Though, in the 1920s Vlahov, as well as the IMRO-U as a whole, still defined the Slavs of Macedonia as Bulgarians, by the 1930s his views had evolved in support of a separate Macedonian ethnic nation that he saw, faithful to the Marxist theories on nationhood, as a product of the advent of capitalism to Macedonia in the 19th century rather than a primordial fact. For more see: Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN0810862956, p. 235.
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As the historian Ivan Katardziev pointed out many years ago, even the veterans of the left-wing IMRO (United) in the second half of the 1940s "remained only at the level of political and not national separatism." In this sense, we can say that today's definition of Macedonian national identity necessarily went through Yugoslav socialization and overt anti-Bulgarianism, and this certainly also goes through a historical narrative from Yugoslav times, which seriously ignores historical facts. Not by chance, speaking of personalities like Dimitar Vlahov or Pavel Shatev, Katardziev adds: "They practically felt like Bulgarians. For more: "Стефан Дечев: Две държава, две истории, много „истини“ и една клета наука - трета част. Marginalia, 15.06.2018.
In conclusion, Gotse and IMRO were "children of the Exarchate", and the later ethnic Macedonia was mostly the creation of an young generation brought up from the end of the 20s of the 20th century in Belgrade or Zagreb, who had a different sensibility. The old IMRO people were not like that. It is not by chance that the distinguished historian Ivan Katardziev in an interview from the late 90s said that even one Dimitar Vlahov until the end of his life could not feel what it means to be an ethnic Macedonian, he remained with the old political Macedonianism of Gotse Delchev and Yane Sandanski, who is a very Bulgarian phenomenon. For more: Стефан Дечев: Дори македонските тълкувания за езика от Средновековието и 19 в. да са тенденциозни, защо да е невъзможно да се признае съществуването на стандартен македонски книжовен език? Marginalia, 17.12.2019.
