Gevgelija up to the Balkan Wars

Vladimir Kartov (1935–1989) was a Macedonian historian, jurist, and university professor whose scholarly work focused on modern political history, national movements, and state–legal development. Born in Smokvica near Gevgelija, he completed teacher training and pedagogical studies before graduating in history from the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. He later earned a degree in law, forming a rare interdisciplinary background that combined history, political science, and legal studies.

Kartov pursued postgraduate studies in Belgrade, where he defended a master’s thesis on the struggle of the Macedonian people for the right to self-determination between the two world wars. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in historical sciences in Skopje with a dissertation examining the cultural and educational policies of the Yugoslav ruling regimes toward Macedonians during the interwar period. From 1975 onward, he taught at the Faculty of Law in Skopje, advancing from assistant professor to full professor in the field of the history of state and law of the peoples of Yugoslavia.

A prolific scholar, Kartov authored numerous monographs, textbooks, and studies dealing with revolutionary movements, national liberation struggles, and the political and legal status of Macedonia. His research addressed topics such as the role of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in the national question, the Macedonian struggle for self-determination, and the legal and normative structures of the Kresna and Ilinden uprisings. His work on the revolutionary Sava Mihajlov earned him the Golden Plaque associated with the November Award of the Municipality of Gevgelija in 1977.