Dijamandija Mišajkov ( mk, Дијамандија Мишајков, translit=Dijamandija Mišajkov; bg, Диамандия Мишайков, translit=Diamandiya Mishaykov; 15 March 1872 – 6 April 1953) was a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

journalist and a proponent of

Macedonian nationalism Macedonian nationalism (, ) is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Emp ...

, advocating for a distinct Macedonian nation and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

Biography

Mišajkov was born in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, then in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

(now

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

). He received his education there, as well as in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

and

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...

, before working as a teacher in

Chepelare Chepelare ( bg, Чепеларе ) is the principal town in Chepelare Municipality, part of Smolyan Province in Southern Bulgaria. It is situated in the central part of the Rhodopes, on the banks of Chepelare River. Chepelare is a popular winte ...

. Later he went to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, where he studied at the Faculty of Law, completing his education in 1902. Тhere he also, along with Stefan Dedov, founded the "Macedonian club", and published the newspaper ''Balkanski glasnik'' (Balkan herald) in French and Serbian. He was its editor. The newspaper expressed ideas of an independent Macedonian state, nation, and language. Later the Serbian government banned the club and the newspaper. In October 1902, he went to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

together with Dedov and became one of the founders of

Macedonian Scientific and Literary Society The Macedonian Scientific and Literary Society, called also Slavic-Macedonian Scholarly and Literary Society was an organization of Macedonian Slavs in Russia in the first decades of the twentieth century. Activity Its founders were Dimitrij ...

, serving as its first temporary president. Along with Dedov, the next month, he sent a memorandum to the Russian government calling for Macedonian autonomy, recognition of

Macedonian Slavs Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...

as a distinct ethnic group and a distinct

Macedonian Slavic Macedonian (; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million p ...

language, as well as an independent church, among other things. Mišajkov returned to Bitola in 1903 in order to try to spread the Macedonian national dogma. However, he failed and in 1907 he moved to Bulgaria. There he started working as a lawyer. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Mišajkov and his family were evacuated to

Svoge Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...

, where he helped the

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

. He died in 1953 in Sofia. His brother Evgeni was a prominent clergyman in the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...

, and his other brother Vasil, was the chief prosecutor of the

Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria The Supreme Court of Cassation ( bg, Върховен касационен съд, Vǎrhoven kasatsionen sǎd) is the final court of appeal in the Republic of Bulgaria. Its work is governed by the Constitution of 1991. According to Article 124, i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mišajkov, Dijamandija People from Bitola 1872 births 1953 deaths Early Macedonists Macedonian Scientific and Literary Society People from the Ottoman Empire