Socialist Republic of Macedonia

{{Short description|Federated state of Yugoslavia (1944–1991)}} {{About|the predecessor state to the current [[North Macedonia]]||Macedonia (disambiguation){{!}}Macedonia}} {{Cleanup reorganize|date=February 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}

{{Infobox former country | conventional_long_name = Socialist Republic of Macedonia{{efn|Historical names: *1944–1946: Democratic Federal Macedonia ({{langx|mk|Демократска Федерална Македонија}}) *1946–1963: People's Republic of Macedonia ({{langx|mk|Народна Република Македонија}})}} {{no bold| {{small|(1963–1990)}} {{native name|mk|Социјалистичка Република Македонија}} {{small|''Socijalistička Republika Makedonija''}}}}{{hr}}Republic of Macedonia {{no bold| {{small|(1990–1991)}} {{native name|mk|Република Македонија}} {{small|''Republika Makedonija''}}}} | status = [[Constituent state|Constituent republic]] of '''[[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]''' | p1 = Kingdom of Bulgaria | flag_p1 = Flag of Bulgaria.svg | p2 = Albanian Kingdom (1943–44) | flag_p2 = Flag of Albania (1943-1944).svg | s1 = North Macedonia{{!}}Republic of Macedonia | flag_s1 = Flag of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1946–1991); Flag of North Macedonia (1991-1992).svg | flag = Flag of North Macedonia#History | image_flag = Flag of Macedonia (1946–1992).svg | flag_type = Flag (1946–1992) | image_coat = State Coat of arms of Macedonia.svg | symbol = National emblem of North Macedonia | symbol_type = Emblem | anthem = [[March of the Macedonian Revolutionaries|Марш на македонските револуционери]] {{tlit|mk|Marš na makedonskite revolucioneri}} "March of the Macedonian Revolutionaries" (1944) [[Denes nad Makedonija|Денес над Македонија]] {{tlit|mk|Denes nad Makedonija}} "Today Over Macedonia" (from 1945) {{center|[[File:Macedonia's national anthem (instrumental).ogg]]}} | image_map = Locator map Macedonia in Yugoslavia.svg | image_map_caption = Macedonia within [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] | capital = [[Skopje]] | latd = | latm = | latNS = | longd = | longm = | longEW = | common_languages = [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] [[Serbo-Croatian]] | religion = [[Secular state]] (''de jure'') [[State atheism]] (''de facto'')<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kideckel |first1=David |last2=Halpern |first2=Joel |year=2000 |title=Neighbors at War: Anthropological Perspectives on Yugoslav Ethnicity, Culture, and History |page=165 |publisher=Penn State Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEBkON-ySQUC|isbn=9780271044354}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Avramović |first=Sima |year=2007 |title=Understanding Secularism in a Post-Communist State: Case of Serbia |url=https://www.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Serbia.1.pdf}}</ref> | government_type = {{small|'''1946–1990:'''}} Unitary [[communist state]] {{small|'''1990–1991:'''}} [[Unitary parliamentary republic]] | title_leader = [[President of the League of Communists of Macedonia|Leader of the LCM]] | leader1 = [[Lazar Koliševski]] (first) | year_leader1 = 1944–1963 | leader2 = {{ill|Petar Gošev|mk|Петар Гошев}} | year_leader2 = 1989–1991 | title_representative = [[President of North Macedonia#Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Head of state]] | representative1 = [[Metodija Andonov-Čento]] (first) | year_representative1 = 1944–1946 | representative2 = [[Kiro Gligorov]] (last) | year_representative2 = 1991 | title_deputy = [[Prime Minister of North Macedonia#Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Head of government]] | deputy1 = Lazar Koliševski (first) | year_deputy1 = 1945–1953 | deputy2 = {{ill|Gligorije Gogovski|mk|Глигорие Гоговски}} (last) | year_deputy2 = 1986–1991 | deputy3 = | year_deputy3 = | deputy4 = | year_deputy4 = | deputy5 = | year_deputy5 = | deputy6 = | year_deputy6 = | legislature = | era = Cold War | event_start = [[Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia|ASNOM]] | date_start = 2 August | year_start = 1944 | event1 = [[End of World War II in Europe|End of World War II]] | date_event1 = 8 May 1945 | event2 = [[Breakup of Yugoslavia]] | date_event2 = 1991 | event_end = Independence declared by referendum | year_end = 1991 | date_end = 8 September | population_link = Demographic history of North Macedonia | currency = [[Albanian lek]] (1944) [[Bulgarian lev]] (1944–1945)<ref>Веднаш штом е завршено штембилувањето на бугарските левови и албанските лекови, со цел упростување на валутното прашање во Македонија, лековите се заменети со левови. За тоа повереникот за финансии при Президиумот на АСНОМ реферира пред претставниците на народноослободителните одбори на конференцијата што е одржана во ослободено Скопје во врска со финансиските проблеми. На тој начин, штембилуваниот лев остана единствена валута на подрачјето на Македонија... Види и Закон за курсевите за повлекување на окупационите банкноти и за регулирање на обврските (Сл. лист на ДФЈ“, број 23 од 19 април 1945). For more see: ASNOM vo sozdavanjeto na državata na makedonskiot narod. Referati od naučen sobir održan od 29 do 31 oktomvri 1984 godina vo Skopje (1987) Makedonska akademija na naukite i umetnostite, str. 380.</ref><ref>Howard M. Berlin (2015) World Monetary Units. An Historical Dictionary, Country by Country. McFarland Incorporated, {{ISBN|9781476606736}}, p. 100.</ref><ref>Bulgarian currency had been used by the short-lived [[Independent Macedonia (1944)|pro-German puppet government]] in the autкmn of 1944. After the [[Capture of Skopje (1944)|capture of Skopje]] in November 1944, the new Macedonian authorities confiscated [[Bulgarian lev|лв.]]430 million, stamps, and other securities from the former [[Bulgarian National Bank]] building. They refused to give the funds to Sofia, and General [[Damyan Velchev]] ordered a Bulgarian artillery regiment to return from South Serbia to shell Skopje and confiscate the funds. The order was rescinded after the intervention of [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]] [[Fyodor Tolbukhin]], preventing an armed conflict. For more see: Добрин Мичев, Македонският въпрос и българо-югославските отношения: 9 септември 1944-1949, Унив. изд-во "Св. Климент Охридски", 1994, {{ISBN|9540701821}}, стр. 119.</ref><ref>According to the article, the author of which is a Bulgarian banking expert and doctor of finance, the used Bulgarian banknotes were stamped with the inscription: ''Democratic Federative Yugoslavia Finance Commission for Macedonia.'' When withdrawing at the beginning of September 1944, the Bulgarian authorities took the available banknotes to the headquarters of the Bulgarian National Bank in Skopje. However, the Bulgarian currency remained in circulation under German occupation. By order of [[Adolf-Heinz Beckerle]], additional quantities [[Bulgarian lev|lev]] were printed at the [[German Reich]] printing house in Berlin, where the Bulgarian banknotes were printed, and were sent to Macedonia. For more: Костадин Христов, За първите македонски банкноти. [https://www.risk-guidance.eu/publications/84-macedonia-bank Управление на риска ООД, 20.09.2017 г.]</ref> [[Yugoslav dinar]] (1945–1991)<ref>''In April 1945 war - time and pre - war currencies were called in and replaced by a new dinar with an exchange rate of one new to ten old dinars.'' For more: Clifford Darby (1966) Short History of Yugoslavia, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|9780521046763}}, p. 237.</ref><ref name="Annual1993">{{cite web|title=National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. Annual Report 1993|url= http://www.nbrm.mk/WBStorage/Files/annual_report_1993.pdf|website=www.nbrm.mk}}</ref><ref>Tomasevich, Jozo (2002) War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford University Press. {{ISBN|9780804779241}}, p. 705.</ref> | today = [[North Macedonia]] }}

[[File:Spomenik na NOB(Kosturnica).JPG|thumb|250px|Second World War memorial - [[Memorial Ossuary Kumanovo]]. Celebrating the [[Yugoslav Partisan]] movement became one of the main components of the post-World War II Macedonian culture.]] [[File:Lazar Kolishevski monument.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Monument of [[Lazar Koliševski]] in his hometown [[Sveti Nikole]]. Kolishevski was the first Prime Minister of the SR Macedonia.]]

The '''Socialist Republic of Macedonia''' ({{langx|mk|Социјалистичка Република Македонија|Socijalistička Republika Makedonija}}), or '''SR Macedonia''', commonly referred to as '''Socialist Macedonia''', '''Yugoslav Macedonia''' or simply '''Macedonia''', was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. After the transition of the [[political system]] to [[parliamentary democracy]] in 1990, the Republic changed its official name to Republic of Macedonia in 1991 (now called [[North Macedonia]]),<ref name="namechange">[http://www.mia.com.mk/portal/page?_pageid=113,160569&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&prikaz=22&VestID=18237491 ''On This Day'' – Macedonian Information Agency – MIA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125143657/http://www.mia.com.mk/portal/page?_pageid=113,160569&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&prikaz=22&VestID=18237491 |date=25 January 2008 }}, see: 1991 {{in lang|mk}}</ref> and with the beginning of the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], it declared itself an [[independent state|independent]] [[country]] and held a [[1991 Macedonian independence referendum|referendum on 8 September 1991]] on which a sovereign and independent state of Macedonia, with a right to enter into any alliance with sovereign states of Yugoslavia was approved.

Geographically, SR Macedonia bordered [[Socialist People's Republic of Albania|Albania]] to the west, [[Greece]] to the south and [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] to the east. Within Yugoslavia, it bordered [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|SR Serbia]] (including [[Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo|SAP Kosovo]]) to the north. It was one of the two landlocked federal republics, along with SR Serbia.

==History== The first Macedonian state was formally proclaimed under the name '''Democratic Federal Macedonia'''<ref>''[http://www.cecl.gr/RigasNetwork/databank/REPORTS/r1/Fyrom_R1_Cvetkovski.html Constitutional History of the Republic of Macedonia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327060707/http://www.cecl.gr/RigasNetwork/databank/REPORTS/r1/Fyrom_R1_Cvetkovski.html |date=27 March 2008 }}'' by Dr. Cvetan Cvetkovski, Faculty of Law, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia</ref> ({{langx|mk|Демократска Федерална Македонија|Demokratska Federalna Makedonija}}) at the First Plenary Session of the [[Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia]] (ASNOM) [[World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia|during World War II]]. It was set up clandestinely on 2 August 1944 in the [[Military history of Bulgaria during World War II|Bulgarian occupation zone in Yugoslavia]] (in the [[Prohor Pčinjski Monastery]], now in [[Serbia]]).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1jSg3lxgSy8C&pg=PA286 ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia''], Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0810855658}}, p. 240.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&pg=PA139 ''The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building And Legitimation, 1918–2005''], Sabrina P. Ramet, Indiana University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0253346568}}, p. 139-140.</ref> This date is celebrated in North Macedonia as the [[Republic Day (North Macedonia)|Republic Day]]. It was chosen intentionally, as it was the date of the [[Ilinden Uprising]] against [[History of Macedonia (region)|Ottoman rule]] in 1903. However, after the Bulgarian Army retreated from the region under Soviet pressure, on 8 September, right-wing [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] nationalists declared a pro-German [[Independent State of Macedonia|Macedonian puppet-state]].<ref>Das makedonische Jahrhundert: von den Anfängen der nationalrevolutionären Bewegung zum Abkommen von Ohrid 1893–2001, Stefan Troebst, Oldenbourg Verlag, 2007, {{ISBN|3486580507}}, S. 234.</ref> In early October, under the leadership of the new Bulgarian pro-Soviet government, the Bulgarian Army re-entered Yugoslavia to block the German forces in their withdrawal from Greece.<ref>''Axis Forces in Yugoslavia 1941–45'', Nigel Thomas, K. Mikulan, Darko Pavlović, Osprey Publishing, 1995, {{ISBN|1-85532-473-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=A8X6UH58dlgC&pg=PA33 p. 33].</ref><ref>''World War II: The Mediterranean 1940–1945, World War II: Essential Histories'', Paul Collier, Robert O'Neill, The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010, {{ISBN|1-4358-9132-5}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vc4hlXkSIDsC&pg=PA77 p. 77.]</ref> In Macedonia the Bulgarians fought side-by-side with the fighters of the [[People's Liberation Army of Macedonia]].<ref name="Tomasevich-2001-p168">''War and revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: occupation and collaboration'', Jozo Tomasevich, Stanford University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8047-3615-4}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC&pg=PA168 p. 168].</ref>

[[Vardar Banovina]] was ''de facto'' liberated from the Germans and their collaborationists in late November 1944, so the ASNOM became operational in December, shortly after the German retreat. Nevertheless, in December anti-communist Albanian nationalists in Western Macedonia tried to remain in control of the region after the Yugoslav Partisans announced victory.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Zemra Shqiptare|url = http://www.zemrashqiptare.net/article/Personalitete/11309/?highlight=Mefail+Shehu&match=|website = www.zemrashqiptare.net|access-date = 31 October 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111005172145/http://www.zemrashqiptare.net/article/Personalitete/11309/?highlight=Mefail+Shehu&match=|archive-date = 5 October 2011|url-status = dead|df = dmy-all}}</ref> They aimed to resist incorporation of the area into communist Yugoslavia and it was only in early 1945 that the Yugoslav Partisans were able to establish their control over the mountainous area.

The nature of the new Yugoslav state remained unclear immediately after the war. Yugoslavia was envisioned by the Partisans as a "Democratic Federation", including six federal states.<ref name="The three Yugoslavias">Ramet, Sabrina P.; ''The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005''; Indiana University Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-253-34656-8}}</ref> When Tito's nomination as Prime Minister was accepted on 29 November 1945, the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] was declared, with its constitution coming into force in 1946. As a result, Macedonia changed its name to the '''[[People's Republic]] of Macedonia''' and was incorporated as a [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia#Federal units|constituent republic]] in the Yugoslav [[Federation]].

People with various degrees of allegedly being pro-Bulgarian orientation (in the most cases they were pro-Independence and anti-Yugoslav patriotic Macedonians) were purged from their positions, then isolated, arrested and imprisoned on fabricated charges. In many cases they were executed en masse, such as during the [[Bloody Christmas (1945)|Bloody Christmas of 1945]]. The number of victims remains unclear, Bulgarian academic sources claim 1,200 people were allegedly killed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Phillips|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SB1OrH8iZtcC&pg=PA40|title=Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans|date=2004|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-1-86064-841-0|language=en|page=40}}</ref> Revisionist historian [[Zoran Todorovski]] estimated the number of victims during the era as 50,000, including those killed, imprisoned, deported, subject to forced labor, torture, etc.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Tchavdar Marinov |title=Historiographical Revisionism and Re-Articulation of Memory in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia |journal=Sociétés politiques comparées |issue=25 |date=May 2010 |url=http://www.fasopo.org/sites/default/files/article_n25.pdf |page=11}}</ref> However, these figures have been questioned by some Bulgarian researchers, also noting that the assertion that these individuals were persecuted and killed solely on account of their Bulgarian national consciousness is deceptive.<ref>{{cite book |author=Raymond Detrez|title=Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria| url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Historical_Dictionary_of_Bulgaria/YmacEQAAQBAJ|year=2026|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781538199626|page=347}}</ref>

The national [[Macedonian language]] was codified in 1945 and the first publishing house "Prosvetno Delo" was established on 16 April 1945. The state was formed on the territory of [[Vardar Banovina]], a part of the wider [[Region of Macedonia|geographical region of Macedonia]], which was divided between several countries. Some Macedonian politicians from the Republic advocated the idea of a [[United Macedonia]], which would include [[Aegean Macedonia]] and [[Pirin Macedonia]]. The idea was somewhat supported by the federal Yugoslav authorities on some occasions, or repressed, depending on the regional and international political situation.

The establishment of the Macedonian republic inspired strong loyalty to the Yugoslav federation among the Macedonians.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Curtis |editor-first=Glenn E. |title=Yugoslavia: A Country Study |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1992|page=xxxvii|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/91040323/}}</ref> Some people were against the federation and demanded [[Regionalism (politics)|greater independence]] from the federal authorities, leading to their persecution. One of the notable victims of these purges was the first [[President of the Republic of Macedonia|president]], [[Metodija Andonov-Čento]]. To wipe out the remnants of [[Bulgarophile]] sentiments, the Yugoslavian communists started a process of Macedonization and [[nation-building]].<ref>Nikolaos Zahariadis, ''Essence of political manipulation: emotion, institutions, & Greek foreign policy'', Peter Lang (publisher), 2005; {{ISBN|0820479039}}, p. 85.</ref><ref>Yugoslav Communists recognized the existence of a Macedonian nationality during WWII to quiet fears of the Macedonian population that a communist Yugoslavia would continue to follow the former Yugoslav policy of forced Serbianization. Hence, for them to recognize the inhabitants of Macedonia as Bulgarians would be tantamount to admitting that they should be part of the Bulgarian state. For that the Yugoslav Communists were most anxious to mold Macedonian history to fit their conception of Macedonian consciousness. The treatment of Macedonian history in Communist Yugoslavia had the same primary goal as the creation of the Macedonian language: to de-Bulgarize the Macedonian Slavs, and to create an national consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia. For more see: Stephen E. Palmer, Robert R. King, Yugoslav communism and the Macedonian question, Archon Books, 1971, {{ISBN|0208008217}}, Chapter 9: The encouragement of Macedonian culture.</ref>

==Constitution== :[http://www.slvesnik.com.mk/Issues/0AF2E0456C964935B7705FB5BF6F31F9.pdf Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, 1974 – Official Gazette] {{in lang|mk}}

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia, which was defined as a national state of the [[ethnic Macedonians|Macedonians]] and also a state of its [[ethnic minorities]], had some powers normally associated with an [[independent state]]. The Constitution also recognized the right of [[self-determination]] and [[secession]]. The borders of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia could only be changed by decision of the republic's parliament. Its inhabitants held both Yugoslav citizenship and an internal Macedonian citizenship for state business.

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own [[constitution]], [[presidency]], [[government]], [[parliament]], [[official language]], [[National symbol|state symbols]], [[Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts]], ''Secretariat of Internal Affairs'' ([[Interior ministry]]), ''Bureau for Foreign Relations'' ([[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Macedonia)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]])<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.mk/default1.aspx?ItemID=301 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia Official Site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116045739/http://www.mfa.gov.mk/default1.aspx?ItemID=301 |date=16 November 2008 }}</ref> and other state prerogatives. Also, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia had its own [[Territorial Defense Forces (Yugoslavia)|Territorial Defence]] armed forces ([[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]: Територијална одбрана, Teritorijalna odbrana).<ref>[http://www.morm.gov.mk:8080/morm/en/ARM/History/History4.html Ministry of Defence of Republic of Macedonia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010221106/http://www.morm.gov.mk:8080/morm/en/ARM/History/History4.html |date=10 October 2007 }}</ref>

===System=== The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a [[one-party state|one-party]] [[communist state]], the ruling political party being the [[League of Communists of Macedonia]] (in Macedonian: ''Сојуз на Комунистите на Македонија, Sojuz na Komunistite na Makedonija'', [[abbreviation]]: ''СКМ, SKM''). Being a [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia#Federal units|constituent state of Yugoslavia]], a leading founder of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], SR Macedonia pursued a neutral foreign policy and maintained a more liberal communist system compared to other communist states. The ruling [[ideology]] was based on [[Titoism]] and [[Workers' self-management]] (Macedonian: самоуправување, samoupravuvanje).

===Minorities=== While the Macedonians were the majority and were one of the constituent nations of SFR Yugoslavia (official term: ''narod'') the rights of the [[ethnic minorities]] (official term: ''narodnosti'') were guaranteed by the Constitution. The official language of SR Macedonia was Macedonian,<ref>[[s:mk:АСНОМ, документ 8|РЕШЕНИЕ на Антифашиското собрание на народното ослободуене на Македонија за заведуене на македонскиот јазик како службен јазик во македонската држава]] (Rješenje [[ASNOM|Antifašističkog sobranja narodnog oslobođenja Makedonije]] o uvođenju makedonskoga jezika kao službenog jezika u državi Makedoniji), dokument br. 8, 2. kolovoza 1944., Prohor Pčinjski, Metodije Andonov Čento (predsjedatelj ASNOM)</ref> however [[Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia|Macedonian Albanians]] and [[Turks in North Macedonia|Macedonian Turks]] had the right to use their own languages within the school system and the media.<ref name="Ada">Spasov, Ljudmil; Arizankovska, Lidija. ''Hierarhizacija jezikov v Republiki Makedoniji in Republiki Sloveniji glede na jezikovno politiko Evropske unije'', [http://www.centerslo.net/files/File/simpozij/sim20/spasov.pdf (161. – 169.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918020414/http://www.centerslo.net/files/File/simpozij/sim20/spasov.pdf |date=18 September 2010 }} '''u:''' [[Ada Vidovič Muha|Vidovič-Muha, Ada]]. (ur.) ''Slovenski knjižni jezik – aktualna vprašanja in zgodovinske izkušnje : ob 450-letnici izida prve slovenske knjige'', Zbirka »Obdobja – metode in zvrsti« (vol. 20, {{ISSN|1408-211X}}), Center za slovenščino kot drugi/tuji jezik pri Oddelku za slovenistiko Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, 2003., {{ISBN|961-237-057-5}}, [https://books.google.com/books?lr=&cd=17&id=s5kYAQAAIAAJ&q=SR+Makedonije str. 163., 164.] {{Blockquote|''Prvi člen ''Ustave SR Makedonije'' (''Ustav na SRM'', 1974) je SRM definiral kot nacionalno državo makedonskega naroda ter albanske in turške narodnosti v njej. V členih 220 in 222 je bilo zapisano, da ljudje lahko prosto uporabljajo svoj jezik in pisavo za izražanje in razvijanje svoje kulture.''|Vidovič-Muha, 2003., 163.}}{{Blockquote|''Poleg tega so makedonske (in slovenske) javne osebe v okvirih SFRJ (zunaj SR Makedonije oziroma SR Slovenije) zelo redko upoštevale pravico do uporabe svojega jezika v javnem sporazumevanju, in to je dajalo vtis, da je edini uradni jezik na ravni države SFRJ srbohrvaščina.''|Vidovič-Muha, 2003., 164.}}</ref> The constitution of the SR Macedonia defined the state as the national state of the ethnic Macedonians, but also as the state of Albanians and Turks.<ref name="Ada"/> In 1989, the Yugoslav Macedonian authorities revised the constitution, defining SR Macedonia as a "[[nation-state]] of Macedonian people".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hugh Poulton |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=Hurst |isbn=9781850655343 |date=2000 |page=133}}</ref>

From the start of Yugoslav rule in Macedonia, accusations surfaced that the new authorities were involved in retribution against people who did not support the formation of the new Macedonian national identity.<ref>Djokić, Dejan (2003). ''Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918–1992'', C. Hurst & Co. Publishers (pg. 122); {{ISBN|1-85065-663-0}}.</ref> The number of victims due to organized killings of [[Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia|Bulgarians]] is unclear. Bulgarian sources claim that thousands of people were killed after 1944 and that more than 100,000 people were put in prison under the "[[Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honor]]".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SB1OrH8iZtcC&pg=PA40 ''Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans''] by John Phillips, I.B. Tauris (publisher), 2004; {{ISBN|186064841X}}, p. 40.</ref> Per political scientist Mirjana Maleska, ''Bulgarophobia'' increased almost to the level of [[state ideology]] in SR Macedonia.<ref>[http://www.newbalkanpolitics.org.mk/OldSite/Issue_6/editorial.eng.asp] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070924172406/http://www.newbalkanpolitics.org.mk/OldSite/Issue_6/editorial.eng.asp|date=24 September 2007}}</ref><ref>Anastas Vangeli, Antiquity musing: reflections on the Greco-Macedonian symbolic contest over the narratives of the ancient past, MA thessis; Central European University, Budapest; 2009, p. 87.</ref>

===Religion=== Although the ruling [[Communism and religion|communists discouraged religion]], [[religious freedom]] was allowed to a certain extent. The authorities allowed the existence of the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]], which proclaimed [[autocephaly]] in 1967. In 1972 the construction of the largest orthodox church ''[[Church of St. Clement of Ohrid|St. Clement of Ohrid]]'' in the capital of Skopje began. [[Islam in North Macedonia|Muslims]], [[Roman Catholicism in North Macedonia|Catholics]], [[Protestantism in North Macedonia|Protestants]] and other religious communities also could maintain their own organisations and [[Place of worship|places of worship]].

===Geography=== The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was the 4th largest [[Country|constituent country]] of SFR Yugoslavia both by area and population. Within Yugoslavia, it had an internal border with the [[Socialist Republic of Serbia]] to the north and its subunit the [[Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo]] to the northwest, and had international borders with the [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]] to the west, [[Greece]] to the south, and the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] to the east.

==Transition== In 1990 the [[form of government]] peacefully changed from [[socialist state]] to [[parliamentary democracy]]. The first pluralist elections were held on 11 November the same year. The once ruling [[communist party]] took a reformist direction and renamed itself ''League of Communists of Macedonia – Party for Democratic Change'' led by [[Petar Gošev]]. After the head of the last communist presidency [[Vladimir Mitkov]]<ref>[http://www.pf.ukim.edu.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=213 Faculty of Law, University of Skopje] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120630064900/http://www.pf.ukim.edu.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=213 |date=30 June 2012 }} {{in lang|mk}}</ref> resigned, [[Kiro Gligorov]] became the first democratically elected president of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia on 31 January 1991.{{efn|name=gligorov|Kiro Gligorov was elected president on 31 January 1991, when SR Macedonia was still an official name of the nation. After the change of the state's name, he continued his function as a [[President of the Republic of Macedonia]] – [http://www.president.gov.mk/gligorov.asp The Official Site of The President of the Republic of Macedonia]}}

On 16 April, parliament adopted a [[constitutional amendment]] removing "[[Socialist Republic|Socialist]]" from the official name of the entity, and on 7 June the new name Republic of Macedonia was officially established.<ref name="namechange"/> After the process of [[dissolution of Yugoslavia]] began, the Republic of Macedonia issued a Sovereignty Declaration on 25 January 1991<ref>[http://www.sobranie.mk/WBStorage/Files/suverenost.pdf Sovereignty Declaration – Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia]</ref> and later proclaimed itself a fully independent country, following a referendum held on 8 September 1991.

The [[Republic of North Macedonia]] is the legal successor to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. It was known as the Republic of Macedonia until February 2019 when it underwent an official name change following the [[Prespa agreement]] with Greece in June 2018 which resolved a long-standing naming dispute.

==Heads of institutions== {{History of the Republic of Macedonia}}

===Presidents of ASNOM=== *[[Metodija Andonov-Čento]] *[[Lazar Koliševski]]

===Presidents of Presidency of Parliament=== *[[Lazar Koliševski]] *[[Vidoe Smilevski]]

===Presidents of Parliament=== *[[Dimče-Mire Stojanov]] *[[Lazar Koliševski]] *[[Ljupčo Arsov]] *[[Vidoe Smilevski]] *[[Mito Hadživasilev]] *[[Nikola Minčev]]

===Presidents of Presidency=== *[[Vidoe Smilevski]] *[[Ljupčo Arsov]] *[[Angel Čemerski]] *[[Blagoja Talevski]] *[[Tome Bukleski]] *[[Vančo Apostolski]] *[[Dragoljub Stavrev]] *[[Jezdimir Bogdanski]] *[[Vladimir Mitkov]]

===Prime Ministers=== *[[Lazar Koliševski]] (1945–1953) *[[Ljupčo Arsov]] (1953–1961) *[[Aleksandar Grličkov]] (1961–1965) *[[Nikola Minčev]] (1965–1968) *[[Ksente Bogoev]] (1968–1974) *[[Blagoja Popov]] (1974–1982) *[[Dragoljub Stavrev]] (1982–1986) *[[Gligorije Gogovski]] (1986–1991)

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Socialist Republic Of Macedonia}} [[Category:Socialist Republic of Macedonia| ]] [[Category:Communism in North Macedonia|*]] [[Category:Modern history of Macedonia (region)]] [[Category:Yugoslav Macedonia|*]] [[Category:Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Subdivisions of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Macedonia]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1944|Macedonia]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1991|Macedonia]] [[Category:1940s establishments in Yugoslavia]] [[Category:1990s disestablishments in the Republic of Macedonia]] [[Category:1944 establishments in Yugoslavia]] [[Category:1991 disestablishments in Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Former socialist republics|Macedonia]]