Krste Misirkov

Krste Misirkov

Krste Petkov Misirkov (Bulgarian: Кръстьо Петков Мисирков; Macedonian: Крсте Петков Мисирков) (born 18 November 1874 in Postol, Ottoman Empire (today Pella, Greece); died 26 July 1926 in Sofia, Kingdom of Bulgaria) was a philologist, slavist, historian, ethnographer, publicist author of the first book and scientific magazine in Macedonian where he for the first time outlined the principles of the literary Macedonian language. He is one of the most outstanding names in the Macedonian culture and history.

A part of his writings is central to the development of ethnic Macedonian nationalism, the issue of the existence of a Macedonian nation distinct from the Bulgarian nation. He published one book, one magazine and over thirty articles. However, at different points in his life, Misirkov expressed conflicting statements about the ethnicity of the Slavic population living in Macedonia, including his own ethnicity, calling them Bulgarians, Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians respectively. As a result, both his ethnic attachment and legacy remains a matter of dispute among some historians from Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia.