Kosta Apostolov Solev (Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian and ; 22 December 1908 – 13 June 1943), primarily known as poet Kočo Racin (Macedonian, Bulgarian and ), was a Macedonian author and socialist activist who is considered a founder of modern Macedonian literature. Racin wrote in prose too and created some significant works with themes from history, philosophy, and literary critique. He also wrote in standard Serbian language and in standard Bulgarian language. According to some Bulgarian authors, he had some pro-Bulgarian views and is regarded as a Bulgarian. Biography Early life Kočo (Kosta Solev) Racin was born in 1908 in Veles, in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (present-day North Macedonia). He was raised in a very poor family. His father, Apostol was a potter who earned just enough to feed his family, and he could not support Racin financially in his education. Racin finished just one year in the local high school at the age of thirteen, and then worked in his father's pottery workshop. Campaigner in the Communist movement In 1924 he took part in KPJ, and in a short time, he positioned himself as one of the most-promising young members of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Macedonia. In 1926, Racin became a member of the local Committee of KPJ in Veles, and in November 1928, he participated in the Fourth Congress of KPJ in Dresden as the only delegate from Macedonia. After returning to Yugoslavia he was arrested, but three months later he was freed because of insufficient evidence. In April 1929 he went into army service in Požarevac. In 1929, the party organization in Macedonia collapsed. However, in 1932 the process for reuniting the party began, and in the summer of 1933, the Local Committee of KPJ in Macedonia was started, in which Nikola Orovčanec, Živoin Ćurcić and Racin participated. In November of the same year, LM started to issue the monthly newspaper "Iskra" (Spark), whose editor was Racin. Only two editions of the newspaper were produced. In the beginning of January 1934, there was a break-in, and 15 leading Macedonian communists – together with Racin – were arrested. Racin was given 4 years in prison at Sremska Mitrovica, but in December 1935, he was given amnesty under a new law. His time in jail and the association with Moša Pijade, Rodoljub Čolaković and Ognjen Prica instilled in him faith in the importance of writing in