Republic of Macedonia

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map_caption = map_caption |countryprefix=the |region=on the European continent |

Skopje
latd=42 |latm=0 |latNS=N |longd=21 |longm=26 |longEW=E
largest_city = Skopje
official_languages = Macedonian¹cite news | url = http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/2507/1/ | title = Languages Law passed in Parliament | work = macedoniaonline.eu | date = 2008-07-26 | accessdate = 2008-07-27 | quote = Using the Badenter principles, the Parliament had passed the use of languages law that will touch all ethnicties in Macedonia. The law doesn't allow for use of Albanian or any other minority language as a second official language on Macedonia's territory.]
government_type = Parliamentary republic
leader_title1 = President
leader_name1 = Branko Crvenkovski
leader_title2 = Prime Minister
leader_name2 = Nikola Gruevski (VMRO–DPMNE)
sovereignty_type = Independence from
sovereignty_note = Yugoslavia
established_event4 =
established_date4 =
established_event5 = Independence declared
Officially recognised
established_date5 = September 8, 1991
8 April 1993
established_event6 =
established_date6 =
established_event7 =
established_date7 =
established_event8 =
established_date8 =
established_event9 =
established_date9 =
accessionEUdate =
EUseats =
area_km2 = 25,713
area_sq_mi = 9,779
area_rank = 148th
area_magnitude = 1 E10
percent_water = 1.9%
population_estimate = 2,038,514 [cite web | url = http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1996,39140985&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&screen=detailref&language=en&product=Yearlies_new_population&root=Yearlies_new_population/C/C1/C11/caa10000 | title = Total population At 1 January | publisher = Eurostat | accessdate = 2008-07-28]
population_estimate_year = Jan. 01, 2006
population_estimate_rank = 143rd
population_census = 2,022,547
population_census_year = 2002
population_density_km2 = 79
population_density_sq_mi = 205
population_density_rank = 111th
GDP_PPP_year = 2007
GDP_PPP = $17.396 billioncite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2004&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=962&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr1.x=55&pr1.y=1|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects ]
GDP_PPP_per_capita = $8,490 (IMF)
GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
GDP_nominal = $7.685 billion
GDP_nominal_year = 2007
GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,750 (IMF)
HDI_year = 2005
HDI = increase 0.801
HDI_rank = 69th
HDI_category = high
Gini = 29.3
Gini_year = 2004
Gini_category = low
currency = Macedonian denar
currency_code = MKD
time_zone = CET
utc_offset = +1
time_zone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
cctld = .mk
calling_code = 389
ISO_3166-1_alpha2 = EE
ISO_3166-1_alpha3 =
ISO_3166-1_numeric = ?
alt_sport_code = MK
vehicle_code = MK
aircraft_code = MK
demonym = Macedonian
footnote1 = Albanian is widely spoken in Western Macedonia.In some areas Turkish, Serbian, Romany and Aromanian are also spoken.

It was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 under the provisional reference the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, [UN Resolutions #817 of April 7 and #845 of June 18 of 1993] [cite web|url=http://www.un.org/members/notes/yugoslavia.htm|title=Note on Yugoslavia|accessdate=2008-05-10 "By resolution A/RES/47/225 of 8 April 1993, the General Assembly decided to admit as a Member of the United Nations the State being provisionally referred to for all purposes within the United Nations as "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" pending settlement of the difference that had arisen over its name."] commonly abbreviated to FYROM, [ Bonk, M. R., Carlton R. A. (editors) (1997), "International Acronyms, Initialisms & Abbreviations Dictionary", 4th Edition, Detroit, New York, Toronto, London: Gale Research, LCCCN 85-642206, ISBN 0-8103-7437-4, ISSN 0743-0523, Volume 1, pg. 516 and Bonk, M. R (Project Editor) (2003), "International Acronyms, Initialisms & Abbreviations Dictionary", 32nd Edition, USA: Gale-Thompson Group, Volume 1, pg. 1789, ISBN 0-7876-4109-X (Part 2 D-I only)] [Alongside the official long-form reference, the "FYROM" acronym is frequently used by international organizations such as the [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22590&Cr=Greece&Cr1=FYROM UN,] the [http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=594&lang=EN EU] , the [http://osce.mobi/documents/rfm/2000/05/2270_en.pdf OSCE] , the [http://ebu.ch/CMSimages/en/Guide4_2006_tcm6-49242.pdf?display=EN EBU,] the [http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2008/cr0848.pdf IMF,] the [http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/85673/devdebates/ECA1/alb_fiscalpolicy_eng.pdf World Bank] , [http://www.wto.org/English/thewto_e/countries_e/macedonia_e.htm WTO] and [http://www.nato.int/fyrom/home.htm NATO] (All NATO documents referring to FYROM have to be accompanied by a footnote text 'Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name')] pending resolution of a naming dispute with Greece. [http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/47/a47r225.htm United Nations Resolution 225 (1993)] ] Many other international institutions and countries have recognised the country under the same reference, although an overall majority of countries recognise it under its constitutional name. [See lists at "Macedonia naming dispute"]

The Republic of Macedonia lies in the northwestern third of the wider geographical region of Macedonia, with about 40% of the region's population. The capital is Skopje, with 506,926 inhabitants according to a 2004 census, and there are a number of smaller cities, notably Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep, Tetovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar and Strumica. It has more than 50 natural and artificial lakes and sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 meters (6,550 ft).

The country is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe and a member of La Francophonie, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Since December 2005 it is also a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.

History

The lands governed by the Republic of Macedonia were previously the southernmost part of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. Its current borders were fixed shortly after the Balkan Wars. In 1944, the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia declared the "People's Republic of Macedonia" as a separate nation within federal Yugoslavia.

Ancient regional history

"See History of the region Macedonia"
was merely a geographic term within the Macedonian region.

Medieval period

During the 580s, Byzantine literature attests to the Slavs raiding Byzantine territories. According to later sources such as "The Miracles of St Demetrius", the Draguvits, Belegzites, Sagudates laid siege on Thessaloniki in 614. In 626, a combined Gepid, Avar, Slav and Bulgar army besieged Constantinople. The siege was broken, which would have repercussions upon the power and prestige of the Avar khanate. Slavic sieges on Thessaloniki continued and in 677, a coalition of Rynchites, Sagudates, Draguvites and Strumanoi attacked. This time, the Belgezites did not participate, and in fact supplied the besieged citizens of Thessaloniki with grain.

Though Byzantine literature attests to the Slavs occupying the Balkans, the archaeological evidenceprovides a contrasting viewpoint. According to Curta Florin, current archaeological data (i.e. burial assemblages, brooches, settlements, etc.) does not support the idea of a "Slavic tide" covering the Balkans (including Greece) before the 600s. [Curta, Florin. "The Making of the Slavs". Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 308. "Nor does the idea of a "Slavic tide" covering the Balkans in the early 600s fit the archaeological data. South of the Danube river, no archaeological assemblage comparable to those found north of that river produced any clear evidence for a date earlier than "c." 700."] [Curta, Florin. "The Making of the Slavs". Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 308. "Though both Greece and Albania produced clear evidence of seventh-century burial assemblages, they have nothing in common with the "Slavic culture" north of the Danube river."]

Nevertheless, the Slavic peoples that settled in Macedonia accepted Christianity as their own religion around the 9th century, during the reign of prince Boris I of Bulgaria. The creators of the Glagolitic alphabet, the Byzantine monks Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, under the guidance of the Patriarchate at Constantinople, were promoters of Christianity and initiated Slavic literacy among the Slavic people. They were based in Thessalonica (Solun), where Slavic was spoken universally along with Greek, and used the Macedonian dialect spoken in the city of Thessalonica as the basis for what would become the universal "Old Church Slavonic". Their work was accepted in early medieval Bulgaria and continued by St. Clement of Ohrid, creator of Cyrillic alphabet and St. Naum of Ohrid as founders of the Ohrid Literary School.

In 1014, Emperor Basil II finally defeated the armies of Tsar Samuil and by 1018 the Byzantines restored control over Macedonia (and all of the Balkans) for the first time since the 600s. However, by the late 12th century, inevitable Byzantine decline saw the region become contested by various political entities, including a brief Norman occupation in the 1080s. In the early 13th century, a revived Bulgarian Empire gained control of the region. Plagued by political difficulties the empire did not last and the wider geographical Macedonia region fell once again under Byzantine control. In the 14th century, it became part of the Serbian Empire, who saw themselves as liberators of their Slavic kin from Byzantine despotism. Skopje became the capital of Tsar Stefan Dusan's empire.

However, with Dusan's death, a weak successor and power struggles between nobles divided the Balkans once again. This coincided with the entry of the Ottoman Turks into Europe. With no major Balkan power left to defend Christianity, the entire Balkans fell to Turkish rule — which would remain so for five centuries.

The National Awakening

Ottoman rule over the region was considered harsh. Several movements whose goals were the establishment of autonomous Macedonia, encompassing the entire region of Macedonia, began to arise in the late 1800s; the earliest of these was the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees, later transformed to SMORO. In 1905 it was renamed as Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) and after World War I the organization separated into the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and the Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (ITRO). The early organization did not proclaim any ethnic identities; it was officially open to "...uniting all the disgruntled elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople region, regardless of their nationality..."M. Glenny, "The Balkans"] The majority of its members were however Slavic/Bulgarian-speakers. In 1903, IMRO organised the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans, which after some initial successes, including the forming of the Krushevo Republic, was crushed with much loss of life. The uprising and the forming of the Krushevo Republic are considered the cornerstone and precursors to the eventual establishment of the Republic of Macedonia.

Partition of Macedonia

Following the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, most of its European held territories were divided between Greece ("Aegean Macedonia"), Bulgaria ("Pirin Macedonia") and Serbia ("Vardar Macedonia"). The territory of the present-day Republic of Macedonia (Vardar Macedonia) was then named " _sr. Južna Srbija", "Southern Serbia". After the First World War, Serbia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929, the Kingdom was officially renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and divided into provinces called banovinas. Southern Serbia (Vardar Macedonia), including all of what is now the Republic of Macedonia, became known as the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Yugoslav Macedonia in World War II

In 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied by the Axis Powers and the Vardar Banovina was divided between Bulgaria and Italian-occupied Albania. The Bulgarian 5th Army, based in Skopje, was responsible for the round-up and deportation of over 7,000 Jews in Skopje and Bitola. Harsh rule by the occupying forces encouraged many Macedonians to support the Communist Partisan resistance movement of Josip Broz Tito, and the National Liberation War ensued. In 1944 Anti-Fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) proclaimed the Macedonian state - People's Republic of Macedonia as part of the Federal People's Yugoslavia. ASNOM remained an acting government until the end of the war.

Macedonia in Socialist Yugoslavia

After the end of the Second World War, when Tito became Yugoslavia's president, the "People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" was established. The People's Republic of Macedonia became one of the six republics of the Yugoslav federation. Following the federation's renaming as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963, the People's Republic of Macedonia was likewise renamed, becoming the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. It dropped the "Socialist" from its name in 1991 when it peacefully seceded from Yugoslavia.

Declaration of independence

The country officially celebrates September 8, 1991 as Independence day ( _mk. Ден на независноста, "Den na nezavisnosta"), with regard to the referendum endorsing independence from Yugoslavia, albeit legalising participation in future union of the former states of Yugoslavia. The anniversary of the start of the Ilinden Uprising (St. Elijah's Day) on August 2 is also widely celebrated on an official level.

Robert Badinter as a head of Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on the former Yugoslavia recommended EC recognition in January 1992. [ [http://www.ejil.org/journal/Vol4/No1/art8-02.html Recognition of States: Annex 3 ] ]

The Republic of Macedonia remained at peace through the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s. A few very minor changes to its border with Yugoslavia were agreed upon to resolve problems with the demarcation line between the two countries. However, it was seriously destabilised by the Kosovo War in 1999, when an estimated 360,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo took refuge in the country. Although they departed shortly after the war, soon after, Albanian radicals on both sides of the border took up arms in pursuit of autonomy or independence for the Albanian-populated areas of the Republic.

Albanian Insurgency

The civil war was fought between government and ethnic Albanian rebels, mostly in the north and west of the country, between March and June 2001. This war ended with the intervention of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ceasefire monitoring force. In the Ohrid Agreement, the government agreed to devolve greater political power and cultural recognition to the Albanian minority. The Albanian side agreed to surrender separatist demands and to fully recognise all Macedonian institutions. In addition, according to this accord, the NLA were to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force. In 2005, the country was officially recognised as a European Union candidate state, under the reference "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".

Geography

Topography

Macedonia is a landlocked country that is geographically clearly defined by a central valley formed by the Vardar river and framed along its borders by mountain ranges.The terrain is mostly rugged, located between the Šar Mountains and Osogovo, which frame the valley of the Vardar river. Three large lakes — Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Dojran Lake — lie on the southern borders of the Republic, bisected by the frontiers with Albania and Greece. Ohrid is considered to be one of the oldest lakes and biotopes in the world. [ [http://www.moe.gov.mk/soer2/ohrid_a.htm Macedonian Ministry of Environment] ] The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes in the past, most recently in 1963 when Skopje was heavily damaged by a major earthquake, killing over 1,000.

Macedonia also has scenic mountains. They belong to two different ranges: the Dinaric alps and Belasica. The Dinaric range is the oldest with subsequent erosion while the Belasica range is younger offering rugged, alpine scenery. The ten highest mountains in Macedonia are:

The largest ethnic group in the country are the Macedonians. The above table shows ethnic affiliation of the population according to the 2002 census: [ cite web
title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 - Book XIII, Skopje, 2005.
publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia
url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf, Macedonian ]

Religion

The majority (64.7%) of the population belongs to the Macedonian Orthodox Church (which declared autocephaly in 1968, that is still not recognised by the Serbian and other Eastern Orthodox Churches, although the Archbishop's Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with Decision No. 06/1959, has recognised the "autonomy" of the Macedonian Orthodox Church [ [http://www.mpc.org.mk/English/MPC/history-mpc.asp History of the Macedonian Orthodox Church] ] Muslims comprise 33.3% of the population and other Christian denominations comprise 0.37%. The remainder (1.63%) is recorded as "unspecified" in the 2002 national census. [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mk.html CIA World Factbook] ] Most of the native Albanians, Turks and Bosniaks are Muslims, as are a minority of the country's ethnic Macedonian population, known as Macedonian Muslims.Altogether, there are more than 1200 churches and 400 mosques in the country. The Orthodox and Islamic religious communities have secondary religion schools in Skopje. There is an Orthodox theological college in the capital. Macedonia has the largest proportion of Muslims of any country in Europe after Turkey, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Orthodox

The Macedonian Orthodox Church is the dominant church in the country. It has 10 provinces (seven in the country and three abroad), 10 bishops, and about 350 priests. Macedonians, who are the majority of the population, are generally Orthodox Christians. A total of 30,000 people are baptised in all the provinces every year. The church has issues with the Serbian Orthodox Church after the separation and self-declaration of autocephaly (not recognised by any other Orthodox church) in 1967. However, the Archbishop's Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with Decision No. 06/1959, has recognised the autonomy (self-dependence) of the Macedonian Orthodox Church). After the negotiations between the two churches were suspended, the Serbian Orthodox Church recognised a group led by Zoran Vraniškovski (also known as Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid, a former Macedonian church bishop, as the Archbishop of Ohrid. The reaction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was to cut off all relations with the clergy of the Ohrid Archbishopric and to prevent bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church from entering the Republic of Macedonia. Bishop Jovan was jailed for 18 months for "defaming the Macedonian Orthodox church and harming the religious feelings of local citizens" by distributing Serbian Orthodox church calendars and pamphlets. [ [http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bcr&s=f&o=257037&apc_state=henibcr200508 Church Rivalry Threatens to Brim Over ] ]

Islam

Approximately 33% of the Republic of Macedonia's total population are adherents of Islam. It has the fourth largest Muslim population in Europe by percentage after Kosovo (90%), Albania (70%), and Bosnia-Herzegovina (48%). [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bk.html] Some northwestern and western regions have Muslim majorities. With the exception of the few Macedonian Muslims, all of the Muslims are Albanian, Turkish, or Roma. According to the 2002 census, there are about 600,000 Muslim in Macedonia. The Albanian Muslims live mostly in the Polog and western regions of the country. The Turkish population is scattered throughout the country, but mostly in the west.

Catholicism

The Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church has approximately 11,000 adherents in the Republic. The Church was established in 1918, and is made up mostly of converts to Catholicism and their descendants. The Church is of the Byzantine Rite and is in communion with the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its liturgical worship is performed in Macedonian.

Protestant Christianity

There is a small Protestant community. The most famous Protestant in the country is the former president Boris Trajkovski. He was from the Methodist Community, which is the largest and oldest Protestant Church in the Republic, dating back to the late nineteenth century. Since the 1980s the small Protestant community has grown, partly through new confidence and partly with outside missionary help.

Judaism

The Jewish community of the Republic of Macedonia, which numbered some 7,200 people on the eve of World War II, was almost entirely destroyed during the War, with only 2% of Macedonian Jews surviving the Holocaust. [ [http://www.balkanalysis.com/2007/03/14/macedonia%E2%80%99s-jewish-community-commemorates-the-holocaust-and-embraces-the-future/ Balkanalysis.com » Blog Archives » Macedonia's Jewish Community Commemorates the Holocaust, and Embraces the Future] ] After their liberation and the end of the War, most opted to emigrate to Israel. Today, the country's Jewish community numbers approximately 200 persons, almost all of whom live in Skopje. Most Macedonian Jews are Sephardic - the descendants of 15th century refugees who had fled the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.

Languages

A wide variety of languages are spoken in Macedonia, reflecting its ethnic diversity. The official and most widely spoken language is Macedonian, which belongs to the Eastern branch of the South Slavic language group. Macedonian is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Standard Bulgarian. It also has some similarities with standard Serbian and the intermediate Torlakian and Shop dialects spoken mostly in southern Serbia and western Bulgaria (and by speakers in the north and east of Macedonia). The standard language was codified in the period following World War II and has accumulated a thriving literary tradition.

Other languages including Albanian, Bulgarian, Romani, Turkish, Serbian, Vlach (Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian) and others are spoken roughly in proportion with their associated ethnic groups.

Macedonian is the only language explicitly designated as an official national language in the constitution. In municipalities where at least 20% of the population is part of another ethnic minority, those individual languages are used for official purposes in local government, along with Macedonian.

cience

Education

The Macedonian education system consists of:
* pre-school education
* primary education
* secondary education
* higher educationThe higher levels of education can be obtained at one of the four state universities: Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, St. Clement of Ohrid University of Bitola, State University of Tetovo and Goce Delchev University of Shtip. There are a number of private university institutions, such as the European University, [ [http://www.oic.org.mk/en/Default-en.htm OIC] ] Slavic University in Sveti Nikole, the South East European University and others.

The United States Agency for International Development has underwritten a project called "Macedonia Connects" which has made the Republic of Macedonia the first all-broadband wireless country in the world. [ [http://macedonia.usaid.gov/English/Articles/macedonia-wifi.html U.S. Agency for International Development ] ] The Ministry of Education and Sciences reports that 461 schools (primary and secondary) are now connected to the internet. In addition, an Internet Service Provider (On.net), has created a MESH Network to provide WIFI services in the 11 largest cities/towns in the country.

ociety

Cinema and media

Culture

The Republic of Macedonia has a rich cultural heritage in art, architecture, poetry, and music. It has many ancient, protected religious sites. Poetry, cinema, and music festivals are held annually. Macedonian music styles developed under the strong influence of Byzantine church music. Macedonia is amongst one of the countries with the most beautiful preserved Byzantine fresco paintings, mainly from the period between the 11th and 16th centuries. There are several thousands square metres of fresco painting preserved, the major part of which is in very good condition and represent masterworks of the Macedonian School of ecclesiastical painting.

In Macedonia the past meets the present. Its age-old architecture and monasteries and churches of exquisite beauty make an interesting contrast to the super modern new architecture.Most of the Macedonian monasteries, built in various periods, and particularly those built between the 11th and 15th–16th centuries, have been completely preserved until today.The Macedonian collection of icons, and in particular the Ohrid ones, are among the most valuable collections in the world today. After the Sinai and the Moscow collection of icons, it is third in importance in Orthodoxy. From a Byzantological aspect, it is unique.

The most important cultural events in the country are the Ohrid Summer festival of classical music and drama, the Struga Poetry Evenings which gather poets from more than 50 countries in the world, Skopje May Opera Evenings, International Camera Festival in Bitola, Open Youth Theatre and Skopje Jazz Festival in Skopje etc.

Gallery

ee also

* Macedonia (terminology)
* ethnic Macedonians
* Communications in the Republic of Macedonia
* Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia
* Military of the Republic of Macedonia
* Transportation in the Republic of Macedonia
* Socialist Republic of Macedonia
* Public holidays in the Republic of Macedonia

Notes and references

External links