Stefan Jakimov Dedov ( mk, Стефан Јакимов Дедов; bg, Стефан Якимов Дедов, translit=Stefan Yakimov Dedov; 28 October 1869 – 19 September 1914) was a journalist, writer and early proponent of the

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 ...

' ethnonational distinctiveness. He publicly expressed the idea of a Macedonian nation distinct from the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

, as well as a separate

Macedonian language 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 ...

. He also self-identified occasionally as a Bulgarian.

Biography

Dedov was born in 1869 in

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

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 worked as a teacher there prior to working as a postal worker in

Berkovitsa Berkovitsa ( bg, Берковица ) is a town and ski resort in northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Berkovitsa Municipality, Montana Province and is close to the town of Varshets. , it has a population of 13 ...

and

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

, Bulgaria. In 1898, he moved 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 began studying at the Faculty of Law (1898-1902). Тhere he, along with

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

, founded the "Macedonian club", and published the newspaper ''Balkanski glasnik'' (Balkan Herald) in French and Serbian. The newspaper expressed the idea for an independent Macedonian state, nation and language. Later the Serbian government banned the club and suppressed the newspaper. In 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 Mišajkov 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 ...

in October. Along with Mišajkov, the next month, he sent a memorandum to the Russian government calling for Macedonian autonomy, recognition of

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. Dedov went to Sofia in 1903 and published the newspaper ''Balkan''. There he espoused

pro-Bulgarian Bulgarophiles ( bg, българофили; Serbian and Macedonian бугарофили or бугараши ; ; ro, Bulgarofilii) is a term used for Slavic people from the regions of Macedonia and Pomoravlje who are ethnic Bulgarians. In Bulga ...

views in his publications. However he also aided

Krste Petkov Misirkov Krste Petkov Misirkov ( bg, Кръсте (Кръстьо) Петков Мисирков; mk, Крсте Петков Мисирков, ; 18 November 1874 – 26 July 1926) was a philologist, journalist, historian and ethnographer from the regio ...

in the printing of ''

On Macedonian Matters ''Za makedonckite raboti'' (Cyrillic script: ''За македонцките работи'', English translation: ''On Macedonian Matters'') is a book written by Krste Misirkov and published in 1903 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The book presents the autho ...

'' and created a branch of the Macedonian Scientific and Literary Society with him on 23 November, but it was disbanded by the Bulgarian police after two days. In 1904 he published the newspaper ''Kurier'' (Courier). He was a contributor for the ''Den'' (Day) and ''Balkanski Kurier'' (Balkan Courier) newspapers, mostly under the pseudonym ''Ridski'' or ''R''. Dedov cooperated with some

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр� ...

activists, though he was suspected of being a

pro-Serbian Serbophilia ( sr, , , ''literally love for Serbia and Serbs'') is the admiration, appreciation or emulation of non-Serbian person who expresses a strong interest, positive predisposition or appreciation for the Serbian people, Serbia, Repu ...

activist by the organization. He was killed in 1914 by an associate of

Todor Aleksandrov Todor Aleksandrov Poporushov, best known as Todor Alexandrov (Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Тодор Александров), also spelt as Alexandroff (4 March 1881 – 31 August 1924), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, army officer, politician and tea ...

- Slave Ivanov. Reporting on his death, the Belgrade newspaper ''

Politika ''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and owners ...

'' described him as a "''honorary Serbian

commercial agent An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...

''". His son, Evtim Dedov was a prominent Bulgarian sports journalist, director of the ''Levski'' sports newspaper and general secretary of the "Levski" Sport Club.Димитър П Иванчев и колектив, Български периодичен печат, 1844-1944: анотиран библиографски указател, Том 1, Български библиографски институт, Народна библиотека "Кирил и Методий." Наука и изкуство, 1962, стр. 436.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedov, Stefan People from Ohrid 1869 births 1914 deaths People murdered in Bulgaria Early Macedonists Macedonian writers Bulgarian journalists Macedonian Scientific and Literary Society People from the Ottoman Empire