Existing comment:
The government project, Skopje 2014
Beg. 2009 -- Still unfinished. Early estimate of cost, 100 mil. Euros, current estimate 600 mil. Euros
Skopje 2014
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Skopje 2014 (Macedonian: Скопје 2014) is a project financed by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, with the main ideology being based on that of the then-ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, with the purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal by the year 2014. The project, officially announced in 2010, consists mainly of the construction of museums and government buildings, as well as the erection of monuments depicting historical figures from the region of Macedonia. Around 20 buildings and over 40 monuments are planned to be constructed as part of the project.
The Skopje 2014 project has been criticized by various groups since the time it was first announced for constructing nationalistic historicist kitsch. Skopje 2014 has also generated controversy for its cost, for which estimates range from 80 to 500 million euros.
The Skopje 2014 project encompasses the construction, from 2010 to 2014, of 136 structures built at a cost of more than US$700 million.
Background
The 1963 Skopje earthquake destroyed approximately 80% of the city, including most of the neoclassical buildings in the central part of Skopje. The rebuilding that followed saw the construction of mostly plain Socialist architecture. This is one of the reasons given by the VMRO-DPMNE government for the necessity of the project, to give Skopje a more monumental and visually pleasing image. Another reason is to restore the missing sense of national pride and create a more metropolitan atmosphere. In a speech at the opening of Porta Macedonia in January 2012, then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stated that Skopje 2014 was his idea.
Criticism
See also: Antiquization
The Skopje 2014 project has been criticized by various groups since the time it was first announced. The cost of the project is estimated at anywhere from 80 to more than 500 million euros and is seen by many as a waste of resources in a country with high unemployment and poverty. The project is also believed by critics to be a distraction from these problems.
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, the main opposition party, opposes the project and has alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid.
The project is seen as a part of the government's "antiquisation" policy, in which the country seeks to claim ancient Macedonian figures like Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon for itself. The timing of the project, following the country's non-invitation to NATO due to its continued naming dispute with Greece, has led to speculation that it is retaliation or an attempt to put pressure on Greece. Some residents see the scheme as the embodiment of nationalism by a conservative government focused as much on giving the metropolis a facelift as changing the nation's history and have described it as a mini-Las Vegas while others appreciate its classical nod to the past.
Sam Vaknin, a former adviser to Nikola Gruevski, has stated that the project is not anti-Greek or anti-Bulgarian, but anti-Albanian. In an interview, he said "Antiquisation has a double goal, which is to marginalise the Albanians and create an identity that will not allow Albanians to become Macedonians." The project, however, later included depictions of ethnic Albanians in the monuments including Nexhat Agolli, Josif Bageri, and Pjetër Bogdani, as well as others on the Art Bridge, and includes the construction of Skanderbeg Square.
Architects have criticized the aesthetics of the project and believe the money could have been spent on constructing modern buildings. It has also been described as nationalist kitsch. |