Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization founded in Thessaloniki

Background. IMRO was established as a secret revolutionary society in the Ottoman territories in Europe. It initially aimed to secure autonomy for Macedonia and Adrianople regions. The organization modeled itself after the earlier Bulgarian Internal Revolutionary Organization of Vasil Levski, adopting the motto "Freedom or Death." Historians debate whether the name "Macedonian Revolutionary Organization" was official or unofficial, with some sources suggesting it was never officially used.

Founding Context. The organization was founded in 1893 in Salonica (Thessaloniki) by a small band of anti-Ottoman Macedono-Bulgarian revolutionaries. These founders considered Macedonia an indivisible territory and viewed all inhabitants as "Macedonians," regardless of religion or ethnicity, signaling the emergence of a new, firmly Macedonian national movement.

Membership and Identity. According to the organization's earliest statute from 1894, membership was reserved exclusively for Bulgarians. However, these formulas failed to attract other ethnic groups, who perceived it as "the Bulgarian Committee." The base remained among Bulgarian millet-affiliated Slavic speakers in Ottoman Macedonia and Adrianople vilayet. Even advocates for independent Macedonia never doubted the predominantly Bulgarian character of the Macedonian Slavs.