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“ATANAS BLIZNAKOFF” FOUNDATION
35 YEARS SINCE ITS FORMATION AND 110 YEARS SINCE BLIZNAKOV’S BIRTH
By Slave Nikolovski-Katin
[email protected]
April 18th, 1977 will be a date written in golden letters in the annals of the “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation because this is the day when the foundation stone of this charitable organization was laid. On this day, the Council of St. Kiril and Metodij of Skopje held its 148th plenary session during which a Decision was adopted to establish the “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation. This was a momentous occasion for the Macedonian academic institution, and a significant event in the life of Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov.
The aim of the Foundation is to provide scholarships for students studying at the St. Kiril and Metodij University in Skopje who have achieved outstanding results in their studies but who can’t afford to pay for their education on their own.
Today the Foundation celebrates its 35th year since its establishment. It is the first of its kind in Macedonia generating great interest among the students, the public in the Republic, and Macedonian emigrants overseas. It, above all, is the pride and joy of its donors Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov; a present for the Macedonian youth and for Macedonia, but also an incentive for other benefactors, no matter where they live, to assist in speeding up economic and cultural development in their country.
This year is also important for the Foundation, because it has passed a period of 110 year since the birth of its founder Atanas Bliznakov (1901-1998). Bliznakov is one of the most distinguished donors from the Macedonian Diaspora. His name and work are well known among the Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia and in the Diaspora. He belonged to the progressive generation of Macedonians on the North American continent and had spent a long time away from his homeland. He dedicated his life to struggling for freedom and progress for Macedonia and the Macedonian people.
Atanas Bliznakov’s life began on 15 December 1901 in the famous revolutionary village D’mbeni, in Kostur Region, Aegean part of Macedonia. D’mbeni is a village where a pleiad of Macedonian pre-war revolutionary freedom fighters and intellectuals such as Lazar Pop Trajkov, Lazo Moskov, Lazo Trpovski, Tasko Karadza and others were born and fought for the affirmation of Macedonian ideals.
Atanas Bliznakov was only twenty months old when the Ottoman (Turkish) Army (asker) entered the village and his mother Doča, holding him in her arms, took him to the mountains in order to save him, while his father Ivan, together with other village dwellers, joined the revolutionary detachments fighting for the freedom of their native country Macedonia. As a result of the carnage taking place during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and economic hardships and terrible political conditions, a large number of Macedonians, especially from Kostur, Lerin, Bitola, Prespa, Voden Regions, and from other districts of partitioned Macedonia, sought shelter in the entire outside world leaving their hearth and closest and dearest friends and relatives behind.
Atanas Bliznakov, at age 19 in the flower of his youth, was one of those who tested the bitterness of life in emigration. In 1920 he left his native soil and set off to the outside world in a search of a better life. From his parent’s hearth he fostered awareness that poverty led him to leave his home, but he also fostered the distinctive feeling that he was a Macedonian, that he was going to remain a Macedonian no matter in which part of the globe he would go, and that one day he would return to his Macedonia.
A new page in Atanas Bliznakov’s interesting path of life was turned on December 16, 1920, when he arrived in Madison City, State of Illinois, USA, where a Macedonian colony was already established. There, without speaking any English, he was employed as a factory worker. A year and a half later, he moved to Gary, Indiana, a city located near Lake Michigan, which at that time was developing into an industrial center. There, at the Gerry Railway Company, one of the larger giants in the surrounding region, he worked for 34 years, until the day he retired.
Bliznakov’s business activity in the USA consisted mainly of purchasing and selling real estate and shares. In order to invest wisely, Atanas needed skill and knowledge as well as persistently monitoring economic developments – qualities he didn’t lack.
Time passed quickly and, after fifteen years of working in the USA, Atanas returned to his motherland Macedonia where he met Slavka Popova, a beautiful young girl from D’mbeni. She was his soul mate, always by his side, for the sixty-three years they were together, encouraging and sharing his ideas and longing together for Macedonia. After getting married they returned to Gary, this time for good, and never again did they go back to D’mbeni, their village of birth.
Atanas Bliznakov said goodbye to all his good and bad experiences from his birth place, at the time when more than one thousand Macedonians lived there.
When asked about D’mbeni, his place of birth, he usually spoke with sadness, especially about the later days when his village became a wasteland after the hustle and bustle of children was replaced by the shrieks of owls and hawks.
Although Bliznakov spent almost his entire life abroad, he remained connected with the problems of his fatherland till the end of his life. He proved to be not only an ordinary migrant worker, but a person who invested his efforts to penetrate into the essence of Macedonian freedom. His good and righteous ideas, taking a strong and serious approach to things in general, raised him in that way beyond the time in which he lived. His entire life, Atanas Bliznakov perceived Macedonia’s partition as a tragedy, a disaster for the Macedonian cause. He was convinced that, by the establishment of the “Atanas Bliznakoff “Foundation, he would provide a valuable contribution to the University of St. Kiril and Metodij, to the Macedonian people and, at the same time, would give incentive and inspiration to future Macedonian generations in the Diaspora and beyond. Thus, following the example of the virtuous migrant worker Atanas Bliznakov was established the “Petar Stamatoff” Foundatin. Petar was from Smilevo, while his wife Jaza from Poland, and they lived in Chicago, Illinois.
Atanas Bliznakov, together with his wife Slavka, lived in Skopje for more than twenty years (1976-1998). During that time Atanas Bliznakov published two books. The first, entitled D'mbeni and the revolutionary past of Kostur, was published by the Skopje Publishing House Misla in 1982, and the second book entitled National, political, and cultural activity of the Macedonians in the USA and Canada, was issued by the Skopje Publishing House Kultura in 1987.
Atanas’s goal in publishing the book about his native village D’mbeni was to inform the younger generation about Macedonians, their activities, work, roots and life in Kostur Region, who, not by their own doing, have been scattered all over the world but nevertheless have remained connected, at the level of their souls, with their ancestral homeland.
The second book, National, political, and cultural activity of The Macedonians in the United States of America and Canada, tells the story about the Macedonian immigrants, especially about the first generation immigrants in the USA and Canada. In a lively and narrative style he has presented the integration of the Macedonian emigrants into the new environment, the establishment of the Macedonian associations and clubs, newspapers, organizations and church communities. The book, in fact, is a cross-section of history and development of the Macedonian immigrants in the USA and Canada.
Atanas Bliznakov has published many articles in newspapers and magazines in the USA and in Macedonia, particularly in magazines such as Macedonia, a journal of the Matica of Immigrants from Macedonia and in many newspapers including Nova Makedonija, Vecer, and Studentski zbor to which he contributed till the end of his life.
The period during which Atanas Bliznakov lived and worked in the USA was of great importance to the national struggle of the Macedonian migrants in which he shared their destiny. In the years of struggle starting with Macedonia’s partition, the years of oppression that followed, up to the formation of the independent, democratic and sovereign state – the People’s Republic of Macedonia, these Macedonians remained true to themselves.
During the time of political upheaval, Atanas Bliznakov joined the wing of the progressive immigrants which proved to be a significant life changing decision for him. At the same time he became a loyal US citizen and a person with respected achievements in business and in his social life. He was also an active member of the Macedonian-American Peoples League (MAPL) fighting against fascism in order to build a free society, a happier life, and establish permanent peace. The Organization’s moral and material support was of significant importance in the period of the Republic of Macedonia’s formation.
In other aspects of his life, Atanas Bliznakov was president of the Hospital Committee in Gary, with a mission, as was the case of other North American organizations, to collect funds in order to build a hospital block in the city of Skopje. He was also one of the founders of the associations Alexander the Great, Lazar Pop Trajkov and the St. Peter and Paul Macedonian Orthodox Church in Gary.
However, all that they did was not enough to satisfy the desire of Mr. and Mrs. Bliznakov to fulfill their eternal dream of having a free Macedonian state. In 1958, for the first time they came to see the newly liberated state. Then, after ten years, in 1968, after Atanas retired, they came for a second time. In 1976 they came to the city of Skopje in order live there for the rest of their lives.
Probably the most important day of Slavka and Atanas Bliznakov’s lives was the day when the Foundation was formed. Since then, over three hundred students, for a period of 35 years, graduated from the colleges and faculties; while at present, about 50 students from different higher education faculties of the university receive awards. One of the conditions of receiving an award from the Foundation is to study at the University St. Kiril and Metodij. Recipients have to demonstrate a financial need to receive support.
The “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation is the first and only one of its kind in the Republic of Macedonia associated with the University St. Kiril and Metodij. It is now worth about 5 (five) billion US dollars and is of great interest to the Macedonian people in the Republic of Macedonia and to all the Macedonians in the Diaspora. The Foundation was the pride and joy of Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov, and a great example of humanitarianism for other people and donors. In brief, allow me as an other of their monograph to say that the “Atanas Bliznakov” Foundation is a gift to the St. Kiril and Metodij University, to aspiring students, to the Macedonian youth and to all the people in the Republic of Macedonia.
from email from r stefov.
35 YEARS SINCE ITS FORMATION AND 110 YEARS SINCE BLIZNAKOV’S BIRTH
By Slave Nikolovski-Katin
[email protected]
April 18th, 1977 will be a date written in golden letters in the annals of the “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation because this is the day when the foundation stone of this charitable organization was laid. On this day, the Council of St. Kiril and Metodij of Skopje held its 148th plenary session during which a Decision was adopted to establish the “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation. This was a momentous occasion for the Macedonian academic institution, and a significant event in the life of Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov.
The aim of the Foundation is to provide scholarships for students studying at the St. Kiril and Metodij University in Skopje who have achieved outstanding results in their studies but who can’t afford to pay for their education on their own.
Today the Foundation celebrates its 35th year since its establishment. It is the first of its kind in Macedonia generating great interest among the students, the public in the Republic, and Macedonian emigrants overseas. It, above all, is the pride and joy of its donors Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov; a present for the Macedonian youth and for Macedonia, but also an incentive for other benefactors, no matter where they live, to assist in speeding up economic and cultural development in their country.
This year is also important for the Foundation, because it has passed a period of 110 year since the birth of its founder Atanas Bliznakov (1901-1998). Bliznakov is one of the most distinguished donors from the Macedonian Diaspora. His name and work are well known among the Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia and in the Diaspora. He belonged to the progressive generation of Macedonians on the North American continent and had spent a long time away from his homeland. He dedicated his life to struggling for freedom and progress for Macedonia and the Macedonian people.
Atanas Bliznakov’s life began on 15 December 1901 in the famous revolutionary village D’mbeni, in Kostur Region, Aegean part of Macedonia. D’mbeni is a village where a pleiad of Macedonian pre-war revolutionary freedom fighters and intellectuals such as Lazar Pop Trajkov, Lazo Moskov, Lazo Trpovski, Tasko Karadza and others were born and fought for the affirmation of Macedonian ideals.
Atanas Bliznakov was only twenty months old when the Ottoman (Turkish) Army (asker) entered the village and his mother Doča, holding him in her arms, took him to the mountains in order to save him, while his father Ivan, together with other village dwellers, joined the revolutionary detachments fighting for the freedom of their native country Macedonia. As a result of the carnage taking place during the Balkan Wars, World War I, and economic hardships and terrible political conditions, a large number of Macedonians, especially from Kostur, Lerin, Bitola, Prespa, Voden Regions, and from other districts of partitioned Macedonia, sought shelter in the entire outside world leaving their hearth and closest and dearest friends and relatives behind.
Atanas Bliznakov, at age 19 in the flower of his youth, was one of those who tested the bitterness of life in emigration. In 1920 he left his native soil and set off to the outside world in a search of a better life. From his parent’s hearth he fostered awareness that poverty led him to leave his home, but he also fostered the distinctive feeling that he was a Macedonian, that he was going to remain a Macedonian no matter in which part of the globe he would go, and that one day he would return to his Macedonia.
A new page in Atanas Bliznakov’s interesting path of life was turned on December 16, 1920, when he arrived in Madison City, State of Illinois, USA, where a Macedonian colony was already established. There, without speaking any English, he was employed as a factory worker. A year and a half later, he moved to Gary, Indiana, a city located near Lake Michigan, which at that time was developing into an industrial center. There, at the Gerry Railway Company, one of the larger giants in the surrounding region, he worked for 34 years, until the day he retired.
Bliznakov’s business activity in the USA consisted mainly of purchasing and selling real estate and shares. In order to invest wisely, Atanas needed skill and knowledge as well as persistently monitoring economic developments – qualities he didn’t lack.
Time passed quickly and, after fifteen years of working in the USA, Atanas returned to his motherland Macedonia where he met Slavka Popova, a beautiful young girl from D’mbeni. She was his soul mate, always by his side, for the sixty-three years they were together, encouraging and sharing his ideas and longing together for Macedonia. After getting married they returned to Gary, this time for good, and never again did they go back to D’mbeni, their village of birth.
Atanas Bliznakov said goodbye to all his good and bad experiences from his birth place, at the time when more than one thousand Macedonians lived there.
When asked about D’mbeni, his place of birth, he usually spoke with sadness, especially about the later days when his village became a wasteland after the hustle and bustle of children was replaced by the shrieks of owls and hawks.
Although Bliznakov spent almost his entire life abroad, he remained connected with the problems of his fatherland till the end of his life. He proved to be not only an ordinary migrant worker, but a person who invested his efforts to penetrate into the essence of Macedonian freedom. His good and righteous ideas, taking a strong and serious approach to things in general, raised him in that way beyond the time in which he lived. His entire life, Atanas Bliznakov perceived Macedonia’s partition as a tragedy, a disaster for the Macedonian cause. He was convinced that, by the establishment of the “Atanas Bliznakoff “Foundation, he would provide a valuable contribution to the University of St. Kiril and Metodij, to the Macedonian people and, at the same time, would give incentive and inspiration to future Macedonian generations in the Diaspora and beyond. Thus, following the example of the virtuous migrant worker Atanas Bliznakov was established the “Petar Stamatoff” Foundatin. Petar was from Smilevo, while his wife Jaza from Poland, and they lived in Chicago, Illinois.
Atanas Bliznakov, together with his wife Slavka, lived in Skopje for more than twenty years (1976-1998). During that time Atanas Bliznakov published two books. The first, entitled D'mbeni and the revolutionary past of Kostur, was published by the Skopje Publishing House Misla in 1982, and the second book entitled National, political, and cultural activity of the Macedonians in the USA and Canada, was issued by the Skopje Publishing House Kultura in 1987.
Atanas’s goal in publishing the book about his native village D’mbeni was to inform the younger generation about Macedonians, their activities, work, roots and life in Kostur Region, who, not by their own doing, have been scattered all over the world but nevertheless have remained connected, at the level of their souls, with their ancestral homeland.
The second book, National, political, and cultural activity of The Macedonians in the United States of America and Canada, tells the story about the Macedonian immigrants, especially about the first generation immigrants in the USA and Canada. In a lively and narrative style he has presented the integration of the Macedonian emigrants into the new environment, the establishment of the Macedonian associations and clubs, newspapers, organizations and church communities. The book, in fact, is a cross-section of history and development of the Macedonian immigrants in the USA and Canada.
Atanas Bliznakov has published many articles in newspapers and magazines in the USA and in Macedonia, particularly in magazines such as Macedonia, a journal of the Matica of Immigrants from Macedonia and in many newspapers including Nova Makedonija, Vecer, and Studentski zbor to which he contributed till the end of his life.
The period during which Atanas Bliznakov lived and worked in the USA was of great importance to the national struggle of the Macedonian migrants in which he shared their destiny. In the years of struggle starting with Macedonia’s partition, the years of oppression that followed, up to the formation of the independent, democratic and sovereign state – the People’s Republic of Macedonia, these Macedonians remained true to themselves.
During the time of political upheaval, Atanas Bliznakov joined the wing of the progressive immigrants which proved to be a significant life changing decision for him. At the same time he became a loyal US citizen and a person with respected achievements in business and in his social life. He was also an active member of the Macedonian-American Peoples League (MAPL) fighting against fascism in order to build a free society, a happier life, and establish permanent peace. The Organization’s moral and material support was of significant importance in the period of the Republic of Macedonia’s formation.
In other aspects of his life, Atanas Bliznakov was president of the Hospital Committee in Gary, with a mission, as was the case of other North American organizations, to collect funds in order to build a hospital block in the city of Skopje. He was also one of the founders of the associations Alexander the Great, Lazar Pop Trajkov and the St. Peter and Paul Macedonian Orthodox Church in Gary.
However, all that they did was not enough to satisfy the desire of Mr. and Mrs. Bliznakov to fulfill their eternal dream of having a free Macedonian state. In 1958, for the first time they came to see the newly liberated state. Then, after ten years, in 1968, after Atanas retired, they came for a second time. In 1976 they came to the city of Skopje in order live there for the rest of their lives.
Probably the most important day of Slavka and Atanas Bliznakov’s lives was the day when the Foundation was formed. Since then, over three hundred students, for a period of 35 years, graduated from the colleges and faculties; while at present, about 50 students from different higher education faculties of the university receive awards. One of the conditions of receiving an award from the Foundation is to study at the University St. Kiril and Metodij. Recipients have to demonstrate a financial need to receive support.
The “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation is the first and only one of its kind in the Republic of Macedonia associated with the University St. Kiril and Metodij. It is now worth about 5 (five) billion US dollars and is of great interest to the Macedonian people in the Republic of Macedonia and to all the Macedonians in the Diaspora. The Foundation was the pride and joy of Atanas and Slavka Bliznakov, and a great example of humanitarianism for other people and donors. In brief, allow me as an other of their monograph to say that the “Atanas Bliznakov” Foundation is a gift to the St. Kiril and Metodij University, to aspiring students, to the Macedonian youth and to all the people in the Republic of Macedonia.
from email from r stefov.
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