Kingdoms, empires, and the socialist workers' state
In ancient times the Kingdom of Macedonia ruled a vast area that included what is now North Macedonia. Its most famous king was Alexander the Great, who despite what today's Macedonians may tell you between rakija shots, probably spoke something close to Greek. Eventually, Slavs arrived in the territory, forming a belt across the Balkans spanning all the way from Slovenia in the northwest to Bulgaria in the southeast with Macedonia in the middle.
In the Middle Ages, Serbian and Bulgarian rule over Macedonia gave way to the Ottoman Empire, which remained for roughly 500 years. These shifting kingdoms and empires left an architectural legacy of beautiful Orthodox Christian churches, monasteries, and Ottoman mosques, and Ohrid emerged as a key center of Orthodox scholarship. While neighboring states gained independence one after the other in the 19th century, Macedonia - with its low population density and proximity to Istanbul - continued to languish under the Ottomans. Just as in other Balkan regions, though, resentment against the Ottomans festered, inspiring a nationalist movement. Revolutionaries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as Goce Delcev, Nikola Karev, and Pitu Guli are remembered today as the country's national heroes for fighting for Macedonian independence. But it was not to be. The 1912-1913 Balkan Wars ended Ottoman dominion over the territory, but, instead of independence, led to division of the region of Macedonia between the war's winners: Greece took the southern portion, Bulgaria the northeast, and Serbia the northwest. Today, the revolutionaries' dream, a Macedonian Slav state stretching to the Aegean Sea, lives on in "Greater Macedonia" t-shirts and graffiti.
Soon enough, the Kingdom of Serbia became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and finally the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945 after Tito's socialist Partisans emerged victorious in World War II. Thus began a hugely important era of Macedonian history which older Macedonians are still nostalgic for. For the first time, Macedonia - well, just the portion Serbia had seized earlier - became acknowledged as a separate political entity, with its own borders and limited autonomy within Yugoslavia. To minimize ethnic tensions, Tito included Macedonian (though, notoriously, not Albanian) as one of Yugoslavia's official languages, and the language was at last standardized and taught in schools. As money was redistributed from the richer Yugoslav republics (namely Slovenia and Croatia, which attract Macedonian students and migrant workers to this day) into the poorer ones, socialist Macedonia rapidly developed. Hydroelectric dams were added to rivers, sprawling factories added to cities, and the economy shifted over the 1950s to 70s from agriculture towards industry. In the wake of Yugoslav urbanization, few traces of the pre-socialist millennia were preserved. Imposing concrete apartment towers and beautifully abstract monuments (spomeniks) became symbols of the bright future promised by the one-party state, most prominently in Skopje. The capital of socialist Macedonia was hit by a severe earthquake in 1963, and the investment that arrived from home and abroad dramatically reshaped the city. Citizens in those days enjoyed a unique mixture of political liberties (a decentralized economy, freedom to travel outside Yugoslavia) and restrictions (limited freedom of speech, repression of any challenges to single-party socialist rule and Tito's dictatorship.)
Flash forward forty years later, and simmering ethnic tensions, Tito's death in 1980, and economic challenges had prompted Slovenia and Croatia to jump ship. Macedonia quickly joined them, declaring independence from the rapidly disintegrating Yugoslavia in 1991 and becoming a fully independent (and democratic) state for the first time.
An independent republic
As in other former Yugoslav provinces, much of Macedonia's post-independence history has been characterized by external and internal nationalist conflict, with a renewed emphasis on Macedonian national identity. For instance, international recognition of Macedonian independence was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what Greece considered "Hellenic names and symbols," including the new country's original flag, fearing Macedonian designs on Greece's northern provinces (historically the southern part of the region of Macedonia). Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries normalized relations, despite continued disagreement over the name. For decades, the country was officially referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," or "FYROM," by the UN, leading to such oddities as the country's UN delegation being seated under "t" as a compromise. In June 2018, the leaders of Macedonia and Greece resolved the dispute, agreeing the country would change its name to the "Republic of North Macedonia", with the name change taking effect in February 2019.
Politics are contested mainly between the national-conservative VMRO and the more moderate SDSM. Under VMRO leadership, the Skopje city center was redeveloped yet again to assert the country's supposed roots in classical antiquity; the sparkling white Ancient Greek-style columns and larger-than-life statues sharply divide opinions among Skopje natives. Meanwhile, SDSM favors quick rapprochement with Macedonia's neighbors and the EU, having signed accords leading to the name change and NATO membership. Both parties, nonetheless, take pains to gain parliamentary support from parties representing the large Albanian minority, who represent roughly 25% of the country. A brief but violent insurgency in 2001 produced a compromise agreement that afforded them additional rights, including recognition of Albanian as a co-official language alongside Macedonian. Tensions and prejudice persist in some areas between the ethnic Macedonian and Albanian communities, who often live in separate neighborhoods and very rarely intermarry.
Meanwhile, slow economic growth, lower birthrates, and emigration to a wide variety of countries abroad have all conspired to reverse population growth. From a peak of 2.1 million, the country stands at 1.8 million today, a trend that haunts Macedonia's post-independence development. Ohrid and Struga glitter with tourists and the euros they spend, while English-speaking youth from all over the country flock to Skopje's universities, cafes, and multilevel malls. Other cities, however, appear almost frozen in the 1970s, while many villages grapple with dramatic population decline. As the country modernizes, slowly approaching EU membership, Macedonians young and old remain deeply appreciative of their country's traditions, and are eager to preserve and share them with foreigners.
