Bulgarophiles

Bulgarophiles (Bulgarian: българофили, romanized: bălgarofili; Serbian and Macedonian: бугарофили or бугараши, romanized: bugarofili or bugaraši; Greek: βουλγαρόφιλοι, romanized: boulgarófiloi; Romanian: bulgarofilii) is a pejorative term used for Slavic people from the regions of Macedonia and Pomoravlje who identify as ethnic Bulgarians. In Bulgaria, the term Bulgaromans; (Bulgarian: българомани, romanized: bălgaromani; Romanian: bulgaromani) refers to non-Slavic people such as Aromanians with a Bulgarian self-awareness. During the 19th and early 20th century the Bulgarian national identification arose as a result of an intense propaganda campaign and the affiliation with the Bulgarian millet and Bulgarian Exarchate. In the 20th century, Bulgarophiles in neighboring Yugoslavia and Greece were considered enemies of the state harboring irredentist tendencies. Critics of the view that the Macedonian nation has existed for a long time and that it has no relation with the Bulgarian nation get accused of being Bulgarophiles in North Macedonia. In the context of North Macedonia, the term also means feeling a close ethnic relation with Bulgarians or being of Bulgarian origin.