Yugoslavia

Military and political turmoil existed years after the partition. Serbian nationalists, known as Chetniks, under Draza Mihajlovic fought against the Croatian nationalists, who were supported by Italy. The Croatian Communists, led by Josip Broz Tito, also waged war on the foreign-supported Croatian nationalist government. Matters were further complicated in 1941, when the government-in-exile recognized Mihajlovic as leader of the national resistance.

In 1942 Tito's Communists had gained control of a large portion of Bosnia. They created a provisional government, the Council for National Liberation. This government accused the Chetniks of collaborating with the enemy and fighting between the Croatian Communists and Chetniks resulted. The Council for National Liberation the increased its military operations in Yugoslavia and during 1943, conquered more than 40,000 square miles of territory. The Liberation army soon joined forces with British and American troops.

In December 1943, the Council for National Liberation, without giving recognition to the government-in-exile, created a new national parliament. In the summer of 1944, negotiations mediated by the British resulted in a settlement between the provisional government and the government-in-exile. Tito replaced Mihajlovic as leader of the Yugoslav Army. In 1944, Allied forces along with Tito's army began an offensive and most of the occupying German troops were driven out of Yugoslavia by October 1944.

In November, after many meetings between representatives from the soviet, British, and two Yugoslav governments, a merger between the Council for National Liberation and the Royal Yugoslav government (which was formerly in exile) was declared. The new government stated that it would guarantee local autonomy for different ethnic groups.

The new government was formed in 1945 with Marshal Tito as premier and other Communists holding important offices. In elections for the constituent assembly in Nov. 1945, moderate political groups were not allowed to run, and therefore boycotted the polls. The Communist-led United National Front won 80% of the vote and established the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia on Nov. 29, 1945. The new government was recognized by the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. A new cabinet was formed in Feb. 1946 with Tito as premier and increased Communist influence.

After World War II, Tito's government nationalized many sectors of the economy, imposed restrictions on the Roman Catholic Church, and liquidated opposition groups. Newspapers were suppressed and labor unions became tools of the government. Mihajlovic was accused of treason and collaboration with the enemy. He and eight other Chetnik leaders were executed. The Roman Catholic primate of Yugoslavia, Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, was also accused of treason and was sentenced to life in prison. Yugoslavia also rejected participation in the U.S. Sponsored European Recovery Program. In 1947 Yugoslavia joined the other Communist countries in forming the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform). Its headquarters were established in Belgrade.

In early 1948, Tito refused to accept orders from Joseph Stalin. The USSR was angered and retaliated through the Cominform. After a meeting in Bucharest in June (Yugoslavia boycotted the meeting) the other Communist countries denounced the Yugoslav communist Party and Tito. They were accused of deviating from the Communist policy.

While relations with Russia faltered, Yugoslavia's relations with the West improved. In 1949, Yugoslavia received financial assistance from American banks and signed a trade treaty with Great Britain. Yugoslavia was also elected to the UN Security Council in 1949, despite severe Communist opposition. The same year, the USSR and other Communist nations denounced treaties of friendship with Yugoslavia and would not allow the country membership in the newly created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). During the Korean War (1950-1953), Yugoslavia, unlike the other Communist nations, joined the UN embargo on selling arms to North Korea and China.

Agriculture was always a problem for Tito's regime. Persistent food shortages resulted in shipments of grain from both the U.S. and the USSR. Collectivization was never forced, although agricultural land was arranged into socialized units. There was never more than 13% of the land collectivized. The government emphasized industrial development over agriculture. Five year plans were implemented, but in the 1950's economic controls were decentralized and trade unions were given more responsibilities. In 1953, a new constitution was adopted which made Tito president.

After the death of Stalin in 1953, the USSR and later the other Eastern Bloc nations resumed diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia. The country did not rejoin the Cominform or become a member of the Comecon. Yugoslavia and the Communist nations made professions of mutual friendship. However, Tito still maintained a good relationship with the West, which later complicated Yugoslavia's relations with China and Albania. In 1954 Tito began the formation of a group of non-aligned nations that would remain neutral during the Cold War. Tito visited with Indian and Egyptian leaders several times throughout 1955 and 1956. In 1961, twenty-one African and Asian countries and Cuba attended a conference of non-aligned nations that was held in Belgrade.

In 1963 the country's name was changed from the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Also in 1963, trade with the USSR and other Communist states was increasing, but 70% of Yugoslavia's trade was still with Western and neutral nations. In 1964, Yugoslavia became an affiliate member of the Comecon and participated in its trade and in projects on metallurgy and chemicals.

In 1965 and 1966 the government decreased its control of the economy and an economic revolution took place. More responsibility was given to individual businesses and workers unions. Competition among enterprises was encouraged. By 1967, prices stabilized, labor productivity rose and savings also increased. In a move to attract tourists to the Dalmation Coast, the government abolished visa requirements. Many privately owned restaurants and hotels sprang up. The success of Yugoslav nationalist communism encouraged other Communist states to look toward reforms and independence, angering the Soviet Union. In 1968, Yugoslavia condemned the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact nations.

However, in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Yugoslavia improved its relations with both communist and Western nations, including the USSR, China, the U.S., and the European Common Market nations. Tito also cultivated good relations with almost all of the non-aligned countries.

In the late 1970s, the economy began to falter. Inflation and unemployment rose and there were strikes and protests. Tensions between Serbs and Croats resulted in riots, hijackings and assassinations and caused severe government repression.

Tito died in 1980 after a long illness and one person rule in Yugoslavia came to an end. In accordance with the constitution, a system of collective leadership began. Austerity plans were implemented, but could not improve the economy. During the 1980s, the standard of living declined.

The weak economy and government prompted a rise in ethnic conflicts. Real trouble began when Slobodan Milosevic became party chief in 1986. He began a campaign against the ethnic Albanians in the autonomous province of Kosovo. Clashes between ethnic Albanians, and the Serbs and Montenegrins occurred throughout the rest of the decade. In the late 1980s the economy declined even further and the Yugoslav provinces began to blame each other. By the end of the 1980s the country was on the verge of breaking up.

Milosevic began to push for more government control over the republics, especially more power to regulate their economies and collect taxes. Milan Kucan of Slovenia strongly opposed Milosevic's plan. Kucan was a reform communist who had made Slovenia the freest and most liberal of the six Yugoslav Republics. Despite the country's economic decline, Slovenes were earning almost two times more than most of the workers in the other republics and unemployment was only 2%. The Slovenes saw their prosperity threatened by forced burden-sharing with the other republics and by the bureaucracy in Belgrade. These were also the primary concerns of Croatia, another relatively prosperous republic, thanks to tourism and its Adriatic-Dalmatian coast exports.

In the spring of 1990, free elections were held in Slovenia and Croatia. Kucan won in Slovenia and Montenegro , a non-communist, won in Croatia. Both countries moved swiftly toward independence, and in June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. The federal government ordered the Serb-dominated army to suppress the secessionists. In Slovenia, a ten-day war resulted in Serb defeat. In Croatia, seven-month war ended in a cease-fire and Croatia lost control of some of its territory.

In Nov. 1991, Macedonian declared independence and in April 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina did the same. Yugoslavia now only consisted of Serbia and Montenegro.

Civil war quickly broke out between ethnic Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims in the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Croats and Muslims often fought together against the Serbs.

The bloody civil war officially ended with the Dayton Peace Accords in Jan. 1996. NATO troops remain stationed in the area to maintain peace.

Elections were held in Sept. 1996. A three-party presidency was to be elected with a Serbian, Croatian, and a Bosnian Muslim to fill each post. Momcilo Krajisnik, a Serb, Kresimir Dubcek, a Croat, and Alija Izetbegovic, a Bosnian Muslim, were elected. There has been little cooperation between any of the three rules and tensions in the area remain high.