Krste Petkov Misirkov | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Krste P. Misirkov | |
| Born | Krste Petkov Misirkov (1874-11-18)18 November 1874 Postol,Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 26 July 1926(1926-07-26) (aged 51) Sofia,Kingdom of Bulgaria |
| Pen name | "K. Pelski", "Sekol" |
| Occupation | philologist, teacher, historian, ethnographer, translator and professor. |
| Citizenship | Ottoman,Moldavian,Russian,Bulgarian |
| Education | Doctor's degree of philology and history |
| Alma mater | Faculty of philology and history at the University of Saint Petersburg |
| Genre | history, linguistics, philology, politics, ethnography and analytics. |
| Subject | history, language and ethnicity |
| Notable works | On Macedonian Matters |
| Spouse | Ekaterina Mihaylovna - Misirkova [bg] |
| Children | Sergey Misirkov [bg] |
| Signature | |
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Krste Petkov Misirkov (Macedonian:Крсте Петков Мисирков,pronounced[kr̩'stɛpɛ'tkɔfmi'sirkɔf];Bulgarian:Кръстьо/Кръстю Петков Мисирков;Serbian:Крста Петковић Мисирков;[1][2] 18 November 1874 – 26 July 1926) was aphilologist,journalist,historian andethnographer from the region ofMacedonia.
In the period between 1903 and 1905, he published a book and a scientific magazine in which he affirmed the existence of aMacedoniannational identity separate from otherBalkan nations, and attempted tocodify astandard Macedonian language based on the centralWestern Macedonian dialects. A survey conducted in the Republic of Macedonia (nowNorth Macedonia) found Misirkov to be "the most significant Macedonian of the 20th century".[3] For his efforts to codify a standard Macedonian language, he is often considered "the founder of the modern Macedonian literary language".[4]
On the other hand, he was one of the founders of thepro-BulgarianSecret Macedonian-Adrianople Circle established in 1900 inSt. Petersburg.[5] In 1905 he began publishing predominantly articles, written from a Bulgarian nationalist perspective in theIMARO-affiliated press. In his diary written during theBalkan Wars, he espoused pro-Bulgarian views.[6] During the First World War, he became a member ofthe local parliament inBessarabia as a representative of theBulgarian minority there.[7] During the 1920s he encouraged the Macedonian Slavs to adopt a Bulgarian national identity. Misirkov returned to Macedonian nationalism for a period in 1914 and again in 1924 and 1925.[8][page needed] Misirkov died in 1926 and was buried in theSofia Central Cemetery with the financial support from the Ministry of Education, as an honoured Bulgarian educator.
Because Misirkov expressed conflicting views about the national identity of the Macedonian Slavs at different points in his life, his national affiliation and legacy remain a matter of dispute betweenBulgaria andNorth Macedonia. While Misirkov's work and personality remain highly controversial and disputed, there have been attempts among international scholars to reconcile the conflicting and self-contradictory statements made by Misirkov. According to historianIvo Banac, Misirkov viewed both himself and the Slavs of Macedonia as Bulgarians, and espousedpan-Bulgarian patriotism in a larger Balkan context. However, in the context of the larger Bulgarian unit/nation, Misirkov sought both cultural and national differentiation from the other Bulgarians and called both himself and the Slavs of Macedonia, Macedonians.
Krste Petkov Misirkov was born on 18 November 1874 in the village ofPostol in theSalonica vilayet of theOttoman Empire (present-day Pella,Greece). He started his elementary education in the localGreek school, where he studied until the sixth grade, but the bad financial situation of his family could not support his further education at that point and he left the school. At that period, the Serbian government began to promote efforts to espouse a pro-SerbianMacedonian nationalism and to recruit young people in order to "Serbianize" them.[9][10][11] After some period, Misirkov applied and was granted a scholarship by aSerbian association,"The Society of St. Sava".[12]
For a period, Misirkov studied in Serbia. Soon after he realized that the promotion of pro-Serbian ideas and propaganda was the main goal of the education provided by the Society of St. Sava.[9] The politics practiced by the association forced Misirkov and the other Macedonian students to participate in a students protest and revolt against the Society of St. Sava. As a result, Misirkov and other companions moved fromBelgrade toSofia. He then faced a similar situation in Bulgaria, this time being confronted with pro-Bulgarian propaganda.[9] Misirkov again went to Serbia to continue his education, but without any success as he was rejected by the Society of St. Sava, most likely for his part in the protests conducted against it. Since he was willing to get higher education, he was forced, by a chain of events, to enroll in a theological school for teachers. Similar to the Society of St. Sava, this school as well had its own propagandistic goals which resulted in another revolt of the students.[13] As a result of it, the school ended its programs and the students were sent throughout Serbia. Misirkov was sent toŠabac, where he finished his fourth secondary education course, but this time in the local gymnasium, which happened to be his last course.[12] In both Serbia and Bulgaria, Misirkov and his friend were treated as Serbs or Bulgarians[9][12] in order to be accepted in the educational system. After the gymnasium, even though he graduated, Misirkov enrolled in another secondary school for teachers in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1895. During this time, particularly in 1893, Misirkov became a member of an association of Macedonian students called "Vardar".[14]
His qualifications obtained in Belgrade were not recognized inRussia. Misirkov had to study from the very beginning in the Seminary atPoltava. In 1897, he was able to enter theSaint Petersburg Imperial University. Here he entered at first in the Bulgarian Students Association and theSecret Macedonian-Adrianople Circle. Misirkov wrote about that part of his life in the article "School and socialism"[15]"– In 1897 I went to Petrograd University and for five years was among the Bulgarian studentship as Bulgarian and member of the Bulgarian Student Society."[16] Misirkov carried out here his first scholarly lecture on the ethnography and history of theBalkan Peninsula before the members of theRussian Imperial Geographical Society.
On November 15, 1900, Misirkov, a third-year student in the Faculty of History and Philosophy at the time, and other students in Russia created a students' circle in Saint Petersburg. The main objective of the circle was the political autonomy of theMacedonia andThrace, declared byIMRO, and implemented and guaranteed by theGreat Powers. In a letter sent to the President of theSupreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee on 28 November of the same year, the founders of the circle stated that,"there's no Bulgarian who is not interested in the situation and fate of that part of our homeland, which continue to groan under the yoke of the tyrant." At that time, Misirkov considered theSlavic peoples ofMacedonia andThrace as Bulgarian.[17] He graduated in 1902.[14]
Later Misirkov abandoned the university and left forOttoman Macedonia.
Facing financial obstacles to continue his postgraduate education, he accepted the proposal of theBulgarian Exarchate to be appointed teacher in one of the high schools inBitola. There he befriended the Russian consul inBitola. He began to plan the opening of local schools and publishing textbooks in Macedonian,[9] but theIlinden Uprising in 1903 and the assassination of the Russian Consul changed his plans and he soon returned to Russia. In Russia, Misirkov published different articles about theIlinden Uprising and the justifications and causes as to why the Consul was assassinated. Soon afterwards, he wrote the bookOn Macedonian Matters and published it in Sofia.[18] Misirkov attacked theInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), among others, as a Bulgarian creation. As a result, he was persecuted by IMRO, and it is believed that its members destroyed a sizable amount of copies of his book.[19]
In 1905, he left Saint Petersburg forBerdiansk. There, he resumed publication of the journalVardar and was given a post as assistant master in a grammar school.[20][9] In this period, Misirkov halted his advocation ofMacedonian separatism and opposed theSerbian position on the Macedonian Question.[21][22] After 1905, he published pro-Bulgarian articles and even categorically renounced the point of his bookOn Macedonian Matters,[16][23] although this behavior might have been caused by the many threats made towards him warning him to stop fighting forMacedonian separatism fromBulgaria.[9] On 18 April 1907, Misirkov began to cooperate with the Sofia magazine "Macedonian-Adrianople Review", edited byNikola Naumov, which wasde facto organ of the IMRO. On 24 April 1909, in Odessa, Misirkov printed his work about the South Slavic epic legends onKrali Marko.[24] On 1 October 1909, he printed the article,"The foundations of a Serbian-Bulgarian rapprochement" in the magazine,"Bulgarian Collection", edited by Bulgarian diplomats and officials in St. Petersburg. During this period, a Slavic Festival was held in Sofia in 1910 with Misirkov invited to attend as its guest of honor.[25] In 1910–1911, he translated the book of the Bulgarian geographer Prof.Atanas Ishirkov,"Bulgaria" from Bulgarian to Russian.[26]
When theFirst Balkan War had begun, Misirkov went to Macedonia as a Russian war correspondent. In Macedonia, he could follow the military operations of theBulgarian Army. Misirkov published some articles in the Russian press demanding that the Ottomans be driven out of Macedonia. In 1913 after the outbreak of theSecond Balkan War, Misirkov went back to Russia, where he worked as a teacher in the Bulgarian language schools in Odessa.[27] Later, he was appointed as a teacher of the Bulgarian language school inChișinău. While working as a teacher inChișinău, Misirkov sent а letter to the Bulgarian academicAleksandar Teodorov-Balan with a request to be assigned as a professor atSofia University. That request clearly indicates his self-identification at that time:[28]As a Bulgarian, I would willingly return to Bulgaria, if there is a need of a scientific research of the fate of the Bulgarian lands, especially Macedonia..."[29] A shorter letter with similar content was sent to another professor at Sofia University –Vasil Zlatarski with the request to be assigned as a chosenat the newly established department for history of Macedonia and the other western Bulgarian lands.[30]
At that point, Misirkov made contacts with theMacedonian Scientific and Literary Society, which started publishing the journal,Makedonski glas (Macedonian Voice) in Russian. Misirkov published in this magazine for some period under the pseudonym "K. Pelski".[12][9] Misirkov defended and wrote about Macedonian ideals which, according to him, were in contrast with Bulgarian ideals and the general Bulgarian populace.
After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914,Bessarabia became ademocratic republic, and he was elected a member of the local parliamentSfatul Țării as a representative of theBulgarian minority.[7] At the same time, Misirkov worked as a secretary in the Bulgarian educational commission in Bessarabia.[27] In March 1918,unification between Bessarabia and Romania was declared. On 21 May 1918, Misirkov openеd a Bulgarian language course inBolhrad. Misirkov proceeded to take a clandestine trip to Bulgaria in order to procure textbooks for the students, but after his return in November, he was arrested by theKingdom of Romania authorities, still at war with Bulgaria and was extradited to Bulgaria.
After being expelled by the Romanian authorities, Misirkov returned toSofia at the end of 1918, where he spent one year as a head of the Historical Department of the National Museum of Ethnography. He proceeded to work as a teacher and director of the high schools inKarlovo andKoprivshtitsa.[20][27] During this period (but before 1923), IMRO marked Misirkov as harmful to its cause and supposedly considering his assassination, but reconsidered after he met with a representative of the organization.[31] In this period, Misirkov also advocated a Bulgarian identity for the Macedonians.[32] He also resumed his journalistic activity and published many articles on theMacedonian Question in the Bulgarian press and in some of them expressedMacedonian national ideas. Misirkov died in 1926 and was buried in the graveyards in Sofia with the financial support of 5000 levs from the Ministry of Education, as an honored educator.[33]
In his life, Misirkov wrote one book, one diary, published one issue of a magazine and wrote more than thirty articles. His bookOn the Macedonian Matters was published in Sofia in 1903. The magazine was calledVardar and was published in 1905 in Odessa,Russian Empire. The articles that Misirkov wrote were published in different newspapers and focused on different topics. The book, magazine and a number of his article were written in the Central Macedonian dialects, which are the basis of Modern Macedonian.
One of the most important works of Misirkov is the Macedonian bookOn the Macedonian Matters (Original:За македонцките работи) published in 1903 in Sofia, in which he laid down the principles of modern Macedonian.[34] This book was written in the Macedonian dialects from the area between Prilep and Bitola.[35] It argued in favor of national separation, the establishment of autonomous national institutions within theOttoman Empire, and the standardization of a distinct Macedonian language. Misirkov attacked both theBulgarian Exarchate and theInternal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) as agents of the Bulgarian interests in Macedonia. According to this book and Misirkov himself, the Macedonian literary language should be based on dialects from the central part of Macedonia, which were used in the book itself. Furthermore, Misirkov appealed to the Ottoman authorities for eventual recognition of a separate Macedonian nation. Misirkov admitted that there was no Macedonian nation, but argued that it should be created, when the necessary historical circumstances would arise.[36]
Misirkov was the author and editor of the first scientific magazine in Macedonian.[37] ThemagazineVardar was published in 1905 in Odessa, Russian Empire. The magazine was published only once, because of the financial problems that Misirkov had been facing with at that time. He expressed views about the national distinctiveness of the Macedonians.[14] According toBlaže Ristovski, its orthography was almost the same as the orthography of standard Macedonian.[38] The magazine was meant to include several different scientific disciplines, mostly concerned with Macedonia.
During his life, Misirkov published many articles for different newspapers and magazines. The articles deal with Macedonia, Macedonian culture, ethnology, politics and nation on one hand and with the Bulgarian nation, politics and ethnography on the other. Misirkov published his articles in Macedonian, Russian and Bulgarian and he published them either in Russia or in Bulgaria. Most of the articles were signed by his birth name, but there are articles that are signed with his pseudonymK. Pelski.
In 2006, a handwritten diary by Misirkov written during his stay in Russia in 1913 was discovered. It was declared authentic by Bulgarian and Macedonian experts and was published in 2008.[39] The content of the diary clearly shows that at the time, Misirkov identified himself as aMacedonian Bulgarian and had a clear pro-Bulgarian stance.[40][41][7] It has given rise to new public discussion over Misirkov's stances on Bulgarian and Macedonian ethnicity.[42] Per academicAlexis Heraclides, Misirkov's stance was not clear-cut and he sounded Macedonian at times too.[43] The manuscript includes 381 pages written in the Russian language. Misirkov wrote it inKotovsk's nearby village of Klimentove, where he lived and worked at the time. It also contains articles and excerpts from the Russian press from that time.
In several publications, Misirkov made an attempt to determine the border between theSerbo-Croatian andBulgarian language, including in theBulgarian dialect area, nearly all ofTorlakian andMacedonian dialects.[44] Misirkov pointed there, that the population inPomoravlje is autochthonous and Bulgarian by origin, excluding any later migrations during the Ottoman rule from Bulgaria.[27]According to Krste Misirkov,Krali Marko epic songs in Serbia, the so-calledBugarstici[45] are a result from Bulgarian musical influence over the Serbian folk music.
During the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of a separate Macedonian ethnicity was as of yet promoted by small circles of intellectuals.[46] Then, most of the Slavic people in Macedonia considered themselves Bulgarian, as part of theBulgarian Millet,[47][48][49] and Macedonian separatist ideas failed to gain wide popular support.[50][51][52] At different points in his life, Misirkov expressed conflicting statements about the ethnicity of theSlavs living inMacedonia, including his own ethnicity. According toIvo Banac, Misirkov viewed himself and the Slavs of Macedonia as Bulgarians, and espousedpan-Bulgarian patriotism, but in the context of the larger Bulgarian nation, Misirkov sought cultural and national differentiation, separating the Macedonians.[53] Misirkov's ideas had a small impact in his own time and he was re-discovered in the post-WW2 era.[22]
In Bulgaria, Misirkov is regarded as a controversial educator with scientific contribution to Bulgarian dialectology and ethnography. He graduated from theBelgrade University as a student of Prof.Stojan Novaković and was influenced by his ideas.[54] At that time, Novaković was a prominent proponent of theMacedonism, thereby promoting Serbian interests in the region of Macedonia.[55] Afterwards Misirkov met several times with him and Novaković's diplomatic activity in St. Petersburg played significant role for the foundation of theMacedonian Scientific and Literary Society.[56] However, Misirkov later developed a kind ofSerbophobia.[57] He also argued that the Slavic population of Macedonia was not "a formless paste" but a "well baked Bulgarian bread".[58][59] Bulgarian historians believe that the post-WWII Yugoslavian Communist regime significantly altered his writings to support the notion of a "Macedonian nation", distinct from the Bulgarian one.[citation needed] According to Bulgarian observers, after thebreakup of Yugoslavia, polemics have also arisen in theRepublic of Macedonia about the identity of Misirkov.[60][61]
InNorth Macedonia, Misirkov is regarded as the most prominentMacedonianpublicist,philologist andlinguist who set the principles of thestandard Macedonian in the early 20th century. Misirkov is also the author of the first scientific magazine in Macedonian and because of his contributions to the Macedonian national cause, he has been widely regarded as the greatest Macedonian of the 20th century by the Macedonian public.[3] AfterWorld War II, the newMacedonian historiography started to regard Misirkov's persona highly.[62] His work and ideas became a major field of exploration for scholars from theMacedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, who used them to support the claim that there was a Macedonian national consciousness in the 19th century.[63] In his honor, many books and scientific works have been published and theInstitute for Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov" is named after him.[64]
There is a debate about Misirkov's ethnicity in North Macedonia issued by Dr. Rastislav Terzioski, who brought to light memos from Russian archives which clearly stated hispro-Bulgarian positions.[65] The publication of his 1913 diary, which revealed his pro-Bulgarian views, sparked a major controversy in Skopje.[7] TheSocial Democratic Union of Macedonia even called for the dismissal ofZoran Todorovski, who was then director of the State Archives of Macedonia. Regarding Misirkov's signature as a "Macedonian Bulgarian", the Macedonian historians and linguists argue that it means a Macedonian person with a Bulgarian citizenship.[66] On the other hand, according to Vlado Popovski, Misirkov's usage of the term "Macedonian Bulgarian" was only a tactic as a consequence of theBalkan wars and theBucharest Agreement.[67] In 1914 and many times after that, he repeated his views about the Macedonian national existence.[68]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Macedonian nationalism is a new phenomenon. In the early twentieth century, there was no separate Slavic Macedonian identity
Despite the recent development of Macedonian identity, as Loring Danforth notes, it is no more or less artificial than any other identity. It merely has a more recent ethnogenesis – one that can therefore more easily be traced through the recent historical record.
Unlike the Slovene and Croatian identities, which existed independently for a long period before the emergence of SFRY Macedonian identity and language were themselves a product of federal Yugoslavia, and took shape only after 1944.
