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Republic of Vevčani

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Republic of Vevčani
Република Вевчани (Macedonian)
Republika Vevčani
Flag of Vevčani
Flag
Coat of arms of Vevčani
Coat of arms
Motto: Thank you God for being a Vevčanian[1]
Statuscurrent
Official languagesMacedonian
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
CurrencyVevčani ličnik
Time zoneCET

The Republic of Vevčani (Macedonian: Република Вевчани, romanizedRepublika 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.[citation needed]

History

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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 people of Vevčani declared it a state. They stashed their 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]

Republic of Vevčani
Личник
Ličnik
Unit
PluralLičnici
Symbolвев
Denominations
Banknotes1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000
Demographics
User(s) Vevčani, Republic of Macedonia (souvenir)
Issuance
Central bankBank 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

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References

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  1. ^ "Карневалска традиција: Боцкавата иронија на вевчанци". Утрински весник. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b "КОД: Маските паднаа -соживотот на испит (1)". YouTube. 5 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Вевчани – втора "независима" македонска държава". dnevnik.bg. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Macedonia Tolerates A 'Republic' In Its Midst". The New York Times. Associated Press. 6 January 2002. ISSN 0362-4331.
  5. ^ "Република Вевчани - REPUBLIC OF VEVČANI Banknotes, 1.1.2000 Issues". Numismondo. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011.
  6. ^ "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

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  • Macedonia: country for 20 years, 2011
  • Republic of Macedonia, independent and free, 1998