Lyubomir Miletich and the Macedonian Scientific Institute

Lyubomir Miletich was the main initiator and organizer of the Macedonian Scientific Institute founded in 1923, whose Statute he penned himself. At the Constituent Assembly L. Miletich was appointed member of the Institute’s Governing Board, and he became President in 1928. 

He remained in office until the end of his life in 1937. His main concern was that the Institute would be genuinely a “significant scientific institution in Bulgaria”.  This goal was fulfilled also through the publication of “Macedonian Review” – a journal dedicated to science, literature and public life, which L. Miletich directed almost from its very beginning, so that it would become a first-rate scientific platform that, through its wide popularity, would gather together the entire universe of Slavic and Non-Slavic academic thought in defense of the rights of the Bulgarians that remained outside the borders of their torn Fatherland. 

The Macedonian Scientific Institute encouraged the special edition of separate academic works. Among them particularly precious are the still appreciated volumes by A. M. Selishchev, „Полог и его болгарское население” (1929), „Славянское население в Ал- бании” (1931), and „Македонские кодики ХVІ – ХVІІІ веков” (1933).  L. Miletich managed to provide for the Macedonian Scientific Institute its own building – the Macedonian People’s House which was designed to shelter the Macedonian emigrants in free Bulgaria and to cultivate purposefully the spiritual values of the subjugated homeland. The construction of this House is the last deed of L. Miletich towards the end of his life, but “his spirit shall dwell there eternally”.  The Macedonian Scientific Institute is only the crown of L. Miletich’ immense activity dedicated to Macedonia. He stated on multiple occasions that from an early age he cared deeply for the fate of his Fatherland and that was the reason he strived to serve it to the best of his abilities. And he did serve, in his capacity of a respectful scientist, organizer and propagator, not only in Bulgaria proper, but also in Europe. That is why the “Stozher” newspaper wrote on him:

 “He remains to the end an uncompromising soldier, commander and inspiration to the enlightened Bulgarian patriotism!”.