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, region3 = , pop3 = 81,745 (2006 census) – 90,000 (est.) descendants of migrants from the region of Macedonia , ref3 = , region4 = , pop4 = 50,000 – 70,000 (est., incl. descendants) , ref4 = Simpson, Neil (1994). Macedonia Its Disputed History. Victoria: Aristoc Press. pp. 92. . , region5 = , pop5 = 26,000 (est.) , ref5 = Peter, Hill. (1989) The Macedonians in Australia, Hesperian Press, Carlisle , region6 = , pop6 = 30,000 (est.) , ref6 = , region7 = ( Banat) , pop7 = 7,500 (est.) , languages =
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 ...
,
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
, Greek , religions = Greek Orthodox Church,
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
Slavic speakers are a minority population in the northern Greek region of
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
, who are mostly concentrated in certain parts of the peripheries of West and Central Macedonia, adjacent to the territory of the state of North Macedonia. The language called "Slavic" in the context of Greece is generally called "Macedonian" or "Macedonian Slavic" otherwise. Some members have formed their own emigrant communities in neighbouring countries, as well as further abroad.


History


Middle Ages and Ottoman rule

The
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
took advantage of the desolation left by the nomadic tribes and in the 6th century settled the Balkan Peninsula. Aided by the Avars and the
Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
, the Slavic tribes started in the 6th century a gradual invasion into the Byzantine lands. They invaded Macedonia and reached as far south as Thessaly and the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, settling in isolated regions that were called by the Byzantines ''Sclavinias'', until they were gradually pacified. At the beginning of the 9th century, the Slavic
Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
conquered Northern Byzantine lands, including most of Macedonia. Those regions remained under Bulgarian rule for two centuries, until the conquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantine Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty Basil II in 1018. In the 13th and the 14th century, Macedonia was contested by the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, Bulgaria and Serbia but the frequent shift of borders did not result in any major population changes. In 1338, the geographical area of Macedonia was conquered by the Serbian Empire, but after the Battle of Maritsa in 1371 most of the Macedonian Serbian lords would accept supreme Ottoman rule. During the Middle Ages Slavs in South Macedonia were mostly defined as Bulgarians, and this continued also during 16th and 17th centuries by Ottoman historians and travellers like Hoca Sadeddin Efendi,
Mustafa Selaniki Mustafa Selaniki ( tr, Selanıkî Mustafa; "Mustafa of Salonica; died 1600), also known as Selanıkî Mustafa Efendi, was an Ottoman scholar and chronicler, whose ''Tarih-i Selâniki'' described the Ottoman Empire of 1563–1599. See also *Salo ...
,
Hadji Khalfa Hadji (also spelled ''Hajji'', ''Haji'' or ''Hatzi'') is a title and prefix that is awarded to a person who has successfully completed the Hajj ("pilgrimage") to Mecca. It may refer to: People * El Hadji Diouf (born 1981), Senegalese footballer * ...
and Evliya Çelebi. Nevertheless, most of the Slavic speakers had not formed a national identity in modern sense and were instead identified through their religious affiliations. Some Slavic speakers also converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. This conversion appears to have been a gradual and voluntary process. Economic and social gain was an incentive to become a Muslim. Muslims also enjoyed some legal privileges. Nevertheless, the rise of European nationalism in the 18th century led to the expansion of the Hellenic idea in Macedonia and under the influence of the Greek schools and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and part from the urban Christian population of Slavic origin started to view itself more as Greek. In the
Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid *T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276 *Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...
the Slavonic liturgy was preserved on the lower levels until its abolition in 1767. This led to the first literary work in vernacular modern Bulgarian, History of Slav-Bulgarians in 1762. Its author was a Macedonia-born monk Paisius of Hilendar, who wrote it in the Bulgarian Orthodox
Zograf Monastery The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery ( bg, Зографски манастир; el, Μονή Ζωγράφου, ''Moní Zográphou'') is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos (the "Holy Mountain") in ...
, on
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
. Nevertheless, it took almost a century for the Bulgarian idea to regain ascendancy in the region. Paisius was the first ardent call for a national awakening and urged his compatriots to throw off the subjugation to the Greek language and culture. The example of Paisius was followed also by other Bulgarian nationalists in 18th century Macedonia. The Macedonian Bulgarians took active part in the long struggle for independent Bulgarian Patriarchate and Bulgarian schools during the 19th century. The foundation of the Bulgarian Exarchate (1870) aimed specifically at differentiating the Bulgarian from the Greek population on an ethnic and linguistic basis, hence providing the conditions for the open assertion of a Bulgarian national identity. On the other hand, the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) was founded in 1893 in Ottoman Thessaloniki by several Bulgarian Exarchate teachers and professionals who sought to create a militant movement dedicated to the autonomy of Macedonia and Thrace within the Ottoman Empire. Many
Bulgarian exarchists Bulgarian Millet ( tr, Bulgar Milleti) was an ethno-religious and linguistic community within the Ottoman Empire from the mid-19th to early 20th century. The semi-official term ''Bulgarian millet'', was used by the Sultan for the first time in ...
participated in the Ilinden Uprising in 1903 with hope of liberation from the Porte. In 1883 the Kastoria region consisted of 60,000 people, all Christian, of which 4/9 were Slavophone Greeks and the rest 5/9 were Grecophone Greeks, Albanophone Greeks and Aromanians. File:Ethnographic map Ami Boué, 1847.jpg, French ethnographic map of the Balkans by
Ami Boue AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel ** AMI-télé, the French-language version *AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesse ...
, 1847. File:Ethnographic map of the South Balkans, Pallas Nagy Lexikon, 1897.jpg, The nationalities of southeastern Europe according to ''Pallas Nagy Lexikona'', 1897. File:Bulgarians in 1912.jpg, The regions of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by ethnic Bulgarians in 1912, according to the Bulgarian point of view. File:Hellenism in the Near East 1918.jpg, Greek ethnographic map from 1918, showing the Macedonian Slavs as a separate people.
File:Seals of Voden Bulgarian Municipality Crop.jpg, Bulgarian Exarchate seal of the Voden (Edessa) municipality, 1870. File:Zoupanishta-Greek-school-pupils.jpg, Pupils of the Greek school of Zoupanishta, near Kastoria. File:Solunska Gimnazija 11.maj.jpg,
Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki ( bg, Солунска българска мъжка гимназия „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“, ''Solunska balgarska mazhka gimnazia „Sv. sv. Kiril i ...
celebrating
Saints Cyril and Methodius Day Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited w ...
, c. 1900. File:KonikovoGospel.jpg, The title page of the Konikovo Gospel, printed in 1852.
From 1900 onwards, the danger of Bulgarian control had upset the Greeks. The Bishop of Kastoria, Germanos Karavangelis, realised that it was time to act in a more efficient way and started organising Greek opposition. Germanos animated the Greek population against the IMORO and formed committees to promote the Greek interests. Taking advantage of the internal political and personal disputes in IMORO, Karavangelis succeeded to organize guerrilla groups. Fierce conflicts between the Greeks and Bulgarians started in the area of Kastoria, in the Giannitsa Lake and elsewhere; both parties committed cruel crimes. Both guerrilla groups had also to confront the Turkish army. These conflicts ended after the revolution of " Young Turks" in 1908, as they promised to respect all ethnicities and religions and generally to provide a constitution.


Balkan Wars and World War I

During the Balkan Wars, many atrocities were committed by Turks, Bulgarians and Greeks in the war over Macedonia. After the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
ended in 1913, Greece took control of
southern Macedonia Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
and began an official policy of forced assimilation which included the settlement of Greeks from other provinces into southern Macedonia, as well as the linguistic and cultural Hellenization of Slav speakers. which continued even after World War I. The Greeks expelled Exarchist churchmen and teachers and closed Bulgarian schools and churches. The Bulgarian language (including the Macedonian dialects) was prohibited, and its surreptitious use, whenever detected, was ridiculed or punished. Bulgaria's entry into World War I on the side of the Central Powers signified a dramatic shift in the way European public opinion viewed the Bulgarian population of Macedonia. The ultimate victory of the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
in 1918 led to the victory of the vision of the Slavic population of Macedonia as an amorphous mass, without a developed national consciousness. Within Greece, the ejection of the Bulgarian church, the closure of Bulgarian schools, and the banning of publication in Bulgarian language, together with the expulsion or flight to Bulgaria of a large proportion of the Macedonian Bulgarian intelligentsia, served as the prelude to campaigns of forcible cultural and linguistic assimilation. The remaining
Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of eth ...
were classified as " Slavophones". After the Ilinden Uprising, the Balkan Wars and especially after the First World War more than 100,000 Bulgarians from Greek Macedonia moved to Bulgaria. There was agreement in 1919 between Bulgaria and Greece which provided opportunities to expatriate the Bulgarians from Greece. Until the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, ota, گرب جابهاسی, Garb Cebhesi) in Turkey, and the Asia Minor Campaign ( el, Μικρασιατική Εκστρατεία, Mikrasiatikí Ekstrateía) or the Asia Minor Catastrophe ( el, Μικ ...
and the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923 there were also some Pomak communities in the region.


Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO)

During the Balkan Wars IMRO members joined the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps and fought with the Bulgarian Army. Others with their bands assisted the Bulgarian army with its advance and still others penetrated as far as the region of Kastoria, southwestern Macedonia. In the Second Balkan War IMRO bands fought the Greeks behind the front lines but were subsequently routed and driven out. The result of the Balkan Wars was that the Macedonian region was partitioned between Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia. IMARO maintained its existence in Bulgaria, where it played a role in politics by playing upon Bulgarian irredentism and urging a renewed war. During the First World War in Macedonia (1915–1918) the organization supported Bulgarian army and joined to Bulgarian war-time authorities. Bulgarian army, supported by the organization's forces, was successful in the first stages of this conflict, came into positions on the line of the pre-war Greek-Serbian border. The Bulgarian advance into Greek held Eastern Macedonia, precipitated internal Greek crisis. The government ordered its troops in the area not to resist, and most of the Corps was forced to surrender. However the post-war Treaty of Neuilly again denied Bulgaria what it felt was its share of Macedonia. From 1913 to 1926 there were large-scale changes in the population structure due to ethnic migrations. During and after the Balkan Wars about 15,000 Slavs left the new Greek territories for Bulgaria but more significant was the Greek–Bulgarian convention 1919 in which some 72,000 Slavs-speakers left Greece for Bulgaria, mostly from Eastern Macedonia, which from then remained almost Slav free. IMRO began sending armed bands into Greek Macedonia to assassinate officials. In the 1920s in the region of Greek Macedonia 24 chetas and 10 local reconnaissance detachments were active. Many locals were repressed by the Greek authorities on suspicions of contacts with the revolutionary movement. In this period the combined Macedonian-Adrianopolitan revolutionary movement separated into
Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (Bulgarian: Вътрешна тракийска революционна организация, ''Vatreshna trakiyska revolutsionna organizatsiya'', ITRO) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation ...
and Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. ITRO was a revolutionary organization active in the Greek regions of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia to the river Strymon. The reason for the establishment of ITRO was the transfer of the region from Bulgaria to Greece in May 1920. At the end of 1922, the Greek government started to expel large numbers of Thracian Bulgarians into Bulgaria and the activity of ITRO grew into an open rebellion. Meanwhile, the left-wing did form the new organisation called
IMRO (United) The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (United) (1925–1936) (Bulgarian: Вътрешна македонска революционна организация - обединена, ''Vatreshna makedonska revolyucionna organizatsiya - O ...
in 1925 in Vienna. However, it did not have real popular support and remained based abroad with, closely linked to 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 ...
and the Balkan Communist Federation. IMRO's and ITRO's constant fratricidal killings and assassinations abroad provoked some within Bulgarian military after the coup of 19 May 1934 to take control and break the power of the organizations, which had come to be seen as a gangster organizations inside Bulgaria and a band of assassins outside it.


Interwar period

The Tarlis and Petrich incidents triggered heavy protests in Bulgaria and international outcry against Greece. The Common Greco-Bulgarian committee for emigration investigated the incident and presented its conclusions to League of Nations in Geneva. As a result, a bilateral Bulgarian-Greek agreement was signed in Geneva on September 29, 1925, known as Politis-Kalfov protocol after the demand of the League of Nations, recognizing Greek Slavophones as Bulgarians and guaranteeing their protection. Next month a Slavic language primer textbook in Latin known as Abecedar published by the Greek ministry for education, was introduced to Greek schools of Aegean Macedonia. On February 2, 1925, the Greek parliament, under pressure from Serbia, rejected ratification of the 1913 Greek-Serbian Coalition Treaty. Agreement lasted 9 months until June 10, 1925, when League of Nations annulled it. During the 1920s the Comintern developed a new policy for the Balkans, about collaboration between the communists and the Macedonian movement. The idea for a new unified organization was supported by the Soviet Union, which saw a chance for using this well developed revolutionary movement to spread revolution in the Balkans. In the so-called
May Manifesto The "May Manifesto" of May 6, 1924 was a paper in which the objectives of the unified Macedonian liberation movement were presented: independence and unification of partitioned region of Macedonia, fighting all the neighbouring Balkan monarchies, su ...
of 6 May 1924, for first time the objectives of the unified Slav Macedonian liberation movement were presented: "independence and unification of partitioned Macedonia, fighting all the neighbouring Balkan monarchies, forming a Balkan Communist Federation". In 1934 the Comintern issued also a special resolution about the recognition of the Slav Macedonian ethnicity. This decision was supported by the
Greek Communist Party The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
. The 1928 census recorded 81,844 Slavo-Macedonian speakers or 1.3% of the population of Greece, distinct from 16,755 Bulgarian speakers.Mavrogordatos, George. ''Stillborn Republic: Social Coalitions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922–1936''. University of California Press, 1983. , p. 227, 247 Contemporary unofficial Greek reports state that there were 200,000 "Bulgarian"-speaking inhabitants of Macedonia, of whom 90,000 lack Greek national identity. The bulk of the Slavo-Macedonian minority was concentrated in West Macedonia. The census reported that there were 38,562 of them in the ''nome'' (district) of Florina or 31% of the total population and 19,537 in the ''nome'' of
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
( Pella) or 20% of the population. According to the prefect of Florina, in 1930 there were 76,370 (61%), of whom 61,950 (or 49% of the population) lacked Greek national identity. The situation for Slavic speakers became unbearable when the Metaxas regime took power in 1936. Metaxas was firmly opposed to the irredentist factions of the Slavophones of northern Greece mainly in Macedonia and Thrace, some of whom underwent political persecution due to advocacy of irredentism with regard to neighboring countries. Place names and surnames were officially Hellenized and the native Slavic dialects were banned even in personal use. It was during this time that many Slavic speakers fled their homes and emigrated to the United States, Canada and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The name changes took place according to the Greek language.


Ohrana and the Bulgarian annexation during WWII

''Ohrana'' were armed detachments organized by the Bulgarian army, composed of pro-Bulgarian oriented part of the Slavic population in occupied Greek Macedonia during World War II, led by Bulgarian officers. In 1941 Greek Macedonia was occupied by German, Italian and Bulgarian troops. The Bulgarian troops occupied the Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace. The Bulgarian policy was to win the loyalty of the Slav inhabitants and to instill them a Bulgarian national identity. Indeed, many of these people did greet the Bulgarians as liberators, particularly in eastern and central Macedonia, however, this campaign was less successful in German-occupied western Macedonia. At the beginning of the occupation in Greece most of the Slavic speakers in the area felt themselves to be Bulgarians. Only a small part espoused a pro-Hellenic feelings. The Bulgarian occupying forces began a campaign of exterminating Greeks from Macedonia. The Bulgarians were supported in this ethnic cleansing by the Slavic minority in Macedonia. In the city of Drama in May 1941, over 15,000 Greeks were killed. By the end of 1941, over 100,000 Greeks were expelled from this region. Unlike Germany and Italy, Bulgaria officially annexed the occupied territories, which had long been a target of Bulgarian irridentism.Mazower (2000), p. 276 A massive campaign of " Bulgarisation" was launched, which saw all Greek officials deported. This campaign was successful especially in Eastern and later in Central Macedonia, when Bulgarians entered the area in 1943, after Italian withdrawal from Greece. All Slav-speakers there were regarded as Bulgarians and not so effective in German-occupied Western Macedonia. A ban was placed on the use of the Greek language, the names of towns and places changed to the forms traditional in Bulgarian. In addition, the Bulgarian government tried to alter the ethnic composition of the region, by expropriating land and houses from Greeks in favour of Bulgarian settlers. The same year, the German High Command approved the foundation of a Bulgarian military club in Thessaloníki. The Bulgarians organized supplying of food and provisions for the Slavic population in Central and Western Macedonia, aiming to gain the local population that was in the German and Italian occupied zones. The Bulgarian clubs soon started to gain support among parts of the population. Many Communist political prisoners were released with the intercession of Bulgarian Club in Thessaloniki, which had made representations to the German occupation authorities. They all declared Bulgarian ethnicity. In 1942, the Bulgarian club asked assistance from the High command in organizing armed units among the Slavic-speaking population in northern Greece. For this purpose, the Bulgarian army, under the approval of the German forces in the Balkans sent a handful of officers from the Bulgarian army, to the zones occupied by the Italian and German troops to be attached to the German occupying forces as "liaison officers". All the Bulgarian officers brought into service were locally born Macedonians who had immigrated to Bulgaria with their families during the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Greek-Bulgarian Treaty of Neuilly which saw 90,000 Bulgarians migrating to Bulgaria from Greece. These officers were given the objective to form armed Bulgarian militias. Bulgaria was interested in acquiring the zones under Italian and German occupation and hopped to sway the allegiance of the 80,000 Slavs who lived there at the time. The appearance of Greek partisans in those areas persuaded the Italians to allow the formation of these collaborationist detachments. Following the defeat of the Axis powers and the evacuation of the Nazi occupation forces many members of the Ohrana joined the SNOF where they could still pursue their goal of secession. The advance of the Red Army into Bulgaria in September 1944, the withdrawal of the German armed forces from Greece in October, meant that the Bulgarian Army had to withdraw from Greek Macedonia and Thrace. There was a rapprochement between the
Greek Communist Party The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
and the Ohrana collaborationist units. Further collaboration between the Bulgarian-controlled Ohrana and the EAM controlled SNOF followed when it was agreed that Greek Macedonia would be allowed to secede. Finally it is estimated that entire Ohrana units had joined the SNOF which began to press the ELAS leadership to allow it autonomous action in Greek Macedonia. There had been also a larger flow of refugees into Bulgaria as the Bulgarian Army pulled out of the Drama-Serres region in late 1944. A large proportion of Bulgarians and Slavic speakers emigrated there. In 1944 the declarations of Bulgarian nationality were estimated by the Greek authorities, on the basis of monthly returns, to have reached 16,000 in the districts of German-occupied Greek Macedonia, but according to British sources, declarations of Bulgarian nationality throughout Western Macedonia reached 23,000. In the beginning of the Bulgarian occupation in 1941 there were 38,611 declarations of Bulgarian identity in Eastern Macedonia. Then the ethnic composition of the Serres region consisted of 67 963 Greeks, 11 000 Bulgarians and 1237 others; in
Sidirokastro Sidirokastro ( el, Σιδηρόκαστρο; Bulgarian and Macedonian: ''Valovišta''; tr, Demirhisar) is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipali ...
region- 22 295 Greeks, 10 820 Bulgarians and 685 others; Drama region- 11 068 Bulgarians, 117 395 Greeks and others; Nea Zichni region – 4710 Bulgarians, 28 724 Greeks and others; Kavala region – 59 433 Greeks, 1000 Bulgarians and 3986 others; Thasos- 21 270 and 3 Bulgarians; Eleftheroupoli region- 36 822 Greeks, 10 Bulgarians and 301 others. At another census in 1943 the Bulgarian population had increased by less than 50,000 and not larger was the decrease of the Greek population.


Greek Civil War

During the beginning of the Second World War, Greek Slavic-speaking citizens fought within the Greek army until the country was overrun in 1941. The Greek communists had already been influenced by the Comintern and it was the only political party in Greece to recognize Macedonian national identity. As result many Slavic speakers joined the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and participated in partisan activities. The KKE expressed its intent to "fight for the national self-determination of the repressed Macedonians". In 1943, the
Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front The National Liberation Front ( mk, Народноослободителен фронт (НОФ), ''Narodnoosloboditelen front'' (NOF)), also known as the People's Liberation Front, was a communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit ...
(SNOF) was set up by ethnic Macedonian members of the KKE. The main aim of the SNOF was to obtain the entire support of the local population and to mobilize it, through SNOF, for the aims of the National Liberation Front (EAM). Another major aim was to fight against the Bulgarian organisation
Ohrana Ohrana ( bg, Охрана, "Protection"; ) were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) structures, composed of Bulgarians in Nazi-occupied Greek Macedonia during World War I ...
and Bulgarian authorities. During this time, the ethnic Macedonians in Greece were permitted to publish newspapers in Macedonian and run schools. In late 1944 after the German and Bulgarian withdrawal from Greece, the
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
's Partisans movement hardly concealed its intention of expanding. It was from this period that Slav-speakers in Greece who had previously referred to themselves as "Bulgarians" increasingly began to identify as "Macedonians". By 1945 World War II had ended and Greece was in open civil war. It has been estimated that after the end of the Second World War over 20,000 people fled from Greece to Bulgaria. To an extent the collaboration of the peasants with the Germans, Italians, Bulgarians or ELAS was determined by the geopolitical position of each village. Depending upon whether their village was vulnerable to attack by the Greek communist guerrillas or the occupation forces, the peasants would opt to support the side in relation to which they were most vulnerable. In both cases, the attempt was to promise "freedom" (autonomy or independence) to the formerly persecuted Slavic minority as a means of gaining its support.


National Liberation Front

The National Liberation Front (NOF) was organized by the political and military groups of the Slavic minority in Greece, active from 1945 to 1949. The interbellum was the time when part of them came to the conclusion that they are Macedonians. Greek hostility to the Slavic minority produced tensions that rose to separatism. After the recognition in 1934 from 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 ...
of the Macedonian ethnicity, the Greek communists also recognized Macedonian national identity. That separatism was reinforced by Communist Yugoslavia's support, since Yugoslavia's new authorities after 1944 encouraged the growth of Macedonian national consciousness. Following World War II, the population of Yugoslav Macedonia did begin to feel themselves to be Macedonian, assisted and pushed by a government policy. Communist Bulgaria also began a policy of making Macedonia connecting link for the establishment of new Balkan Federative Republic and stimulating in Bulgarian Macedonia a development of distinct Slav Macedonian consciousness. However, differences soon emerged between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria concerning the national character of the Macedonian Slavs – whereas Bulgarians considered them to be an offshoot of the Bulgarians, Yugoslavia regarded them as an independent nation which had nothing to do whatsoever with the Bulgarians. Thus the initial tolerance for the Macedonization of Pirin Macedonia gradually grew into outright alarm. At first, the NOF organized meetings, street and factory protests and published illegal underground newspapers. Soon after its founding, members began forming armed partisan detachments. In 1945, 12 such groups were formed in Kastoria, 7 in Florina, and 11 in
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
and the Gianitsa region. Many Aromanians also joined the Macedonians in NOF, especially in the Kastoria region. The NOF merged with the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) which was the main armed unit supporting the Communist Party. Owing to the KKE's equal treatment of ethnic Macedonians and Greeks, many ethnic Macedonians enlisted as volunteers in the DSE (60% of the DSE was composed of Slavic Macedonians). It was during this time that books written in the Macedonian dialect (the official language was in process of codifying) were published and Macedonians cultural organizations theatres were opened. According to information announced by Paskal Mitrovski on the I plenum of NOF in August 1948, about 85% of the Slavic-speaking population in Greek Macedonia had an ethnic Macedonian self-identity. It has been estimated that out of DSE's 20,000 fighters, 14,000 were Slavic Macedonians from Greek Macedonia. Given their important role in the battle, the KKE changed its policy towards them. At the fifth Plenum of KKE on January 31, 1949, a resolution was passed declaring that after KKE's victory, the Slavic Macedonians would find their national restoration as they wish.


Refugee children

The DSE was slowly driven back and eventually defeated. Thousands of Slavic speakers were expelled and fled to the newly established
Socialist Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
, while thousands more children took refuge in other
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries. They are known as ''Децата бегалци/Decata begalci''. Many of them made their way to the US, Canada and Australia. Other estimates claim that 5,000 were sent to Romania, 3,000 to Czechoslovakia, 2,500 to Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary and a further 700 to East Germany. There are also estimations that 52,000 – 72,000 people in total (incl. Greeks) were evacuated from Greece. However a 1951 document from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia states the total number of ethnic Macedonian and Greeks arriving from Greece between the years 1941–1951 is 28,595. From 1941 until 1944 500 found refuge in the People's Republic of Macedonia, in 1944 4,000 people, in 1945 5,000, in 1946 8,000, in 1947 6,000, in 1948 3,000, in 1949 2,000, in 1950 80, and in 1951 15 people. About 4,000 left Yugoslavia and moved to other Socialist countries (and very few went also to western countries). So in 1951 in Yugoslavia were 24,595 refugees from Greek Macedonia. 19,000 lived in Yugoslav Macedonia, 4,000 in Serbia (mainly in Gakovo-Krusevlje) and 1595 in other Yugoslav republics. This data is confirmed by the KKE, which claims that the total number of political refugees from Greece (incl. Greeks) was 55,881.


Post-war period

Since the end of the Greek Civil War many ethnic Macedonians have attempted to return to their homes in Greece. A 1982 amnesty law which stated "all Greek by descent who during the civil war of 1946–1949 and because of it have fled abroad as political refugees had the right to return", thus excluding all those who did not identify as ethnic Greeks. This was brought to a forefront shortly after the independence of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) in 1991. Many ethnic Macedonians have been refused entry to Greece because their documentation listed the Slavic names of the places of birth as opposed to the official Greek names, despite the child refugees, now elderly, only knowing their village by the local Macedonian name. These measures were even extended to Australian and Canadian citizens. Despite this, there have been sporadic periods of free entry, most of which have only ever lasted a few days. Despite the removal of official recognition to those identifying as ethnic Macedonians after the end of the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, a 1954 letter from the Prefect of Florina, K. Tousildis, reported that people were still affirming that the language they spoke was Macedonian in forms relating to personal documents, birth and marriage registries, etc.


Recent history

Since the late 1980s there has been a Macedonian ethnic revival in much of Northern Greece, especially where Macedonian speakers have not been minoritised. In 1984 the "Movement for Human and National Rights for the Macedonians of Aegean Macedonia" was founded, and was followed by the creation of the "Central Committee for Macedonian Human Rights" in Salonika in 1989. In 1990 a manifesto by this group was presented to the
Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism f ...
on behalf of the ethnic Macedonians. Following this the "Macedonian Movement for Balkan Prosperity" (MAKIVE) was formed, and in 1993 this group held the first "All Macedonian Congress" in Greece. The bilingual Macedonian and Greek-language "''Ta Moglena''" newspaper was first put into print in 1989, and although restricted to the
Moglena Almopia ( el, Αλμωπία), or Enotia, also known in the Middle Ages as Moglena (Greek: Μογλενά, Macedonian and Bulgarian: Меглен or Мъглен), is a municipality and a former province (επαρχία) of the Pella regional uni ...
region had a readership of 3,000. In 1989 the first attempts at establishing a "House of Macedonian Culture" in Florina began. MAKIVE participated in the 1993 local elections and received 14 percent of the vote in the Florina Prefecture. According to a study by anthropologist Ricki van Boeschoten, 64% of the inhabitants of 43 villages in the Florina area were Macedonian-language speakers. According to a 1993 study, of the 90 villages in
Florina Prefecture Florina ( el, Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Φλώρινας, ''Perifereiakí Enótita Flórinas'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, Greece. Its ...
, 50% were populated only by Slavic speakers, while another 23% with mixed population of Slavic speakers and other groups. One study of the archives in Langadas and the
Lake Koroneia Lake Koroneia ( el, Λίμνη Κορώνεια) is a lake in the heart of the Thessaloniki regional unit in the Mygdonian basin in Greece. It is also known as Lake Agios Vasileios after the village Agios Vasileios and as Lake Langadas after the ...
basin in Thessaloniki Prefecture found that most of the 22 villages in the area contained a population primarily made up of former Slavic speakers. In January 1994, Rainbow ( mk, Виножито, Vinožito, el, Ουράνιο Τόξο, Ouránio Tóxo) was founded as the political party to represent the ethnic Macedonian minority. At the 1994 European Parliament election the party received 7,263 votes and polled 5.7% in the Florina district. The party opened its offices in Florina on September 6, 1995. The opening of the office faced strong hostility and that night the offices were ransacked. In 1997 the "Zora" ( mk, Зора, lit. Dawn) newspaper first began to published and the following year, the Second All-Macedonian congress was held in Florina. Soon after the "Makedoniko" magazine also began to be published. In 2001 the first Macedonian Orthodox church in Greece was founded in the
Aridaia Aridaía (; mk, С'ботско, ''S'botsko''; bg, Съботско) is a town and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Almopia, of which it is a mun ...
region, which was followed in 2002 by the election of a Rainbow Candidate, Petros Dimtsis, to office in the Florina Prefecture. The year also saw the "Loza" ( mk, Лоза, lit. Vine) magazine go into print. In the following years several Macedonian-language radio stations were established, however many including "Makedonski Glas" ( mk, Македонски Глас, lit. Macedonian Voice), were shut down by Greek authorities. During this period ethnic Macedonians such as Kostas Novakis began to record and distribute music in the native
Macedonian dialects The dialects of Macedonian comprise the Slavic languages, Slavic dialects spoken in the Republic of North Macedonia as well as some variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in the wider geographic region of Macedonia (region), Macedonia. They are pa ...
. Ethnic Macedonian activists reprinted the language primer Abecedar ( mk, Абецедар), in attempt to encourage further use of the Macedonian language. However, the lack of Macedonian-language literature has left many young ethnic Macedonian students dependent on textbooks from the Republic of Macedonia. In 2008 thirty ethnic Macedonians from the villages of Lofoi,
Meliti Meliti ( el, Μελίτη, before 1926: Βοστεράνη - ''Vosterani''; bg, Овчарани or Вощарани, mk, Овчарани) is a village in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece, 15 km northeast of the city ...
, Kella and
Vevi Vevi ( el, Βεύη, before 1926: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa'', before 1928: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa''; Macedonian and bg, Баница, ''Banica'' or ''Banitsa'') is a village located in the municipal unit of Meliti in Florina regiona ...
protested against the presence of the Greek military in the Florina region. Another ethnic Macedonian organisation, the Educational and Cultural Movement of Edessa ( mk, Образовното и културно движење на Воден, Obrazovnoto i kulturnoto dviženje na Voden), was formed in 2009. Based in
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
, the group focuses on promoting ethnic Macedonian culture, through the publication of books and CD's, whilst also running Macedonian-language courses and teaching the
Macedonian Cyrillic The orthography of the Macedonian language includes an alphabet consisting of 31 letters ( mk, Македонска азбука, Makedonska azbuka), which is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script, as well as language-specific conventions of spelli ...
alphabet. Since then Macedonian-language courses have been extended to include Florina and Salonika. Later that year Rainbow officially opened its second office in the town of
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
. In early 2010 several Macedonian-language newspapers were put into print for the first time. In early 2010 the Zadruga ( mk, Задруга, el, Koinotita) newspaper was first published, This was shortly followed by the publication of the "Nova Zora" newspaper in May 2010. The estimated readership of Nova Zora is 20,000, whilst that of Zadrgua is considerably smaller. The "Krste Petkov Misirkov Foundation" was established in 2009, which aims to establish a museum dedicated to ethnic Macedonians of Greece, whilst also cooperating with other Macedonian minorities in neighbouring countries. The foundations aims at cataloguing ethnic Macedonian culture in Greece along with promoting the Macedonian language. In 2010 another group of ethnic Macedonians were elected to office, including the outspoken local chairman of
Meliti Meliti ( el, Μελίτη, before 1926: Βοστεράνη - ''Vosterani''; bg, Овчарани or Вощарани, mk, Овчарани) is a village in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece, 15 km northeast of the city ...
, Pando Ašlakov. According to reports from North Macedonia, ethnic Macedonians have also been elected as chairmen in the villages of
Vevi Vevi ( el, Βεύη, before 1926: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa'', before 1928: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa''; Macedonian and bg, Баница, ''Banica'' or ''Banitsa'') is a village located in the municipal unit of Meliti in Florina regiona ...
,
Pappagiannis Papagiannis ( el, Παπαγιάννης, before 1928: Ποπόζιανη - ''Popoziani'', alternative old name: Βακούφκιοϊ - ''Vakoufkioi''; Macedonian and Bulgarian: Пополжани, ''Popolžani''), is a village in the Florina r ...
, Neochoraki and
Achlada Achlada ( el, Αχλάδα, before 1926: Κρουσοράτη - ''Krousorati''; bg, Крушоради, ''Krushoradi'', Macedonian: , ''Krušoradi'') is a village in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. History The settlement ...
. Later that year the first Macedonian-Greek dictionary was launched by ethnic Macedonian activists in both Brussels and Athens. The Church of Saint Zlata of Meglen in
Aridaia Aridaía (; mk, С'ботско, ''S'botsko''; bg, Съботско) is a town and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Almopia, of which it is a mun ...
is the only Macedonian Orthodox Church in Greek Macedonia, operating under archimandrite
Nikodim Tsarknias Nikodim Tsarknias ( el, Νικόδημος Τσαρκνιάς, mk, Никодим Царкњас, born 1942 in Aridaia) is an ethnic Macedonian Orthodox Christian monk and Archimandrite who originates from the Greek region of Macedonia. In 197 ...
.


Ethnic and linguistic affiliations

Members of this group have had a number of conflicting ethnic identifications. Predominantly identified as
Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of eth ...
until the early 1940s, since the formation of a Macedonian nation state, many of the migrant population in the diaspora (Australia, United States and Canada) now feel a strong Macedonian identity and have followed the consolidation of the
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 ...
ethnicity. However, those who remain in Greece now mainly identify themselves as ethnic Greeks. The Macedonian region of Greece has a Greek majority which includes descendants of the Pontic Greeks, but it is ethnically diverse (including Arvanites, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
). The second group in today's Greece is made up of those who seem to reject any national identity, but have distinct regional ethnic identity, which they may call "indigenous" ( el, ντόπια, ''dopia''), which might be understood as Slavomacedonian, or Macedonian, and the smallest group is made up of those who have a so-called
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
national identity. They speak East South Slavic dialects that are usually linguistically classified as
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 ...
, but which are locally often referred to simply as "Slavic" or "the local language". A crucial element of that controversy is the very name ''Macedonian'', as it is also used by a much more numerous group of people with a Greek national identity to indicate their regional identity. The term "Aegean Macedonians" ( mk, Егејски Македонци, ''Egejski Makedonci''), mainly used in North Macedonia and in the irredentist context of a United Macedonia, is associated with those parts of the population that have a so-called
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
identity. Speakers who identify as Greeks or have distinct regional ethnic identity, often speak of themselves simply as "locals" ( el, ντόπιοι, ''dopii''), to distinguish themselves from native Greek speakers from the rest of Greece and/or Greek refugees from Asia Minor who entered the area in the 1920s and after. Some Slavic speakers in Greek Macedonia will also use the term "Macedonians" or "Slavomacedonians", though in a regional rather than an ethnic sense. People of Greek persuasion are sometimes called by the pejorative term "
Grecomans Grecoman or Graecoman (Greek: Γραικομάνοι, ''Grekománoi'', Bulgarian: Гъркомани, ''Garkomani'', Macedonian: Гркомани, ''Grkomani'', Romanian: ''Grecomani'', Albanian: ''Grekomanë'', Aromanian: ''Gricumanji'') is a ...
" by the other side. Greek sources, which usually avoid the identification of the group with the nation of North Macedonia, and also reject the use of the name "Macedonian" for the latter, will most often refer only to so-called "Slavophones" or "Slavophone Greeks". "Slavic speakers" or "Slavophones" is also used as a cover term for people across the different ethnic orientations. The exact number of this minority remaining in Greece today, together with its members' choice of ethnic identification, is difficult to ascertain; most maximum estimates range around 180,000–200,000 with those of an ethnic Macedonian national consciousness numbering possibly 10,000 to 30,000. However, as per leading experts on this issue, the number of this people has decreased in the last decades, because of intermarriage and urbanization; they now number between 50,000 and 70,000 people with around 10,000 of them identifying as ethnic Macedonians.


Past discrimination

After the conclusion of the First World War a widespread policy of Hellenisation was implemented in the Greek region of Macedonia with personal and topographic names forcibly changed to Greek versions and Cyrillic inscriptions across Northern Greece being removed from gravestones and churches. Under the regime of Ioannis Metaxas the situation for Slavic speakers became intolerable, causing many to emigrate. A law was passed banning the ''Bulgarian language'' (local Macedonian dialects). Many people who broke the rule were deported to the islands of Thasos and
Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...
. Others were arrested, fined, beaten and forced to drink castor oil, or even deported to the border regions in Yugoslavia following a staunch government policy of chastising minorities. During the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, areas under Communist control freely taught the newly codified
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 ...
. Throughout this period it is claimed that the ethnic Macedonian culture and language flourished. Over 10,000 children went to 87 schools, Macedonian-language newspapers were printed and theatres opened. As the National forces approached, these facilities were either shut down or destroyed. People feared oppression and the loss of their rights under the rule of the National government, which in turn caused many people to flee from Greece. However, the Greek Communists were defeated in the civil war, their Provisional Government was exiled, and tens of thousands of Slavic speakers were expelled from Greece. Many fled in order to avoid persecution from the ensuing National army. Those who fled during the Greek Civil War were stripped of their Greek Citizenship and property. Although these refugees have been classed as political refugees, there have been claims that they were also targeted due to their ethnic and cultural identities. During the Cold War cases of discrimination against people who identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians, and against the Macedonian language, had been reported by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. In 1959 it was reported that the inhabitants of three villages adopted a 'language oath', renouncing their Slavic dialect. According to Riki Van Boeschoten, this "peculiar ritual" took place "probably on the initiative of local government officials." According to a 1994 report by the Human Rights Watch, based on a fact-finding mission in 1993 in the
Florina Prefecture Florina ( el, Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Φλώρινας, ''Perifereiakí Enótita Flórinas'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, Greece. Its ...
and
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 ...
, Greece oppressed the ethnic Macedonians and implemented a program to forcefully Hellenize them. According to its findings, the ethnic Macedonian minority was denied acknowledgment of its existence by the Greek government, which refused the teaching of their language and other expressions of ethnic Macedonian culture; members of the minority "were discriminated against in employment in the public sector in the past, and may suffer from such discrimination at present"; minority activists "have been prosecuted and convicted for the peaceful expression of their views" and were generally "harassed by the government, followed and threatened by security forces, and subjected to economic and social pressures resulting from government harassment", leading to a climate of fear. The Greek government further discriminated against ethnic Macedonian refugees who fled into Yugoslavia during the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
; while Greek political refugees were allowed to reclaim their citizenship, they were not. The Greek state requires radio stations to broadcast in Greek, therefore excluding the Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia (who are considered ethnic Macedonians by the Rainbow political party) from operating radio stations in Slavic.


Culture

Regardless of political orientation, Macedonian speakers in Greece share a common culture with ethnic Macedonians. The commonalities include religious festivals, dances, music, language, folklore and national dress. Despite these commonalities however, there are regional folk dances which are specific to persons living in Greece. However, waves of refugees and emigration have had the effect of spreading this culture far beyond the borders of Greece. Greece has blocked attempts by ethnic Macedonians to establish a Home of Macedonian Culture despite being convicted for a violation of freedom of association by the European Court of Human Rights.


Traditions

Koleda, an ancient Slavic winter ritual, is widely celebrated across northern Greece by Slavic speakers, in areas from Florina to Thessaloniki, where it is called Koleda (Κόλεντε, Κόλιαντα) or Koleda Babo (Κόλιντα Μπάμπω) which means "Koleda Grandmother" in Slavic. It is celebrated around Christmas by gathering in the village square and lighting a bonfire, followed by local Macedonian music and dancing. Winter traditions that are characteristic to Slavic speakers in Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia include ''Babaria'' ( gr, Μπαμπάρια; mk, Бабари; bg, Бабугери) in the Florina area, ''Ezarki'' ( gr, Εζζκάρι; mk, Ежкари; bg, Ешкари) in the Ptolemaida area, ''Rogochari'' ( gr, Ρογκοτσσάρι; mk, Рогочари; bg, Рогочари) in the Kastoria area, and ''Dzamalari'' ( gr, Τζζαμαλάρι; mk, Џамалари; bg, Джамалари/Джамали) in the
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
area.


Music

Many regional folk songs are performed in both the local
Macedonian dialects The dialects of Macedonian comprise the Slavic languages, Slavic dialects spoken in the Republic of North Macedonia as well as some variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in the wider geographic region of Macedonia (region), Macedonia. They are pa ...
and
Standard Macedonian Standard Macedonian or literary Macedonian ( mk, книжевен македонски јазик or македонски литературен јазик) is the standard variety of the Macedonian language and the official language of North Mace ...
language, depending on the origin of the song. However, this was not always the case, and in 1993 the Greek Helsinki Monitor found that the Greek government refused in ''"the recent past to permit the performance of thnicMacedonian songs and dances"''. In recent years however these restrictions have been lifted and once again Macedonian songs are performed freely at festivals and gatherings across Greece. Many songs originating Greek Macedonia such as "Filka Moma" ( mk, Филка Мома, lit. Filka Girl) have become popular in North Macedonia. Whilst likewise many songs composed by artists from North Macedonia such as ''"Egejska Maka"'' by
Suzana Spasovska Suzana may refer to: *Suzana Al-Salkini (born 1984), Macedonian model *Suzana Alves (born 1978), Brazilian sex symbol *Suzana Amaral (born 1932), Brazilian film director and screenwriter *Suzana Ansar (born 1978), English singer and actress *Suzana ...
, ''"Makedonsko devojče"'' by
Jonče Hristovski Jonče Hristovski ( Macedonian: ''Јонче Христовски''; born 1931 in Bitola – 5 April 2000 in SkopjeElena Velevska Elena Velevska ( mk, Елена Велевска; born 26 October 1980) is a Macedonian turbo-folk and popular music singer. Due to her dress and musical style, which resembles that of Ceca, as well as her strong presence in the yellow press of ...
, Suzana Spasovska,
Ferus Mustafov Ferus Mustafov, also known as King Ferus Mustafov (born December 20, 1950), is a Macedonian saxophonist of Romani descent. He is a multi-instrumentalist and is highly popular in his home country for his repertoire of Balkan folk and gypsy, or Rom ...
, Group
Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors ** Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organ ...
and
Vaska Ilieva Vaska Ilieva (; February 21, 1923 – May 4, 2001) was a Macedonian leading folk singer from Yugoslavia and North Macedonia. Career She started her career as a dancer and singer in the State Ensemble Tanec in the early 1950s. Her style of s ...
, have all been invited to perform in amongst ethnic Macedonians in Greece. Likewise ethnic Macedonian performers from Greece such as Kostas Novakis also perform in North Macedonia. Many performers who live in the diaspora often return to Greece to perform Macedonian songs, including Marija Dimkova.


Dances

The ''Lerinsko oro''/lerin dance, with origins in the region of Florina, is also popular amongst Slavic speakers. Other dances popularized by the
Boys from Buf A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is " ...
include the ''Bufsko Pušteno'' and ''Armensko Oro''.


Media

The first Macedonian-language media in Greece emerged in the 1940s. The "Crvena Zvezda" newspaper, first published in 1942 in the local Solun-Voden dialect, is often credited with being the first Macedonian-language newspaper to be published in Greece.Boro Mokrov and Tome Gruevski, Overview of Macedonian Print (1885–1992), Skopje, 1993, 150–151 This was soon followed by the publication of many others including, "Edinstvo" (Unity), "Sloveno-Makedonski Glas", "Nova Makedonka", "Freedom", "Pobeda" (Victory), "Prespanski Glas" (Voice of Prespa), "Iskra" (Spark), "Stražar" (Guard) and others. Most of these newspapers were written in the codified
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 ...
or the local
Macedonian dialects The dialects of Macedonian comprise the Slavic languages, Slavic dialects spoken in the Republic of North Macedonia as well as some variety (linguistics), varieties spoken in the wider geographic region of Macedonia (region), Macedonia. They are pa ...
. The Nepokoren ( mk, Непокорен) newspaper was issued from May 1, 1947, until August 1949, and served as a later example of Macedonian-language media in Greece. It was affiliated with the National Liberation Front, which was the military organisation of the
Ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
minority in Greece. The Bilten magazine ( mk, Билтен), is another example of Greek Civil War era Macedonian media. After the Greek Civil War a ban was placed on public use of Macedonian, and this was reflect in the decline of all Macedonian-language media. The 1990s saw a resurgence of Macedonian-language print including the publication of the "Ta Moglena", Loza, Zora ( mk, Зора) and Makedoniko newspapers. This was followed with the publication of the Zadruga magazine ( mk, Задруга) in early 2010. Soon afterwards in May 2010 the monthly newspaper Nova Zora ( mk, Нова Зора) went to print. Both Zadruga and Nova Zora are published in both Macedonian and Greek. Several Macedonian-language radio stations have recently been set up in Greek Macedonia to cater for the Macedonian speaking population. These stations however, like other Macedonian-language institutions in Greece have faced fierce opposition from the authorities, with one of these radio stations, "Macedonian Voice" ( mk, Македонски Глас), being shut down by authorities.


Education and language

The Slavic dialects spoken across Northern Greece belong to the eastern group of South Slavic, comprising
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
and
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 ...
, and share all the characteristics that set this group apart from other Slavic languages: existence of a definite article, lack of cases, lack of a
verb infinitive Infinitive ( abbreviated ) is a linguistics term for certain verb forms existing in many languages, most often used as non-finite verbs. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all languages. The word is ...
, comparative forms of adjectives formed with the prefix ''по-'',
future tense In grammar, a future tense (abbreviated ) is a verb form that generally marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future. An example of a future tense form is the French ''aimera'', meaning ...
formed by the present form of the verb preceded by ''ще/ќе'', and existence of a
renarrative mood The inferential mood (abbreviated or ) is used to report a nonwitnessed event without confirming it, but the same forms also function as admiratives in the Balkan languages (namely Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Turkish) in which they occu ...
. These dialects include the
Upper Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
and
Lower Prespa dialect The Lower Prespa dialect ( mk, Долнoпреспански дијалект, ''Dolnoprespanski dijalekt''), is a member of the western subgroup of the western group of dialects of Macedonian. This dialect is mainly spoken on the Eastern shore ...
s, the Kostur, Nestram-Kostenar, Ser-Drama-Lagadin-Nevrokop dialect, and Solun-Voden dialects. The Prilep-Bitola dialect is widely spoken in the Florina region, and forms the basis of the
Standard Macedonian Standard Macedonian or literary Macedonian ( mk, книжевен македонски јазик or македонски литературен јазик) is the standard variety of the Macedonian language and the official language of North Mace ...
language. The majority of the speakers also speak Greek, this trend is more pronounced amongst younger persons. Speakers employ various terms to refer to the language which they speak. These terms include ''Makedonski'' ( mk, Македонски), ''Slavomakedonika'' ( el, Σλαβομακεδονικά, "Slavomacedonian"), ''Entopia'' ( el, Εντόπια, "local" language), ''Naše'' ( mk, Наше, "our own" language), ''Starski'' ( mk, Старски, "the old" language) or ''Slavika'' ( el, Σλαβικά, "Slavic"). Historically, the terms ''Balgàrtzki'', ''Bolgàrtski'' or ''Bulgàrtski'' had been used in the region of Kostur ( Kastoria), and ''Bògartski'' ("Bulgarian") in the region of Lower Prespa ( Prespes). According to Peter Trudgill,
There is, of course, the very interesting Ausbau sociolinguistic question as to whether the language they speak is
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
or
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 ...
, given that both these languages have developed out of the South Slavonic dialect continuum...In former Yugoslav Macedonia and Bulgaria there is no problem, of course. Bulgarians are considered to speak Bulgarian and Macedonians Macedonian. The Slavonic dialects of Greece, however, are "roofless" dialects whose speakers have no access to education in the standard languages. Greek non-linguists, when they acknowledge the existence of these dialects at all, frequently refer to them by the label ''Slavika'', which has the implication of denying that they have any connection with the languages of the neighboring countries. It seems most sensible, in fact, to refer to the language of the Pomaks as Bulgarian and to that of the Christian Slavonic-speakers in Greek Macedonia as Macedonian.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century the language of instruction in virtually all schools in the region was Greek. One of the first Bulgarian schools began operation in 1857 in
Kukush Kilkis ( el, Κιλκίς) is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2011 there were 22,914 people living in the city proper, 28,745 people living in the municipal unit, and 51,926 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city o ...
. The number of Bulgarian schools increased as the Bulgarian struggle for ecclesiastical independence intensified and after the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870. According to the statistics of the Bulgarian Exarchate, by 1912, when the First Balkan War broke out, there were 296 Bulgarian schools with 589 teachers and approximately 19 000 pupils in Greek Macedonia. For comparison, the total number of Bulgarian-exarchist schools in all of Macedonia in 1912 was 1196 with 2096 teachers and 70 000 pupils. All Bulgarian schools in Greek and Serbian Macedonia were closed after the Second Balkan War. The ''Abecedar'' language primer, originally printed in 1925, was designed for speakers in using the Prilep-Bitola dialect in the Florina area. Although the book used a Latin script, it was printed in the locally Prilep-Bitola dialect. In the 1930s the Metaxas regime banned the use of the Slavomacedonian language in public and private use. Laws were enacted banning the language, and speakers faced harsh penalties including being arrested, fined, beaten and forced to drink castor oil. During the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II however these penalties were lifted. Macedonian was employed in widespread use, with Macedonian-language newspapers appearing from 1942. During the period 1941–1944 within The Bulgarian occupation zone Bulgarian was taught. During the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
, the codified Macedonian language was taught in 87 schools with 10,000 students in areas of northern Greece under the control of Communist-led forces, until their defeat by the National Army in 1949. After the war, all of these Macedonian-language schools were closed down. More recently there have been attempts to once again begin education in Macedonian. In 2009 the Educational and Cultural Movement of Edessa began to run Macedonian-language courses, teaching the
Macedonian Cyrillic The orthography of the Macedonian language includes an alphabet consisting of 31 letters ( mk, Македонска азбука, Makedonska azbuka), which is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script, as well as language-specific conventions of spelli ...
alphabet. Macedonian-language courses have also begun in Salonika, as a way of further encouraging use of Macedonian. These courses have since been extended to include Macedonian speakers in Florina and
Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
. In 2006 the Macedonian-language primer ''Abecedar'' was reprinted in an informal attempt to reintroduce Macedonian-language education The ''Abecedar'' primer was reprinted in 2006 by the Rainbow Political Party, it was printed in Macedonian, Greek and English. In the absence of more Macedonian-language books printed in Greece, young ethnic Macedonians living in Greece use books originating from North Macedonia. Today Macedonian dialects are freely spoken in Greece however there are serious fears for the loss the language among the younger generations due to the lack of exposure to their native language. It appears however that reports of the demise of the use of Macedonian in Greece have been premature, with linguists such as Christian Voss asserting that the language has a "stable future" in Greece, and that the language is undergoing a "revival" amongst younger speakers. The Rainbow Party has called for the introduction of the language in schools and for official purposes. They have been joined by others such as Pande Ašlakov, mayor of
Meliti Meliti ( el, Μελίτη, before 1926: Βοστεράνη - ''Vosterani''; bg, Овчарани or Вощарани, mk, Овчарани) is a village in the Florina regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece, 15 km northeast of the city ...
, in calling for the language to be officially introduced into the education system. Certain characteristics of these dialects, along with most varieties of Spoken Macedonian, include the changing of the suffix ''ovi'' to ''oj'' creating the words ''lebovi → leboj'' ( → , "bread"). Often the intervocalic consonants of , and are lost, changing words from ''polovina → polojna'' ("a half") and ''sega → sea'' ("now"), which also features strongly in dialects spoken in North Macedonia. In other phonological and morphological characteristics, they remain similar to the other South-Eastern dialects spoken in North Macedonia and Albania. On 28 July 2022, in a landmark ruling, the Greek Court registered the Centre for Macedonian Language in Greece as a non-governmental organization. This is the first time that a cultural organization promoting the Macedonian language has been legally approved in Greece and the first official recognition of the Macedonian language by Greece since at least 1928.Mavrogordatos, George. ''Stillborn Republic: Social Coalitions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922–1936''. University of California Press, 1983. , p. 227, 247


Diaspora

Outside of Greece there is a large diaspora to be found in the North Macedonia, former Eastern Bloc countries such as Bulgaria, as well as in other European and overseas countries.


Bulgaria

The most numerous Slavic diaspora from Greece lives in Bulgaria. There were a number of refugee waves, most notably after the Treaty of Berlin and the Kresna-Razlog Uprising (1878), the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising (1903), during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
(1912–1913), and after World War I (1918). According to some estimates, by the beginning of the Balkan Wars, the total number of refugees from Macedonia and Thrace was about 120,000. Others estimate that by the middle of the 1890s between 100,000 and 200,000 Slavs from Macedonia had already immigrated to Bulgaria. Around 100 000 Bulgarians fled to Bulgaria from the districts around Koukush before the advancing Greek army during the Second Balkan War. 66 000 more left Greece for Bulgaria after the end of World War I, following a population exchange agreement between Bulgaria and Greece. The refugees and their various organizations played an active role in Bulgarian public and political life: at the end of the 19th century they comprised about a third of the officers in the army (430 out of 1289), 43% of government officials (15 000 out of 38 000), 37% of the priests of the Bulgarian Exarchate (1,262 out of 3,412), and a third of the capital's population. The
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), ( bg, Върховен македоно - одрински комитет, (ВМОК)), also known as Supreme Macedonian Committee was a Bulgarian paramilitary and political organization, active i ...
and the Macedonian Scientific Institute are among the most notable organizations founded by
Macedonian Bulgarian Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of eth ...
immigrants to Bulgaria.


North Macedonia

The state of North Macedonia is home to thousands of people who self-identify as "Aegean Macedonians". Sources put the number of Aegean Macedonians living in North Macedonia at somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000. The majority of these people are descended from World War II and Greek Civil War refugees who fled to the then Bulgarian-occupied Yugoslav Macedonia and People's Republic of Macedonia. The years following the conflict saw the repatriation of many refugees mainly from
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries. The refugees were primarily settled in deserted villages and areas across Yugoslav Macedonia. A large proportion went to the
Tetovo Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
and
Gostivar Gostivar ( mk, Гостивар , Albanian and Turkish: ''Gostivar''), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also ...
areas. Another large group was to settle 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 ...
and the surrounding areas, while refugee camps were established in Kumanovo and
Strumica Strumica ( mk, Струмица, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedon ...
. Large enclaves of Greek refugees and their descendants can be found in the suburbs of Topansko Pole and Avtokamanda in Skopje. Many Aegean Macedonians have held prominent positions in North Macedonia, including former prime minister Nikola Gruevski and Dimitar Dimitrov, the former Minister of Education.


Australia

A large self-identifying Aegean Macedonian population also lives in Australia, many of which arrived during the early 1900s. Charles Price estimates that by 1940 there were 670 Ethnic Macedonians from Florina and 370 from Kastoria resident in Australia. The group was a key supporter of the Macedonian-Australian People's League, and since then has formed numerous emigrant organisations. There are Aegean Macedonian communities in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
, Melbourne, Manjimup,
Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...
,
Wanneroo Wanneroo is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo. Geography As it is on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Wanneroo wetlands stretch parallel to the coastline and to the north and south of the suburb. Education W ...
and
Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...
. These immigrants have established numerous cultural and social groups including The Church of St George and the Lerin Community Centre in Shepparton and the Aegean Macedonian hall – Kotori built in Richmond along with other churches and halls being built in Queanbeyan in Manjimup. The "Macedonian Aegean Association of Australia" is the uniting body for this community in Australia. It has been estimated by scholar Peter Hill that over 50,000 Aegean Macedonians and their descendants can be found in Australia.


Canada

Large populations of Macedonians emigrated to Canada in the wake of the failed Ilinden Uprising and as ''Pečalbari'' (lit. Seasonal Workers) in the early 1900s. An internal census revealed that by 1910 the majority of these people were from the Florina (Lerin) and Kastoria (Kostur) regions. By 1940 this number had grown to over 1,200 families, primarily concentrated in the Toronto region. A further 6,000 ethnic Macedonians are estimated to have arrived as refugees, following the aftermath of the Greek Civil War. One of the many cultural and benevolent societies established included "The Association of Refugee Children from Aegean Macedonia" (ARCAM) founded in 1979. The association aimed to unite former child refugees from all over the world, with branches soon established in Toronto, Melbourne, Perth, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Macedonia.


Romania

In the aftermath of the Greek Civil War thousands of ethnic Bulgarian and
ethnic Macedonian Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
were displaced to Romania. Between 1948 and 1949 an estimated 5,200
child refugees Nearly half of all refugees are children, and almost one in three children living outside their country of birth is a refugee.Emily Garin, Jan Beise, Lucia Hug, and Danzhen You. 2016. “Uprooted: The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Children ...
, all ethnic Bulgarian, Macedonian and Greek were sent to Romania. The largest of the evacuation camps was set up in the town of Tulgheş, and here all the refugees were schooled in Greek and the ethnic Macedonian also in Macedonian; other languages were Romanian and Russian.


United States

Most of the Slavic-speaking immigrants from Macedonia arrived in the United States during the first decade of the twentieth century. Between 1903 and 1906 an estimated 50,000 Slavic-speaking migrants from Macedonia came to the United States. These identified themselves as either Bulgarians or Macedonian Bulgarians. Their most prominent organisation, the Macedonian Political Organisation was established in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1922 (it was renamed to Macedonian Patriotic Organisation in 1952).


Notable persons

* Vasil Chekalarov, revolutionary,
IMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
leader *
Atanas Dalchev Atanas Hristov Dalchev (also written ''Dalčev''; bg, Атанас Далчев) (June 12, 1904 - January 17, 1978) was a Bulgarian poet, critic and translator. He was among the leading Bulgarian poets of the 1920s and 1930s. Dalchev was also a ...
, poet, critic, and translator * Gotse Delchev, revolutionary, IMRO leader * Dimitar Dimitrov, politician * Kostadin Hristov *
Angelis Gatsos Angelis Gatsos ( el, Αγγελής Γάτσος; bg, Ангел Гацов) (1771–1839) was a Slavophone Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence. He was born in the village of Sarakinovo, today known as Sarakinoi (Almo ...
, Greek revolutionary * Andon Kalchev, officer in the Bulgarian Army, Ohrana member *
Risto Kirjazovski Risto Kirjazovski ( mk, Ристо Кирјазовски (6 January 1927 – 3 October 2002) was a Macedonian historian, scientist and publisher. He fought as a Partisan in the NOF, and also participated in the Greek Civil War. After 194 ...
*
Stojan Kočov Stojan Kočov ( mk, Стојан Кочов) (25 December 1930 - 5 January 2023) is a Macedonian historian, scientist and publisher. From 1946 to 1949 he fought as Partisan in Democratic Army of Greece during Greek Civil War and also participate ...
*
Jagnula Kunovska Jagnula Kunovska ( mk, Јагнула Куновска), (born 1943, Kastoria, Greece) is a prominent Macedonian jurist, politician and artist. Biography She was born in the Greek city of Kastoria in 1943. She is the granddaughter of the Kasto ...
*
Paskal Mitrevski Paskal Mitrevski ''( mk, Паскал Митревски)'' (1912–1978), also known as Paskal Mitrovski or Paschalis Mitropoulos, was a communist partisan and former President of the Macedonian National Liberation Front, founded in Greece by the ...
*
Kroum Pindoff Kroum Pindoff ( bg, Крум Пиндов) (1915 – 16 January 2013) was a Bulgarian Canadian businessman. Pindoff was born in Emporio, Eordaia municipality, Kozani regional unit, Greece, and raised in Bulgaria. Pindoff participated in the S ...
*
Lazar Poptraykov Lazar Poptraykov (Bulgarian: Лазар Поптрайков; Macedonian: Лазар Поп-Трајков) (10 April 1878–October 1903) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary (komitadji). He was also a Bulgarian Exarchate teacher and poet f ...
, revolutionary, IMRO leader * Lyubka Rondova, Bulgarian folk singer *
Andrew Rossos Andrew Rossos ( Macedonian: Андреј Росос, Greek: Ανδρέας Ρόσος; born 1941) is a Canadian-Macedonian Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Toronto. Early life and education Rossos was born in 1941 in the vil ...
* Blagoy Shklifov, dialectologist *
Steve Stavro Steve Atanas Stavro, (September 27, 1926 – April 23, 2006; born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas) was a Macedonian-Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist. Un ...
* Georgi Traykov, politician, Head of State of Bulgaria (1964–1971) *
Nikodim Tsarknias Nikodim Tsarknias ( el, Νικόδημος Τσαρκνιάς, mk, Никодим Царкњас, born 1942 in Aridaia) is an ethnic Macedonian Orthodox Christian monk and Archimandrite who originates from the Greek region of Macedonia. In 197 ...
, monk *
Andreas Tsipas Andreas Tsipas ( el, Ανδρέας Τσίπας; mk, Андреjа Чипов, translit=Andreja Čipov; bg, Андрей Чипов, translit=Andrey Chipov; born 1904, Patele, Ottoman Empire (today Agios Panteleimonas, near Florina, Greece) – ...
*
Pavlos Voskopoulos Pavlos Voskopoulos ( el, Παύλος Βοσκόπουλος; born 25 November 1964) or Pavle Voskopulos ( mk, Павле Воскопулос) is a Greek politician, a member of the collective leadership of the Rainbow party that represents th ...
*
Anton Yugov Anton Tanev (Dontcho) Yugov ( bg, Антон Танев Югов) (28 August 1904 – 6 July 1991) was a Bulgarian politician who was a leading member of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), and served as Prime Minister of the country from 19 ...
, member of the Bulgarian Communist Party,
Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Assemb ...
(1956–1962) *
Hristo Smirnenski Hristo Dimitrov Izmirliev ( bg, Христо Димитров Измирлиев), known as Hristo Smirnenski, (September 17, 1898, OS – June 18, 1923) was a Bulgarian poet and prose writer who joined the Bulgarian Communist Party and whose w ...
, writer and poet


See also

* Slavic dialects of Greece *
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 ...
* Bulgarian language *
Demographic history of Macedonia The region of Macedonia is known to have been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Еarliest historical inhabitants The earliest historical inhabitants of the region were the Pelasgians, the Bryges and the Thracians. The Pelasgians occupied ...
*
Rainbow (political party) The Rainbow ( el, Ουράνιο Τόξο ''Ouránio Tóxo''; Macedonian: Виножито ''Vinožito'') is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the e ...
*
Refugees of the Greek Civil War During and after the Greek Civil War of 1946–1949, members and or supporters of the defeated Communist forces fled Greece as political refugees. The collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) and subsequent evacuation of the Communist Party o ...
* Macedonian Struggle *
Macedonians (ethnic group) Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia (region), Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian language, Macedonian, a South Slavic ...
*
Macedonians (Bulgarians) Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of et ...
*
Grecomans Grecoman or Graecoman (Greek: Γραικομάνοι, ''Grekománoi'', Bulgarian: Гъркомани, ''Garkomani'', Macedonian: Гркомани, ''Grkomani'', Romanian: ''Grecomani'', Albanian: ''Grekomanë'', Aromanian: ''Gricumanji'') is a ...


References


Sources

* * *


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slavic-Speakers Of Greek Macedonia Ethnic groups in Greece Ethnic groups in Macedonia (region) People from Macedonia (Greece) Bulgaria–Greece relations Greece–North Macedonia relations