Bułgar – swój czy obcy? Proces przemian świadomości narodowej Macedończyków
A Bulgarian: one of US or THEM? Transformations in the national consciousness of Macedonians

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the formation of the national consciousness of Macedonians, especially in relation to the historically changing attitudes to Bulgarians. Various documents are analyzed containing clues as to how Macedonians talk about themselves, especially accounts of Polish observers, scholars (anthropologists, ethnologists) and journalists, indifferent to territorial and ethnic disputes in the Balkans. The author concentrates on the problems of the inhabitants of the Vardar region. From the 14th century it was subjected, similarly to Bulgaria, to the Ottoman Empire, and after the Balkan wars (1912--1913) to a heavy pressure from Serbia. This facilitated the formation of a certain bond with Bulgarians, who were first seen as brothers in a common misfortune (the Turkish bondage), then as a nation positively contrasted with Serbs. The attitude changed, however, after 1941, when Vardar Macedonia was occupied by Bulgarians, who were now seen as enemies and conquerors. The author treats this moment as the turning point in the formation of Macedonian national identity. Attention is also paid to historical processes at the turn of the 21st century. As a result of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, an independent national state emerged. However, its political independence is now threatened and the country fears being marginalized, especially since Bulgaria became a member of the EU. Also, many Macedonians now have double citizenship, Macedonian and Bulgarian, though probably not because of the lack of an independent Macedonian national identity but as a means of benefiting from the good political situation of Bulgaria.

• Details
• Contents