Taga za Yug

Konstantin Miladinov was educated in Athens, but later attended Moscow University (1856-60), willing to continue his studies in Slavic language instead of Greek. In Moscow, Konstantin Miladinov worked on the editing of the folk songs he was given by his brother Dimitar Miladinov and his Bulgarian friends, which later both brothers published as a collection called Bulgarian Folk Songs. Miladinov wrote the poem there in vernacular, specifically using his native Struga dialect. The inspiration to write the song came after Dimitar Miladinov sent him a letter to go back to their hometown of Ohrid, where he could continue working as a teacher. "Longing for the South" was published for the first time by Bulgarian National Revival activist Georgi Rakovski in his newspaper "Dunavski lebed" issued in Belgrade on February 7, 1861. Rakovski's association with Miladinov was a result of their struggle for the national awakening of the Bulgarians. ==Content==

During his stay due to studies in Moscow, the author was overcome with feelings of coldness, gloom and loneliness. Because of the cold climate, it is these dark and dreary feelings that nurtured his yearning for the warm sunshine of the South. By exclusively using positive epithets to depict the native soil, the author evoked the painful, unattainable desire to return to his homeland, symbiotically embracing it. In the lyrics, he mentioned several cities then in the Ottoman Empire: Stambol (Istanbul), present-day Turkey, and Kukush (Kilkis), present-day Greece. He also mentioned that he wants to see his "own places" Ohrid and Struga, present-day North Macedonia. == Legacy ==

Miladinov's work is considered part of the 19th century history of the Bulgarian literature. In North Macedonia the poem is viewed as one of the most important Macedonian literary works under the name T'ga za jug. It is seen as foundational to modern Macedonian poetry and traditionally recited at the opening ceremony of Struga Poetry Evenings. It is included also in the country's school textbooks. It has been translated into more than 60 languages. ==See also==