1906 Misirkov rejected these ideas, opposing the Serbian theory about the "floating mass" of the "Macedonian Slavs" and even developed a kind of Serbophobia. In this period he became evidently bulgarophile and argued that the Slavic population of Macedonia was not "a formless paste" but a "well baked Bulgarian bread". Later in 1913, in his diary from the Balkan wars, he explicitly identifies himself as Macedonian Bulgarian. In a questionnaire filled by Misirkov as a deputy in Bessarabia, he defined himself simply as a Bulgarian. Bulgarian historians believe that his writings were significantly altered by the post-WWII Yugoslavian Communist regime to support the notion of a "Macedonian nation", distinct from the Bulgarian one. Bulgarians also note that Misirkov worked as a Bulgarian teacher in Russia, was Bulgarian deputy in Bessarabia, chose Bulgarian citizenship, lived in Bulgaria and worked there until his death in 1926. Nevertheless, Bulgarian scholarship points out that despite Misirkov in many cases defending the cause of Bulgarian nationalism, he several times switched from Bulgarian to Macedonian one, and vice versa. According to Bulgarian observers, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, in the Republic of Macedonia polemics have also arisen about the identity of Misirkov. View of Misirkov in North Macedonia In North Macedonia, Misirkov is regarded as the most prominent Macedonian publicist, philologist and linguist who set the principles of the standard Macedonian in the early 20th century. In some of his writings he identifies the Macedonians as separate nation and the Macedonian as a separate South Slavic language. Also, Misirkov is the author of the first scientific magazine in Macedonian and because of his contributions to the Macedonian national cause, he is regarded as the greatest Macedonian of the 20th century. In his honor, many books and scientific works have been published and the Institute for Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov" is named after him. There is a debate about Misirkov's ethnicity in North Macedonia issued by Dr. Rastislav Terzioski, who brought to light memos from Russian archives which clearly stated his pro-Bulgarian positions. Since he was not allowed to live and work in Macedonia by the Yugoslav authorities, he remained in Bulgaria. Regarding Misirkov's signature under the phrase "Macedonian Bulgarian", the Macedonian historians and linguists argue that it means nothing but a Macedonian person with a Bulgarian citizenship, in a political sense, or just a Macedonian person living in Bulgaria. However, the fact is that Misirkov gained