The decade that followed did not smile upon the IMRO. It fragmented
and its shreds fought each other in the streets of Sofia, Chicago-
style. By 1934, the IMRO was a full-fledged extortionist mafia
organization. They ran protection rackets ("protecting" small shop-
owners against other gangs and "insuring" them against their own
violence). Hotels in Sofia always had free rooms for the IMRO. The
tobacco industry paid the IMRO more than a million British pounds of
that time in six years of "taxation". Robberies and assassinations
were daily occurrences. So were street shoot-outs and outright
confiscation of goods. The IMRO had no support left anywhere.
In 1934, it was disbanded (together with other parties) by Colonel
Kimron Georgiev, the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria and a senior
figure in the Zveno association of disgruntled citizenry. His rule
was brief (ended the next year) but the IMRO never recovered. It
brought its own demise upon itself. Colonel Velcev (Velchev), the
perpetrator of the coup, was swept to power on the promise to end
all terrorist activities - a promise which he kept.
The modern Republic of Macedonia is today ruled by a party called
VMRO-DPMNE. It is one of a few political parties to carry this name
and the biggest and weightiest amongst them by far.
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