Within the frames of the Book Fair in Skopje today was promoted the book "The first people of the State Archives (1951 - 2021)" by prof. Dr. Marjan Dimitrijevski. The promoter of this edition of the State Archives, which was published on the occasion of the jubilee - 70 years since the institutional creation of the Archive, was Dr. Marjan Ivanoski. "The State Archives as a custodian of the historical wealth of the Macedonian people is an institution of vital importance for the country which is always on the radar of scientists and experts from the country and abroad, ambassadors, diplomats and other researchers. Through the labor that is subject of the promotion today, the scientific and professional breed can get acquainted in detail with the roots of the Archive, its founders, development and upgrading. Every director has his own merit in the promotion of the archival activity in the country. This book does not only contain the biographies of the 13 heretofore directors of the State Archives, but it is also a permanent testimony to the first significant steps and the development of the archival activity in our country "- underlined, among other things, the promoter Dr. Ivanoski. The whole speech of the promoter is in continuation.
"Writing a monograph on the occasion of the jubilee of an institution such as the State Archives is a challenge in itself. A challenge because it refers to an institution of state importance, an institution that is the custodian of the historical wealth of the country, an institution where the roots of Macedonia and the Macedonian people can be found. This uneasy task is entrusted to one of the most prolific Macedonian historian's, prof. Dr. Marjan Dimitrijevski. Ever since I was contacted for the promotion of this labor, although I still did not have the book in my hands, I knew that I would enjoy the timeline of the archive because it comes from the pen of the author who has an attractive writing style for both science and ordinary breed a reader in love with the written word. Prof. Dr. Marjan Dimitrijevski spent almost his entire working life at the Institute of National History, and recently retired. But, although he is retired from employment, Professor Dimitrijevski is not retired from science. The scientific public still hopes and expects from him new labors, new clarifications on topics from the rich Macedonian past that are significant or, unfortunately, forgotten. Wisdom, knowledge with still fresh enthusiasm for new scientific challenges are the main characteristics of professor Dimitrijevski, and what is very important for younger historians, the professor possesses some of the noblest characteristics such as openness to communication and selflessness in sharing knowledge. Therefore, it is no coincidence that professor Dimitrijevski is one of the most frequently selected mentors for master's and doctoral studies at the Institute of National History by the candidates.
Through the labor that is subject to promotion today, the scientific and professional breed can get acquainted in detail with the roots of the Archive, its founders, development, and upgrading. Following the institutional growth of the Archive, the author chronologically begins the work with the interwar period, more precisely with 1926, when the State Archives was established in Skopje as a branch of the State Archives of Serbia-Belgrade. As administrator of the Archive was appointed Prof. Delimir Lazarevic. The state archives functioned until the beginning of World War II, respectively, 1941. Then, after the end of World War II and the formation of the Macedonian State, the need arose to resume the work of the State Archives in Skopje, the author will establish. In the first post-war years, the Historical Department at the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army for Macedonia was in charge of collecting the archive material. The beginnings were modest but very significant for the archival activity in Macedonia. Thus, in 1946, a three-member commission for collecting archive material was formed, and in 1947, a decree on the library-archival profession was adopted. When the law on state archives was adopted in 1951, a new period of institutionalization of the archival activity has occurred, will be established by prof. Dr. Dimitrijevski. The archive, named the State Archives, began its work on April 1, 1951, and was temporarily housed in the building of the Presidency of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia. Further, in the labor, the author chronologically presents the management of the 13 directors. Each director is given bio-bibliographic data, their archival activity, and contribution to the development of Macedonian contemporary archiving, with a detailed presentation of his profile and contribution according to which he is recognizable and left a mark during his directorship in the State Archives. Administrators and archivists in the seven-decade period of the Archive, the author divides it into three generations: The first generation is dedicated to the construction of archival buildings, archival staff, collection and protection of material, and they are, the first director Todor Taleski (1951 - 1960) and the second director Dimche Stojanov-Mire (1961 - 1978). The first director Todor Taleski was the founder of today's State Archive, founder of the institutional development of the national archives and archive network in Macedonia, will conclude with Dr. Dimitrijevski. While the second director, Dimce Mire, in almost two-decade terms literally invested himself in the development of the Macedonian modern archival service and is rightly considered one of the creators of the archival activity recognizable outside Macedonia. In his time, numerous acts were adopted that regulated and modernized archival activity. He was most responsible for staff training and expansion of the archive network, and will remain most recognizable for the initiative to build a new building of the Archive. His state-building contribution was an inspiration for prof. Dr. Dimitrijevski, who in 2020 published the monograph on him and rightly Professor Dimitrijevski, is considered one of the best connoisseurs of the character and work of Dimce Mire.
The second generation of directors Aleksandar Aleksiev (1978 - 1987), Blagoj Mihov (1987 - 1990) and Borislav Naumovski (1990 - 1992) giving contribute to the construction of archival legislation, the only professional methodology and international cooperation of the Archive.
While the third generation of directors from 1992 until today is dedicated to electronic processing, digitization of archive material, and application of world archival achievements. These include Dr. Simo Mladenovski, Dr. Kiro Dojcinoski, prof. Zoran Todorovski, PhD, prof. Atanas Vangelov, PhD, Saso Jankulovski, MA, prof. Dr. Filip Petrovski, Kiril Petrov, and the current director Dr. Emil Krsteski.
The State Archives as a custodian of the historical wealth of the Macedonian people is an institution of vital importance for the country which is always on the radar of scientists and experts from the country and abroad, ambassadors, diplomats, and other researchers. So I will take the liberty and right to suggest to the authorities in the State Archives, to take action as soon as possible to translate this edition into one of the world languages. The first people of the State Archives and as such will be indispensable for anyone who is interested in learning more about the State Archive and the archival activity in the Republic of Macedonia.
The State Archives as a custodian of the historical wealth of the Macedonian people is an institution of vital importance for the country which is always on the radar of scientists and experts from the country and abroad, ambassadors, diplomats and other researchers. So I will take the liberty and right to suggest to the authorities in the State Archives, to take action as soon as possible to translate this edition into one of the world languages.
In the end, I would like to congratulate the jubilee of the State Archives and all archival workers, and thank them for being a real service to us researchers. For historians to be fruitful, archival material is needed, a basic tool without which there is no science. Archival workers invest themselves daily in collecting and protecting archival documentation. It is a whole system that works non-stop, invisible to the eyes of visiting researchers. This means without the Archive there is no history, and without history there is no future. "
