RESISTANCE TO FOREIGN PROPAGANDA IN MACEDONIA

RESISTANCE TO FOREIGN PROPAGANDA IN MACEDONIA

As mentioned earlier, foreign propaganda intensified in Macedonia during and especially after the Eastern crisis. This hostile propaganda was generated primarily by Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian sources. In due course it intensified like never before and did great harm to the Macedonian cause hindering the development of the Macedonian people’s struggles for national and social liberation.

The earliest foreign propaganda to surface in Macedonia was Greek propaganda, led by the Greek Patriarchate in Tsari Grad (Istanbul) and carried out by Greek schools and churches. Its aim was to promote the realization of the “Megali Idea” (“big idea”) which called for bringing back the Byzantine Empire with Macedonia in it but under Greek rule. This Greek propaganda was financed mainly by the Greek bourgeoisie. Included among the most prominent agitators and financiers were the large trading families Skouloudis, Zafiris, Karapanos and Zografos who lived in Tsari Grad (Istanbul) and other cities. Still enjoying privileges from the Ottoman authorities, these Greeks were squeezed out by foreign capital in the second half of the 19th century and landed in Athens. Wanting to regain their former positions and wealth, they escalated the Greek propaganda campaign for the “Megali Idea” by providing larger sums of money. By doing so they portrayed themselves as “virtuous” for which they received various privileges from the Greek government. This enabled them to amass great fortunes and gain political favours.

After Greece was created for the first time in 1829, the Greek leadership began to gradually take over the Greater Greek propaganda and the Patriarchate in Tsari Grad became its organ. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, even metropolitans were appointed at the behest of the Greek government in Athens. In fact, several Greek ministries were involved in the implementation and management of Greek propaganda. Most active was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also operated in Macedonia and, through Greek consuls, was the first to be activated in Solun in 1835. In fact in the early 20th century the Greek government gained special

permission from the Porte (Ottoman government) to spread propaganda in Macedonia. As a result it increased the number of consulates and staff to the maximum. There were Greek consulates in Solun, Bitola, Skopje, Seres and Kavala. Separate consular officers managed and controlled Greek schools, municipalities, churches and other Greek functions in Macedonia.

The Greek government also operated in Macedonia through various organizations of which the most important were the “Education Organization”, founded in Athens in 1836, and the “Society for Spreading Greek Literacy”, created in 1869 on instructions from the Greek government. These organizations were financed by the Greek state treasury. In 1891, for example, the Greek government gave them 400,000 drachmas. The same year, the Greek government also gave them about 790,000 drachmas to finance Greek propaganda in Macedonia.

As a result, the number of Greek schools in Macedonia increased every year. In 1877 there were 256 schools in the Solun and Bitola vilayets with 10,968 students. In 1896, the number rose to 907 schools with 53,633 students. These numbers grew with each passing year until 1902 when they began to stagnate.

The above data, used incorrectly, served Greek propaganda to prove that Macedonia was “Greek” because the Macedonian people were “Greek speakers” and so on. In other words, the Great Greek propaganda, spread mainly by the “Society for Spreading Greek Literacy”, collected and fabricated false ethnographic statistics about the population in Macedonia. These figures were made available to foreign authors who used them in their books and maps. This information was then used by Greece to defend its aspirations to annex Macedonian territories. According to information provided in Greek books and Greek maps, Greece had aims to annex territories as far as Kachanik, Kiustendil and beyond, all the way to the Black Sea. This was the so-called maximum program of the “Megali Idea” which Greece persistently propagated through its Greek organizations, the Patriarchate, bankers, wholesalers, etc. The Greek government was also in agreement with this program. The Greek government also had an alternative program. This one was

formulated by H. Trikoupis who, in 1866, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, put forward the idea of partitioning Macedonia.

According to this program, Greece was looking to annex the so-called “Historical Macedonia”, whose northern borders were defined by the line starting at the Rhodope Mountains, following the Mesta River, passing north of Nevrokop - Strumitsa and Demir Hisar -Prilep - Krushevo – Ohrid, passing through Albania and ending in the Adriatic Sea. On many occasions the Greek government used this option to negotiate with the Serbian government on how to divide Macedonia into spheres of influence. But no agreement could be reached until 1912, mainly because Serbia also had claims on most of that territory.

The Greater Serbia propaganda in Macedonia appeared more prominently after 1868, but certain parts of its ideological principles were established as early as 1844, in the so-called “Nachertanie” (Drawing) by Ilia Garashanin where it was proposed that “the Principality of Serbia must also be concerned with Macedonia’s accession to Serbia”.

According to directives given by the Serbian government, an “Education Board” was established in Belgrade in 1868. Its job was to start opening Serbian schools in Macedonia. By 1873, it had opened 61 schools. In 1877 the so-called Main Board was created and chaired by Archimandrite Sava. The purpose of this Board was to create the right conditions for Macedonia to join the Principality of Serbia. In order to do that organizers and agitators of Greater Serbian propaganda, such as I. Dragashevich, P. Srechkovich, М. Miloievich and others, laboured to create a “Greater Serbia” and to “prove” that Serbia had rights to Macedonia.

It wasn’t only those in power in the Serbian government who became involved in the idea of a “Greater Serbia”, there were also other politicians from various political parties who began to delve into these matters. According to V. Karich: “most of them went crazy over Dusan’s kingdom…” (Which in the past occupied Macedonian territories). Even scientists and writers, such as S. Novakovich, S. Stonoevich, D. Iovanovich, S. Gopchevich, I. Cviich and others began to write piles of papers to justify Serbian

aspirations and actions for a Greater Serbian bourgeoisie in Macedonia.

In their zeal to annex Macedonia, the Serbian ruling circles which promoted the idea of a Greater Serbia were encouraged by Austria-Hungary to direct Serbian policies towards Macedonia. This was done at the conclusion of the 1881 with a secret Serbian-Austrian agreement. By doing so, Austria-Hungary wanted to divert Serbian attention away from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from the Serbians who lived in Austria-Hungary. On top of that, Vienna believed that Serbian, Greek and Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia would provoke such confusion that Austria-Hungary might use it to infiltrate Macedonia itself.

In the period after 1881, encouraged by Vienna and the intensification of the Greater Bulgarian and Greater Greek propaganda, the Serbian government took a series of measures to intensify its propaganda in Macedonia. For that purpose, the Serbian government appointed Serbian bishops in Skopje, Prilep, Debar, Veles, Bitola and Ohrid. To fulfill its aims, the Serbian government cooperated with Greek Patriarchate and Ottoman authorities. At the same time, it increased the amount of money it spent on propaganda. The Greater Serbia propaganda was implemented through several organizations. In 1886, for example, the Belgrade association “St. Sava” took part through Macedonian migrant workers in Serbia who assisted it in opening Serbian schools in Macedonia, through which the Serbians spread their propaganda.

Stoian Novakovich, a Serbian MP in Tsari Grad, was also of great importance for the intensification and expansion of the Greater Serbia propaganda in Macedonia. Novakovich was responsible for obtaining permits from the Porte which allowed Serbia to send Serbian consuls in Solun, Skopje (1887) and Bitola (1888). After the railway Skopje - Vranie was constructed in 1888 the Serbian government began to not only send Serbian teachers but also booksellers, doctors, merchants and various other agitators, who worked in its services promoting its Greater Serbian propaganda.

In 1890, the Greater Serbian propaganda central leadership was reorganized. The old governing body leading the “Schools and

Churches Department” of the Ministry of Education was replaced by the “Political-Educational Department” of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had at its disposal an advisory board consisting of three members. Its funding was also increased from 200,000 in 1890 to 300,000 dinars in 1891. And instead of the Serbian MP in Tsari Grad running the propaganda campaign in the field in Macedonia, it was transferred to the Serbian Consul General in Skopje. The Bitola and Solun vilayets were given to the Serbian consuls in Bitola and Solun. Later the Serbian government appointed Firmilian as the Serbian Metropolitan in Skopje. Greater Serbian propaganda in the Veles-Debar diocese was organized under Serbian deputy bishops in several church-school municipalities, Serbian priests, etc. Serbian metropolitans and priests in Macedonia were recognized by the Greek Patriarchate but worked for the Greater Serbian propaganda.

The strongest opponent to the Greater Greece and Greater Serbia propaganda in Macedonia was the Greater Bulgaria propaganda. It had developed long roots, especially during the last decades of the 19th century and was the most widespread. It began operating before the Exarchate was created in 1870. We can see its beginnings more clearly in the actions taken by the Bulgarian bourgeoisie through its representatives in Tsari Grad grouped around P. R. Slaveikov. Even then the Bulgarians acted by various means to stifle the independent Macedonian movement. They even took actions to destroy Macedonian textbooks, the Macedonian language in schools and were against bringing back the Ohrid Archbishopric, among other things.

After 1870, and especially after the Bulgarian principality was created, the Exarchate became the main driving force for implementing the Greater Bulgaria actions towards annexing Macedonia to Bulgaria and assimilating the Macedonian people by turning them into Bulgarians. In other words, the Exarchate was responsible for running the Greater Bulgaria propaganda by subjugating all Macedonian school and church communities and persecuting all manifestations of Macedonian national consciousness and independence. In 1897, the Exarchate infiltrated Bulgarian trade agencies in Solun, Bitola and Skopje and turned them into kinds of consulates. In other words the Exarchate

metropolitans became the governors of the Greater Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia, who by all means, and especially through the schools and the church, were aiming to instill a Bulgarian national consciousness in order to “prove” that the Macedonian people were supposedly Bulgarians, thus preparing the ground work for Macedonia to join Bulgaria.

In order to intensify and expand Bulgarian propaganda in accordance with the directives issued by the Sofia government, an educational commission was created within the Exarchate, which worked under the presidency of the Exarch and under the control of Bulgarian diplomats. That commission had a special task to take care of the school and educational propaganda, to keep the schools under its control as well as its cultural-educational activities in Macedonia. To achieve these Greater Bulgaria propaganda goals and objectives, the Sofia government increased its spending on propaganda every year. In 1881 it spent 100,000 leva, in 1883 about 575,000 leva and in 1890 it spent 5.5 million French francs. In other words, the Great Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia was the costliest of all propaganda.

As a result, the number of Exarchate schools grew more and more every year. In 1886 the Exarchate had 306 schools in Macedonia and in 1888/1889 it had 744 primary and 63 middle schools. The exarchate also took special care of the boys’ and girls’ high schools in Solun, the teachers’ schools in Skopje and Seres, the seminary schools in Ohrid, etc. The Greater Bulgaria propaganda, like the other propaganda, made great efforts to recruit and educate its teaching and clerical staff from the ranks of the Macedonian youth, so that it could more easily act on and conceal its anti-Macedonian measures. As a result, a number of students from Bulgarian schools became agents of the Greater Bulgarian propaganda and agitated for a “San Stefano Bulgaria”, i.e. for joining Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Greek and Serbian propaganda machines weren’t too far behind in installing their own agents.

The Greater Bulgaria propaganda also worked through the Macedonian people who had earlier immigrated to Bulgaria. Organizations belonging to these people often participated in various rallies and manifestations organized by the Bulgarian ruling

circles, or sent armed detachments to Macedonia to create noise and call for “uprisings” (1895, 1902). At the same time the Greater Bulgarian propaganda also found resistance among the Macedonian immigrants. Included among those who resisted was the group led by Dimitar Blagoev and Spiro Gulapchev. They were against Macedonia’s accession to Bulgaria and proposed that the Macedonian question be resolved within a Balkan federation, in which the Macedonian people voluntarily declared what they wanted to do and determined their own fate.

The Macedonian people’s resistance to foreign propaganda dates back to the time when this propaganda was first introduced into Macedonia. In the beginning resistance was passive but gradually it became more active and grew into open conflicts and daily struggles. The Macedonian people’s resistance was well known from the start. Macedonians first resisted against the Greek language and the Patriarchate, and later against the introduction of the Bulgarian and Serbian languages into Macedonian schools and against the Exarchate. All these foreign actions served as a means to assimilate and subjugate the Macedonian people. Within that resistance, there were clashes between the Macedonian students who promoted the Greater Bulgaria propaganda and the Macedonian people whom they called Macedonian “separatists”. The Macedonian revivalist brothers Dimitar and Kostadin Miladinov died in such clashes in the struggle against the Patriarchate.

The Exarchate and Patriarchate jointly opposed Catholic and Uniat propaganda in Macedonia, which further divided the people. But unlike the other propagandas, the Catholic and Uniat propaganda at times aided the movement to restore the Ohrid Archbishopric within the Church of Rome. In 1882 for example, with help from Uniat missionaries and the Austro-Hungarian consul in Skopje, Metropolitan Theodosius launched a campaign to restore the Ohrid Archbishopric, which would have granted all of Macedonia autonomous religious rights. But because of disagreements between Austria-Hungary and France and due to interventions from the Exarchate, Theodosius was imprisoned and his attempts to restore the Ohrid Archbishopric failed.

Giorgi Pulevski from Galichnik also played an important role in the struggle against foreign propaganda and in the Macedonian national revival. He fought against the Bulgarizing of Macedonian schools and against the propaganda opposing the Macedonian language. He published several books in the Macedonian language that included two dictionaries, one Macedonian grammar book, one Macedonian history book and several other books. Among other things, he enlightened the Macedonian people and showed them that they were Macedonians and that their homeland was Macedonia. To better disseminate his ideas, in 1888, Giorgi Pulevski founded the “Slavic-Macedonian Literary Society”.

Since their implementation in Macedonia, the Exarchate and Patriarchate, as well as other propaganda organs, had done everything in their power to focus on controlling the situation in Macedonia in order to destroy the Macedonian people’s independence. Fortunately the people resisted. Young people and the guilds in particular put up a strong resistance which the Greater Bulgaria propaganda repeatedly tried to hide. This resistance often turned into clashes between Macedonian and Bulgarian professors, especially in the Solun Gymnasium. The Exarchate unfortunately fought against and persecuted all Macedonian teachers and professors who, in any way or form, opposed their Greater Bulgarian propaganda. Because of this, one time the students in the Solun Gymnasium started a riot resulting in 14 of them being expelled. Among them were Giorche Petrov and Pere Toshev.

In another student riot, which also broke out in the Solun Gymnasium, students demanded that the Macedonian language be introduced into the classrooms. Nineteen students were expelled because of that. There were similar riots taking place in the exarchate Gymnasiums in Bitola and Skopje. In the words of Giorche Petrov, these riots against the Exarchate and the Greater Bulgarian propaganda gradually turned into a revolutionary movement. The same people who had initially rioted gradually led the struggle against the Exarchate.

In the struggle against the Greater Bulgaria propaganda, the Macedonian people labeled “separatists” and above all the “Young Macedonian Literary Society”, led by Petar Pop Arsov, Giorgi

Balashchev, Ivan Hadzi Nikolov and others, in 1892 published the Macedonian magazine “Loza” (vine) in the Macedonian language. Its members were known as “Lozari” (vine growers). Their aim was to come up with a Macedonian literary language and introduce it all over Macedonia. They tried to attract like-minded people into their ranks not only to promote the Macedonian language but to also prepare the ground for a revolutionary movement. Their effort to come up with a Macedonian literary language was continued and perfected by Krste Misirkov, who studied in Russia and in 1903 published his important works entitled “On Macedonian Matters”, which laid the foundations for the Macedonian literary language.

All those people working in the above-mentioned Macedonian national movement and their leaders were perpetually persecuted and their newspapers, magazines and books were banned by the Great Bulgarian propaganda.

MACEDONIA FROM 1893 TO 1903 (By Dr. Krste Bitovski)