23 October: Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle

Today, 23 October, North Macedonia marks the Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle, commemorating the 1893 foundation of the Internal Macedonian‑Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) in Thessaloniki. The organization was created with the stated aim of winning autonomy for Macedonia through revolutionary means.

Founding and historical significance

The groundwork for the organization was laid on 5 November 1893 (23 October according to the old calendar) at the house of bookseller Ivan Hadzhi Nikolov in Thessaloniki. That meeting is regarded as the formal beginning of the movement that later organised major uprisings against Ottoman rule.

The high point of IMARO’s activity came a decade later with the Ilinden uprising in 1903 in Macedonia and the Preobrazhenie uprising in Adrianople Thrace, events that remain central to the country’s modern historical memory.

The founding assembly included several teachers and local activists who were prominent in the late 19th‑century revolutionary milieu. Present at the meeting were: Dr. Hristo Tatarchev — physician, born in Resen; Dame Gruev — teacher, born in the village of Smiljevo (Bitola region); Petar Pop Arsov — teacher, born in the village of Bogomila (Veles region); Ivan Hadzhi Nikolov — bookseller in Thessaloniki, born in Kukush; Anton Dimitrov — teacher, born in the village of Ajvatovo (Thessaloniki region); and Hristo Batandzhiev — teacher, born in the village of Gumendzha, Enidje Vardar.

Each year this date is observed across the country as a day that recalls the late‑19th‑century struggle for autonomy and the subsequent uprisings that shaped the region’s 20th‑century history.

Historians and public commemorations continue to debate and reflect on IMARO’s legacy, its methods and its place in the national narrative of North Macedonia.

Photo: press material from the event