Skopje, 2 August 2025 (MIA) - Saturday marks the 122nd anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising and the Krushevo Republic, as well as the 81st anniversary of the first ASNOM Session - two key pillars in the Macedonian statehood. 

The central event marking Republic Day - Ilinden will take place in Krushevo, under the auspices of President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova who will lay flowers at the Nikola Karev grave and the Sliva monument, followed by a memorial service at the St. Nikola Church.  

President Siljanovska Davkova will also lay flowers and deliver an address at the Mechkin Kamen site. 

In Skopje, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski will lay flowers at the monument of Krushevo Republic president Nikola Karev in front of the Parliament building, at the ASNOM monument, and at the monument of the ASNOM Presidium chair Metodija Andonov-Chento at the city square. 

VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski will head a party delegation to Tashmarunishta, to lay flowers alongside president of the Municipal Committee of VMRO-DPMNE Struga and Deputy Minister of Justice Alen Dereban, and MP Jovan Jauleski.

Parliament Vice-Speaker Vesna Bendevska will attend an event commemorating the 81st anniversary of the first session of ASNOM at the ASNOM Memorial Center in Pelince. 

The state delegation led by Parliament Vice-Speaker Vesna Bendevska will also mark August 2 - Ilinden at the Prohor Pchinski monastery, which has a special significance in the history of the Macedonian state.

Several parliamentary delegations, as well as delegations of political parties, will be laying flowers at the memorials in Krushevo, Pelince and Skopje to mark Republic Day - Ilinden.

This year marks the 122nd anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising and the 81st anniversary of the first ASNOM Session.

The Ilinden Uprising was announced by church bells in Krushevo on the eve of Ilinden [St. Elijah Day] in 1903. Around 800 insurgents liberated the town. Two days later, Nikola Karev declared himself the president of the Krushevo Republic. The Republic was free for ten days before being quelled by Ottoman troops.

Pitu Guli, one of the most prominent fighters, was killed during shootouts with the Ottoman army. It ultimately marked the end of the Krushevo Republic.

Forty-one years after the Ilinden Uprising, 115 delegates held the first ASNOM session, where the social and legal status of Macedonia was determined as a constituent country as part of the future Yugoslav federation. Members of the ASNOM presidency were elected, with Metodija Andonov-Chento as its president.

The first ASNOM session saw the passage of several documents of constitutional importance, including a resolution on the introduction of Macedonian language as the country’s official language and the Declaration of the Basic Rights of Men and Citizens of Democratic Macedonia.

Photo: MIA archive