Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaim the Kruševo Republic, which exists for only ten days before Ottoman Turks lay waste to the town.
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Kruševo
Kruševo is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an altitude of over 1350 m above sea level. The town of Kruševo is the seat of Kruševo Municipality. It is located in the western part of the country, overlooking the region of Pelagonia, 33 and 53 km from the nearby cities of Prilep and Bitola, respectively.
Kruševo Republic
The Kruševo Republic was a short-lived political entity, proclaimed in 1903 by rebels from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in Kruševo during the anti-Ottoman Ilinden Uprising. According to Bulgarian and Macedonian historical narratives, in the town, which was inhabited by different Christian populations, an ephemeral "republic" with a temporary revolutionary government was proclaimed. It is viewed as a historical predecessor in North Macedonia.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe, between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.