and prosperity without socialism; At the same time, he advocates privatization “with a human face.” The party program sets the task of providing every citizen of the country with economic and social guarantees. Chairman – Lyubislav Ivanov.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Macedonia was formed in January 1997 as a result of the merger of the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party. The Liberal Party (leader Stojan Andov) took shape in October 1990 as a result of the merger of the Union of Reformist Forces of Macedonia and the Youth Democratic Progressive Party. The Democratic Party was founded in April 1992 by Petar Goshev. In the previous parliament it had 29 seats in parliament. It was briefly part of the government in the spring of 1999, but never formally joined the three-party ruling coalition. Chairman – Risto Renov.

Democratic alternative (YES) is a centrist party founded in 1998. Chairman is Vasil Tuporkovsky.

The Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP) was founded on April 15, 1990. It considers itself the least radical among ethnic Albanian parties. In 1994–1998, together with SDSM, it was part of the government. Supports Kosovo's autonomy. Currently in opposition. She advocated the full legalization of the university in Tetovo, as well as amendments to the constitution in order to change the status of Albanians. Chairman – Ymer Imeri.

The Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) was founded in 1997 by representatives of the younger generation of the PDP. Advocates for decentralization in favor of the Albanian national minority living in western Macedonia, improving educational and employment opportunities for Albanians, and supports full independence for Kosovo. Chairman – Arben Xhaferi.

Armed forces.

The Macedonian armed forces include ground forces, air force, navy and air defense forces. The ground forces serve approx. 16 thousand people (7 thousand professional military personnel, 8 thousand conscripts, 1 thousand command officers), in the Air Force - 700 people, in the Navy - 400 people. In addition, the police have approx. 7500 employees. Macedonia, under the auspices of NATO, began to reorganize and modernize its army. The core of the army will be two elite motorized infantry rapid response brigades. In addition, the armed forces will include the Air Force, the border brigade and regiments - armored, engineer, communications; battalions - reconnaissance and military police; a guards unit for official events and units for rear service and strategic reserves.

Foreign policy.

The foreign policy situation of Macedonia was complicated due to relations with its neighbors, primarily with Greece, which was afraid of territorial claims on the Greek part of Macedonia and demanded that the use of the word “Macedonia” in the name of the state be prohibited. Only in 1993 the country was admitted to the UN (and then to a number of its specialized organizations) under the name “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (FYROM). Relations with Greece were normalized in 1995, but problems persist. Relations with Yugoslavia normalized in 1996, but in 1999 Macedonia allowed NATO to use its territory for actions against Yugoslavia. The country is a member of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. The formation of relations with Russia began in 1993 with the conclusion of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on cooperation. In 1998, the presidents of the Russian Federation and Macedonia signed a declaration of friendship and cooperation.

ECONOMY

At the time of independence, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing approx. 5% of the total volume of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia, which deprived Macedonia of transfers from the center and the benefits of free trade with other republics, poor infrastructure, the UN embargo against Yugoslavia and economic sanctions from Greece until 1996 hampered economic growth. GDP growth was observed in 1996–2000. From 1990–1993, a broad privatization program was carried out. The ethnic conflict of 2001 dealt a significant blow to the Macedonian economy; the volume of production of goods and services decreased by 4.5%. In 2002, economic growth was observed at 0.3%, and in 2003 – 2.8%. Unemployment remains one of the most pressing problems, reaching 37%. 24% of the population lives below the official poverty level.

GDP in 2002 was estimated at $10.57 billion, which corresponds to $5,100 per capita. Agriculture contributes 11% of GDP, industry – 31%, service sector – 58%.

Agroclimatic conditions are favorable for farming. Cereal crops include wheat, corn and rice. Industrial crops such as tobacco, sunflower, cotton, and poppy are of greatest economic importance. Macedonia is famous for the high quality of tobacco (about 50% is exported) and the production of vegetable oil. Viticulture and winemaking are widely developed. Among vegetable crops, preference is given to growing tomatoes, peppers, melons, and zucchini. A greenhouse farm has also been developed, producing early vegetables. Among the fruit and berry crops, apples, plums, cherries, cherries, pears, walnuts, citrus fruits, blackberries, raspberries, etc. are grown. The procurement of mushrooms and medicinal herbs has been established. Pasture livestock farming is developed in mountainous areas. The population raises sheep, goats, cattle, pigs - 116 thousand. The country also has poultry farming and beekeeping. Residents of lake areas are engaged in fishing.

Industrial production, after some growth in the late 1990s, fell by 5% in 2002. In 2001, 6465 billion kWh of electricity was produced (approx. 84% at thermal power plants and approximately 16% at hydroelectric power plants). The share of brown coal as a primary energy resource in electricity production is approx. 50%, second place is occupied by oil and petroleum products (approx. 30%), followed by hydropower and natural gas. Approximately 65% ​​of energy needs are met from its own resources.

Brown coal, chrome, tin, zinc, etc. are mined in the country. There are metallurgical plants in Skopje, Veles, Bitola and Kumanovo, enterprises in the transport engineering and electrical industries. The chemical industry is based mainly on imported raw materials. A large chemical plant is located in Skopje. The development of the chemical industry is facilitated by foreign investment (USA - in the pharmaceutical industry, Turkey - in the production of fuels, lubricants and plastics, Italy - in the production of technical glass). The main centers of the textile industry are Tetovo (production of woolen fabrics), Shtip (cotton mill), Veles (silk weaving mill). They produce mainly ready-made clothes, including knitted clothes, bedspreads, bed linen, artificial fur, blankets, cotton threads, wool yarn, fabrics, and carpets. The tanning and leather-footwear industry operates mainly on imported raw materials and is largely developing thanks to investments from Italian and Italian-American companies. There is a pulp and paper industry. A significant part of Macedonian industrial products is exported.

Dolomite, limestone, feldspar, gypsum, diatomite, marble, etc. are mined from non-metallic minerals. Silicate-ceramic and glass production, as well as the production of building materials, have been developed based on local raw materials.

Export volume in 2002 was estimated at 1.1 billion US dollars. The country exports food, wine and drinks, tobacco products, various industrial products, iron and steel. Main export partners: Germany, Italy, USA, Croatia and Greece. The volume of imports reached 1.9 billion US dollars in 2002. Macedonia imports machinery and equipment, chemical products, fuel and food; main partners are Greece, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine.

State budget revenues in 2001 were estimated at $1.13 billion; expenses - $1.02 billion. Macedonia's external debt reached $1.3 billion. The country receives significant economic assistance from abroad ($150 million in 2001). The monetary unit is the Macedonian dinar (in 2002 the rate was 64.35 dinars per 1 US dollar).

The length of railways is 699 km. (233 km are electrified), the length of roads is 8684 km. (including 5540 km with hard surface). The country has 18 airports (including 10 paved), including international airports in Skopje and Ohrid.

CULTURE

Education system

includes primary, secondary and high school. There are 344 primary eight-year schools in the country, where 254 thousand schoolchildren study. 170.4 thousand schoolchildren in 331 schools study in Macedonian, 76.6 thousand students in 128 schools in Albanian, 6.3 thousand students in 36 schools in Turkish and more than 600 students in 12 schools in Serbian language. In the 1999/2000 school year, there were 92 public secondary schools with approximately 91.1 thousand students (3 of them for the disabled, with 340 students) and 3 private secondary schools. Secondary school education is two-, three- and four-year. Secondary schools are divided into those providing classical, special vocational and artistic education. 76.1 thousand students studied in the Macedonian language in public schools, in the Albanian language - in 22 schools. 14.4 thousand people, in Turkish - in 4 schools approx. 600 people.

There are three universities in Macedonia: Saints Cyril and Methodius in Skopje (opened in 1946), Saint Clement of Ohrid in Bitola and the Albanian University in Tetovo (founded in 1995, received official recognition in 1998). The universities of Skopje and Bitola enroll approx. 34.8 thousand students, most of them Macedonians (89.2%); Albanians 5.6%, Turks – 1.1%, Vlachs – 0.9%, Roma – 0.1%, representatives of other national minorities – 3.1%. There are approximately 30 colleges within the universities. In addition, there is a pedagogical faculty that trains teachers of the Macedonian language and other ethnic minority languages. Education in Macedonia is free. In addition, the state provides grants for food and accommodation for high school students and university college students. Expenditures on education before the start of the interethnic conflict in 2001 amounted to 5–6% of GDP.

In Macedonia, attention is paid to the education of the adult population: there are courses for completing secondary education, acquiring a specialty and retraining. Courses are offered in computer science, computer science, foreign languages, management basics, business, etc.

History of culture.

The Republic of Macedonia preserves traces of the culture of Ancient Macedonia - a province of the Roman Empire, and then the historical region of Macedonia. Immigrants from Macedonia Cyril and Methodius in the second half of the 9th century. translated the Bible into the Solunsky dialect, which played a big role in the development of Slavic writing. In the ancient, mentioned from the 3rd century. BC. In the city of Ohrid in 886, one of Methodius’ students, the educator and writer Clement of Ohrid (840–916), began his activity. In the 11th–14th centuries. Macedonia established its own style of fresco painting. The monasteries on Mount Athos (Chalkidiki Peninsula) at this time were recognized centers of education. The Hilendar Monastery became widely known.

After the Ottoman conquest, the culture of Macedonia was Turkified, surviving mainly in rural areas in the form of folklore and traditional crafts. Monasteries were the guardians of spiritual culture and literature. In 1762, the monk of the Hilendar and Zograf monasteries, Paisiy Hilendar (1722–1798), completed the book Slavic-Bulgarian history(first published in 1844) - a monument to national revival.

The idea of ​​an independent (from Bulgarian) Macedonian language appeared in the 1870s and became more widespread in the early 20th century. In post-war Yugoslavia, Macedonian literary magazines began to be published, in 1946 the Union of Macedonian Writers was created, and in 1954 the Society of Macedonian Language and Literature began publishing fiction in the Macedonian language. The literature was dominated by the traditions of realism until the 1990s.

Architecture and art.

Macedonia has preserved many architectural monuments - buildings of Orthodox churches and monasteries, as well as monuments from the times of Islamic rule - mosques, civil buildings, etc. After the earthquake of 1963, Skopje was rebuilt according to the design of the Japanese architect K. Tange (b. 1913).

Fine art, based on local traditions, developed in the 1920s and bears the imprints of archaism; In recent years, Macedonian artists and sculptors have been mastering contemporary art styles.

The traditions of secular music appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1907, the Vardar singing society arose, and since the 1930s, professional musical groups. The first theater troupe appeared in Skopje in 1901, in 1913 the first permanent Serbian People's Theater was opened there (since 1945 - Macedonian People's Theater), and in 1947 an opera troupe was created at this theater. In total, in 1994 there were 10 theaters in the country (with the exception of small stage venues) and 6 symphony orchestras.

In 1967 the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts was founded. There are several scientific institutes and societies. There are 17 museums throughout the country. Most of them are concentrated in Skopje. The most famous among them are: the National Museum, the Macedonian Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of the City of Skopje, and the Museum of Art of Macedonia.

Mass media.

Newspapers are published in relatively large circulations: in the Macedonian language “Nova Makedonia” (25 thousand copies) and “Evening” (29 thousand copies), in the Albanian language “Flyaka e velazerimit” (4 thousand copies) and in Turkish - Birlik. The Macedonian News Agency has been operating since 1993.

Broadcasting is carried out on three radio and three television channels - in Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish. There are a total of 49 radio stations and 31 television stations in Macedonia. The Macedonian population owns 410 thousand radios and 510 thousand televisions. Macedonia has approximately 410 thousand telephone lines and more than 12 thousand mobile phones. In 2001 there were 100 thousand Internet users.

STORY

Ancient period.

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. the area that later became known as Macedonia was occupied mainly by Illyrians in the west and Thracians in the east. A thousand years later, the mountainous regions of Orestida (near present-day Kastoria) and the valley of the Aliakmon River were inhabited by a tribe calling themselves Macedonians. Several centuries later, this semi-nomadic tribe captured most of the territory between Lake Lychnitis (Ohrid) in the west, the middle reaches of the Axius (Vardar) River in the north, the Strymon River in the east and Mount Olympus in the south. The area was originally called Imathia and was later renamed Macedonia. Lower or Southern Macedonia was directly under the rule of Macedonian chiefs, who enslaved or displaced the former inhabitants of Thrace, while Upper Macedonia was peopled by independent tribes related to the Illyrians and Macedonians.

After the failures of the Persian king Xerxes' attempts to conquer Macedonia and then Greece at the beginning of the 5th century. BC. The Macedonian kings started a struggle for power over the territory between Alyakmon and Strymon. As a result, one of the kings, Philip II (reigned 359–336 BC) from the Argead family, won. He fought against the Illyrians, captured the non-Macedonian Greek colonies of Chalkidiki, annexed the territory between the rivers Strymon and Nestos, subjugated Thrace and then invaded southern Greece. In 337, Philip convened representatives of the Greek city-states and created a pan-Greek union (Congress of Corinth).

When Philip was killed, his son Alexander the Great (of Macedon) rose to power, subjugated the tribes south of the Danube, destroyed Thebes as the city's inhabitants rebelled against him, and then led Macedonian-Greek armies into Asia. Alexander conquered the Persian empire and over 11 years of military campaigns expanded his possessions to the Indus River and captured Egypt.

After Alexander's death in Babylon, the vast empire was divided among his military leaders, with Macedonia going to Antipater. The era of Hellenistic culture, which began after the collapse of the empire of Alexander the Great, became an era of synthesis of Greek, Egyptian and Persian cultures.

In the 3rd century. BC. Macedonia and Thrace were invaded from the north by Celtic tribes who crossed the Hellespont (Dardanelles) and entered Asia Minor, but did not have a noticeable impact on Macedonia. In 148 BC The Romans annexed the Macedonian kingdom to their empire. From this time begins the period of eight centuries of Roman rule.

In the Middle Ages and Modern times, the Vlachs of Raska (medieval Serbia), Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus and Bulgaria were considered descendants of the Balkan locals who underwent Romanization. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD. Macedonia was included in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.

Slavic invasions.

Raids by the Goths, Vandals and Huns in the 4th–5th centuries. slightly changed the ethnic appearance of this area. However, at the end of the 6th century. In Macedonia, such an important ethnic element appeared as the Slavs and Avars, who spoke the Slavic language. Among the Slavic tribes that settled throughout Macedonia were the Sagudates (west of Thessaloniki), the Rhynhins (on the Chalkidiki Peninsula), the Smolenians (east of the Vardar), the Dragovici (along the upper and middle reaches of the Vardar River and on the Pelagonian Plain), bersites (in Upper, or North-Western, Macedonia) and velegesites (in South Macedonia and Thessaly). These tribes, who settled east of the Struma River, began to be called Strumyans.

Slavic invasions of the 6th–7th centuries. forced the Byzantine Empire to give up most of Macedonia. However, the Slavs failed to capture or destroy the main Macedonian cities - Thessaloniki, Sere, Edessa and Veria. Later, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (reigned 610–641) subjugated the Slavic tribes.

To weaken the rebellious Slavs, the Byzantine emperors forcibly resettled some of them from the territory of Macedonia to Asia Minor and replaced them with Scythians who settled along the lower reaches of the Struma River, as well as baptized Turks (Vardariots), who were settled in the area of ​​the Vardar River. In the 7th century. The Volga Bulgars captured the lower reaches of the Danube and moved further south. By the end of the 9th century. they created a kingdom that included virtually all of Macedonia, except Thessaloniki. To counter the Bulgarian threat, Byzantium settled Armenians and other peoples in Western Thrace. Nevertheless, for a whole century the Slavs of Macedonia remained under Bulgarian rule.

Spread of Christianity.

Macedonian cities were among the first urban communities in the Mediterranean to convert to Christianity. The Apostle Paul was engaged in missionary work in this area. By the 4th century. Macedonia was almost completely baptized. However, the Slavic invasions revived paganism in the occupied territories; the exception was the cities that were under Byzantine rule (including Thessaloniki, the birthplace of Cyril and Methodius).

The Church began preaching the Gospel among the Slavic pagans in the 7th century, Christianization continued by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the 8th century. Nevertheless, by the middle of the 9th century. Only the Slavs of the southern part of Macedonia were baptized; the conversion of the Slavs in the lands of northern Macedonia occurred after their capture by the Bulgarians.

After the adoption of Christianity (865), the Bulgarian Tsar Boris (reigned 872–889) and his son Simeon (reigned 893–927) invited the monks Clement and Nahum to Macedonia to instruct the local population in the Christian faith. They became disciples of Cyril and Methodius. The Macedonian Archbishopric of Ohrid became a religious center from which Cyrillic writing and the Orthodox faith spread throughout Serbia, Bulgaria and Kievan Rus'.

However, opposition subsequently arose to the newly established churches in Macedonia. From the 10th century the dualistic religious movement of Bogomilism (“Dregovitskaya Church”) is spreading here.

Samuel and Byzantium.

The First Bulgarian Kingdom fell under the blows of rebels in the northwestern part of Bulgaria (the uprising was raised at the instigation of the Bogomils in Macedonia), as well as the armies of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav (d. 972) and the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimisces (d. 976). In the western part of Bulgaria, the Western Bulgarian Kingdom arose (976–1018), Samuel (d. 1014) became king, who made Ohrid his capital. In 1014, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II defeated Samuel's army, and a few years later Byzantium completely captured Macedonia.

After the restoration of Byzantine rule and the unsuccessful revolts of the Macedonian Slavs in 1040–1041 and 1072–1073 (and partly successful revolts of other Balkan Slavs), many Bogomils fled north to Raska and from there to Bosnia. During the 4th Crusade (1204–1205), South Macedonia and Thessaloniki came into the possession of Boniface of Montferrat; North Macedonia was occupied by the new Bulgarian, or Vlach-Bulgarian, state, created in 1185 after a successful revolt against Byzantium. However, in the second half of the 13th century. Macedonia again went to Byzantium.

Medieval period.

By the end of the 13th century. The princes of the Nemanjic dynasty from Raska (Serbia) extended their power to northern and northwestern Macedonia. At the beginning of the 14th century. Catalan soldiers (hired by Byzantium for the wars in Asia Minor against the Turks and in Thrace against the Bulgarians) crossed the border and began to plunder southern Macedonia. During the reign of Stefan Dušan Nemanja (1331–1355), Epirus, Thessaly and all of Macedonia, with the exception of Thessaloniki, became part of Serbia. In 1346, Skopje became the capital of a new kingdom - the Serbian-Greek, and Stefan Dusan was proclaimed "king of the Serbs and Greeks."

After Dusan's death, Macedonia was divided among ten Serbian landowners, the most powerful of whom were representatives of the Mrnjavcevic family. Southeastern Macedonia came under the rule of Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, while the Prizren–Skopje–Prilep region was under the rule of his brother Vukašin. However, Vukashin and Uglesha died on September 26, 1371 in the Battle of Maritsa with the Turks (at Chernomen). Vukašin's son, Prince Marko, a beloved hero of Serbian, Macedonian and Western Bulgarian epic poems, became a Turkish vassal. By 1394, all of Macedonia, with the exception of some of its southern parts, was in the hands of the Turks.

Ottoman yoke.

As a result of the Ottoman occupation of Macedonia, part of the Christian population was destroyed. Many feudal lords fled to the west and north, some of them compromised with the Ottoman authorities, and some converted to Islam. The number of Turks and Muslims in Macedonia was negligible until the 15th and 16th centuries, when nomadic Turks from Anatolia called Yuryuks were resettled by the Ottoman government in the rural areas of the region. The second wave of Islamization ceased in the second half of the 17th century, during and after the Kandyan (Venetian-Turkish) War (1645–1669) and the War of the Holy League (1683–1699). In eastern Macedonia and Bulgaria, converts to Islam during this period were given the name pomaks (helpers), as they served in the Ottoman Empire in local police forces or auxiliaries. Conversion to Islam also occurred in other areas at that time. In the 19th century The Ottoman government settled Circassian Muslims in a number of places in Macedonia. In addition, after the liberation of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke, many Muslims left these territories and settled in Macedonia.

The population of Macedonia constantly opposed Ottoman rule and Islamization. In the 1560s, during the last years of the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, a revolt against the Ottoman yoke began in Macedonia. Even more significant uprisings broke out during the Austro-Turkish wars (1593–1606, 1683–1699).

In 1689, the Habsburg armies occupied Skopje. In the districts of Kratovo and Zletovo in northeastern Macedonia, tax farmers have traditionally used forced labor to develop natural resource deposits. When the Habsburg armies came to the area, one of the miners, Karposh, led a revolt against the Turks (1689). In 1690, after the departure of the Austrians, the uprising was suppressed by the Turks, Karposh was killed, and many Macedonians were sold into slavery. Another part of the Macedonians fled to Vojvodina, which was under Austrian rule.

The growth of rebellions was partly due to the spread in the second half of the 16th century. “Çiftlik” system (Turkish “pair oxen team”). This system was characterized by the emergence of a class of new landowners, to whom the peasants were forced to give part of their production. In the 16th century cities grew and a market for agricultural products appeared. Growth of population and industry in Western Europe in the 18th century. increased demand for grain crops, cotton and other raw materials and agricultural products. Macedonia became one of the main areas of the Balkans in which a merchant class emerged, consisting mainly of Greeks and Vlachs and partly Slavs.

Wealthy Macedonian merchants formed an influential local aristocracy and sometimes became powerful governors (for example, Ali Pasha Tepelensky of Ioannina). Some merchants showed sympathy for the ideas of the French Revolution and the independence movement led by Karadjordje Petrovich from Serbia; many Macedonian Vlachs were active supporters of the Serbian independence movement. In 1807–1808, several uprisings took place in Macedonia and neighboring areas, led by partisan leaders who wanted to unite with Karageorgi's troops. They showed similar sympathy for the struggle for Greek independence in 1821.

National problems and nationalism.

At the beginning of the 19th century. The Christian population of Macedonia was partly part of Rumelia - the so-called Byzantine lands captured by the Ottoman Empire. About a third of the population were Muslims, mostly of Turkish origin; in cities, Muslim Slavs and Albanians were a minority; in rural areas, Muslim Albanians and Muslim Slavs settled in the upper reaches of the Mesta River. The cities were dominated by Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians and Vlachs. Jews immigrated in the second half of the 15th century and throughout the 16th century. from Hungary, Spain and Italy. The Slavic element gained some importance in the cities only after 1860.

The share of Slavs in the population of Macedonia decreased due to the emigration of Slavs in 1690 and the immigration of Albanians throughout the 16th century. and after 1690, as well as the appearance of Greeks and Vlachs in the cities in the 18th–19th centuries. In the northern part of Macedonia during Napoleon's time, Slavs made up more than half the population, in the southern part less than a third, and about a third of the population were Greeks. However, the proportion of the Greek population grew as a result of the Hellenization of many Vlachs and some of the wealthier Slavs. In both the northern and southern parts of Macedonia, power was concentrated in the hands of the Turks, while economic power until 1860 was in the hands of the Greeks, Jews and Vlachs.

The formation of Slavic national identity in Macedonia was influenced by the national liberation movement in Greece 1821–1829. It was significantly affected by the spread of Russian influence after the Napoleonic wars and the Russian-Turkish war of 1828–1829. The Treaty of Adrianople (1829) destroyed the Greek trade monopoly in the Eastern Balkans.

The lower clergy of Macedonia, hostile to the Greek hierarchs, were the first to promote the spread of Slavic identity among the Macedonian Slavs. The Osogovo and Lesnovo monasteries played an important role in this. After 1860, Slavic patriotism also spread to secular, more educated circles, especially in Struga and Ohrid. Nevertheless, a significant part of the Slavic population of Macedonia was not imbued with the spirit of national identity even in the turning points of Macedonian history (1900, 1912, 1945), preferring a union with Greece or Bulgaria.

Exarchate and VMRO.

In 1870, the Ottoman government, under pressure from Russia, allowed the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The main goal of the exarchate was the creation of a national clergy designed to replace the foreign (Greek) one. Many Bulgarians and Bulgarianized Macedonians used the new church organization to establish Bulgarian-language schools. After 1890, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian and Romanian Orthodox churches competed in Macedonia.

In 1876, the uprising of the Christian peasantry of Bosnia and Herzegovina also spread to the regions of Macedonia and Bulgaria, but was brutally suppressed by the Turks. In Thessaloniki, the French and German consuls, who were considered instigators of the uprisings, were killed. The Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ended with the signing of the Peace of San Stefano, which provided for the creation of Great Bulgaria with the inclusion of almost all of Macedonia (without Thessaloniki). After the intervention of Great Britain and Austria, the terms of the Peace of San Stefano were revised in the same year at the Congress of Berlin, and Macedonia remained part of Turkey.

After 1885, Macedonian revolutionary circles were organized in Thessaloniki, Plovdiv and Sofia. In 1893, two Macedonian teachers (Goce Delchev and Damyan Gruev) founded a secret society in Thessaloniki, later transformed into the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). Delchev, Gruev and their supporters Jane Sandanski and Gorce Petrov believed that Macedonia could achieve liberation only as a result of an internal revolution, in which it was necessary to involve the bulk of the population. Such an organization was founded in 1894 in Veles as the first socialist group of workers in Macedonia under the leadership of Vasil Glavinov. In the same year, the so-called Supreme Revolutionary Committee was formed at the Bulgarian royal court, which included officers of the Bulgarian army and a number of Macedonian emigrants. The committee sought to convince the Macedonian Slavs that Macedonia could only be liberated with the support of Bulgaria.

VMRO arose as a result of the movement for Macedonian autonomy and was initially hostile to the Exarchate and Bulgarian officials. However, soon the so-called supremists - agents of the Bulgarian Supreme Revolutionary Committee - began to penetrate the ranks of the VMRO; VMRO's situation became more complicated after the decision of Greece, Romania and Serbia to organize their own partisan detachments in order to limit the influence of Bulgaria.

By 1902, the VMRO had split into two hostile factions: the right wing advocated annexation to Bulgaria, and the left wing advocated autonomy for Macedonia within the Balkan Federation. At a secret congress in early 1903, adherents of the Bulgarian supremists in the VMRO convinced the delegates of the need to raise an uprising. The uprising began on August 2, Ilyin’s Day (hence the name Ilindensky) in the southwestern region of Macedonia (Bitola Vilayet, modern Bitola), lasted two months and was suppressed by the Ottomans. During the uprising, its leader Nikola Karev proclaimed a socialist republic in the Vlach-Slavic mountain town of Krusevo. Soon, VMRO almost entirely came under the control of supporters of Bulgarian hegemony, and thousands of Macedonians from the area of ​​the uprising emigrated to Bulgaria, Serbia, the USA and Canada.

Division of Macedonia.

In 1912, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro formed a military alliance against Turkey, and on October 9, 1912, the 1st Balkan War broke out, followed by Turkey's war with Italy in Tripolitania and the anti-Ottoman uprising in Albania. The Allies achieved major military successes, and Macedonia was freed from the Ottoman yoke. However, the victors were unable to agree on the division of territories after the end of the war on May 30, 1913.

Serbia, whose access to the Adriatic Sea was blocked by Austria, wanted a larger share of Macedonia; part of it was supposed to go to Bulgaria under the secret Serbian-Bulgarian treaty of 1912. In accordance with the terms of the treaty, to resolve the Serbian-Bulgarian territorial dispute, Serbia intended to turn to the Russian Tsar. However, on June 29, 1913, Bulgarian troops attacked Serbia. After this, Greece, Romania and Turkey, defending their own interests, entered the war on the side of Serbia. As a result of the 2nd Balkan War, which ended on August 10, 1913, Bulgaria lost territory in all directions. Behind it remained only the northeastern part of Macedonia - the Pirin region. The southern part - Aegean Macedonia - went to Greece, and the western and central parts - Vardar Macedonia - to Serbia. To achieve revenge, the Bulgarian government during World War I joined the Central European powers, opposed Serbia and Greece, and occupied Vardar Macedonia and part of Aegean Macedonia. After the defeat of Germany and its allies, Bulgaria was forced to return the occupied areas, as well as cede a number of other territories to Greece and Serbia.

In 1918, Vardar Macedonia within Serbia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. This decision created new tensions between Yugoslavia and neighboring states.

After the First World War, VMRO created armed detachments that were sent from Bulgaria to Greek and Yugoslav Macedonia to carry out terrorist attacks. In 1923, VMRO militants killed the leader of the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Alexander Stamboliskiy, who maintained friendly relations with Yugoslavia. In 1924, leadership of the VMRO passed to Ivan Mikhailov, who organized the murder of many political opponents and facilitated a secret conspiracy to assassinate the Yugoslav King Alexander in 1934. For 10 years (1924–1934), Mikhailov was the de facto dictator of Bulgarian Macedonia, which served the interests of Sofia. However, in 1934 the Bulgarian military dictatorship stopped the activities of VMRO, and Mikhailov fled to Turkey.

In 1941, Bulgaria entered World War II on the side of Germany and occupied most of Greek Macedonia (the regions of Florina and Kastoria), Eastern Macedonia along with Western Thrace, as well as almost all of Yugoslav Macedonia. The rest of the territory was occupied by Italian troops. An underground communist-dominated resistance movement emerged throughout the Balkan lands. However, the Central Committees of the Yugoslav and Bulgarian Communist Parties came into conflict as each sought control of the resistance movement in Yugoslav Macedonia. At the beginning of 1943, the chairman of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, sent Montenegrin Svetozar Vukmanovic (General Tempo) to organize the Macedonian section of the national liberation movement. The Bulgarian communists were never able to fully come to terms with this decision. On November 29, 1945, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed, which included Macedonia.

In August 1947, Tito and Bulgarian Prime Minister Georgi Dimitrov met in Bled and agreed that all of Macedonia (or at least part of Greek and all of Bulgarian Macedonia) would eventually enter into an alliance with Yugoslav Macedonia, provided that Bulgaria became integral part of the Federation of Balkan States. The implementation of the part of the agreement concerning Greek Macedonia depended on the success of the partisans in Greece. After the break in relations between Yugoslav and Soviet communists in 1948, Yugoslavia stopped supporting the Moscow-oriented Greek communists.

After the death of Tito, the movement for independence intensified in Macedonia, but already in 1982 a movement arose for an independent Albanian republic of Ilirida; Committees to assist the Albanian Republic were created in Switzerland and Pristina (Kosovo).

Independent Macedonia.

In January 1991, parliament adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. A prominent functionary of the Union of Communists of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov (1991–1999), became the country's president. In March 1991, the first multi-party elections were held, after which a coalition government was formed led by the communist leader (later the party was transformed into SDSM) Branko Crvenkovski. It also included the conservative VMRO-DPMNE, liberals and the Albanian Democratic Prosperity Party. On September 8, 1991, in a referendum, more than 95% of participants supported independence and on September 17, Macedonia was declared an independent state. In February 1992, Yugoslav troops were withdrawn from it.

Due to disagreements with its neighbors, the new state did not immediately receive international recognition. Tensions remained within the country between the Slavic Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority, which in January 1992 voted in its own referendum for autonomy for the Albanian regions of the republic. In December 1993, UN peacekeeping forces were introduced into Macedonia, replaced in 1999 by a contingent of NATO forces (14 thousand military personnel).

In the parliamentary elections held in the fall of 1994, the Union for Macedonia bloc (SDSM, Socialist and Liberal parties) won. Crvenkovski formed a government with the participation of bloc parties and the Albanian Party of Democratic Prosperity, but in 1996 the liberals left the ruling coalition

When large-scale hostilities broke out in Kosovo in the spring of 1998, interethnic relations in Macedonia deteriorated again. According to official data, during 1998 alone, 1,884 terrorist attacks were committed, in which approx. 300 people. In the summer of 1998, the UN decided to increase the number of its peacekeepers in Macedonia.

Parliamentary elections in the fall of 1998 brought defeat to the Social Democrats. VMRO-DPMNE leader Ljubco Georgievski formed a government with the participation of representatives of his own party, the LDP and the Democratic Party of Albanians. The new government promised reconciliation with the Albanians. Albanian mayors convicted in 1997 for raising Albanian flags have been pardoned. In 1999, the composition of the cabinet was changed: the centrist Democratic Alternative party and the Albanian Party of Democratic Prosperity became the new partners of VMRO-DPMNE. In 1999, VMRO-DPMNE candidate Boris Trajkovski (1999–2004) was elected President of Macedonia, thanks to the support of the Albanian population.

The events of 1999 in Kosovo became the detonator of a new round of the Albanian separatist movement in Macedonia. Since 2000, Macedonia has become an arena of confrontation between the Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority. In March 2001, armed clashes began in the north-west of the country between government troops and Albanians, who advocated proportional participation in all government structures, for Albanian autonomy in the area of ​​​​the city of Tetovo in Western Macedonia and for the unification of all Balkan territories inhabited by Albanians into a single Greater Albania . Albanian separatists formed the National Liberation Army (ALN) and launched an attack on Skopje with the participation of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

In April 2001, the US State Department decided to provide assistance to Macedonia in the amount of $33 million, of which approximately $7 million was allocated to support the Albanian University in Tetovo, and $17 million was allocated for military assistance to the Macedonian government. Under US pressure, on May 14, 2001 in Macedonia, Georgievski formed a government of “political unity” with the participation of VMRO-DPMNE, SDSM, the Democratic Party of Albanians and the Party of Democratic Prosperity. In August of the same year, at negotiations organized through Western mediation in Ohrid, the leaders of Macedonian political forces agreed to resolve the conflict. It was envisaged to introduce amendments to the constitution that would abolish the recognition of the Macedonians as the titular nation and grant the Albanian language official status in areas of compact residence. The representation of Albanians in government bodies has been expanded. NATO forces were introduced into Macedonia, and the Albanian rebels agreed to disarm. Parliament approved the agreements and constitutional amendments on November 16, 2001.

At the end of 2001, the “grand coalition” collapsed, and Georgievski headed a new cabinet with the participation of VMRO-DPMNE, the Democratic Party of Albanians and a number of small parties. In the fall of 2002, the opposition coalition “Together for Macedonia” led by the Social Democrats won the parliamentary elections. Among the Albanian parties, the most radical party, the Democratic Union of Integration, led by the former political leader of the National Liberation Army Ali Ahmeti, achieved success. SDSM leader Crvenkovski formed a new government in Macedonia with the participation of the Social Democrats, Liberal Democrats and the Albanian DSI party. It continued market transformations. Since 2004, the country has been implementing pension reform, which includes the development of private pension funds.

After the death of President Trajkovski in a plane crash in the spring of 2004, Crvenkovski was elected President of Macedonia in April 2004. In the second round, he received 60.6% of the votes, ahead of VMRO-DPMNE candidate Sashko Kedev, who received 39.4%. Social Democrat Hari Kostov became the new prime minister in May 2004.

Literature:

History of the Macedonian people. Translation from Macedonian. Skopje, 1986
Vyazemskaya E.K., Danchenko S.I. Russia and the Balkans, end of the 18th century. – 1918 (Soviet post-war historiography). M., 1990
Grachev V.P. Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the 18th–19th centuries: internal situation, prerequisites for national liberations. M., 1990
The Balkans at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries: Essays on the formation of national states and political structure in South-Eastern Europe. M., 1991
Early feudal states and nationalities.(Southern and Western Slavs, VI–XII centuries.). M., 1991
International relations and the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe during the period of fascist aggression in the Balkans and preparations for an attack on the USSR(September 1940 – June 1941). M., 1992
National revival of the Balkan peoples in the first half of the 19th century and Russia, part 1–2. M., 1992
Hot spots in Eastern Europe(The drama of national contradictions). M., 1995
The national question in Eastern Europe: Past and present. M., 1995
Macedonia: The path to independence. Documentation. M., 1997
Macedonia: problems of history and culture. M., 1999
Countries of Central-Eastern Europe and the European part of the post-Soviet space in 1999. M., 2000
Central European countries at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries. Aspects of socio-political development(Directory). M., 2003



On March 3, Bulgaria celebrates the next anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. On this day in 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which was supposed to end the Russian-Turkish war between the Russian and Ottoman empires.

The reason for the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. served as an uprising against the Ottoman yoke in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875-1876) and the April Uprising in Bulgaria (1876), drowned in blood by the Turks. By the end of 1877, after stubborn fighting on the Balkan front, Russian troops liberated Bulgaria, and at the beginning of 1878 they were already on the approaches to Constantinople. On the Caucasian front, Bayazet, Ardahan, and the fortress city of Kars were taken. The Ottoman Empire admitted itself defeated, and in the town of San Stefano on February 19 (March 3, new style), 1878, it signed a peace treaty with the Russian Empire.

Vintage photographs today they tell us how this war of liberation was fought.

Ossetians participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78 as part of a special military unit.

The first Japanese to set foot on Bulgarian soil, Ili I'm Markov Popgeorgiev, fought during the war
participant in the Russian-Turkish war in the ranks of the Russian army, as part of the First Bulgarian Legion
at the head of a platoon during the siege of Plevna, major general,
Baron Yamazawa Karan (1846-1897)

Ruins of the church in Sofia and Russian troops entering the city

Life GuardsFinnishregiment. Photos for memory with two local children

Officers and non-commissioned officers of the Finnish Life Guards Regiment, participants in the Russian-Turkish War

General Radetsky (center) with a Cossack regiment

Mobile hospital for the Russian army

A Russian Cossack carries a selected homeless Turkish child

Street children in the courtyard of the Russian consulate in Ruse, where they were kept

Russian artillery in positions at Corabia (Romania)

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with officers

Emperor Alexander II with guards near Plevna

Russian troops in front of Odrin, now Turkish Edirne. On the horizon is not St. Sophia in Constantinople, as everyone wants to think, but the Selimiye Mosque

Turkish heavy artillery on the banks of the Bosphorus

Turkish prisoners of war, Bucharest

During the signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. The point was almost reached, as it seemed then

Count Eduard Ivanovich Totleben with officers. San Stefano. 1878

As comrade reports asteroid_belt in the article Stoyan, who does not remember his kinship? , V Many monuments have been erected in memory of those events in Bulgaria. Which is not surprising, given that Bulgaria finally gained independence after almost 500 years of Turkish rule, which lasted from 1396 to 1878.

“Bulgarian, kneel before the Holy Tomb - here lies the Russian Warrior who gave his life for our freedom”, written on one of the monuments.

According to tradition, the main celebrations will take place at the Shipka Pass, where in 1877 Russian troops withstood a bloody months-long struggle on a mountain pass and won one of the key victories.

In 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the events held on Shipka on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Liberation. After this, Bulgaria became a full member of NATO on March 29, 2004, and Russian high-ranking officials stopped appearing at commemorative events. In 2011, the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Yuri Nikolaevich Isakov, took part in the festive events in Sofia. But time passes, and in 2015 a scandal broke out in Bulgarian society - representatives of Russia were not invited to the celebrations at all.

At the same time, the congratulations of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, published by him on Facebook, caused general bewilderment. “Borisov, in relation to the Turkish yoke, used a word unusual for Bulgarians in this context "control" , reports the website rb.ru.

And here is a commentary reaction from one of the Bulgarians, given in the same article :"Slavery, Boyko! Slavery! Yoke! 5 centuries of murder, blood tax, genocide! Not foreign control!"

"The recent head of the Turkish minority organization in Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Lutvi Mestan, directly stated that “Bulgarians have never lived better than during the Ottoman Empire”, and then “uninvited (!) invasion of Russia” life has changed dramatically for the worse", reports KP.ru. A wonderful position, isn't it? It turns out everything was great until the vile Russia came. It’s a pity that the Bulgarians of the 19th century, who liberated their homeland together with Russian troops, were not in the know. I wonder what 21st century Bulgarians think.

And on February 19, 2016, Bulgarian deputies created a commission "to study information about the interference of Russia and Turkey in the internal affairs of Bulgaria", reports the website rus.bg.

In response, at a briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova, the following statement (quote) followed:

“The absurdity of this situation is expressed in the most absurd name of the commission. History really knows examples of the peculiar so-called “interference” of Russia in the internal affairs of Bulgaria, when a Russian soldier came into the territory of this country with weapons in his hands in order to resist fascism and free his brothers from evil. Earlier - to free the Slavs from the five-century yoke of the same Turkey. We all remember history very well, those who don’t remember can refresh their memory. One can only, of course, wonder what the point is in once again looking for the notorious “hand of Moscow "in a state whose generations owe much of their sovereignty, their sovereign existence to their brothers? The question is not that we begin to reckon and remind ourselves of what the Russian people, the citizens of our country, did for Bulgaria. We would never do this and would not have done. But when such absurd absurd bodies arise, which, without trying to find out anything, assert in advance obviously false things, then, of course, in this situation it is always a good idea to remind about our common common history.

There is a fear that in Bulgarian society, at the instigation of such parliamentarians and politicians, “neo-McCarthyism” may begin. The cynicism of such steps by the initiators also lies in the fact that the notorious Commission was created on the eve of the 138th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke."

It should be noted that p The Bulgarian resident has already called on the EU and NATO "strengthen counteraction to the growing aggression on the part of Russia." And Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov stated that "The main threats to the foreign policy interests of the European Union come from Russia and the terrorist group Islamic State". Sanctions, refusal of the agreed-upon construction of the South Stream branch, periodic desecration of the monument to the Soviet liberating wars, etc. and so on. How soon will “Turkey” disappear from the name of the commission and “suddenly” it will become clear that only the evil Russia is interfering in the internal affairs of Bulgaria? How soon will it “suddenly” become clear that there was no Turkish yoke, and the Bulgarians prospered exceptionally in the Ottoman Empire? How soon will it become clear that the evil Russia, having treacherously attacked the peaceful Ottoman Empire, ruined the life of the Bulgarians?

And finally, How soon will the galloping crowd of Bulgarians be shouting a version of the chant “Muscovites to knives” somewhere in the center of Sofia?

Another accusation against Russia for the occupation of Bulgaria in 1944 was made by the 38-year-old Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov on March 1, 2016 in an article published in the newspaper “24 Hours”.

Mitov accused Russian diplomats of unacceptable tone of statements and expressed hope that Bulgaria’s membership in the EU and NATO “can only enrich the mechanisms and conditions of our dialogue with other countries”. In addition, the Minister stated that “The Bulgarian people remember very well both the Russian liberation troops of 1877-1878 and Soviet occupation, which began in 1944."

The reason for Minister Mitov’s article was the quoted statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry on February 25, 2016, which expressed concerns about the creation by the People’s Assembly of Bulgaria of a Temporary Parliamentary Commission to study the facts and circumstances related to allegations of interference by the Russian Federation and Turkey in the internal affairs of Bulgaria.

It is clear that today's Bulgaria is not sovereign. And perhaps most of the population does not support the government’s Russophobic course. But, firstly, this must be actively expressed in some way - they will remain silent, nothing will change. Secondly, with the help of propaganda you can thoroughly rinse the brains of the population in the right direction. Who thought until recently that people would walk around Kyiv? e To A parades with portraits of Bandera?

This is not the first time that Bulgarians have stepped on the Russophobic rake. We remember very well that they fought on the side of our enemies in both the First and Second World Wars. And how they dealt with the proclaimed ideals of the “Orthodox Slavic brotherhood” when they fought with Serbia in 1885, and then again with Serbia in 1913, as well as with Montenegro and Greece.

This policy has never led to anything good for either Bulgaria or the Bulgarian people. I firmly hope that sooner or later, the historical memory of the Bulgarians will be stronger than the Russophobia that is actively instilled in them today. And this memory will make the Bulgarians realize once again that only the friendship of Russians and Bulgarians has always brought them mutual benefit. And this friendship will be revived again and return to the relations between our peoples.

On March 3, Bulgaria celebrates Liberation Day from the Ottoman yoke. This is one of the main national holidays of the country, established in honor of the end of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. On March 3, 1878, in the suburb of Constantinople San Stefano (now Yeşilköy), where Russian troops advancing towards the capital of the Ottoman Empire stopped, representatives of Russia and Turkey signed a peace treaty. One of his conditions was the re-establishment of the Bulgarian state.

In addition, Turkey was forced to recognize the independence of Serbia, the United Principality of Moldavia and Wallachia (the future Romania) and Montenegro, which were allies of Russia in that war.

As Associate Professor of Nizhny Novgorod State University noted in an interview with RT. N.I. Lobachevsky Maxim Medovarov, the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and the San Stefano Peace Treaty “awakened the Balkans,” influencing not only the processes in Bulgaria.

“Both the Albanian and Macedonian problems were first identified in San Stefano,” the expert notes.

It was in 1878, Medovarov emphasizes, with the formation of the Albanian League of Prizren that the movement for the creation of an Albanian state began.

• Signing of the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878
• Wikimedia Commons

Macedonia, which, according to the San Stefano Peace Treaty, was supposed to become part of Bulgaria, according to the results of the Berlin Congress that followed this treaty, remained part of Ottoman Turkey. The result was the growth of a national movement in a radical form and the creation in 1896 of the Internal Macedonian-Odrinian Revolutionary Organization, which began a guerrilla war against the Turks, and after the annexation of Macedonia to Serbia in 1913, against the Serbs. The most famous victim of the Macedonian militants was the King of Yugoslavia, Alexander I Karadjordjevic, who was killed in Marseille in 1934. The Abwehr and Croatian Ustashes actively helped the Macedonians in organizing this assassination attempt.

As a result of the Berlin Congress, imposed on Russia by the European powers, Bulgaria itself was also affected, its territory being reduced by more than half compared to the terms of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. However, already in the 1880s, the country reoriented its policy from the Russian Empire to the states of Europe.

As Medovarov noted, the social base on which the Bulgarian political elite was created played a key role in this process.

“Bulgaria was, in fact, created in San Stefano, and the entire Bulgarian political class was created from the intelligentsia or lower-class merchants, there was simply no one else,” the expert notes. “They all received their education either in the West or in Russia among Russian nihilistic revolutionaries.”

A striking example is the Prime Minister and Regent of Bulgaria Stefan Stambolov, expelled from the Odessa Theological Seminary in 1873 for his connections with revolutionaries. It was this former Russian seminarian who most actively fought against Russian influence in the country.

Paradoxically, the Russian Empire itself also contributed to the distance between Bulgaria and Russia.

“After San Stefano, the Russian authorities imposed on Bulgaria in 1879 the liberal so-called Tarnovo Constitution, which removed the Orthodox clergy from the levers of government - that part of the educated population that could be our support. All power passed into the hands of revolutionary intellectuals and their parties,” says Medovarov.

According to him, this constitution played a fatal role in the formation of the pro-Western orientation of the Bulgarian political class. Under the first prince of Bulgaria, Alexander I of Battenberg, the Bulgarian politician favored an alliance with Great Britain, and after the accession of Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the Bulgarian throne in 1897 - with Germany and Austria.

The people are silent

“Many Bulgarians accused Russia of not conquering Macedonia and other lands for them,” Medovarov notes another reason for the cooling of the Bulgarian elite towards Russia. “Our country was accused of insufficiently defending Bulgarian interests at the Berlin Congress of 1879.”

The fact that Russia did not support Bulgaria during the Second Balkan War of 1913, when the country was attacked by Serbia, Greece, Romania and Turkey, according to the historian, finally brought Bulgaria into the camp of countries allied with Germany. Later, in two world wars, Sofia tried to regain control over Macedonia lost after the Second Balkan War. After Soviet troops liberated Bulgaria, a communist regime was established in the country. Now this is another reason for criticism of Russia by pro-Western liberals.

“Resentments accumulated, but these were grievances on the part of a certain part of the Bulgarian political class,” Medovarov emphasizes, “The people have always been on the side of Russia. The masses have always been pro-Russian, but had no voice in politics.”

This is confirmed, according to the historian, by the fact that reviews of Russia from the peasants who made up the majority of the Bulgarian population, as well as priests, were positive at the end of the 19th century, although the authorities in Sofia were already oriented towards the West. And now, according to a study by the American sociological center Pew Research Center, conducted in May 2017, 56% of Bulgarians believe that a strong Russia is necessary in order to resist the West.

• Residents of Sofia greet Soviet soldiers, 1944
• RIA News

Medovarov recalls that in 1940, a mass movement developed in Bulgaria to conclude a non-aggression pact with Soviet Russia - after the pro-German government came to power.

“Almost half the country signed up for an alliance with the USSR, but the authorities completely ignored this,” the expert notes.

As Bulgarian political scientist Plamen Miletkov, chairman of the board of the Eurasian Institute of Geopolitics and Economics, said in an interview with RT, a similar situation is observed to this day.

“Ordinary people are with Russia,” the expert notes. “But politicians sometimes say one thing and do another. They fulfill American orders in Bulgaria and the Balkans. You will now see how Bulgaria will work with Macedonia, with Kosovo, with Greece, so that Bulgaria becomes a leader in the Balkans, but this is the wrong course.”

According to the expert, the main goal of the Bulgarian policy to draw Macedonia into the EU and NATO is to create obstacles to plans to carry out the European part of the Turkish Stream through this country to the Balkans. However, this, like Sofia’s refusal from South Stream, is in the interests not of Bulgaria, but of the United States.

“Now in Bulgaria there is American propaganda that Russia did not liberate Bulgaria and did nothing, and there was no war at all,” the expert notes.

Hopes for change

Bulgaria is celebrating the 140th anniversary of the restoration of statehood today as a member of NATO, a military-political bloc currently in . However, for the first time since 2003, the country's leadership invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to celebrate the anniversary of the country's liberation from the Ottoman yoke. This was done by President Rumen Radev, elected in November 2016, who advocates establishing friendly ties with Russia.

And although the President of the Russian Federation will not come to Bulgaria this year on March 3, as noted by the Russian Ambassador in Sofia Anatoly Makarov, it is quite possible that he will visit this country within a year. Makarov himself will represent Russia at the festive events. The day before, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' arrived in the country on a special visit.

Although President Radev constantly talks about the need to lift the sanctions that Bulgaria, like other EU countries, have imposed against Russia, the government, which holds the real power, is in no hurry to raise this issue. In September 2017, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that he could not agree with the thesis that Russia is not an enemy of Bulgaria.

• President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev
• Reuters
• Tony Gentile

“How can you say in military doctrine that Russia is not our enemy and still remain a member of NATO? - the Prime Minister said on local television. - This is a contradiction. Our doctrine says that if war breaks out, we will fight on the side of NATO.”

At the same time, the prime minister emphasized that he is against the strengthening in the Black Sea and for cooperation with Russia in the tourism and energy fields.

“Boyko Borisov wants to work with Russia, but does what the American ambassador orders,” Miletkov notes.

According to the expert, the United States may have dirt on the Bulgarian leader. In the early 1990s, he headed a security agency that was suspected of having ties to the underworld. A CIA cable published by WikiLeaks dated May 9, 2006, alleged that Borisov may be involved in drug trafficking. The Prime Minister of Bulgaria himself denies this information.

• Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov
• Reuters
• Yves Herman

However, according to the Bulgarian expert, it is likely that in 2018 there will be a change in power in Bulgaria. Currently, Borisov’s government relies on a shaky coalition between his GERB party (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) and the nationalist United Patriots bloc, which, in turn, has disagreements regarding relations with Russia.

“I think that at the end of the year, in November-December, the government will change, there will be new elections and we will work normally with Russia,” says Miletkov.

“For us now the situation is favorable in the sense that, at least, the people are loyal to us, and these people have shown their abilities by electing an adequate president,” Medovarov believes.

According to the expert, Bulgaria’s exit from US influence is “not only a Balkan, but a global issue.”

“If the American grip begins to really weaken throughout the world, then we will have more opportunities in the Balkans,” says the political scientist.

Continuous wars with Byzantium and Serbia weakened the political and military power of the second Bulgarian kingdom, the unity of which in reality became fictitious. At the end of its existence, independent owners controlled its individual areas: in North-Eastern Bulgaria, in Voshchina, in the Rhodope Mountains. This fragmentation of the state helped the Turks, who penetrated the Balkans at the beginning of the 14th century, take possession of all territories of the country. After the siege of the city of Tarnovo (the capital of Bulgaria) fell in 1393, Tsar Ivan Shishman was captured in Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) and executed there in 1395. In 1394 the Turks occupied the northeastern part of Bulgaria, and in 1396 - the Vidin kingdom. Thus ended the 210-year history of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Many Bulgarians fled to the Russian principalities, Romania and Serbia. Some of them, such as Constantine the Philosopher (Konstantin Kostenechsky) and Gregory Tsamblak in Serbia, became famous educators. From that moment on, for almost five centuries, Bulgaria became a province of the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish yoke (1396 - 1878) is the darkest period in Bulgarian history. Political enslavement was combined with religious pressure: the Bulgarian Patriarchate was destroyed, the remaining churches were forced to submit to Greek supremacy, monasteries and cultural monuments were destroyed. Greek priests occupied all the highest church posts and began to implement a program for the Hellenization of the Bulgarians. The Bulgarian clergy was deprived of parishes, services began to be conducted according to the canons of the Greek Church; monasteries and schools became centers of Greek education; libraries containing Bulgarian books were looted, including the library of the Tarnovo Patriarchate and the Cathedral; It was forbidden to use the Cyrillic and Bulgarian languages. Instead, the Greek language was officially introduced. Only the monks of the Athos (Aton) Monastery conducted services in Bulgarian.

Driven out of strategic centers and fertile plains, the Bulgarians retreated to the mountains. A considerable part of them were forced to convert to Islam. And those who defended their Christian religion were subjected to cruel exploitation in the form of heavy taxes and various duties. “Raya” (as the Turks called enslaved Christians) were also forced to pay the so-called “blood tax”, i.e. sending little boys to Turkish barracks for training. After the adoption of Islam, they turned into Janissaries, who became the selected part of the Turkish army.

The Bulgarian population repeatedly tried to free itself from Ottoman oppression. Uprisings broke out in 1402 - 1403, in 1598 and 1686 in Tarnovo, in 1688 in Chiprovtsy, etc. Since the beginning of the 17th century, the so-called Haydush movement (in the form of peculiar partisan detachments) became popular.

In the 18th century, a period of national revival began. Since 1735, schools outside monasteries became widespread, where education was conducted in the Bulgarian language. Paisiy Hilendarsky, a monk of the Aton Monastery, wrote “Slavic-Bulgarian History” (1762). In many cities and large villages, “reading houses” appeared - houses in which one could read books, hold evenings of national traditions, and stage plays. Reading centers have become centers for the development of national identity and the dissemination of newly created cultural folk values. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1828, the Bulgarian national liberation movement was born. Despite the fact that popular uprisings were mercilessly suppressed, partisan detachments (haiduks) operated throughout the country and took revenge on the Turks. The movement was led by church leaders and educated people with the support of wealthy peasants (chorbajis), traders and artisans (esnafi). Bulgarian emigrants living in Russia and Western countries provided significant assistance from abroad. Turkish authorities were forced to allow the opening of Bulgarian schools (1835); the number of primary schools by 1845 reached 21 (2 in cities and 19 in villages). Finally, the Bulgarian Church achieved independence from the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople. The Sultan's ferman (decree) of 1870 legally decreed this independence and effectively recognized the identity of the Bulgarian nation.

Do you see this “shoe” written in Arabic script? Second half of the 14th century. Soon almost all of Europe will be under this boot. This is the autograph of a man who can easily be called a barbarian, a vandal, a monster, but is unlikely to be called a scoundrel or an illiterate nomad. No matter how sad it is for the peoples enslaved by this conqueror, Orhan is considered the second of the three founders of the Ottoman Empire, under him the small Turkic tribe finally turned into a strong state with a modern army.
If anyone today doubts that Bulgaria did not give a worthy rebuff to the occupier, they are greatly mistaken. This figure was very educated, well-read, smart and, as befits a traditionally far-sighted, cunning politician of the Eastern style - a wise villain. That's who conquered Bulgaria. It is not possible to accuse the then Bulgarian rulers and people of negligence and weakness, given this balance of power and historical unfavorable circumstances, of frivolously falling under the yoke. History has no subjunctive mood, so what happened, happened.

Here is a rough chronology of events
Sultan Orhan (1324 - 1359) became the ruler of the entire northwestern part of Anatolia: from the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles to the Black Sea and the Bosphorus. He managed to gain a foothold in continental Europe. In 1352, the Turks crossed the Dardanelles and took the fortress of Tsimpe, and in 1354 they captured the entire Gallipoli Peninsula. In 1359, the Ottomans made an unsuccessful attempt to storm Constantinople.
In 1359, Orhan's son, Murad I (1359–1389), came to power in the Ottoman state, who, having strengthened his dominance in Asia Minor, began to conquer Europe.
In 1362, the Turks defeated the Byzantines on the outskirts of Andrianople and captured the city. Murad I moved the capital of the newly formed Ottoman state to Andrianople in 1365, renaming it Edirne.
In 1362, the rich Bulgarian city of Plovdiv (Philippopolis) came under the rule of the Turks, and two years later the Bulgarian Tsar Shishman was forced to recognize himself as a tributary of the Sultan and give his sister to his harem. After these victories, a stream of Turkic settlers poured from Asia to Europe.
Byzantium turned into a city-state cut off from the outside world without any dependent territories, and also deprived of its previous sources of income and food. In 1373, the Byzantine Emperor John V recognized himself as a vassal of Murad I. The Emperor was forced to sign a humiliating treaty with the Turks, according to which he refused to make up for the losses suffered in Thrace, and to provide assistance to the Serbs and Bulgarians in resisting the Ottoman conquest, and he was also obliged to provide assistance to the Ottomans support in the fight against their rivals in Asia Minor.
Continuing their expansion in the Balkans, the Turks attacked Serbia in 1382 and took the Tsatelitsa fortress, and in 1385 they conquered the Bulgarian city of Serdika (Sofia).
In 1389, a Turkish army under the command of Murad I and his son Bayezid defeated a coalition of Serbian and Bosnian rulers at the Battle of Kosovo. Before the battle on the Kosovo field, Murad I was mortally wounded by the Serbian prince and soon died; power in the Ottoman state passed to his son Bayazid I (1389-1402). After the victory over the Serbian army, many Serbian commanders were killed on the Kosovo field in front of the dying Murad I.
In 1393, the Ottomans captured Macedonia, then the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo. In 1395, Bulgaria was completely conquered by the Ottomans and became part of the Ottoman state. Bulgaria became a transit interest of the Ottomans. Next in line was Constantinople, the citadel of the Byzantine Empire. That's the whole story of how Bulgaria came under the Turkish-Ottoman yoke. The yoke that existed before the liberation of Bulgaria by Russian Tsar Alexander II.

JANUARY 5 – LIBERATION OF THE CAPITAL OF BULGARIA FROM THE TURKS
Notice, by chance, on Easter Eve?
At the end of November 1877, the victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Plevna marked the beginning of the liberation of Bulgaria. A month later, in the brutal winter of 1878, Russian troops under the command of General Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko made a difficult trek through the snow-covered Balkan Mountains. Later, historians compared this campaign of the Russian army with the campaigns of Hannibal and Suvorov, while some added that it was easier for Hannibal, because he did not have artillery.
During bloody battles with the Turkish units of Shukri Pasha, Russian troops liberated Sofia. On January 4, the Kuban Cossacks from the hundred yasaul Tishchenko threw down the Turkish banner from the council. On January 5, all of Sofia was occupied, and the Turkish troops remaining there hastily retreated to the south. As historians write, Russian troops were greeted by the local population on the outskirts of the city with music and flowers. Prince Alexander Dondukov - Korsukov reported to Emperor Alexander II: “The genuine feelings of the Bulgarians towards Russia and the Russian troops are touching.”
And General Gurko noted in the order for the troops: “The capture of Sofia ended the brilliant period of the current war - the transition through the Balkans, in which you don’t know what else to be surprised at: your courage, your heroism in battles with the enemy, or the endurance and patience with which you endured difficult adversity in the fight against mountains, cold and deep snow... Years will pass, and our descendants, who visit these harsh mountains, will solemnly and proudly say: the Russian army passed here, resurrecting the glory of Suvorov and Rumyantsev’s miracle heroes.”
Then the townspeople decided that this January day would become an annual national holiday. Over the years, the decision was forgotten, but in 2005 the Sofia City Hall decided to revive the former tradition in connection with the 125th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke.

Ottoman yoke
The Ottoman yoke lasted almost five hundred years. As a result of the successful Russian-Turkish wars and the uprising of the Bulgarian people, this rule was overthrown in 1878. The yoke is a yoke, but still the country did not freeze, it lived, developed, but not, of course, in the same way as a sovereign state lives and develops.
However, was there, in fact, a yoke or was it a natural movement of history? From the point of view of faith, perhaps, it was precisely the yoke, however, even under the Turks, there were monasteries in Bulgaria. They, of course, did not dominate culturally, but the rulers of Istanbul did not completely ban Christianity, although Christians were still oppressed. For example, every fifth male child in a Bulgarian family joined the army and became a Janissary.
Also, Ottoman rule put an end to the development of Christian temple architecture. Few churches were built, and the few temples erected in the country during this period were small and insignificant. But luxurious mosques were built throughout the country, mainly in the traditional Ottoman style, the characteristic feature of which is a large dome over the prayer hall and an elegant pointed minaret. In parallel, there was a campaign of seizure of fertile lands in favor of Turkish colonists and the Islamization of the population.
On the other hand, Bulgaria lived quite calmly as the “rear” of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the religious and economic pressure, Slavs, Greeks and Armenians lived quite harmoniously there. Over time, the Turks associated themselves less and less with the Turks, and more and more with the Ottomans. As, indeed, are national minorities. More or less, some kind of comparative stability reigned in occupied Bulgaria in the 17th-18th centuries.
During the period of Ottoman rule, Bulgarian cities acquired “oriental” features: in addition to mosques, Turkish baths and shopping arcades appeared in them. Ottoman architecture also influenced the appearance of residential buildings. Thus, thanks to her, an attic, an open veranda and a “minder”, a wooden elevation - a couch on the veranda, so characteristic of Bulgarian residential buildings, appeared.
Since ancient times, Bulgaria and Russia have been connected by common Slavic origins, a common religion and writing, as well as many other factors. And it is not surprising that the Bulgarians, who for centuries dreamed of liberation from Turkish rule, turned their attention to fraternal Orthodox Russia. Moreover, the Sultan established a political balance with the West, and had constant friction only with Russia. In addition, the Ottoman Empire was noticeably weakening, and in 1810 Russian troops appeared in Bulgaria for the first time. In 1828-1829 they went further and stayed longer. The era of five centuries of shame of slavery was ending.
Here are three historical figures of these events:

Captor and liberator with his wife. Maria Alexandrovna is the wife of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. “Emperor Alexander II was a sensitive person, he knew and loved the Bulgarians, and was interested in their past and present. But I was afraid of the Crimean syndrome,” noted Prof. Todev. Prince Gorchakov, chancellor and minister of foreign affairs, had great influence in determining Russian policy. He was for a peaceful solution, for conferences, for actions within the framework of the “European concert”. But the queen, for example, was categorically “in favor of waging war”!!! First ladies are sometimes more decisive and far-sighted than their spouses. Maybe it would be more correct to mention the Tsar-Liberator and the Queen-Liberator? It will be more honest!

Shipka
There have been, are and will be wars in the history of mankind. War is like a book. There is a title, a prologue, a narrative and an epilogue. But in these books there are pages without which the essence of war, this bloodshed, becomes somehow irrational, insufficient for understanding. These pages are about the culmination of the war. All wars have their own pages about the main, decisive battle. There is such a page in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. This is the Battle of Shipka Pass.

The Thracians inhabited this place in ancient times. Many archaeological remains (tombs, weapons, armor, coins) of that period were found in the vicinity of the towns of Shipka and Kazanlak. In the 1st century BC e. the city was conquered by the Romans. When the Turks captured Bulgaria in 1396, they created a garrison in the city of Shipka to guard and control the Shipka Pass. In the vicinity of Shipka and Sheinovo, some of the bloodiest battles were fought in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 (defense of Shipka in the war for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke). The Freedom Monument on Mount Shipka (Stoletov Peak) is dedicated to the memory of the fallen. This is how a locality, having existed for millennia, by the will of history, suddenly becomes not a locality, but a symbol of courage, spirit, and determination. Unfortunately, such glory comes to an area only after it has absorbed the sea of ​​blood of a reasonable person. But as they say - “in war, like in war.”

P.S.
Bulgaria is a small, picturesque Balkan state with a population of nearly eight million and a tragic history. Bulgarians still dream about the ancient Bulgarian kingdom, which once reigned supreme over the Balkan Peninsula. Then there were almost two centuries of Byzantine slavery and five centuries of Turkish yoke. Bulgaria as a state disappeared from the world map for seven hundred years. Russia saved its Orthodox brothers from Muslim slavery at the cost of the lives of almost two hundred thousand of its soldiers. The Russian-Turkish War of 1877 – 1878 is etched in history in golden letters. “There is only one state to which the Bulgarians are indebted for all time, and that is Russia,” says the famous Bulgarian journalist and former Bulgarian ambassador to the Balkans Velizar Yenchev. This is now an unpopular opinion among our political elite, who do not want to admit: for the rest of our lives we must thank Russia for liberating us from the Turks. We were the last in the Balkans to gain freedom. If it were not for the Russian imperial army, we would now be like Kurds and would not even have the right to speak our native language. We have seen only good things from you and are indebted to you to the end of our lives.”
“It was the most emotional war in European history,” says Sofia University history professor Andrei Pantev. — The most honest war, romantic and noble. Russia did not gain anything good from our liberation. The Russians boarded their ships and left for home. All Balkan countries, after liberation from Turkish slavery with the help of Russia, turned AGAINST Russia towards the West. It looks like a parable about a beautiful princess who was saved from a dragon by one knight and kissed by another. At the end of the 19th century, there was even an opinion in Russia: why the hell should we quarrel with the West over these ungrateful Slavs?
Bulgaria has always suffered from the “sunflower syndrome”, always looking for a strong patron and often making mistakes. In two world wars, Bulgaria sided with Germany against Russia. “Over the entire twentieth century, we were declared aggressors three times,” says historian Andrei Pantev. — First in 1913 (the so-called Inter-Allied Balkan War), then in 1919 and 1945. During the First World War, Bulgaria fought in one way or another against three states that participated in the war of liberation against the Turks: Russia, Romania and Serbia. This is a big mistake. What seems pragmatic at the current political moment often turns out to be simply disgusting in the court of history.”
Despite past differences, Bulgaria is our closest sister country. The tree of our friendship has bore bitter fruit more than once, but we have a common written language, a common religion and culture, and a common Slavic blood. And blood, as you know, is not water. For deep reasons, classical memories and heroic legends, the Bulgarians will forever remain our brothers - the last brothers in Eastern Europe.