| Conventional Long Name: | Republic of Vevčani |
| Common Name: | Vevčani |
| Native Name: | |
| Status: | current |
| National Motto: | Thank you God for being a Vevčanian[1] |
| Area Km2: | 22.8 |
| Population Estimate: | 3656 residents |
| Established Event1: | Declared |
| Established Date1: | 19 September 1991 |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Spase Kochoski |
| Currency: | Vevčani ličnik |
| Ethnic Groups: | Macedonians 99.4% |
| Time Zone: | CET |
| Demonym: | Vevčanian |
The Republic of Vevčani (Macedonian: Република Вевчани|Republika Vevčani, in Macedonian pronounced as /'vɛftʃani/), also known as the Independent Republic of Vevčani, was a short lived self-proclaimed country on the territory of North Macedonia after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 and is now a symbolic micronation.[2] The residents of the same-named village created their own state after the Vevčani Emergency in 1987, when the Communist government attempted to redirect the water springs of the village. The self-proclaimed republic was declared on 19 September 1991. They made their own coat of arms – two harlequins dancing over a cauldron. They also issued red passports. A currency was created as a souvenir.[3] On 8 April 1993, Vevčani fell under the jurisdiction of the Struga Municipality and the republic came to an end. In 2000 it was recreated as a model country to attract tourism.
During the Vevčani Emergency, the police used electric batons for the first time in the former Yugoslavia to stop a protest. The protests set up barricades and were beaten for weeks until the government backed off. On 19 September 1991, 11 days after the declaration of independence of Macedonia, the people of Vevčani declared it a state. They stashed their guns and demanded to be left alone.
In 2002 The New York Times said:[4] The Vevčani created their own currency, the ličnik (Macedonian: личник), to hand out as souvenirs. The currency came in 8 denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000. The designer was Simun Lesoski.[5]
| Currency Name In Local: | Личник Ličnik |
| Using Countries: | Vevčani, Republic of Macedonia (souvenir) |
| Symbol: | вев |
| Plural: | Ličnici |
| Used Banknotes: | 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 |
| Issuing Authority: | Bank of the Republic of Vevčani |
| Series | Value | Obverse | Reverse | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 Ličnik | Vasil Radinoski, first president of FECC Macedonia | Water springs of Vevčani | |
| 2000 | 2 Ličnik | Monastery St. John Bigorski | Writing on the three fountains in St. John | |
| 2000 | 5 Ličnik | Mihajlo Pupin | Family tree of Mihajlo Pupin | |
| 2000 | 10 Ličnik | St. Vasilij | 13th and 14 January | |
| 2000 | 50 Ličnik | Traditional brides dress of Vevčani | Ploska | |
| 2000 | 100 Ličnik | Dimitar N. Daskalov | Elementary school in Vevčani | |
| 2000 | 500 Ličnik | Naum Poposki - Maliodzha | Ottoman Turkish deed | |
| 2000 | 1000 Ličnik | "Felki" - S. Razmoski | Stojan J. Razmoski with a drawing of Jesus Christ |