I. 1453 – 1821: The Greek Peninsula is under the Ottoman Turk Rule. Constantinople or ‘Second Rome’ falls to the Turks. Russia tries to help the Greeks for her own interests to get to the Aegean. It presents itself as the ‘Third Rome’ and self declares as the protector and new leader of Orthodox Christianity. Once Greece declares independence and asks for support from France and Great Britain, Russia turns to the Bulgarians to achieve the goal of getting to the Aegean.

II. 1878 – 1908: Russian ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatieff, gets orders from the Russian Tsar to create the Bulgarian Exarchy, and raise the Bulgarian population in Macedonia. All this to force Turkey to cede the Southern Balkans to Bulgaria. The Treaty of San Stefano tried to achieve this under the false pretence that the majority of the population in Macedonia was Bulgarian and not Greek. Europe did not allow this to happen. The Bulgarian and Greek Struggle for Macedonia begins and ends with the complete retreat of Bulgaria from Greek soil. In 1912, Macedonia is freed from Turkey and declares unity with Greece.

III. 1917 – 1942: Bulgaria supports Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and expects to get Macedonia as reward. Bulgaria again occupies northern Greece during both World Wars. Once the Axis falls, Russia again tries to get to the Aegean through Communism with an idea for a Communist Balkan Alliance or ‘Switzerland of the Balkans’ called ‘Macedonia’.

IV. 1943 – Present: Russian leader Stalin, with Yugoslav leader Tito create ‘The People’s Republic of Macedonia’ out of Vardarska Banovina in South Yugoslavia and support Greek communist guerillas in Greek Macedonia. They abduct 28 000 Greek children to re-educate them and use them as fighters against Greece. The Greek Civil War ends with the communist defeat. Many Greek and Yugoslav fighters flee into the Iron Curtain and take their families with them. OFFICIAL COMMUNIST-SPONSORED AND (SINCE 1991 WHEN YUGOSLAVIA BREAKS UP) NATIONALIST MACEDONISM CONTINUES