The Cuckovi Family
 
 
1. The Cuckovi family origin 
2. Risto Cuckov 
3. Emanuel Cuckov and his life 
4. Emanuel's life after W.W.II 
5. Dragan and Vlado Cuckovi
 
 
    The Cuckovi family comes from Novo Selo in the Shtip region, a big city in the central part of the Republic of Macedonia on the Vardar River, the biggest river in Macedonia. Efrem Cuckov had two children, Risto and Jordan Cuckov. Risto, my great grandfather was born in 1875 and was raised in the spirit to fight for the freedom of his own country, to free his fatherland from the five centuries of terror set upon this region by the Ottoman Turks. His cousin, also named Efrem Cuckov, was one of the important leaders of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), which was run secretly and was banned by the Turks. He was one of the many national heroes who freed the country and set examples for the future generations of how great the love of the fatherland should be. 
 
   Risto Cuckov was a famous craftsman in his village. He married a local woman named Marija. They had six children: Emanuel, Strasho, Draga, Pero, Kiro and Nora Cuckovi. Emanuel Cuckov, my grandfather was born on November 27, 1901. In those times it was a custom to live close to members of one's family, as did the brothers Risto and Jordan. Jordan Cuckov and his wife helped Risto raise his six children, especially Emanuel whom they loved very much. Jordan's wife, Nora, was highly educated and used to read various books to Emanuel. That way she gave Emanuel (Mane) a deeply carved love for literature and reading.
 
   Emanuel (Mane) Cuckov finished elementary school in Shtip, but he went to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, to study in high school. He was very talented playing violin, so he supported himself while in Skopje by playing the instrument for money. After high school he chose to study in the Macedonian Philosophical University. In his college days he spent his time reading political literature and became a member of the MTMRO, Macedonian Secret Youth Revolutionary Organization. He graduated when he was 22. In 1927 he was tried in court for his activity to break the Yugoslavian regime, but was quickly found innocent because he was one of the time's rare intellectuals and was very well known and loved by the people of Macedonia. He went away from Macedonia to escape the Yugoslavian regime, and became a college professor in many cities around Serbia. He married Victoria (Vita) Maneva, who also came from a very famous Macedonian family which was known for their involvement in the fight for Macedonia's freedom. In 1929, in Svilajnac, his first son Vlado Cuckov was born, who was my uncle. His second son, Dragan Cuckov, my father, was born on September 9,1934.
 
   When W.W.II began, Mane went back to Macedonia and found a job as principal in a high school in Skopje. This job was not very important to him as he was heavily involved the Anti-Fascist movement. In 1943 he and Mihajlo Apostolski secretly met and begun to work on establishing the foundation for the independence of Macedonia. He had several talks with the leader of the Partisan forces, Marshal Tito, about his plan of making the first Macedonian government and parliament. His plan was implemented and he became the vice-president of the first meeting of ASNOM, the first true Macedonian government. After W.W.II he became a minister for Macedonia in the Yugoslavian government, but soon he was subtly pushed away from politics by the Communists who saw him as a thorn in their side, because he fought for more rights for the Macedonian citizen. He came back to Skopje and became the head of the Macedonian National University library then the head of TANEC, a famous festival for music, and later he became the dean of the Macedonian Economic University. He enjoyed the reputation as one of Macedonia's most intellectual and most popular citizens, and his open-minded cosmopolitan beliefs were accepted and appreciated by the Macedonian people. Whenever he would give lectures, the amphitheater he was in would be full with those eager to learn and to listen, both students and citizens. Before his death he also translated books from French and Russian and was awarded many honors for his work for the improvement of Macedonia. He died in 1967 from cancer and was buried in the Alley of Leaders, the highest place of honor  in Macedonia.
 
   Mane Cuckov's sons, Vlado and Dragan were raised in the same spirit their father. Vlado Cuckov, after studying college for music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, became one of the most famous musical critics in the Balkan peninsula. His broad view of the world and his honest and intellectual criticisms made him respectable and honored all his life among his wide circle of friends and admirers, until he died from cancer in 1997.
 
   Dragan Cuckov, my father, was very talented with music when he was a young child. Like Vlado, he also wanted to go to a musical college away from Macedonia, but his parents didn't have enough money to support his education at the time. So he attended Macedonia's Architectural University, where he graduated as an architect and engineer, titles which accompanied his name during his active career in the Macedonian National Television. For a period of time he went to Austria where he lived on the same street where Mozart lived and composed. He played piano in the orchestra, and sometimes jazz, as a way of supporting himself, so he could finish his studies. From his first marriage he had twins, Emil and Maja in 1963. Then ten years later, in 1973, he met my mother, Teuta Krashnica, and they got married. In 1977 my sister, Natasha Cuckova, was born. Then in 1980 Dragan went to Iraq, where he was one of the chief engineers of developing Baghdad. He also was the primary engineer when the tallest building in Macedonia was built, the Macedonian Television building. He returned to Macedonia when I was born, May 4, 1981. Since then, as I remember, he was a loving and supporting father. He retired from his job in 1992 and was very interested in computers and technology. He created house designs on his home computer after he retired, with AutoCAD 12. His enthusiasm with computers stimulated my interest in this modern technology. He died of a heart attack on June 7, 1997.