Republic of Vevčani
The Republic of Vevčani (Macedonian: Република Вевчани, romanized: Republika Vevčani, pronounced ['vɛftʃani]), also known as the Independent Republic of Vevčani, was a short lived self-proclaimed country on the territory of North Macedonia after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 and is now a symbolic micronation.[2] The residents of the same-named village created their own state after the Vevčani Emergency in 1987, when the Communist government attempted to redirect the water springs of the village. The self-proclaimed republic was declared on 19 September 1991. They made their own coat of arms – two harlequins dancing over a cauldron. They also issued red passports. A currency was created as a souvenir.[3][4] On 8 April 1993, Vevčani fell under the jurisdiction of the Struga Municipality and the republic came to an end. In 2000 it was recreated as a model country to attract tourism.
Republic of Vevčani | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: Thank you God for being a Vevčanian[1] | |
| Status | current |
| Official languages | Macedonian |
| Ethnic groups | Macedonians 99.4% |
| Demonym(s) | Vevčanian |
| Government | |
• Mayor | Spase Kochoski |
| Establishment | |
• Declared | 19 September 1991 |
| Area | |
• Total | 22.8 km2 (8.8 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 3656 residents |
| Currency | Vevčani ličnik |
| Time zone | CET |
History
During the Vevčani Emergency, the police used electric batons for the first time in the former Yugoslavia to stop a protest.[2] The protests set up barricades and were beaten for weeks until the government backed off. On 19 September 1991, 11 days after the declaration of independence of Macedonia, the Vevčani declared a state. They stashed guns and demanded to be left alone.[4]
In 2002 The New York Times said:[4]
Their village is just a dot on the map, but the people here consider it a country in its own right: a self-proclaimed Balkan state that has been defying authority for more than a decade.
There is a lot of whimsy in applying the term republic to Vevcani, a mountain hamlet tucked in the southwestern corner of Macedonia just over the border from Albania.
But nationhood is a state of mind for the 2,500 villagers, who say their independent spirit helped them preserve the peace when much of the rest of the Balkans disintegrated into warfare in the 1990s.
We may seem radical in our ways, but we were determined not to let anyone manipulate us, one villager, Nenad Batkovski, said over coffee in Macedonia's capital, Skopje, where he is Vevcani's self-styled consul.
Vevcani is a Christian village surrounded by Muslim neighbors. That is often a recipe for disaster in the ethnically tense Balkans, but the village lives peacefully with its neighbors.
The Vevčani created their own currency, the ličnik (Macedonian: личник), to hand out as souvenirs. The currency came in 8 denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000. The designer was Simun Lesoski.[5]
| Личник Ličnik | |
|---|---|
| Unit | |
| Plural | Ličnici |
| Symbol | вев |
| Denominations | |
| Banknotes | 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) | Vevčani, Republic of Macedonia (souvenir) |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Bank of the Republic of Vevčani |
| Series | Value | Obverse | Reverse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 Ličnik | Vasil Radinoski, first president of FECC Macedonia | Water springs of Vevčani |
| 2000 | 2 Ličnik | Monastery St. John Bigorski | Writing on the three fountains in St. John |
| 2000 | 5 Ličnik | Mihajlo Pupin | Family tree of Mihajlo Pupin |
| 2000 | 10 Ličnik | St. Vasilij | 13th and 14 January |
| 2000 | 50 Ličnik | Traditional brides dress of Vevčani | Ploska |
| 2000 | 100 Ličnik | Dimitar N. Daskalov | Elementary school in Vevčani |
| 2000 | 500 Ličnik | Naum Poposki - Maliodzha | Ottoman Turkish deed |
| 2000 | 1000 Ličnik | "Felki" - S. Razmoski | Stojan J. Razmoski with a drawing of Jesus Christ |
On 7 August 2020, the anniversary of the Emergency, in cooperation with the mayor of the municipality, the cryptocurrency "crypto ličnik" was launched. It was made by Jordan Stojanovski. This is the official cryptocurrency of the now symbolic country.[6]
See also
References
- "Карневалска традиција: Боцкавата иронија на вевчанци". Утрински весник. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012.
- "КОД: Маските паднаа -соживотот на испит (1)". YouTube. 5 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016.
- "Вевчани – втора "независима" македонска държава". dnevnik.bg. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- "Macedonia Tolerates A 'Republic' In Its Midst". The New York Times. Associated Press. 6 January 2002. ISSN 0362-4331.
- "Република Вевчани - REPUBLIC OF VEVČANI Banknotes, 1.1.2000 Issues". Numismondo. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011.
- "КриптоЛичник – Првата крипто валута на Република Вевчани". strugaonline.mk. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
Further reading
- Macedonia: country for 20 years, 2011
- Republic of Macedonia, independent and free, 1998
