The Macedonian People's League (MPL) was a leftist organization, founded in the USA.

History

The foundations of the MPL were set by

Smile Vojdanov Smile Vojdanov ( mk, Смиле Војданов, originally spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, older Bulgarian orthography: ''Смиле Войдановъ''; February 1, 1872 – March 4, 1958) was a Bulgarian and Macedonians (ethnic ...

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

in 1929. In 1930, the first conference of the League was held in Toledo, Ohio, with Smile Vojdanov being elected as a chairman of the Central Committee and

Georgi Pirinski Sr. Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also * Georgy (disambiguation) * Georgii (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

as a secretary. The first regular congress of MPL was held in Gary, Indiana in 1931, and since then the Macedonian People's League has been formed. Immediately after its formation, the MPL was associated with various left-wing organizations in the United States and Europe, as well as with the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

. It established relations with the

's leader

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; bg, Гео̀рги Димитро̀в Миха̀йлов), also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (russian: Гео́ргий Миха́йлович Дими́тров; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian ...

. Dimitrov praised the work of Georgi Pirinski publicized in Daily Worker in August 1935. Pirinski appealed to Bulgarian Americans to heed the call for action by their countryman Dimitrov.George J. Prpic, John Carroll University, South South immigration in America, Twayne Publishers, 1971, G. K. Hall & Co., Boston, p. 236. In 1938, the MPL was renamed the Macedonian-American People's League, and its branch - the Macedonian-Canadian People's League was founded in the Canada. The League published in Bulgarian language the Weekly "People's Will" (Narodna Volja). The organization supported the creation of an independent Macedonia within a Balkan Federation. It was the first organization in the United States to support the idea that Macedonian Slavs constitute a separate nationality. MPL acted aggressively against the Macedonian Patriotic Organization, that it believed, was a Bulgarian agent. During 1940s MPL supported the creation of the People's Republic of Macedonia within Communist Yugoslavia and favored the establishment of

Communist regimes A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

throughout Eastern Europe. Finally, because of its pro-Communist stance, the League was disbanded in 1948. The leaders of MPL either chose to leave the country or were deported. Some of them went back to

Socialist Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

and became highly placed officials there.

References

{{Bulgarian diaspora Macedonian-American culture in Michigan Macedonian American history Bulgarian-American history Organizations based in Indiana Patriotic societies Organizations established in 1931 1931 establishments in Indiana Communist organizations in the United States 1948 disestablishments in the United States