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The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the
breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
occurring as a consequence of the Yugoslav Wars. Spanning an area of in the Balkans, Yugoslavia was bordered by the Adriatic Sea and Italy to the west, by Austria and Hungary to the north, by Bulgaria and Romania to the east, and by Albania and Greece to the south. It was a one-party socialist state and federation governed by the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
, and had six constituent republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Within Serbia was the Yugoslav capital city of
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
as well as two autonomous Yugoslav provinces: Kosovo and Vojvodina. The SFR Yugoslavia traces its origins to 26 November 1942, when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II to resist Axis occupation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following the country's liberation, King Peter II was deposed, the monarchy was ended, and on 29 November 1945, the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed. Led by
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, the new communist government sided with the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
at the beginning of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
but pursued a policy of
neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction ...
following the Tito–Stalin split in 1948; it became one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and transitioned from a command economy to market-based socialism. Following the
death of Tito The funeral of Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia and President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, was held on 8 May 1980, four days after his death on 4 May. His funeral drew many statesmen from around the globe, from Western ...
on 4 May 1980, the Yugoslav economy started to collapse, which increased unemployment and inflation. The economic crisis led to rising ethnic nationalism and political dissidence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, efforts to transition into a confederation failed; the two wealthiest republics, Croatia and Slovenia, seceded and gained some international recognition in 1991. The federation dissolved along the borders of federated republics, hastened by the start of the Yugoslav Wars, and the federation formally broke up on 27 April 1992. Two republics, Serbia and Montenegro, remained within a reconstituted state known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or FR Yugoslavia, but this state was not recognized internationally as the official successor state to SFR Yugoslavia. '' Former Yugoslavia'' is now commonly used retrospectively.


Name

The name '' Yugoslavia'', an
Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
transcription of ''Jugoslavija'', is a composite word made up of ''jug'' ('yug') (with the 'j' pronounced like an English 'y') and ''slavija''. The Slavic word ''jug'' means 'south', while ''slavija'' ("Slavia") denotes a 'land of the
Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
'. Thus, a translation of ''Jugoslavija'' would be 'South-Slavia' or 'Land of the South Slavs'. The full official name of the federation varied significantly between 1945 and 1992.Benson, Leslie; ''Yugoslavia: a Concise History''; Palgrave Macmillan, 2001 Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In January 1929, King Alexander I assumed dictatorship of the kingdom and renamed it the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, for the first time making the term "Yugoslavia"—which had been used colloquially for decades (even before the country was formed)—the official name of the state. After the Kingdom was occupied by the Axis during World War II, the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) announced in 1943 the formation of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia or DFY) in the substantial resistance-controlled areas of the country. The name deliberately left the
republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
-or- kingdom question open. In 1945, King Peter II was officially deposed, with the state reorganized as a republic, and accordingly renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPR Yugoslavia or FPRY), with the constitution coming into force in 1946. In 1963, amid pervasive liberal constitutional reforms, the name ''Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia'' was introduced. The state is most commonly referred to by the latter name, which it held for the longest period of all. Of the three main Yugoslav languages, the Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian name for the state was identical, while Slovene slightly differed in capitalization and the spelling of the adjective ''Socialist''. The names are as follows: * Serbo-Croatian and
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
** Latin: ''Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavija'' **
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
: Социјалистичка Федеративна Република Југославија ** ** * Slovene ** ''Socialistična federativna republika Jugoslavija'' Due to the length of the name, abbreviations were often used to refer to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, though the state was most commonly known simply as ''Yugoslavia''. The most common abbreviation is ''SFRY'', though ''SFR Yugoslavia'' was also used in an official capacity, particularly by the media.


History


World War II

On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany; by 17 April 1941, the country was fully occupied and was soon carved up by the Axis. Yugoslav resistance was soon established in two forms, the Royal
Yugoslav Army in the Homeland The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
and the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Yugoslav Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
, and under his command, the movement soon began establishing "liberated territories" which attracted the attention of occupying forces. Unlike the various nationalist militias operating in occupied Yugoslavia, the Partisans were a pan-Yugoslav movement promoting the " brotherhood and unity" of Yugoslav nations and representing the republican, left-wing, and socialist elements of the Yugoslav political spectrum. The coalition of political parties, factions, and prominent individuals behind the movement was the People's Liberation Front (''Jedinstveni narodnooslobodilački front'', JNOF), led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ). The Front formed a representative political body, the
Anti-Fascist Council for the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...
(AVNOJ, ''Antifašističko Veće Narodnog Oslobođenja Jugoslavije'').Tomasevich, Jozo; ''War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration'', Volume 2; Stanford University Press, 2001 The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942 (
First Session of the AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...
), claimed the status of Yugoslavia's deliberative assembly (parliament). Lampe, John R.; ''Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country''; Cambridge University Press, 2000 During 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations, ''Fall Weiss'' (January to April 1943) and ''Fall Schwartz'' (15 May to 16 June 1943), the Axis attempted to stamp out the Yugoslav resistance once and for all. In the Battle of the Neretva and the
Battle of the Sutjeska Case Black (german: Fall Schwarz), also known as the Fifth Enemy Offensive ( sh-Latn, Peta neprijateljska ofanziva) in Yugoslav historiography and often identified with its final phase, the Battle of the Sutjeska ( sh-Latn, Bitka na Sutjesci ) ...
, the 20,000-strong Partisan Main Operational Group engaged a force of around 150,000 combined Axis troops. In both battles, despite heavy casualties, the Group succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety. The Partisans emerged stronger than before and now occupied a more significant portion of Yugoslavia. The events greatly increased the standing of the Partisans, and granted them a favorable reputation among the Yugoslav populace, leading to increased recruitment. On 8 September 1943, Fascist Italy capitulated to the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, leaving their occupation zone in Yugoslavia open to the Partisans. Tito took advantage of the events by briefly liberating the
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n shore and its cities. This secured Italian weaponry and supplies for the Partisans, volunteers from the cities previously annexed by Italy, and Italian recruits crossing over to the Allies (the
Garibaldi Division Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...
). After this favourable chain of events, the AVNOJ decided to meet for the second time – now in Partisan-liberated
Jajce Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, with ...
. The
Second Session of the AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,, mk, Антифашистичко собрание за народно ослободување на Југославија commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberat ...
lasted from 21 to 29 November 1943 (right before and during the Tehran Conference), and came to a number of significant conclusions. The most significant of these was the establishment of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, a state that would be a federation of six equal South Slavic republics (as opposed to the allegedly Serb predominance in pre-war Yugoslavia). The council decided on a "neutral" name and deliberately left the question of "monarchy vs. republic" open, ruling that Peter II would only be allowed to return from exile in London upon a favourable result of a pan-Yugoslav referendum on the question. Among other decisions, the AVNOJ decided on forming a provisional executive body, the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia (NKOJ, ''Nacionalni komitet oslobođenja Jugoslavije''), appointing Tito as the Prime Minister. Having achieved success in the 1943 engagements Tito was also granted the rank of
Marshal of Yugoslavia Marshal of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Maršal Jugoslavije, Маршал Југославије; sl, Maršal Jugoslavije; mk, Маршал на Југославија, Maršal na Jugoslavija) was the Highest military ranks, hig ...
. Favorable news also came from the Tehran Conference when the Allies concluded that the Partisans would be recognized as the Allied Yugoslav resistance movement and granted supplies and wartime support against the Axis occupation. As the war turned decisively against the Axis in 1944, the Partisans continued to hold significant chunks of Yugoslav territory. With the Allies in Italy, the Yugoslav islands of the Adriatic Sea were a haven for the resistance. On 17 June 1944, the Partisan base on the island of Vis housed a conference between Tito, Prime Minister of the NKOJ (representing the AVNOJ), and Ivan Šubašić, Prime Minister of the royalist Yugoslav government-in-exile in London.Martin, David; ''Ally Betrayed: The Uncensored Story of Tito and Mihailovich''; New York: Prentice Hall, 1946 The conclusions, known as the Tito-Šubašić Agreement, granted the King's recognition to the AVNOJ and the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DFY) and provided for the establishment of a joint Yugoslav coalition government headed by Tito with Šubašić as the foreign minister, with the AVNOJ confirmed as the provisional Yugoslav parliament. Peter II's government-in-exile in London, partly due to pressure from the United Kingdom,Walter R. Roberts. ''Tito, Mihailović, and the allies, 1941–1945''. Duke University Press, 1987. Pp. 288. recognized the state in the agreement, signed on 17 June 1944 between Šubašić and Tito. The DFY's legislature, after November 1944, was the Provisional Assembly.Vojislav Koštunica, Kosta Čavoški. ''Party pluralism or monism: social movements and the political system in Yugoslavia, 1944–1949''. East European Monographs, 1985. Pp. 22. The Tito-Šubašić agreement of 1944 declared that the state was a pluralist democracy that guaranteed: democratic liberties; personal freedom;
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
,
assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
, and religion; and a free press.Sabrina P. Ramet. The three Yugoslavias: state-building and legitimation, 1918–2005. Bloomington, Indiana, USA: Indiana University Press. Pp. 167–168. However, by January 1945 Tito had shifted the emphasis of his government away from an emphasis on pluralist democracy, claiming that though he accepted democracy, he claimed there was no need for multiple parties, as he claimed that multiple parties were unnecessarily divisive in the midst of Yugoslavia's war effort and that the People's Front represented all the Yugoslav people. The People's Front coalition, headed by the KPJ and its general secretary Tito, was a major movement within the government. Other political movements that joined the government included the "Napred" movement represented by Milivoje Marković.
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, the capital of Yugoslavia, was liberated with the help of the Soviet Red Army in October 1944, and the formation of a new Yugoslav government was postponed until 2 November 1944, when the Belgrade Agreement was signed and the provisional government formed. The agreements also provided for the eventual post-war elections that would determine the state's future system of government and economy. By 1945, the Partisans were clearing out Axis forces and liberating the remaining parts of occupied territory. On 20 March 1945, the Partisans launched their General Offensive in a drive to completely oust the Germans and the remaining collaborating forces. By the end of April 1945 the remaining northern parts of Yugoslavia were liberated, and chunks of southern German (Austrian) territory, and Italian territory around Trieste were occupied by Yugoslav troops. Yugoslavia was now once more a fully intact state, with its borders closely resembling their pre-1941 form and was envisioned by the Partisans as a "Democratic Federation", including six federated states: the
Federated State of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
(FS Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Federated State of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...
(FS Croatia),
Federated State of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
(FS Macedonia),
Federated State of Montenegro The Socialist Republic of Montenegro ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Crna Gora, Социјалистичка Република Црна Гора), commonly referred to as Socialist Montenegro or simply Montenegro, was ...
(FS Montenegro),
Federated State of Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...
(FS Serbia), and
Federated State of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
(FS Slovenia).Ramet, Sabrina P.; ''The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005''; Indiana University Press, 2006 The nature of its government, however, remained unclear, and Tito was highly reluctant to include the exiled King Peter II in post-war Yugoslavia as demanded by Winston Churchill. In February 1945, Tito acknowledged the existence of a Regency Council representing the King: the first and only act of the council as established on 7 March, however, was to proclaim a new government under Tito's premiership. The nature of the state was still unclear immediately after the war, and on 26 June 1945, the government signed the United Nations Charter using only ''Yugoslavia'' as an official name, with no reference to either a Kingdom or a Republic. Acting as head of state on 7 March, the King appointed to his Regency Council constitutional lawyers Srđan Budisavljević, Ante Mandić and Dušan Sernec. In doing so, the King empowered his Council to form a common temporary government with NKOJ and accept Tito's nomination as Prime Minister of the first normal government. As authorized by the King, the Regency Council has thus accepted the Tito's nomination on 29 November 1945 when FPRY was declared. By this unconditional transfer of powers, King Peter II had
abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
to Tito.Charles D. Pettibone (2014
The organization and order of battle of militaries in World War II
, Trafford Publishing, Bloomington, Indiana SAD, p.393.
This date, when the second Yugoslavia was born under international law, had since been marked as Yugoslavia's national holiday '' Day of the Republic'', however following the Communists' switch to authoritarianism, this holiday officially marked the 1943 Session of AVNOJ that coincidentally fell on the same day of the year."29 November, Yugoslavia: Day of the Republic"
, Faculty of Humanities Research Projects page, University of Oslo, Norway. Publication date: 24 August 2008.


Postwar period

The first Yugoslav post-World War II elections were set for 11 November 1945. By this time the coalition of parties backing the Partisans, the People's Liberation Front (''Jedinstveni narodnooslobodilački front'', JNOF), had been renamed into the People's Front (''Narodni front'', NOF). The People's Front was primarily led by the KPJ and represented by Tito. The reputation of both benefited greatly from their wartime exploits and decisive success, and they enjoyed genuine support among the populace. However, the old pre-war political parties were reestablished as well. As early as January 1945, while the enemy was still occupying the northwest, Tito commented: However, while the elections themselves were fairly conducted by a secret ballot, the campaign that preceded them was highly irregular. Opposition newspapers were banned on more than one occasion, and in Serbia, the opposition leaders such as Milan Grol received threats via the press. The opposition withdrew from the election in protest to the hostile atmosphere and this situation caused the three royalist representatives, Grol-Subasic- Juraj Šutej, to secede from the provisional government. Indeed, voting was on a single list of People's Front candidates with provision for opposition votes to be cast in separate voting boxes, but this procedure made electors identifiable by
OZNA The Department for People's Protection or OZNA ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Одељење за заштиту нaрода, Odjeljenje za zaštitu naroda, Odeljenje za zaštitu naroda; mk, Одделение за заштита на народот; sl, Oddele ...
agents. The election results of 11 November 1945 were decisively in favour of the former, with an average of 85% of voters of each federated state casting their ballot for the People's Front. On 29 November 1945, the second anniversary of the Second Session of the AVNOJ, the Constituent Assembly of Yugoslavia formally abolished the monarchy and declared the state a republic. The country's official name became the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPR Yugoslavia, FPRY), and the six federated states became "People's Republics" Yugoslavia became a one-party state and was considered in its earliest years a model of Communist orthodoxy. The Yugoslav government allied with the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and early on in the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
shot down two American airplanes flying in Yugoslav airspace on 9 and 19 August 1946. These were the first aerial shootdowns of western aircraft during the Cold War and caused deep distrust of Tito in the United States and even calls for military intervention against Yugoslavia. The new Yugoslavia also closely followed the
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
Soviet model Soviet-type economic planning (STP) is the specific model of centralized planning employed by Marxist–Leninist socialist states modeled on the economy of the Soviet Union (USSR). The post-''perestroika'' analysis of the system of the Soviet e ...
of economic development in this early period, some aspects of which achieved considerable success. In particular, the public works of that period organized by the government managed to rebuild and even improve the Yugoslav infrastructure (in particular the road system), with little cost to the state. Tensions with the West were high as Yugoslavia joined the Cominform, and the early phase of the Cold War began with Yugoslavia pursuing an aggressive foreign policy. Having liberated most of the Julian March and
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, and with historic claims to both those regions, the Yugoslav government began diplomatic maneuvering to include them in Yugoslavia. Both these demands were opposed by the West. The greatest point of contention was the port-city of Trieste. The city and its hinterland were liberated mostly by the Partisans in 1945, but pressure from the western Allies forced them to withdraw to the so-called "
Morgan Line The Morgan Line was the line of demarcation set up after World War II in the region known as Julian March which prior to the war belonged to the Kingdom of Italy. The Morgan Line was the border between two military administrations in the region: t ...
". The Free Territory of Trieste was established and separated into Zone A and Zone B, administered by the western Allies and Yugoslavia respectively. Initially, Yugoslavia was backed by Stalin, but by 1947 the latter had begun to cool towards the new state's ambitions. The crisis eventually dissolved as the Tito–Stalin split started, with Zone A being granted to Italy, and Zone B to Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, civil war raged in Greece – Yugoslavia's southern neighbour – between Communists and the right-wing government, and the Yugoslav government was determined to bring about a Communist victory. Yugoslavia dispatched significant assistance, in terms of arms and ammunition, supplies, military experts on
partisan warfare A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of military occupation, occupation by some kind of insurgent activity. The term can apply to the field element of resist ...
(such as General
Vladimir Dapčević Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
), and even allowed the Greek Communist forces to use Yugoslav territory as a safe haven. Although the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, and (Yugoslav-dominated) Albania had granted military support as well, Yugoslav assistance was far more substantial. However, this Yugoslav foreign adventure also came to an end with the Tito–Stalin split, as the Greek Communists, expecting an overthrow of Tito, refused any assistance from his government. Without it, however, they were greatly disadvantaged and were defeated in 1949. As Yugoslavia was the country's only Communist neighbour in the immediate post-war period, the
People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...
was effectively a Yugoslav satellite. Neighboring Bulgaria was under increasing Yugoslav influence as well, and talks began to negotiate the political unification of Albania and Bulgaria with Yugoslavia. The major point of contention was that Yugoslavia wanted to absorb the two and transform them into additional
federated republics A federated state (which may also be referred to as a state, a province, a region, a canton, a land, a governorate, an oblast, an emirate or a country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such states di ...
. Albania was in no position to object, but the Bulgarian view was that a new Balkan Federation would see Bulgaria and Yugoslavia as a whole uniting on equal terms. As these negotiations began, Yugoslav representatives Edvard Kardelj and
Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; , ; 12 June 1911 – 30 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well as in the post-war government. A self-identified democrat ...
were summoned to Moscow alongside a Bulgarian delegation, where Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov attempted to brow-beat them both into accepting Soviet control over the merger between the countries, and generally tried to force them into subordination. The Soviets did not express a specific view on the issue of Yugoslav-Bulgarian unification but wanted to ensure both parties first approved every decision with Moscow. The Bulgarians did not object, but the Yugoslav delegation withdrew from the Moscow meeting. Recognizing the level of Bulgarian subordination to Moscow, Yugoslavia withdrew from the unification talks and shelved plans for the annexation of Albania in anticipation of a confrontation with the Soviet Union.


Informbiro period

The Tito–Stalin, or Yugoslav–Soviet split, took place in the spring and early summer of 1948. Its title pertains to Tito, at the time the
Yugoslav Prime Minister The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslavia, Yugoslav state, from the Creation of Yugoslavia, creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croa ...
(President of the Federal Assembly), and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. In the West, Tito was thought of as a loyal Communist leader, second only to Stalin in the Eastern Bloc. However, having largely liberated itself with only limited Red Army support, Yugoslavia steered an independent course and was constantly experiencing tensions with the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav government considered themselves allies of Moscow, while Moscow considered Yugoslavia a satellite and often treated it as such. Previous tensions erupted over a number of issues, but after the Moscow meeting, an open confrontation was beginning. Next came an exchange of letters directly between the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...
(CPSU), and the KPJ. In the first CPSU letter of 27 March 1948, the Soviets accused the Yugoslavs of denigrating Soviet socialism via statements such as "socialism in the Soviet Union has ceased to be revolutionary". It also claimed that the KPJ was not "democratic enough", and that it was not acting as a vanguard that would lead the country to socialism. The Soviets said that they "could not consider such a Communist party organization to be Marxist-Leninist, Bolshevik". The letter also named a number of high-ranking officials as "dubious Marxists" (
Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; , ; 12 June 1911 – 30 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well as in the post-war government. A self-identified democrat ...
, Aleksandar Ranković,
Boris Kidrič Boris Kidrič (10 April 1912 – 11 April 1953) was a Slovene politician and revolutionary who was one of the chief organizers of the Slovene Partisans, the Slovene resistance against occupation by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy after Operatio ...
, and Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo) inviting Tito to purge them, and thus cause a rift in his own party. Communist officials Andrija Hebrang and Sreten Žujović supported the Soviet view. Tito, however, saw through it, refused to compromise his own party, and soon responded with his own letter. The KPJ response on 13 April 1948 was a strong denial of the Soviet accusations, both defending the revolutionary nature of the party and re-asserting its high opinion of the Soviet Union. However, the KPJ noted also that "no matter how much each of us loves the land of socialism, the Soviet Union, he can in no case love his own country less". In a speech, the Yugoslav Prime Minister stated: The 31-page-long Soviet answer of 4 May 1948 admonished the KPJ for failing to admit and correct its mistakes, and went on to accuse it of being too proud of their successes against the Germans, maintaining that the Red Army had "saved them from destruction" (an implausible statement, as Tito's partisans had successfully campaigned against Axis forces for four years before the appearance of the Red Army there). This time, the Soviets named Tito and Edvard Kardelj as the principal "heretics", while defending Hebrang and Žujović. The letter suggested that the Yugoslavs bring their "case" before the Cominform. The KPJ responded by expelling Hebrang and Žujović from the party, and by answering the Soviets on 17 May 1948 with a letter which sharply criticized Soviet attempts to devalue the successes of the Yugoslav resistance movement. On 19 May 1948, a correspondence by Mikhail A. Suslov informed Tito that the Cominform (''Informbiro'' in Serbo-Croatian), would be holding a session on 28 June 1948 in Bucharest almost completely dedicated to the "Yugoslav issue". The Cominform was an association of Communist parties that was the primary Soviet tool for controlling the political developments in the Eastern Bloc. The date of the meeting, 28 June, was carefully chosen by the Soviets as the triple anniversary of the
Battle of Kosovo Field The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbian Prince Lazar of Serbia, Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the ...
(1389), the
assassination of Archduke Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range while ...
in Sarajevo (1914), and the adoption of the Vidovdan Constitution (1921). Tito, personally invited, refused to attend under a dubious excuse of illness. When an official invitation arrived on 19 June 1948, Tito again refused. On the first day of the meeting, 28 June, the Cominform adopted the prepared text of a resolution, known in Yugoslavia as the "Resolution of the Informbiro" (''Rezolucija Informbiroa''). In it, the other Cominform (Informbiro) members expelled Yugoslavia, citing "nationalist elements" that had "managed in the course of the past five or six months to reach a dominant position in the leadership" of the KPJ. The resolution warned Yugoslavia that it was on the path back to bourgeois capitalism due to its nationalist, independence-minded positions, and accused the party itself of " Trotskyism". This was followed by the severing of relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, beginning the period of Soviet–Yugoslav conflict between 1948 and 1955 known as the
Informbiro Period The Informbiro period was an era of Yugoslavia's history following the Tito–Stalin split in mid-1948 that lasted until the country's partial rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1955 with the signing of the Belgrade declaration. After Wor ...
. After the break with the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia found itself economically and politically isolated as the country's Eastern Bloc-oriented economy began to falter. At the same time, Stalinist Yugoslavs, known in Yugoslavia as "cominformists", began fomenting civil and military unrest. A number of cominformist rebellions and military insurrections took place, along with acts of sabotage. However, the Yugoslav security service (UBDA) led by Aleksandar Ranković, was quick and efficient in cracking down on insurgent activity. Invasion appeared imminent, as Soviet military units massed along the border with the Hungarian People's Republic, while the Hungarian People's Army was quickly increased in size from 2 to 15 divisions. The UDBA began arresting alleged Cominformists even under suspicion of being pro-Soviet. However, from the start of the crisis, Tito began making overtures to the United States and the West. Consequently, Stalin's plans were thwarted as Yugoslavia began shifting its alignment. The West welcomed the Yugoslav-Soviet rift and in 1949 commenced a flow of economic aid, assisted in averting famine in 1950, and covered much of Yugoslavia's trade deficit for the next decade. The United States began shipping weapons to Yugoslavia in 1951. Tito, however, was wary of becoming too dependent on the West as well, and military security arrangements concluded in 1953 as Yugoslavia refused to join NATO and began developing a significant military industry of its own. With the American response in the Korean War serving as an example of the West's commitment, Stalin began backing down from war with Yugoslavia.


Reform

Yugoslavia began a number of fundamental reforms in the early 1950s, bringing about change in three major directions: rapid liberalization and decentralization of the country's political system, the institution of a new, unique economic system, and a diplomatic policy of non-alignment. Yugoslavia refused to take part in the Communist Warsaw Pact and instead took a neutral stance in the Cold War, becoming a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement along with countries like India, Egypt and Indonesia, and pursuing centre-left influences that promoted a non-confrontational policy towards the United States. The country distanced itself from the Soviets in 1948 and started to build its own way to socialism under the strong political leadership of Tito, sometimes informally called " Titoism". The economic reforms began with the introduction of workers' self-management in June 1950. In this system, profits were shared among the workers themselves as workers' councils controlled production and the profits. An industrial sector began to emerge thanks to the government's implementation of industrial and infrastructure development programs. Exports of industrial products, led by heavy machinery, transportation machines (especially in the shipbuilding industry), and military technology and equipment rose by a yearly increase of 11%. All in all, the annual growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) through to the early 1980s averaged 6.1%. Political liberalization began with the reduction of the massive state (and party) bureaucratic apparatus, a process described as the "whittling down of the state" by Boris Kidrič, President of the Yugoslav Economic Council (economics minister). On 2 November 1952, the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia introduced the "Basic Law", which emphasized the "personal freedom and rights of man" and the freedom of "free associations of working people". The Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) changed its name at this time to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), becoming a federation of six republican Communist parties. The result was a regime that was somewhat more humane than other Communist states. However, the LCY retained absolute power; as in all Communist regimes, the legislature did little more than rubber-stamp decisions already made by the LCY's Politburo. The UDBA, while operating with considerably more restraint than its counterparts in the rest of Eastern Europe, was nonetheless a feared tool of government control. UDBA was particularly notorious for assassinating suspected "enemies of the state" who lived in exile overseas. The media remained under restrictions that were somewhat onerous by Western standards, but still had somewhat more latitude than their counterparts in other Communist countries. Nationalist groups were a particular target of the authorities, with numerous arrests and prison sentences handed down over the years for separatist activities. Dissent from a radical faction within the party led by Milovan Đilas, advocating the near-complete annihilation of the state apparatus, was at this time put down by Tito's intervention. In the early 1960s concern over problems such as the building of economically irrational "political" factories and inflation led a group within the Communist leadership to advocate greater decentralization. These liberals were opposed by a group around Aleksandar Ranković. In 1966 the liberals (the most important being Edvard Kardelj,
Vladimir Bakarić Vladimir Bakarić (; 8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician. Bakarić helped to organise the partisan resistance in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. From 1948 ...
of Croatia and Petar Stambolić of Serbia) gained the support of Tito. At a party meeting in Brijuni, Ranković faced a fully prepared dossier of accusations and a denunciation from Tito that he had formed a clique with the intention of taking power. That year (1966), more than 3,700 Yugoslavs fled to Trieste with the intention to seek political asylum in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, United Kingdom or
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Ranković was forced to resign all party posts and some of his supporters were expelled from the party. Throughout the 1950s and '60s, the economic development and liberalization continued at a rapid pace. The introduction of further reforms introduced a variant of market socialism, which now entailed a policy of open borders. With heavy federal investment, tourism in SR Croatia was revived, expanded, and transformed into a major source of income. With these successful measures, the Yugoslav economy achieved relative self-sufficiency and traded extensively with both the West and the East. By the early 1960s, foreign observers noted that the country was "booming", and that all the while the Yugoslav citizens enjoyed far greater liberties than the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc states. Literacy was increased dramatically and reached 91%, medical care was free on all levels, and life expectancy was 72 years.Michel Chossudovsky, International Monetary Fund, World Bank; ''The Globalisation of Poverty: Impacts of IMF and World Bank Reforms''; Zed Books, 2006; (University of California) In 1971 the leadership of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, notably Miko Tripalo and
Savka Dabčević-Kučar Savka Dabčević-Kučar (6 December 1923 – 6 August 2009) was a Croatian politician. She was one of the most influential Croatian female politicians during the communist period, especially during the Croatian Spring when she was deposed. Sh ...
, allied with nationalist non-party groups, began a movement to increase the powers of the individual federated republics. The movement was referred to as MASPOK, a portmanteau of meaning ''mass movement'', and led to the
Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring ( hr, Hrvatsko proljeće), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republic ...
. Tito responded to the incident by purging the Croatian Communist party, while Yugoslav authorities arrested large numbers of the Croatian protesters. To avert ethnically driven protests in the future, Tito began to initiate some of the reforms demanded by the protesters."Yugoslavia: Tito's Daring Experiment"
'' Time'', 9 August 1971
At this time, Ustaše-sympathizers outside Yugoslavia tried through terrorism and guerrilla actions to create a separatist momentum, but they were unsuccessful, sometimes even gaining the animosity of fellow Roman Catholic Croatian Yugoslavs. From 1971 on, the republics had control over their economic plans. This led to a wave of investment, which in turn was accompanied by a growing level of debt and a growing trend of imports not covered by exports. Many of the demands made in the Croatian Spring movement in 1971, such as giving more autonomy to the individual republics, became reality with the new federal constitution 1974. While the constitution gave the republics more autonomy, it also awarded a similar status to two autonomous provinces within Serbia: Kosovo, a largely ethnic
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
populated region, and Vojvodina, a region with Serb majority but large numbers of ethnic minorities, such as Hungarians. These reforms satisfied most of the republics, especially Croatia and the Albanians of Kosovo and the minorities of Vojvodina. But the 1974 constitution deeply aggravated Serbian Communist officials and Serbs themselves who distrusted the motives of the proponents of the reforms. Many Serbs saw the reforms as concessions to Croatian and Albanian nationalists, as no similar autonomous provinces were made to represent the large numbers of Serbs of Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serb nationalists were frustrated over Tito's support for the recognition of Montenegrins and Macedonians as independent nationalities, as Serbian nationalists had claimed that there was no ethnic or cultural difference separating these two nations from the Serbs that could verify that such nationalities truly existed. Tito maintained a busy, active travelling schedule despite his advancing age. His 85th birthday in May 1977 was marked by huge celebrations. That year, he visited Libya, the Soviet Union, North Korea and finally China, where the post-Mao leadership finally made peace with him after more than 20 years of denouncing the SFRY as "revisionists in the pay of capitalism". This was followed by a tour of France, Portugal, and Algeria after which the president's doctors advised him to rest. In August 1978, Chinese leader Hua Guofeng visited Belgrade, reciprocating Tito's China trip the year before. This event was sharply criticized in the Soviet press, especially as Tito used it as an excuse to indirectly attack Moscow's ally Cuba for "promoting divisiveness in the Non-Aligned Movement". When China launched a military campaign against Vietnam the following February, Yugoslavia openly took Beijing's side in the dispute. The effect was a rather adverse decline in
Soviet Union-Yugoslavia relations The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. During this time, Yugoslavia's first nuclear reactor was under construction in Krško, built by US-based Westinghouse. The project ultimately took until 1980 to complete because of disputes with the United States about certain guarantees that Belgrade had to sign off on before it could receive nuclear materials (which included the promise that they would not be sold to third parties or used for anything but peaceful purposes).


Post-Tito period

Tito died on 4 May 1980 due to complications after surgery. While it had been known for some time that the 87-year-old president's health had been failing, his death nonetheless came as a shock to the country. This was because Tito was looked upon as the country's hero in World War II and had been the country's dominant figure and identity for over three decades. His loss marked a significant alteration, and it was reported that many Yugoslavs openly mourned his death. In the Split soccer stadium, Serbs and Croats visited the coffin among other spontaneous outpourings of grief, and a funeral was organized by the League of Communists with hundreds of world leaders in attendance (See Tito's state funeral). After Tito's death in 1980, a new
collective presidency President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a nation is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state. The functions exercis ...
of the Communist leadership from each republic was adopted. At the time of Tito's death the Federal government was headed by Veselin Đuranović (who had held the post since 1977). He had come into conflict with the leaders of the Republics arguing that Yugoslavia needed to economize due to the growing problem of foreign debt. Đuranović argued that a devaluation was needed which Tito refused to countenance for reasons of national prestige. Post-Tito Yugoslavia faced significant fiscal debt in the 1980s, but its good relations with the United States led to an American-led group of organizations called the "Friends of Yugoslavia" to endorse and achieve significant debt relief for Yugoslavia in 1983 and 1984, though economic problems would continue until the state's dissolution in the 1990s. Yugoslavia was the host nation of the
1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
in Sarajevo. For Yugoslavia, the games demonstrated Tito's continued vision of Brotherhood and Unity, as the multiple nationalities of Yugoslavia remained united in one team, and Yugoslavia became the second Communist state to hold the Olympic Games (the Soviet Union held them in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
). However, Yugoslavia's games had Western countries participating, while the Soviet Union's Olympics were boycotted by some. In the late 1980s, the Yugoslav government began to deviate from communism as it attempted to transform to a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
under the leadership of Prime Minister Ante Marković, who advocated shock therapy tactics to privatize sections of the Yugoslav economy. Marković was popular, as he was seen as the most capable politician to be able to transform the country to a liberalized democratic federation, though he later lost his popularity, mainly due to rising unemployment. His work was left incomplete as Yugoslavia broke apart in the 1990s.


Dissolution and war

Tensions between the republics and nations of Yugoslavia intensified from the 1970s to the 1980s. The causes for the collapse of the country have been associated with nationalism, ethnic conflict, economic difficulty, frustration with government bureaucracy, the influence of important figures in the country, and international politics. Ideology and particularly nationalism has been seen by many as the primary source of the break up of Yugoslavia.Dejan Jović. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 19 Since the 1970s, Yugoslavia's Communist regime became severely splintered into a liberal-decentralist nationalist faction led by Croatia and Slovenia that supported a decentralized federation with greater local autonomy, versus a conservative-centralist nationalist faction led by Serbia that supported a centralized federation to secure the interests of Serbia and Serbs across Yugoslavia – as they were the largest ethnic group in the country as a whole. From 1967 to 1972 in Croatia and
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...
and
1981 protests in Kosovo In March and April 1981, a student protest in Pristina, the capital of the then Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, led to widespread protests by Kosovo Albanians demanding more autonomy within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...
, nationalist doctrines and actions caused ethnic tensions that destabilized the country. The suppression of nationalists by the state is believed to have had the effect of identifying nationalism as the primary alternative to communism itself and made it a strong underground movement.Dejan Jović. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 21. In the late 1980s, the Belgrade elite was faced with a strong opposition force of massive protests by Kosovo Serbs and Montenegrins as well as public demands for political reforms by the critical intelligentsia of Serbia and Slovenia. In economics, since the late 1970s a widening gap of economic resources between the developed and underdeveloped regions of Yugoslavia severely deteriorated the federation's unity.
Dejan Jović Dejan Jović (; born 12 April 1968) is a political scientist from Croatia. He is a full-time professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Zagreb. From 2012 to 2020, Jović was editor-in-chief of the '' Croatian Political S ...
. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 15
The most developed republics, Croatia and Slovenia, rejected attempts to limit their autonomy as provided in the 1974 Constitution. Public opinion in Slovenia in 1987 saw better economic opportunity in independence from Yugoslavia than within it. There were also places that saw no economic benefit from being in Yugoslavia; for example, the autonomous province of Kosovo was poorly developed, and per capita GDP fell from 47 percent of the Yugoslav average in the immediate post-war period to 27 percent by the 1980s. However, economic issues have not been demonstrated to be the sole determining factor in the break up, as Yugoslavia in this period was the most prosperous Communist state in Eastern Europe, and the country in fact disintegrated during a period of economic recovery after the implementation of the economic reforms of Ante Marković's government.Dejan Jović. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 16 Furthermore, during the break up of Yugoslavia, the leaders of Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, all declined an unofficial offer by the European Community to provide substantial economic support to them in exchange for a political compromise. However, the issue of economic inequality between the republics, autonomous provinces, and nations of Yugoslavia resulted in tensions with claims of disadvantage and accusations of privileges against others by these groups. Political protests in Serbia and Slovenia, which later developed into ethnic-driven conflict, began in the late 1980s as protests against the alleged injustice and bureaucratization of the political elite.Dejan Jović. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 18 Members of the political elite managed to redirect these protests against "others". Serb demonstrators were worried about the disintegration of the country and alleged that "the others" (Croats, Slovenes, and international institutions) were deemed responsible. The Slovene intellectual elite argued that "the others" (Serbs) were responsible for "Greater Serbian expansionist designs", for economic exploitation of Slovenia, and for the suppression of Slovene national identity. These redirection actions of the popular protests allowed the authorities of Serbia and Slovenia to survive at the cost of undermining the unity of Yugoslavia. Other republics such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia refused to follow these tactics taken by Serbia and Slovenia, later resulting in the defeat of the respective League of Communists of each republic to nationalist political forces. From the point of view of international politics, it has been argued that the end of the Cold War contributed to the break up of Yugoslavia because Yugoslavia lost its strategic international political importance as an intermediary between the Eastern and Western blocs.Dejan Jović. ''Yugoslavia: a state that withered away''. Purdue University Press, 2009. p. 26. As a consequence, Yugoslavia lost the economic and political support provided by the West, and increased pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reform its institutions made it impossible for the Yugoslav reformist elite to respond to rising social disorder. The collapse of communism throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union undermined the country's ideological basis and encouraged anti-communist and nationalist forces in the Western-oriented republics of Croatia and Slovenia to increase their demands. Nationalist sentiment among ethnic Serbs rose dramatically following the ratification of the 1974 Constitution, which reduced the powers of SR Serbia over its autonomous provinces of SAP Kosovo and SAP Vojvodina. In Serbia, this caused increasing xenophobia against Albanians. In Kosovo (administered mostly by ethnic Albanian Communists), the Serbian minority increasingly put forth complaints of mistreatment and abuse by the Albanian majority. Feelings were further inflamed in 1986, when the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) published the
SANU Memorandum The Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, known simply as the SANU Memorandum ( sr-cyr, Меморандум САНУ), was a draft document produced by a 16-member committee of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) from ...
. In it, Serbian writers and historians voiced "various currents of Serb nationalist resentment." The SKJ was at the time united in condemning the memorandum, and continued to follow its anti-nationalist policy. In 1987, Serbian Communist official
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
was sent to bring calm to an ethnically-driven protest by Serbs against the Albanian administration of SAP Kosovo. Milošević had been, up to this point, a hard-line Communist who had decried all forms of nationalism as treachery, such as condemning the SANU Memorandum as "nothing else but the darkest nationalism". However, Kosovo's autonomy had always been an unpopular policy in Serbia, and he took advantage of the situation and made a departure from traditional Communist neutrality on the issue of Kosovo. Milošević assured Serbs that their mistreatment by ethnic Albanians would be stopped. He then began a campaign against the ruling Communist elite of SR Serbia, demanding reductions in the autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina. These actions made him popular amongst Serbs and aided his rise to power in Serbia. Milošević and his allies took on an aggressive nationalist agenda of reviving SR Serbia within Yugoslavia, promising reforms and protection of all Serbs. Milošević proceeded to take control of the governments of Vojvodina, Kosovo, and the neighboring Socialist Republic of Montenegro in what was dubbed the " Anti-Bureaucratic Revolution" by the Serbian media. Both the SAPs possessed a vote on the Yugoslav Presidency in accordance to the 1974 constitution, and together with Montenegro and his own Serbia, Milošević now directly controlled four out of eight votes in the collective head-of-state by January 1990. This only caused further resentment among the governments of Croatia and Slovenia, along with the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo ( SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and
SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
remained relatively neutral). Fed up by Milošević's manipulation of the assembly, first the delegations of the League Communists of Slovenia led by Milan Kučan, and later the
League of Communists of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia ( sh, Savez komunista Hrvatske or SKH) was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (''Komunistička ...
, led by
Ivica Račan Ivica Račan (; 24 February 1944 – 29 April 2007) was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments. Račan became the first prime minister of Croatia not to be a ...
, walked out during the extraordinary
14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia The 14th (Extraordinary) Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia ( Serbian Latin: , Cyrillic: ) was held from 20 to 22 January 1990, in the Belgrade Sava Centar. The highest organ of both the government and the party, it was the last C ...
(January 1990), effectively dissolving the all-Yugoslav party. Along with external pressure, this caused the adoption of multi-party systems in all of the republics. When the individual republics organized their multi-party elections in 1990, the ex-Communists mostly failed to win re-election. In Croatia and Slovenia, nationalist parties won their respective elections. On 8 April 1990 the first multiparty elections in Slovenia (and Yugoslavia) since the Second World War were held. Demos coalition won the elections and formed a government which started to implement electoral reform programs. In Croatia, the
Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
(HDZ) won the election promising to "defend Croatia from Milošević" which caused alarm among Croatia's large Serbian minority. Croatian Serbs, for their part, were wary of HDZ leader
Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...
's nationalist government and in 1990, Serb nationalists in the southern Croatian town of Knin organized and formed a separatist entity known as the SAO Krajina, which demanded to remain in union with the rest of the Serb populations if Croatia decided to secede. The government of Serbia endorsed the Croatian Serbs' rebellion, claiming that for Serbs, rule under Tuđman's government would be equivalent to the World War II fascist Independent State of Croatia (NDH) which committed genocide against Serbs during World War II. Milošević used this to rally Serbs against the Croatian government and Serbian newspapers joined in the warmongering. Serbia had by now printed $1.8 billion worth of new money without any backing of Yugoslav central bank. In the Slovenian independence referendum, 1990, held on 23 December 1990, a vast majority of residents voted for independence. 88.5% of all electors (94.8% of those participating) voted for independence – which was declared on 25 June 1991. Both Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence on 25 June 1991. On the morning of 26 June, units of the Yugoslav People's Army's 13th Corps left their barracks in Rijeka, Croatia, to move towards Slovenia's borders with Italy. The move immediately led to a strong reaction from local Slovenians, who organized spontaneous barricades and demonstrations against the YPA's actions. There was, as yet, no fighting, and both sides appeared to have an unofficial policy of not being the first to open fire. By this time, the Slovenian government had already put into action its plan to seize control of both the international Ljubljana Airport and the Slovenia's border posts on borders with Italy, Austria and Hungary. The personnel manning the border posts were, in most cases, already Slovenians, so the Slovenian take-over mostly simply amounted to changing of uniforms and insignia, without any fighting. By taking control of the borders, the Slovenians were able to establish defensive positions against an expected YPA attack. This meant that the YPA would have to fire the first shot. It was fired on 27 June at 14:30 in Divača by an officer of YPA. The conflict spread into the ten days war, with many soldiers wounded and killed in which the YPA was ineffective. Many unmotivated soldiers of Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian or Macedonian nationality deserted or quietly rebelled against some (Serbian) officers who wanted to intensify the conflict. It also marked the end of the YPA, which was until then composed by members of all Yugoslav nations. After that YPA consisted mainly of men of Serbian nationality. On 7 July 1991, whilst supportive of their respective rights to national self-determination, the European Community pressured Slovenia and Croatia to place a three-month moratorium on their independence with the
Brijuni Agreement The Brioni Agreement, also known as the Brioni Declaration ( hr, Brijunska deklaracija, sr, Brionska deklaracija, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Брионска декларација, sl, Brionska deklaracija), is a document signed by representativ ...
(recognized by representatives of all republics). During these three months, the Yugoslav Army completed its pull-out from Slovenia. Negotiations to restore the Yugoslav federation with diplomat Lord Peter Carington and members of the European Community were all but ended. Carington's plan realized that Yugoslavia was in a state of dissolution and decided that each republic must accept the inevitable independence of the others, along with a promise to Serbian President Milošević that the European Union would ensure that Serbs outside of Serbia would be protected. Milošević refused to agree to the plan, as he claimed that the European Community had no right to dissolve Yugoslavia and that the plan was not in the interests of Serbs as it would divide the Serb people into four republics (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Croatia). Carington responded by putting the issue to a vote in which all the other republics, including Montenegro under Momir Bulatović, initially agreed to the plan that would dissolve Yugoslavia. However, after intense pressure from Serbia on Montenegro's president, Montenegro changed its position to oppose the dissolution of Yugoslavia. With the Plitvice Lakes incident of late March/early April 1991, the Croatian War of Independence broke out between the Croatian government and the rebel ethnic Serbs of the SAO Krajina (heavily backed by the by-now Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army). On 1 April 1991, the SAO Krajina declared that it would secede from Croatia. Immediately after Croatia's declaration of independence, Croatian Serbs also formed the SAO Western Slavonia and the
SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srem, Српска аутономна област Источна Славонија, ...
. These three regions would combine into the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) on 19 December 1991. The influence of xenophobia and ethnic hatred in the collapse of Yugoslavia became clear during the war in Croatia. Propaganda by Croatian and Serbian sides spread fear, claiming that the other side would engage in oppression against them and would exaggerate death tolls to increase support from their populations. In the beginning months of the war, the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army and navy deliberately shelled civilian areas of Split and Dubrovnik, a UNESCO world heritage site, as well as nearby Croat villages. Yugoslav media claimed that the actions were done due to what they claimed was a presence of fascist Ustaše forces and international terrorists in the city. UN investigations found that no such forces were in Dubrovnik at the time. Croatian military presence increased later on. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, at the time an ally of Milošević, appealed to Montenegrin nationalism, promising that the capture of Dubrovnik would allow the expansion of Montenegro into the city which he claimed was historically part of Montenegro, and denounced the present borders of Montenegro as being "drawn by the old and poorly educated Bolshevik cartographers". At the same time, the Serbian government contradicted its Montenegrin allies by claims by the Serbian Prime Minister Dragutin Zelenović contended that Dubrovnik was historically Serbian, not Montenegrin. The international media gave immense attention to bombardment of Dubrovnik and claimed this was evidence of Milosevic pursuing the creation of a Greater Serbia as Yugoslavia collapsed, presumably with the aid of the subordinate Montenegrin leadership of Bulatović and Serb nationalists in Montenegro to foster Montenegrin support for the retaking of Dubrovnik. In Vukovar, ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs exploded into violence when the Yugoslav army entered the town in November 1991. The Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitaries devastated the town in urban warfare and the destruction of Croatian property. Serb paramilitaries committed atrocities against Croats, killing over 200, and displacing others to add to those who fled the town in the Vukovar massacre. With Bosnia's demographic structure comprising a mixed population of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, the ownership of large areas of Bosnia was in dispute. From 1991 to 1992, the situation in the multi-ethnic Bosnia and Herzegovina grew tense. Its parliament was fragmented on ethnic lines into a plurality Bosniak faction and minority Serb and Croat factions. In 1991, the controversial nationalist leader Radovan Karadžić of the largest Serb faction in the parliament, the Serb Democratic Party gave a grave and direct warning to the Bosnian parliament should it decide to separate, saying: "This, what you are doing, is not good. This is the path that you want to take Bosnia and Herzegovina on, the same highway of hell and death that Slovenia and Croatia went on. Don't think that you won't take Bosnia and Herzegovina into hell, and the Muslim people maybe into extinction. Because the Muslim people cannot defend themselves if there is war here." Radovan Karadžić, 14 October 1991. In the meantime, behind the scenes, negotiations began between Milošević and Tuđman to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina into Serb and Croat administered territories to attempt to avert war between Bosnian Croats and Serbs. Bosnian Serbs held the November 1991 referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favor of staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. In public, pro-state media in Serbia claimed to Bosnians that Bosnia and Herzegovina could be included a new voluntary union within a new Yugoslavia based on democratic government, but this was not taken seriously by the Bosnia and Herzegovina's government. On 9 January 1992, the Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the soon-to-be
Republic of Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located ...
), and proceeded to form Serbian autonomous regions (SARs) throughout the state. The Serbian referendum on remaining in Yugoslavia and the creation of Serbian autonomous regions (SARs) were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the independence referendum sponsored by the Bosnian government was held on 29 February and 1 March 1992. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the Bosnian and federal constitution by the federal Constitution Court and the newly established Bosnian Serb government; it was also largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. According to the official results, the turnout was 63.4%, and 99.7% of the voters voted for independence. It was unclear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied. Following the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 27 April 1992, the SFR Yugoslavia had, de facto, dissolved into five successor states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later renamed "
Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
"). Badinter Commission later (1991–1993) noted that Yugoslavia disintegrated into several independent states, so it is not possible to talk about the secession of Slovenia and Croatia from Yugoslavia.


Post-1992 UN membership

In September 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Serbia and Montenegro) failed to achieve '' de jure'' recognition as the continuation of the Socialist Federal Republic in the United Nations. It was separately recognised as a successor alongside Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. Before 2000, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia declined to re-apply for membership in the United Nations and the United Nations Secretariat allowed the mission from the SFRY to continue to operate and accredited representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the SFRY mission, continuing work in various United Nations organs. It was only after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, that the Government of FR Yugoslavia applied for UN membership in 2000.


Politics


Constitution

The Yugoslav Constitution was adopted in
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
and amended in
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
,
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
, and
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia won the first elections, and remained in power throughout the state's existence. It was composed of individual Communist parties from each constituent republic. The party would reform its political positions through party congresses in which delegates from each republic were represented and voted on changes to party policy, the last of which was held in 1990. Yugoslavia's parliament was known as the Federal Assembly which was housed in the building which currently houses Serbia's parliament. The Federal Assembly was composed entirely of Communist members. The primary political leader of the state was Josip Broz Tito, but there were several other important politicians, particularly after Tito's death: see the list of leaders of Communist Yugoslavia. In 1974, Tito was elected President-for-life of Yugoslavia. After Tito's death in 1980, the single position of president was divided into a collective Presidency, where representatives of each republic would essentially form a committee where the concerns of each republic would be addressed and from it, collective federal policy goals and objectives would be implemented. The head of the collective presidency was rotated between representatives of the republics. The collective presidency was considered the head of state of Yugoslavia. The collective presidency was ended in 1991, as Yugoslavia fell apart. In 1974, major reforms to Yugoslavia's constitution occurred. Among the changes was the controversial internal division of Serbia, which created two autonomous provinces within it, Vojvodina and Kosovo. Each of these autonomous provinces had voting power equal to that of the republics, but retroactively they participated in Serbian decision-making as constituent parts of SR Serbia.


Federal units

Internally, the Yugoslav federation was divided into six constituent states. Their formation was initiated during the war years, and finalized in 1944–1946. They were initially designated as ''federated states'', but after the adoption of the first federal Constitution, on 31 January 1946, they were officially named as '' people's republics'' (1946-1963), and later as '' socialist republics'' (from 1963 forward). They were constitutionally defined as mutually equal in rights and duties within the federation. Initially, there were initiatives to create several autonomous units within some federal units, but that was enforced only in Serbia, where two autonomous units (Vojvodina and Kosovo) were created (1945). In alphabetical order, the republics and provinces were:


Foreign policy

Under Tito, Yugoslavia adopted a policy of nonalignment in the Cold War. It developed close relations with developing countries by having a leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as maintaining cordial relations with the United States and Western European countries. Stalin considered Tito a traitor and openly offered condemnation towards him. Yugoslavia provided major assistance to anti-colonialist movements in the Third World. The Yugoslav delegation was the first to bring the demands of the Algerian National Liberation Front to the United Nations. In January 1958, the French navy boarded the Slovenija cargo ship off
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
, whose holds were filled with weapons for the insurgents. Diplomat Danilo Milic explained that "Tito and the leading nucleus of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia really saw in the Third World's liberation struggles a replica of their own struggle against the fascist occupants. They vibrated to the rhythm of the advances or setbacks of the FLN or Vietcong." Thousands of Yugoslav cooperants travelled to
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
after its decolonisation and as the French government tried to destabilise the country. Tito also helped the liberation movements of the Portuguese colonies. He saw the murder of Patrice Lumumba in 1961 as the "greatest crime in contemporary history". The country's military schools hosted activists from
Swapo The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
(Namibia) and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (South Africa). In 1980, the secret services of South Africa and Argentina planned to bring 1,500 anti-communist guerrillas to Yugoslavia. The operation was aimed at overthrowing Tito and was planned during the Olympic Games period so that the Soviets would be too busy to react. The operation was finally abandoned due to Tito's death and while the Yugoslav armed forces raised their alert level. On 1 January 1967, Yugoslavia was the first Communist country to open its borders to all foreign visitors and abolish visa requirements. In the same year, Tito became active in promoting a peaceful resolution of the Arab–Israeli conflict. His plan called for Arab countries to recognize the State of Israel in exchange for Israel returning territories it had gained. The Arab countries rejected his land for peace concept. However, that same year, Yugoslavia no longer recognized Israel. In 1968, following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Tito added an additional defense line to Yugoslavia's borders with the Warsaw Pact countries. Later in 1968, Tito then offered Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubček that he would fly to Prague on three hours notice if Dubček needed help in facing down the Soviet Union which was occupying Czechoslovakia at the time. Yugoslavia had mixed relations towards
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
's Albania. Initially Yugoslav-Albanian relations were forthcoming, as Albania adopted a common market with Yugoslavia and required the teaching of Serbo-Croatian to students in high schools. At this time, the concept of creating a Balkan Federation was being discussed between Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria. Albania at this time was heavily dependent on economic support of Yugoslavia to fund its initially weak infrastructure. Trouble between Yugoslavia and Albania began when Albanians began to complain that Yugoslavia was paying too little for Albania's natural resources. Afterward, relations between Yugoslavia and Albania worsened. From 1948 onward, the Soviet Union backed Albania in opposition to Yugoslavia. On the issue of Albanian-dominated Kosovo, Yugoslavia and Albania both attempted to neutralize the threat of nationalist conflict, Hoxha opposed Albanian nationalism, as he officially believed in the
world communist World communism, also known as global communism, is the ultimate form of communism which of necessity has a universal or global scope. The long-term goal of world communism is an unlimited worldwide communist society that is classless (lacking ...
ideal of international brotherhood of all people, though on a few occasions in the 1980s he made inflammatory speeches in support of Albanians in Kosovo against the Yugoslav government, when public sentiment in Albania was firmly in support of Kosovo's Albanians.


Economy

Despite their common origins, the socialist economy of Yugoslavia was much different from the economy of the Soviet Union and the
economies of the Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
, especially after the
Yugoslav–Soviet break-up The Informbiro period was an era of Yugoslavia's history following the Tito–Stalin split in mid-1948 that lasted until the country's partial rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1955 with the signing of the Belgrade declaration. After Wo ...
of 1948. Though they were
state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
s, Yugoslav companies were nominally collectively managed by the employees themselves through workers' self-management, albeit with state oversight dictating wage bills and the hiring and firing of managers The occupation and liberation struggle in World War II left Yugoslavia's infrastructure devastated. Even the most developed parts of the country were largely rural, and the little industry the country had was largely damaged or destroyed. Unemployment was a chronic problem for Yugoslavia:Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski
Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States: Divergent Paths toward a New Europe
, p. 66-67
the unemployment rates were amongst the highest in Europe during its existence and they did not reach critical levels before the 1980s only due to the safety valve provided by sending one million guest workers yearly to advanced industrialized countries in Western Europe.Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski: Regime Change in the Yugoslav Successor States: Divergent Paths toward a New Europe, p. 63 The departure of Yugoslavs seeking work began in the 1950s, when individuals began slipping across the border illegally. In the mid-1960s, Yugoslavia lifted emigration restrictions and the number of emigrants increased rapidly, especially to West Germany. By the early 1970s, 20% of the country's labor force or 1.1 million workers were employed abroad. This was also a source of capital and foreign currency for Yugoslavia. Due to Yugoslavia's neutrality and its leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement, Yugoslav companies exported to both Western and Eastern markets. Yugoslav companies carried out construction of numerous major infrastructural and industrial projects in Africa, Europe and Asia. In the 1970s, the economy was reorganized according to Edvard Kardelj's theory of associated labor, in which the right to decision-making and a share in profits of worker-run cooperatives is based on the investment of labour. All companies were transformed into ''organizations of associated labor''. The smallest, ''basic organizations of associated labor'', roughly corresponded to a small company or a department in a large company. These were organized into ''enterprises'' which in turn associated into ''composite organizations of associated labor'', which could be large companies or even whole-industry branches in a certain area. Most executive decision-making was based in enterprises, so that these continued to compete to an extent, even when they were part of a same composite organization. In practice, the appointment of managers and the strategic policies of composite organizations were, depending on their size and importance, often subject to political and personal influence-peddling. In order to give all employees, the same access to decision-making, the ''basic organisations of associated labor'' were also applied to public services, including health and education. The basic organizations were usually made up of no more than a few dozen people and had their own workers' councils, whose assent was needed for strategic decisions and appointment of managers in enterprises or public institutions. The results of these reforms however were not satisfactory. There have been rampant wage-price inflations, substantial rundown of capital plant and consumer shortages, while the income gap between the poorer Southern and the relatively affluent Northern regions of the country remained. The self-management system stimulated the inflationary economy that was needed to support it. Large state-owned enterprises operated as monopolists with unrestricted access to capital that was shared according to political criteria. The
oil crisis of 1973 The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
magnified the economic problems, which the government tried to solve with extensive foreign borrowing. Although such actions resulted in a reasonable rate of growth for a few years (GNP grew at 5.1% yearly), such growth was unsustainable since the rate of foreign borrowing grew at an annual rate of 20%. After the relatively prosperous 70s, life conditions deteriorated in Yugoslavia in the 1980s, and were reflected in soaring unemployment rates and inflation. In the late 1980s, the unemployment rate in Yugoslavia was over 17%, with another 20% underemployed; with 60% of the unemployed under the age of 25. Real net personal income declined by 19.5%. The nominal GDP per capita of Yugoslavia at current prices in US dollars was at $3,549 in 1990. The central government tried to reform the self-management system and create an open market economy with considerable state ownership of major industrial factories, but
strikes Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
in major plants and hyperinflation held back progress. The Yugoslav wars and consequent loss of market, as well as mismanagement and/or non-transparent privatization, brought further economic trouble for all the former republics of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The Yugoslav currency was the Yugoslav dinar. Various economic indicators around 1990 were: :Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2,700% (1989 est.) :Unemployment rate: 15% (1989) :GNP: $129.5 billion, per capita $5,464; real growth rate – 1.0% (1989 est.) :Budget: revenues $6.4 billion; expenditures $6.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990) :Exports: $13.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—raw materials and semimanufactures 50%, consumer goods 31%, capital goods and equipment 19%; partners—EC 30%, CEMA 45%, less developed countries 14%, US 5%, other 6% :Imports: $13.8 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities—raw materials and semimanufactures 79%, capital goods and equipment 15%, consumer goods 6%; partners—EC 30%, CEMA 45%, less developed countries 14%, US 5%, other 6% :External debt: $17.0 billion, medium and long term (1989) :Electricity: 21,000,000 kW capacity; 87,100 million kWh produced, 3,650 kWh per capita (1989)


Transportation


Air transport

In the interwar period, air transport in Yugoslavia was organised by the privately owned Aeroput company, but its post-war operations were suspended due to nationalization and near-total fleet destruction during the war. The first plan for the post-war public air transport reconstruction was introduced by the Commission for the Economic Reconstruction on 28 December 1944. The plan envisaged a national network which would include
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Titograd, Skopje, Novi Sad, Kraljevo, Niš, Borovo,
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Banja Luka, Mostar,
Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
and Trieste. Initial charter public flights were organised by military planes, while the first regular international line after the war was introduced on 6 October 1945 between Belgrade and Prague. The initial public fleet consisted of four old German planes (Junkers Ju 52) and four Tukans purchased in France in 1945-46. In August 1945 Yugoslavia received 11 Soviet Lisunov-Li 2 planes, but their usage was quickly discontinued in international transport, and partially discontinued in domestic transport, due to concerns over inadequate safety. Yugoslavia therefore initiated purchase of 10 American excess and therefore cheap C-47 planes in 1946. However, as Yugoslavia at the time was still a close Soviet ally, the US rejected the proposal pushing Yugoslavia to purchase three DC-3s in Belgium which would be the basic type of planes in Yugoslav public fleet all up until 1960s. The Yugoslav national public air transport company
JAT Airways Jat Airways (stylized as JatAirways; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jat ervejz, Јат ервејз) was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia, and formerly Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. Founded in 19 ...
was established in April 1947. While being a Communist country, after the Tito–Stalin split Yugoslavia initiated a period of military neutrality and non-alignment. Its airlines were supplied by both the East and the West.
JAT Yugoslav Airlines Jat Airways (stylized as JatAirways; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jat ervejz, Јат ервејз) was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia, and formerly Yugoslavia. Founded in 1927 as Aeroput, the airline ceased operatio ...
became the flag carrier by absorbing the previous company Aeroput. During its existence it grew to become one of the leading airlines in Europe both by fleet and destinations. Its fleet included most of the Western-built aircraft, and destinations included five continents. By the 1970s more airlines were created, namely
Aviogenex Aviogenex ( sr-Cyrl, Авиогенекс) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian charter airline based at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. It operated regular and ad hoc charter flights as well as wet-lease services. History Aviogenex had more than 40 yea ...
, Adria Airways and
Pan Adria Airways Pan Adria Airways ( sh, Aerotransportno Preduzeće JPTT / ) was a Yugoslavian charter airliner based at Zagreb. Pan Adria Airways was formed in 1961 by the Yugoslav Government as a domestic operator. It later operated night-mail flights as well ...
, mostly focused in the growing tourist industry. The capital
Belgrade Airport Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport ( sr, / ) or Belgrade Airport ( sr, / ) is an international airport serving Belgrade, Serbia. It is the largest and the busiest airport in Serbia, situated west of downtown Belgrade near the suburb of Sur ...
became the regional hub offering flights, either by the national airline JAT, or by other airlines, to all important destinations worldwide. Aside from Belgrade, most international flights would include a stop in Zagreb Airport, the second national airport in terms of passenger and cargo capacity; the two became the sole international hubs. All secondary airports such as the ones in Sarajevo, Skopje, Split or Ljubljana were directly linked to international flights through either Belgrade or Zagreb, while a number of tourism-oriented destinations were developed, such as Dubrovnik,
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
, Ohrid, Tivat and others.


Railways

The railway system in Yugoslavia was operated by the
Yugoslav Railways Yugoslav Railways ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslavenske željeznice/Jugoslovenske železnice, Југославенске жељезнице/Југословенске железнице; mk, Југословенски железници; sl, Jugoslovans ...
. Much of the infrastructure was inherited from the pre-WWII period, and SFRY period was marked by the extension and electrification of the rails. Electric and diesel locomotives were introduced in number from the 1960s onwards. Much of the early rolling stock were European produced, while with time were being replaced with domestically built locomotives, mostly from
Rade Končar Rade Končar ( sr-cyr, Раде Кончар; 6 August or 28 October 1911 – 22 May 1942) was a Serbs of Croatia, Croatian Serb politician and leader of the Yugoslav Partisans in the Independent State of Croatia and Governorate of Dalmatia, D ...
and carriages, mostly from GOŠA. The main two projects during SFRY period were electrification of the
Zagreb–Belgrade railway The Zagreb–Belgrade railway ( sh, Pruga Zagreb-Beograd) was the Yugoslav Railways long railway line connecting the cities of Zagreb and Belgrade in SR Croatia and SR Serbia, at the time of Yugoslavia. It was the route of the Orient Express s ...
, and the building of the highly challenging Belgrade–Bar railway. Yugoslav railways operated a number of international services, such as the Orient Express.


Roads

The core of the road network in Yugoslavia was the
Brotherhood and Unity Highway The Brotherhood and Unity Highway (; ; or , ), officially classed as the M-1 highway, was a highway that stretched over across Yugoslavia, from the Austrian border at Jesenice in the northwest via Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje to Gevgel ...
which was a highway that stretched over , from the Austrian border at Rateče near Kranjska Gora in the northwest via Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje to
Gevgelija Gevgelija ( mk, Гевгелија; ) is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast of the North Macedonia along the banks of the Vardar River, situated at the country's main border with Greece (Bogorodica-Evzoni), the point ...
on the Greek border in the southeast. It was the main modern highway in the country, connecting four constituent republics. It was the pioneer highway in Central-Eastern Europe, and the main link between Central and Western Europe with South-Eastern Europe and Middle East. Construction began on the initiative of President Tito. The first section between Zagreb and Belgrade was built with the effort of the Yugoslav People's Army and volunteer Youth Work Actions and was opened in 1950. The section between Ljubljana and Zagreb was built by 54,000 volunteers in less than eight months in 1958.


Maritime and river transportation

With its extensive coast in the Adriatic sea, Yugoslavia included several large ports such as Split, Rijeka, Zadar or Pula. Ferries providing passenger service were established linking Yugoslav ports with several ports in Italy and Greece. Regarding rivers, the Danube was navigable throughout its entire course in Yugoslavia, linking the ports of Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Vukovar with Central Europe and the Black sea. Long stretches of rivers Sava, and Tisza were also navigable.


Urban

Accompanying the high urban growth, urban transportation in Yugoslavia was significantly developed in all republic capitals and major cities. Urban bus networks existed in all cities, while many also included trolleybuses and trams. Despite having been planned for decades,
Belgrade Metro The Belgrade Metro ( sr, Београдски метро, Beogradski metro) is a planned rapid transit system in Belgrade, Serbia currently under construction. The construction of the full metro system has been delayed repeatedly, mostly due to ...
never materialised, and Belgrade became the major capital in Europe not to have metro. Instead, Belgrade city authorities opted for the development of urban rail transport,
Beovoz Beovoz ( sr-Cyrl, Беовоз, stylized as – BEOVOZ) was a commuter rail that provided mass-transit service within the Belgrade metropolitan area. The main usage of system was to connect the suburbs with downtown Belgrade. Beovoz was operated ...
, and an extensive tram, bus and trolley network. Besides capital Belgrade, other cities developed tram networks as well. The urban rail transport infrastructure in Yugoslavia consisted of: * Bosnia and Herzegovina: **
Trams in Sarajevo Trams in Sarajevo are a part of the public transport system in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The system is run by KJKP GRAS Sarajevo, which also operates trolleybus and bus routes in the city. As of 2010, the Sarajevo tram ...
* Croatia: **
Zagreb tram system The Zagreb tram network, run by the Zagrebački električni tramvaj (ZET), consists of 15 day and 4 night lines in Zagreb, Croatia. Trams operate on of metre gauge route. During the day every line runs on average every 5–10 minutes, but almos ...
**
Osijek tram system The Osijek tram system is operated by the ''City Transport of Osijek'' (GPP Osijek) and serves the city of Osijek, capital of the Slavonia region of Croatia. The Osijek network is the only Croatian tram system still in existence outside Zagreb. ...
** Dubrovnik tram system up to 1970 ** Rijeka tram system up to 1952 * Serbia: ** Belgrade tram system **
Niš tram system Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
up to 1958 **
Novi Sad tram system The Novi Sad tram system was a tram system in Novi Sad, Serbia. It was in operation between 30 September 1911 until some time in 1958. There are plans to build a new network with estimated completion by 2030. Origins and Demise As Novi Sad devel ...
up to 1958 **
Subotica tram system The Subotica tram system was a tram system in Subotica, Serbia. It was in operation from 7 September 1897 to 2 April 1974. The first tram line went from the Sombor gate to the present day NAP gas station in Mali Bajmok over Rudic street, follogin ...
up to 1974 * Slovenia: **
Ljubljana tram system The tram system in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, was originally built in 1901 and was operated until 1958. Slovenia was then part of Austria-Hungary and Yugoslavia, respectively. Work started in 1900 and the tram was put in use after postpo ...
up to 1958 **
Piran tram system The tramway in Piran, a coastal town in Slovenian part of Istria, was in use from 20 July 1912 until 31 August 1953. The tramline replaced a pioneering trolleybus line in 1912, only to be replaced in turn by diesel buses in 1953. There was onl ...
up to 1953 In the Kingdom of Italy, there were also the
Opatija tram Trams in Opatija ran from February 1908 to March 1933, connecting the railway station in Matulji with Opatija and Lovran. History The Opatija line was planned in 1892 as a steam driven tramway line from Matulji to Volosko, however, this concept wa ...
and trams in Pula in
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
province, after 1947 (''de facto'' 1945) ceded to Yugoslavia.


Communications


Radio and television

One of the founding members of the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
,
Yugoslav Radio Television Yugoslav Radio Television (''Jugoslavenska radiotelevizija''/Југославенска радиотелевизија or ''Jugoslavenska radio-televizija''/Југославенска радио-телевизија; JRT/ЈРТ) was the national ...
, known as JRT, was the national public broadcasting system in Yugoslavia. It consisted of eight
subnational Subnational or sub-national may refer to: * Administrative division, all administrative divisions are under the national level * Subnational legislature, a type of regional legislature, under the national level * Subnational state, a type of state, ...
radio and television broadcast centers with each one headquartered in one of the six constituent republics and two autonomous provinces. Each television center created its own programming independently, and some of them operated several channels. This subnational broadcasting centers became public broadcasters of the newly independent states, with altered names, after the break-up of Yugoslavia. Zagreb Radio started broadcasting on 15 May 1926, and was the first public broadcasting facility in Southeast Europe. On the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Zagreb Radio station, on 15 May 1956, the first television programme was broadcast. This was the first TV station in Yugoslavia and would later become a color station in 1972. RT Belgrade and RT Ljubljana started broadcasting its television programmes two years later, in 1958.


Geography

Like the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that preceded it, the SFRY bordered Italy and Austria to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, Albania to the southwest, and the Adriatic Sea to the west. During the socialist period it was common for history and geography teachers to teach their students that Yugoslavia bordered with "''brigama''", a Serbo-Croatian word meaning ''worries'' and that was an acronym of the initials of all the countries Yugoslavia bordered with, transformed into a mnemonic principle used for both, easy learning and ironic reminder of the difficult relations Yugoslav people had with its neighbors in the past. The most significant change to the borders of the SFRY occurred in 1954, when the adjacent Free Territory of Trieste was dissolved by the Treaty of Osimo. The Yugoslav Zone B, which covered , became part of the SFRY. Zone B was already occupied by the Yugoslav National Army. In 1991, the SFRY's territory disintegrated as the independent states of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina separated from it, though the Yugoslav military controlled parts of Croatia and Bosnia prior to the state's dissolution. By 1992, only the republics of Serbia and Montenegro remained committed to union, and formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in that year.


Demographics


Ethnic groups

The SFRY recognised "nations" ''(narodi)'' and "nationalities" ''(narodnosti)'' separately; the former included the constituent South Slavic peoples ( Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Muslims (from 1971), Serbs and Slovenes), while the latter included other Slavic and non-Slavic ethnic groups such as
Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak. In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...
, Bulgarians, Rusyns and Czechs (Slavic); or
Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
, Hungarians,
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, Turks, Romanians, Vlachs, Italians, and Germans (non-Slavic). In total, about 26 known sizeable ethnic groups were known to live in Yugoslavia. There was also a Yugoslav ethnic designation, for the people who wanted to identify with the entire country, including people who were born to parents in mixed marriages.


Languages

The population of Yugoslavia spoke mainly three languages: Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
. Serbo-Croatian was spoken by the populations in the federated republics of SR Serbia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and SR Montenegro – a total of 17 million people by the late 1980s. Slovene was spoken by approximately 2 million inhabitants of
SR Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
, while Macedonian was spoken by 1.8 million inhabitants of
SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
. National minorities used their own languages as well, with 506,000 speaking Hungarian (primarily in SAP Vojvodina), and 2,000,000 persons speaking
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
in SR Serbia (primarily in SAP Kosovo), SR Macedonia and SR Montenegro.
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
,
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
(primarily in SAP Vojvodina), and Italian (primarily in Istria and parts of Dalmatia) were also spoken to a lesser extent. The Yugoslav Albanians, almost exclusively Ghegs, chose to use the unified standard language of Albania predominantly based on
Tosk Albanian Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
(a different dialect), for political reasons. The three main languages all belong to the South Slavic language group and are thus similar, allowing most people from different areas to understand each other. Intellectuals were mostly acquainted with all three languages, while people of more modest means from SR Slovenia and SR Macedonia were provided an opportunity to learn Serbo-Croatian during the compulsory service in the federal military. Serbo-Croatian itself is made-up of three dialects, Shtokavian, Kajkavian, and Chakavian, with Shtokavian used as the standard official dialect of the language. Official Serbo-Croatian (Shtokavian), was divided into two similar variants, the Croatian (Western) variant and Serbian (Eastern) variant, with minor differences telling the two apart. Two alphabets used in Yugoslavia were: the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic script. Both alphabets were modified for use by Serbo-Croatian in the 19th century, thus the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet is more closely known as Gaj's Latin alphabet, while Cyrillic is referred to as the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. Serbo-Croatian uses both alphabets, Slovene uses only the Latin alphabet, and Macedonian uses only the Cyrillic alphabet. Bosnian and Croatian variants of the language used exclusively Latin, while the Serbian variant used both Latin and Cyrillic.


Emigration

The small or negative population growth in the former Yugoslavia reflected a high level of emigration. Even before the breakup of the country, during the 1960s and 1970s, Yugoslavia was one of the most important "sending societies" of international migration. An important receiving society was
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, target of an estimated total of 500,000 migrants, who now account for more than 6% of total Swiss population. Similar numbers emigrated to Germany, Austria, Australia, Sweden and to North America.


Military

The armed forces of SFR Yugoslavia consisted of the Yugoslav People's Army (''Jugoslovenska narodna armija'', JNA), Territorial Defense (TO), Civil Defense (CZ) and ''
Milicija ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...
'' (police) in wartime. Socialist Yugoslavia maintained a strong military force. JNA was the main organization of the military forces plus the remnacents of the royal Yugoslav army, and was composed of the ground army, navy and aviation. Militarily, Yugoslavia had a policy of self-sufficiency. Due to its policy of neutrality and non-alignment, efforts were made to develop the country's military industry to provide the military with all its needs, and even for export. Most of its military equipment and pieces were domestically produced, while some was imported both from the East and the West. The regular army mostly originated from the Yugoslav Partisans of World War II. Yugoslavia had a thriving arms industry and exported to nations such as Kuwait, Iraq, and Burma, among others (including a number of staunchly anti-communist regimes like Guatemala). Yugoslav companies like Zastava Arms produced Soviet-designed weaponry under license as well as creating weaponry from scratch, ranging from police pistols to airplanes.
SOKO Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...
was an example of a successful military aircraft design by Yugoslavia before the Yugoslav wars. Beside the federal army, each of the six republics had their own respective Territorial Defense Forces. They were a national guard of sorts, established in the frame of a new
military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across ...
called "General Popular Defense" as an answer to the brutal end of the
Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...
by the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia in 1968. It was organized on republic, autonomous province, municipality and local community levels. As Yugoslavia splintered, the army factionalized along ethnic lines, and by 1991–92 Serbs made up almost the entire army as the separating states formed their own.


Education

Period of the existence of the SFR Yugoslavia was marked by significant development in the field of education. The immediate period after the World War II was marked by the organization of widespread literacy (''analfabetism'') courses which resulted in decrease in the number of illiterate citizens (particularly women who constituted 70% of students) from 4,408,471 (44.6% of population above 10 years in 1931) to 3,162,941 (25.4% of population above 10 years in 1948), 3,066,165 (21% in 1961), 2,549.571 (15.1% in 1971), and 1,780.902 (9,5% in 1981) and with continuous increasing average age among illiterate population. In 1946 there were 10,666 elementary schools with 1.441.679 students and 23.270 teachers while the number of elementary school students peaked in 1975/76 academic year with 2,856,453 students. The country introduced universal eight year elementary public education in 1958. Between 1946 and 1987 the number of
high schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in Yugoslavia rose from 959 to 1248 with 6.6% of population with high school diploma in 1953 and 25.5% in 1981. Only 0.6% of population held higher education degree in 1953 with number rising to 1.3% in 1961, 2.8% in 1971 and 5.6% in 1981. While economy and job market of the interwar kingdom was unable to absorb significantly smaller numbers of qualified workers post-war Yugoslav economy was despite the improvements continually faced with the lack of qualified workforce.


Universities

The University of Zagreb (founded 1669), University of Belgrade (founded 1808) and the University of Ljubljana (founded 1919) already existed before the creation of Socialist Yugoslavia. Between 1945 and 1992 numerous universities were established throughout the country: Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, 2. Ausg., Band 6, Artikel ''Jugoslavija'', Abschnitt ''Nauka'', S. 510 f. * University of Sarajevo (1949) *
University of Skopje The Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje ( mk, Универзитет „Св. Кирил и Методиј“ во Скопје) is the oldest and largest public university in North Macedonia. It is named after the Byzantine Christia ...
(1949) * University of Novi Sad (1960) * University of Niš (1965) *
University of Pristina The University of Pristina ( sq, Universiteti i Prishtinës) is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–99) as a result of the K ...
(1970) *
University of Arts in Belgrade The University of Arts in Belgrade ( sr-cyr, Универзитет уметности у Београду, Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu) is a public university in Serbia. It was founded in 1957 as the Academy of Arts to unite four academies. ...
(1973) * University of Rijeka (1973) * University of Split (1974) * University of Titograd (1974) * University of Banja Luka (1975) * University of Maribor (1975) *
University of Osijek The Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek ( hr, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, la, Universitas studiorum Mursensis), commonly known as the University of Osijek (UNIOS), is a public university based in Osijek, Croatia. ...
(1975) * University of Kragujevac (1976) * University of Tuzla (1976) *
University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( hr, Sveučilište u Mostaru; la, Universitas Studiorum Mostariensis) is the largest public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously it was called the University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar, n ...
(1977) * University of Bitola (1979)


Arts

Prior to the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Yugoslavia had a modern multicultural society. Characteristic attention was based on the concept of brotherhood and unity and the memory of the Communist Yugoslav Partisans' victory against fascists and nationalists as the rebirth of the Yugoslav people, although all forms of art flourished freely unlike in other socialist counties. In the SFRY the history of Yugoslavia during World War II was omnipresent, and was portrayed as a struggle not only between Yugoslavia and the Axis Powers, but as a struggle between good and evil within Yugoslavia with the multiethnic Yugoslav Partisans were represented as the "good" Yugoslavs fighting against manipulated "evil" Yugoslavs – the Croatian Ustaše and Serbian
Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
. The SFRY was presented to its people as the leader of the non-aligned movement and that the SFRY was dedicated to creating a just, harmonious,
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
world. Artists from different ethnicities in the country were popular amongst other ethnicities, and the film industry in Yugoslavia avoided nationalist overtones until the 1990s. Unlike in other socialist societies, Yugoslavia was considered tolerant to a popular and classical art as long as it was not overly critical of the ruling regime, which made Yugoslavia appear to be a free country despite its one-party regime structure.


Literature

Significant number of Yugoslav writers supported Yugoslav Partisans efforts during the World War II with some of the most prominent of them being Vladimir Nazor,
Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. ...
, Matej Bor,
Kočo Racin Kosta Apostolov Solev ( Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian and bg, Коста Апостолов Солев; 22 December 1908 – 13 June 1943), primarily known by his pen name Kočo Racin ( Macedonian, Bulgarian and sh, Кочо Рацин), was a ...
, Kajuh,
Ivan Goran Kovačić Ivan Goran Kovačić (; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer. Early life and background He was born in Lukovdol (part of Vrbovsko), a town in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvanian Jewi ...
, Skender Kulenović and Branko Ćopić. Socialist realism was a dominant style in the first couple of years after the war yet much more pluralistic attitude developed over the years. Throughout the period Yugoslav literature was approached as an umbrella term for various local literatures with their own characteristics and inner diversity. The most important international breakthrough for the Yugoslav literature was 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature laureate award to Ivo Andrić. Other prominent Yugoslav writers of the era were Miroslav Krleža, Meša Selimović, Mak Dizdar and others.


Graphic arts

Notable painters included:
Đorđe Andrejević Kun Đorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе;transliterated Djordje) is a Serbian given name, a Serbian variant, derived from Greek ''Georgios'' (''George'' in English). Other variants include: Đurđe, Đurađ, Đura, Đuro, Georgije. It may refer to: * Đor ...
, Petar Lubarda,
Mersad Berber Mersad Berber (1 January 1940 – 7 October 2012) was a Bosnian painter. Early life Berber was born in Bosanski Petrovac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana where he graduated with a BA and MA. In 1978, Be ...
,
Milić od Mačve Milić Stanković (1934 – 2000), known by his artistic name Milić of Mačva ( sr, Милић од Мачве, Milić od Mačve; 30 October 1934 – 8 December 2000), was a Serbian painter and artist often named Balkan's Dalí for his figurat ...
and others. Prominent sculptor was Antun Augustinčić who made a monument standing in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.


Film

The Yugoslav cinema featured notable actors Danilo Stojković, Ida Kravanja,
Ljuba Tadić Ljubomir "Ljuba" Tadić ( sr-cyr, Љубомир Љуба Тадић; 31 May 1929 – 28 October 2005) was a Yugoslav actor who enjoyed a reputation as one of the greatest names in the history of former Yugoslav cinema. Biography He made his scr ...
,
Fabijan Šovagović Fabijan Šovagović (4 January 1932 – 1 January 2001) was a Croatian film, television and theatre actor, and writer. Biography Šovagović was born in the village of Ladimirevci, in the Slavonia region of Croatia, then Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He ...
, Mirko Bogataj, Mustafa Nadarević,
Bata Živojinović Velimir "Bata" Živojinović ( sr-Cyrl, Велимир "Бата" Живојиновић; 5 June 1933 – 22 May 2016) was a Yugoslav and Serbian actor and politician. He appeared in more than 340 films and TV series, and is regarded as one of ...
,
Boris Dvornik Boris Dvornik (; 16 April 1939 – 24 March 2008) was a Croatian actor. Biography Born in Split to the family of a carpenter, Dvornik discovered acting talent at an early age, while performing in children's plays. After studying to become an e ...
, Ratko Polič, Ljubiša Samardžić, Dragan Nikolić,
Pavle Vujisić Pavle ( Macedonian and sr-cyr, Павле; ka, პავლე) is a Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and Georgian male given name corresponding to English Paul; the name is of biblical origin (cf. Saint Paul). People known mononymously as Pavle inc ...
, Arnold Tovornik, Volodja Peer, Mira Banjac,
Stevo Žigon Štefan "Stevo" Žigon ( sr-cyr, Стево Жигон; 8 December 1926 – 28 December 2005) was a Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer. Biography His origins were primarily Italian. He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then part of the ...
, Voja Brajović, Ivo Ban,
Miki Manojlović Predrag "Miki" Manojlović ( sr-cyr, Предраг "Мики" Манојловић; born 5 April 1950) is a Serbian actor, famous for his starring roles in some of the most important films of former Yugoslav cinema. Since the early 1990s, he su ...
,
Svetlana Bojković Svetlana "Ceca" Bojković ( sr-cyr, Светлана "Цеца" Бојковић; born 14 December 1947) is a Serbian actress. She began her career in 1967 in the film '' Jednog dana moj Jamele'', but her greatest movie success came ten years la ...
, Miodrag Petrović Čkalja, Zoran Radmilović, Špela Rozin,
Josif Tatić Josif Tatić (13 April 1946 – 8 February 2013) was a Serbian film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1967 to 2011. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatic, Josif 1946 birt ...
,
Milan Gutović Milan Gutović ( sr-cyr, Милан "Лане" Гутовић; 11 August 1946 – 25 August 2021) was a Serbian and Yugoslav actor, cabaret performer and television personality. He is best known for his portrayal of Srećko Šojić in '' Tesna ...
, Milena Dravić, Milena Zupančič, Bekim Fehmiu,
Neda Arnerić Neda Arnerić ( sr-cyr, Неда Арнерић; 15 July 1953 – 10 January 2020) was a Serbian film, stage and television actress, and politician. A graduate art historian, she was considered a sex symbol of Yugoslav cinematography. Personal ...
, Janez Škof, Rade Šerbedžija, Mira Furlan, Ena Begović and others. Film directors included: Emir Kusturica, Dušan Makavejev, Duša Počkaj, Goran Marković, Lordan Zafranović, Goran Paskaljević, Živojin Pavlović and
Hajrudin Krvavac Hajrudin "Šiba" Krvavac (22 December 1926 – 11 July 1992) was a Bosnian film director most notable for directing movies from the Partisan film genre during 1960s and 70s. His gift for precise storytelling was visible in his early documentaries ...
. Many Yugoslav films featured eminent foreign actors such as Orson Welles,
Sergei Bondarchuk Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (russian: Сергей Фёдорович Бондарчук, ; uk, Сергі́й Федорович Бондарчук, Serhíj Fédorovych Bondarchúk; 25 September 192020 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian ...
, Franco Nero and Yul Brynner in the Academy Award nominated '' The Battle of Neretva'', and Richard Burton in '' Sutjeska''. Also, many foreign films were shot on locations in Yugoslavia including domestic crews, such as ''
Force 10 from Navarone ''Force 10 from Navarone'' is a World War II novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It serves as a sequel to MacLean's 1957 '' The Guns of Navarone'', but follows the events of the 1961 film adaptation of the same name. It features vari ...
'', ''
Armour of God The phrase "Armor of God" (, ''panoplian tou Theou'') is derived from Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (King James Version).Bible Gateway Passage Lookup: Armour of God ...
'', as well as '' Escape from Sobibor''.


Music


Traditional music

Prominent traditional music artists were the award-winning
Tanec Tanec ( mk, Танец) is a folklore musical ensemble from Skopje, North Macedonia. It is considered as an ambassador of the Macedonian folklore tradition worldwide. History The Tanec ensemble was founded by the Government of the People's Repu ...
ensemble, the Gypsy music performer Esma Redžepova and others. A very popular genre in Yugoslavia, also exported to other neighboring countries, and also popular among the Yugoslav emigration worldwide, was the
Narodna muzika Balkan folk music is the traditional folk music within Balkan region. It's also known as narodna muzika ( Bulgarian, Macedonian, sr-cyr, народна музика), also folk muzika (фолк музика) means folk music in the South Slavic la ...
. The Slovenian most popular folk music was played by Avsenik brothers (Ansambel bratov Avsenik) and Lojze Slak.The folk music emerged in force during the 1970s and 1980s, and by the 1980s and 1990s the so-called novokomponovana muzika style appeared and gave place to controversial turbo-folk style.
Lepa Brena Fahreta Živojinović (; ; born 20 October 1960), known by her stage name Lepa Brena (), is a folk singer, actress, and businesswoman. She is the best-selling female recording artist from the former Yugoslavia. Lepa Brena grew up in Brčko, Bosni ...
in the 1980s become the most popular singer of the Yugoslavia, and a top-selling female recording artist with more than 40 million records sold. Folk performers enjoyed great popularity and became constant presence in the tabloids and media. Yugoslav music scene in its diverse genres became known internationally, from traditional folklor music being appreciated worldwide, through rock-pop music being appreciated in Eastern, and lesser extent, Western Europe, to turbo-folk music being widely exported to neighboring countries.


Classical music

The pianist Ivo Pogorelić and the violinist
Stefan Milenković Stefan Milenkovich ( sr, Stefan Milenković, Стефан Миленковић; born January 25, 1977) is a Serbian violinist. Early life Milenković was born to a Serbian father, Zoran Milenković, and a Serbian-born mother of Italian descent, L ...
were internationally acclaimed classical music performers, while Jakov Gotovac was a prominent composer and a conductor.


Popular music

As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Yugoslavia was far more open to Western culture than other socialist countries, and the western-influenced popular music was socially accepted and well covered in the media, which included numerous concerts, music magazines, radio and TV shows. The Yugoslav rock scene, which emerged in the late 1950s, generally followed Western European and American trends with local and Eastern European influence. The most notable Yugoslav rock acts included Atomsko Sklonište,
Azra Azra was a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band that was one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav new wave music of the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were ...
,
Bajaga i Instruktori Bajaga i Instruktori (Serbian Cyrillic: Бајага и Инструктори; trans. ''Bajaga and the Instructors'') are a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1984. Founded and led by vocalist, guitarist and principal composer ...
, Đorđe Balašević, Bijelo Dugme, Buldožer,
Crvena Jabuka Crvena jabuka () is a pop rock band formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1985. Since then they had great success and are still very popular. They were a part of the New primitives movement that started during the 80s. Biography The ...
, Zdravko Čolić, Divlje Jagode,
Ekatarina Velika Ekatarina Velika ( sr-Cyrl, Екатарина Велика, en, Catherine the Great), sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential Yugoslav music acts. Initia ...
, Električni Orgazam,
Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
,
Galija Galija ( sr-cyr, Галија; ) is a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Niš in 1977. The central figures of the band are brothers Nenad Milosavljević (vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica) and Predrag Milosavljević (vocals). A large ...
, Haustor, Idoli, Indexi, Korni Grupa, KUD Idijoti,
Laboratorija Zvuka Laboratorija Zvuka ( sr-cyr, Лабораторија Звука; trans. ''Sound Laboratory''), credited as Laboratorija (''Laboratory'') only on some of their releases, was a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Novi Sad in 1977. Noted for t ...
,
Lačni Franz Lačni Franz (meaning ''Hungry Franz'') is a rock band from Slovenia that was also popular in the 1980s in Yugoslavia. While they were inspired by another Slovenian radical band Buldožer known for utilizing sheer madness in the social and polit ...
, Laibach,
Leb i Sol Leb i sol ( mk, Леб и сол) is a Macedonian and former Yugoslav rock group founded in the 1970s by Vlatko Stefanovski (guitar), Bodan Arsovski (bass guitar), Nikola Kokan Dimuševski (keyboards) and Garabet Tavitjan (drums). Tavitjan ced ...
,
Josipa Lisac Josipa Lisac (; born 14 February 1950) is a Croatian pop rock singer. Biography During the 1960s, Lisac was the vocalist of the group Zlatni Akordi. Her first solo album, '' Dnevnik jedne ljubavi'' (''The Diary of a Love''), recorded in 1973, was ...
, Pankrti,
Paraf Paraf was a punk rock and later post-punk band from Rijeka, Croatia, known as one of the pioneers of punk rock in the former Yugoslavia. History Punk rock years (1976-1980) Following the expansion of punk rock in Europe, teenagers Valter ...
, Parni Valjak,
Partibrejkers Partibrejkers (Serbian Cyrillic: Партибрејкерс, transliteration for: ''Partybreakers'') is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade, as well as one of the most acclaimed acts of the Yugoslav rock scene. The band was formed in 1982 and rele ...
, Pekinška Patka,
Plavi Orkestar Plavi orkestar () is a Bosnian and former Yugoslavian pop rock band from Sarajevo. The band was formed in 1983 by Saša Lošić, who is the lead singer and songwriter of the group. The band has remained popular with seven albums and more than ...
, Prljavo Kazalište,
Psihomodo Pop Psihomodo Pop is a Croatian pop punk group. The band was formed in 1983 in Zagreb and has since achieved a somewhat cult following across the area of former Yugoslavia. Formed from the remnants of a band called Neron, Psihomodo Pop initially ...
,
Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; translation: lit. ''Fish Stew'') is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band was one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Yugoslav ...
, September, Smak, Šarlo Akrobata, Time,
YU Grupa YU Grupa (trans. '' YU Group'') is a Serbian (former Yugoslav) rock band. A pioneer in combining rock music with the elements of the traditional music of the Balkans, YU Grupa is credited with being the longest-lasting Serbian rock band.
,
Zabranjeno Pušenje Zabranjeno pušenje () is a Bosnian rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1980. The group's musical style primarily consists of a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex storytelling. Curre ...
and others. It was the only Communist country that took part in the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, starting in
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...
, even before some Western nations, with the group
Riva Riva may refer to: People * Riva (surname) * Riva Castleman (1930–2014), American art historian, art curator and author * Riva Ganguly Das (born 1961), Indian diplomat * Riva (footballer), Brazilian former footballer Rivadávio Alves Pereira ...
winning in
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
.


Architectural heritage

Although Yugoslav cities and towns architecturally resembled and followed the styles of Central and Southeastern Europe, what became most characteristic of the SFRY period was the creation of a modernist or brutalist style architecture buildings and neighborhoods. Yugoslav cities expanded greatly during this period and the government often opted for the creation of modernist planned neighborhoods to accommodate the growing working middle-class. Such typical examples are the Novi Beograd and Novi Zagreb neighborhoods in two major cities. * Yugoslav World War II monuments and memorials *
People's Heroes of Yugoslavia monuments {{short description, None There were 1,322 individuals who were decorated by the Order of the People's hero of Yugoslavia between 1942 and 1973. Many busts and memorials were built in honor of each People's hero. Each of them usually had a bust in ...


Sports

FPR/SFR Yugoslavia developed a strong athletic sports community, notably in team sports such as association football, basketball, handball, water polo, and volleyball.


Football

The country's biggest footballing achievement came on the club level with Red Star Belgrade winning the
1990–91 European Cup The 1990–91 European Cup was the 36th season of the European Cup, a tournament for men's football clubs in nations affiliated to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It was won for the first time by Red Star Belgrade on penaltie ...
, beating
Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
in the final played on 29 May 1991. Later that year, they became world club champions by beating Colo-Colo 3–0 in the Intercontinental Cup. Previously, Red Star had reached the
1978–79 UEFA Cup The 1978–79 UEFA Cup was won by Borussia Mönchengladbach on aggregate over Red Star Belgrade. The third club was revoked to Switzerland and Poland, and it was assigned to Bulgaria and East Germany. First round ...
two-legged In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum o ...
final, while their Belgrade cross-town rivals
Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...
had been the
1965–66 European Cup The 1965–66 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won by Real Madrid, winners of the first five European Cups from 1956 to 1960, for the sixth time in a close final against Partizan. Real Madrid eliminated title-holders Interna ...
finalists. Dinamo Zagreb
won Won may refer to: *The Korean won from 1902–1910 *South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea *North Korean won, the currency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea * Won (Korean surname) * Won (Korean given name) * Won Buddhis ...
the
1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The ninth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1966–67 season. The competition was won by Dinamo Zagreb over two legs in the final against Leeds United. For the first time in the history of the cup, replays were scrapped, with sides going ...
. Furthermore, Čelik Zenica (twice), Red Star Belgrade, Vojvodina, Partizan, Iskra Bugojno, and
Borac Banja Luka Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...
won the
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hungar ...
; while Velež Mostar,
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
, Dinamo Zagreb, and Radnički Niš, each won the
Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
. On the national team level, FPR/SFR Yugoslavia qualified for seven FIFA World Cups, the best result coming in
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
in Chile with a 4th-place finish (equalizing the Kingdom of Yugoslavia achievement from
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
). The country also played in four
European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
. The best results came in 1960 and 1968 when the team lost in the finals—in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
to Soviet Union and in
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...
to Italy. Yugoslavia was also the first non-Western European country to host a European Championship, UEFA Euro 1976. Additionally, the Yugoslav Olympic team won gold at the
1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to: *The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States *The 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympi ...
in Rome, having previously won silver at the three preceding Olympic Games —
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
in London,
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
in Helsinki, and
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
in Melbourne. The team additionally won bronze in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
in Los Angeles. In the youth category, Yugoslavia under-20 team qualified for just two FIFA World Youth Championships, but won in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
in Chile while the Yugoslav under-21 team qualified for four UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships winning the inaugural edition in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and coming runners-up in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. On the individual player front, Yugoslavia produced some notable performers on the world stage; such as Rajko Mitić,
Stjepan Bobek Stjepan Bobek (; 3 December 1923 – 22 August 2010) was a Croatian and Yugoslav professional football striker and later football manager. Usually a forward or attacking midfielder, Bobek was renowned for his technique, vision and goalscoring ...
,
Bernard Vukas Bernard "Bajdo" Vukas (1 May 1927 – 4 April 1983) was a Croatian football player during Yugoslavia. Biography Vukas played as a left winger/ forward and is mostly remembered for his extraordinary dribbling ability. In 2000, he was voted by t ...
,
Vladimir Beara Vladimir Beara (; 26 August 1928 – 11 August 2014) was a Yugoslav football goalkeeper and manager. He played the vast majority of his professional club career for Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade in the Yugoslav Federal League and for the Yu ...
, Dragoslav Šekularac, Milan Galić, Josip Skoblar, Ivan Ćurković, Velibor Vasović, Dragan Džajić,
Safet Sušić Safet "Pape" Sušić (; born 13 April 1955) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of TFF First League club Akhisarspor. He was a gifted midfielder known for his dribbling skills and techn ...
, Dragan Stojković, Dejan Savićević,
Darko Pančev Darko Pančev ( mk, Дарко Панчев, ; born 7 September 1965) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He most notably played for FK Vardar and Red Star Belgrade. He was part of the Red Star Belgrade squad ...
, Robert Prosinečki, and others.


Basketball

Unlike football which inherited a lot of its infrastructure and know-how from the pre-World War II Kingdom of Yugoslavia, basketball had very little prior heritage. The sport was thus nurtured and developed from scratch within the Communist Yugoslavia through individual enthusiasts such as Nebojša Popović, Bora Stanković, Radomir Šaper,
Aca Nikolić ACA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV series), an Australian television program * Actors Centre Australia, a private dramatic arts school * American Choreography Awards * American Composers Alliance * Am ...
, and Ranko Žeravica. Though a member of FIBA since 1936, the national team didn't qualify for a major competition until after World War II. In 1948, the country's umbrella basketball association,
Yugoslav Basketball Federation The Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Košarkaški savez Jugoslavije, Кошаркашки савез Југославије; sl, Košarkarska zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Кошаркарска федерација на Југосл ...
(KSJ), was established. Following its major competition debut at EuroBasket 1947, Yugoslav national team didn't take long to become a contender on world stage with the first medal, a silver, coming at EuroBasket 1961. The country's most notable results were winning three FIBA World Championships (in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
,
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
, and
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
), a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, in addition to five
European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
(three of them consecutively
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
,
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, and
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, followed by two more consecutive ones in
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
). As a result of the 1970 FIBA World Championship win, basketball experienced a significant surge of popularity throughout the country, leading to the authorities initiating construction of a number of indoor sporting facilities. Some of the arenas built during this period include: Zagreb's Dom Sportova (1972), Belgrade's
Hala Pionir Hala may refer to: People * Hala (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * David Hala (born 1989), Australian Rugby League player * Hāla (fl. 20-24), Indian king of the Satavahana dyn ...
(1973), Baldekin Sports Hall in Šibenik (1973), Dvorana Mladosti in
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
(1973),
Hala Pinki Pinki Cultural and Sports Center ( sr-Cyrl, Културно спортски центар Пинки), commonly known as Pinki Hall ( sr-Cyrl, Хала Пинки), is an indoor multi-sports venue located in Belgrade's municipality of Zemun, Serb ...
in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun (1974),
Čair Sports Center Čair Sports Center ( sr, Спортски центар Чаир, Sportski centar Čair), commonly known as Čair Hall ( sr, Хала Чаир, Hala Čair) is an indoor sporting arena located in Niš, Serbia. The seating capacity of the arena is 4 ...
in Niš (1974), Kragujevac's
Hala Jezero The Jezero Hall is an indoor sporting arena located in Kragujevac, Serbia. The capacity of the arena is 5,320 people. It is currently home to the Radnički Kragujevac basketball, volleyball teams and KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac The first sporting ...
(1978),
Morača Sports Center Morača Sports Centre ( Montenegrin: ''Sportski centar Morača'', Спортски центар Морача) is a multi-sports venue that is located in Podgorica, Montenegro. The venue is located in the new part of Podgorica, on the right bank of ...
in Titograd (1978), Gripe Sports Centre in Split (1979), etc. Simultaneously, on the club level, a multi-tier league system was established in 1945 with the
First Federal League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
at the top of the pyramid. Initially played outdoors—on concrete and clay surfaces—and contested from early spring until mid autumn within the same calendar year due to weather constraints, league games began to be played indoors from October 1967 despite the country still lacking appropriate infrastructure. Initially played in makeshift fair halls and industrial warehouses, club basketball in Yugoslavia experienced a significant organizational upgrade following the 1970 FIBA World Championship win with the country's Communist authorities authorizing construction of dozens of indoor sporting arenas around the country so that many clubs found permanent homes. Yugoslav clubs won the European Champion's Cup, the continent's premiere basketball club competition, on seven occasions—
KK Bosna KK Bosna Meridianbet ( bs, Košarkaški klub Bosna Meridianbet) is a professional basketball team based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most successful Bosnian club of all time, having been the EuroLeague champion by winning the ...
in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, KK Cibona in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
,
Jugoplastika Split Košarkaški klub Split ( en, Split Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League. History The c ...
in
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
,
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, and
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, and KK Partizan in
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
. Notable players included Radivoj Korać, Ivo Daneu, Krešimir Ćosić, Zoran Slavnić, Dražen Dalipagić, Dragan Kićanović, Mirza Delibašić, Dražen Petrović, Vlade Divac, Dino Rađa,
Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...
, and Žarko Paspalj.


Water polo

Water polo is another sport with strong heritage in the era that predates the creation of Communist Yugoslavia. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the Yugoslav national team had always been a contender, but never quite managed to make the final step. It was in the 1968 Olympics that the generation led by Mirko Sandić and Ozren Bonačić finally got the gold, beating Soviet Union after extra time. The country won two more Olympic golds – in 1984 and 1988. It also won two World Championship titles – in 1986 and 1991, the latter coming without Croatian players who by that time had already left the national team. And finally, the team won only one European Championship title, in 1991, after failing to do so for previous 40 years during which it always finished second or third. The 1980s and early 1990s were the golden age for Yugoslav water polo during which players such as
Igor Milanović Igor Milanović ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Милановић; born 18 December 1965) is a Serbian professional water polo head coach and former player. He is considered one of the best water polo players of all time. Milanović had an illustrious profe ...
,
Perica Bukić Perica Bukić (born 20 February 1966) is a Croatian former professional water polo player and politician. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. Bukić was given the honour to carry the national flag of Croatia at the ...
,
Veselin Đuho Veselin Đuho (born 5 January 1960) is a Croatian professional water polo coach and former player who was a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. Đuho was born in Foča but moved to Dubrovnik as a ...
,
Deni Lušić Deni Lušić (born 14 April 1962 in Split) is a Croatian water polo coach and former water polo player. He is a double Olympic gold medal winner with Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. See also * Yugoslavia men's Olympic water polo ...
, Dubravko Šimenc, Milorad Krivokapić,
Aleksandar Šoštar Aleksandar Šoštar ( sr-cyrl, Александар Шоштар; born 21 January 1964) is a Serbian water polo goalkeeper who played on the bronze medal squad of FR Yugoslavia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and on the gold medal squad for SFR Yugos ...
, etc. established themselves as the best in the world.


Handball

Yugoslavia won two Olympic gold medals –
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
in Munich (handball returned as an Olympic sport following a 36-year absence) and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
in Los Angeles. The country also won the World Championships title in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
. SFR Yugoslavia never got to compete at the European Championship because the competition got established in 1994. Veselin Vujović was voted
World Player of the Year The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Y ...
in 1988 (first time the vote was held) by IHF. Other notable players over the years included Abaz Arslanagić, Zoran "Tuta" Živković,
Branislav Pokrajac Branislav Pokrajac (; 27 January 1947 – 5 April 2018) was a Serbian handball coach and player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics. Club career At club level, Pokrajac made his debut with ORK B ...
, Zlatan Arnautović, Mirko Bašić, Jovica Elezović,
Mile Isaković Mile Isaković (; born 17 January 1958) is a Serbian handball coach and former player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1980 Summer Olympics and in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Club career Born in Šabac, Isaković started out at his hometown club ...
, etc. On the women's side, the game also yielded some notable results – the women's team won Olympic gold in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
while it also won World Championship in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
. Just like Veselin Vujović in 1988 on the men's side,
Svetlana Kitić Svetlana Kitić ( sr-cyrl, Светлана Китић, born 19 June 1960) is a Bosnian Serb retired professional handball player who competed at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics for Yugoslavia, and was part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina nationa ...
was voted the World Player of the Year for the same year. There was great enthusiasm in Yugoslavia when Sarajevo was selected as the site of the
1984 Winter Olympic Games The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
.


Individual sports

FPR/SFR Yugoslavia also managed to produce a multitude of successful athletes in individual disciplines. Tennis had always been a popular and well-followed sport in the country. Still, due to lack of financial means for tennis infrastructure and support of individual athletes, the participation rates among the Yugoslav youngsters for tennis were always low compared to other sports. All this meant that talented players determined to make it to pro level mostly had to rely on their own families rather than the country's tennis federation. Yugoslav players still managed to produce some notable results, mostly in the women's game. In
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
, the country got its first Grand Slam champion when clay court specialist Mima Jaušovec won at Roland Garros, beating
Florența Mihai Florența Mihai (; 2 September 1955 – 14 October 2015) was a professional tennis player from Romania. She was the runner-up in two events at the 1977 French Open. She lost in the singles final to Mima Jaušovec in three sets, and partnered ...
; Jaušovec reached two more French Open finals (in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
), but lost both of them. It was with the rise of teenage phenom Monica Seles during the early 1990s that the country became a powerhouse in female tennis: she won five Grand slam events under the flag of SFR Yugoslavia – two French Opens, two Australian Opens, and one US Open. She went on to win three more Grand Slam titles under the flag of FR Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) as well as yet one more Grand Slam after immigration to the United States. In men's tennis, Yugoslavia never produced a Grand Slam champion, though it had two finalists. In
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, Željko Franulović reached the French Open final, losing to
Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s. Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...
. Three years later, in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
,
Nikola Pilić Nikola "Niki" Pilić (born 27 August 1939) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight. Pilić was ranked world No. 6 in January 1968 and world No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tinga ...
also reached the French Open final, but lost it to Ilie Năstase. Skiers have been very successful in World Cup competitions and the Olympics (Bojan Križaj, Jure Franko, Boris Strel, Mateja Svet). Winter-spots had a special boost during the 1984 Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo. Gymnast Miroslav Cerar won a number of accolades, including two Olympic gold medals during the early 1960s. During the 1970s a pair of Yugoslav boxers, heavyweight
Mate Parlov Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian boxer and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional. Background Mate Parlov was born in Split, the youngest of four c ...
and welterweight
Marijan Beneš Marijan Beneš (11 June 1951 – 4 September 2018) was a Yugoslav Boxing, boxer from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is considered one of the best boxers in Yugoslav history. After a brilliant amateur career, culminating in the gold medal ...
, won multiple championships. During the late 1970s and into the 1980s, their results were matched by heavyweight
Slobodan Kačar Slobodan Kačar ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Качар; born 15 September 1957) is a retired Serbian boxer who was the IBF Light-Heavyweight world champion. He won the Light Heavyweight Gold medal for Yugoslavia at the 1980 Summer Olympics. In t ...
. For many years, Yugoslavia was considered the second strongest ''chess'' nation in the world after the Soviet Union. Arguably the biggest name in Yugoslav chess was Svetozar Gligorić, who played in three
Candidates Tournament The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
s between 1953 and 1968 and in 1958 won the
Golden Badge ''Sport'' ( sr-Cyrl, Спорт) was a Serbian daily sports newspaper. The first edition was published on 5 May 1945 under the name ''Fiskultura'' and the last edition went out on 17 September 2016. Since the mid-2000s it was billed as "Dnevni s ...
as the best athlete in Yugoslavia.


National anthem

Yugoslavia and Poland shared the melody of its national anthem. Its first lyrics were written in 1834 under the title "
Hej, Sloveni "Hey, Slavs" is a patriotic song dedicated to the Slavs which was used as the national anthem of various countries during the 20th century. Its lyrics were first written in 1834 under the title "Hey, Slovaks" ("Hej, Slováci") by Samo Tomáši ...
" () and it has since served as the anthem of the
Pan-Slavic movement Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...
, the anthem of the Sokol physical education and political movement, and the anthem of the World War II-era Slovak Republic, Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro. The song is also considered to be the second, unofficial anthem of the Slovaks. Its melody is based on "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego", which has been also the anthem of Poland since 1926, but it is much slower and more accentuated. "Hey, Slavs" was not constitutionally recognized as the state anthem until 1988 (and as temporary until 1977), as it was meant to be a temporary anthem of Yugoslavia until a more Yugoslav-themed replacement was found, which never happened.


Legacy

The present-day states which succeeded Yugoslavia are still today sometimes collectively referred to as the former Yugoslavia (or shortened as Ex-Yu or similar). These countries are, listed chronologically: * Slovenia (since 1991) * Croatia (since 1991) * North Macedonia ( formerly Macedonia; since 1991) * Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1992) * Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbia and Montenegro; 1992–2006) ** Montenegro (since 2006) ** Serbia (since 2006) *** Kosovo (since 2008; International recognition of Kosovo, independence disputed) In 2001 former constituent republics reached the partially implemented Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that became effective on 2 June 2004. Remembrance of the time of the joint state and its perceived positive attributes is referred to as Yugo-nostalgia. People who identify with the former Yugoslav state may self-identify as Yugoslavs. The social, linguistic, economic and cultural ties between former Yugoslav countries are sometimes referred to as the "Yugosphere". All of the successor states are or were candidates for European Union membership, with Slovenia and Croatia being the two who have already joined the union. Accession of Slovenia to the European Union, Slovenia joined in 2004, and Accession of Croatia to the European Union, Croatia followed in 2013. Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union, North Macedonia, Accession of Montenegro to the European Union, Montenegro and Accession of Serbia to the European Union, Serbia are official candidates. Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted an application and Accession of Kosovo to the European Union, Kosovo has not submitted an application but is recognized as a potential candidate for a possible future enlargement of the European Union. All states of the former Yugoslavia, with the exception of Kosovo, have subscribed to the Stabilisation and Association Process with the EU. European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo is a deployment of EU police and civilian resources to Kosovo in an attempt to restore Kosovo#Law, rule of law and combat the widespread Crime in Kosovo, organized crime. The successor states of Yugoslavia continue to have a List of countries by population growth rate, population growth rate that is close to zero or negative. This is mostly due to emigration, which intensified during and after the Yugoslav Wars, during the 1990s to 2000s, but also due to low birth rates. More than 2.5 million refugees were created by the fighting in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo, which led to a massive surge in North American immigration. Close to 120,000 Yugoslav Americans, refugees from the former Yugoslavia were registered in the United States from 1991 to 2002, and 67,000 Yugoslav Canadians, migrants from the former Yugoslavia were registered in Canada between 1991 and 2001.Carl-Ulrik Schierp, 'Former Yugoslavia: Long Waves of International Migration' in: ed. R. Cohen, ''The Cambridge survey of world migration'', Cambridge University Press, 1995, , 285–298.Nancy Honovich, ''Immigration from the Former Yugoslavia: Changing face of North America'', Mason Crest Publishers, 2004.Dominique M. Gross, ''Immigration to Switzerland, the case of the former Republic of Yugoslavia'', World Bank Publications, 2006.Yugoslav immigration
(Encyclopedia of Immigration).
Net population growth over the two decades between 1991 and 2011 was thus practically zero (below 0.1% p.a. on average). Broken down by territory:


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links







at marxists.org
Yugoslavia's Self-Management by Daniel Jakopovich

"Yugoslavia: the outworn structure" (CIA) Report from November 1970

CWIHP at the Wilson Center for Scholars: Primary Document Collection on Yugoslavia in the Cold War
{{Authority control Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1945 establishments in Yugoslavia, Socialist Yugoslavia 1963 establishments in Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Yugoslavia, Socialist Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Europe, Yugoslavia 1940s in Yugoslavia, * 1950s in Yugoslavia, * 1960s in Yugoslavia, * 1970s in Yugoslavia, * 1980s in Yugoslavia, * 1990s in Yugoslavia, * Communist states, Yugoslavia 20th century in Kosovo 20th century in Montenegro 20th century in Slovenia Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina, . One-party states, Yugoslavia Former socialist republics, Yugoslavia States and territories established in 1945, Yugoslavia States and territories disestablished in 1992, Yugoslavia Former member states of the United Nations, Yugoslavia