Vladimir "Vlado" Dapčević ( sr-cyr, Владимир "Владo" Дапчевић; 14 June 1917 – 12 July 2001) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and political leader who fought as a Partisan against

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

occupation troops and forces of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a political dissident and after the war he opposed the Anti-Soviet policy of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, president of Yugoslavia. He spent a total of 24 years in Yugoslav prisons as a political dissident for advocating anti-

Titoism Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...

and

Proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory th ...

. After the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1990s, he founded the Party of Labour in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. He criticised Tito, as well as

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

leaders

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

and

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

, for departing from

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...

. He accused them for leaning towards

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

and the latter two for exposing the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to the collapse. He was the younger brother of famous Montenegrin communist military leader Peko Dapčević.

Early life

Dapčević was born 1917 in the village Ljubotinj in the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

, he attended secondary school in

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

where he was expelled because of organizing a student strike. At 16, in 1933, he became a member of the Alliance of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia ( SKOJ). That very same year he was arrested for the first time due to taking part in distribution of communist leaflets. He was accepted into Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) in 1934. In

, 1935, during Party demonstrations and clash with the police he was arrested and brutally beaten. He spent a month in jail, after which he continued his education in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

, and

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

. He was eventually expelled from all these schools. Because of a break within KPJ in 1936 and the following mass arrests of Party members, the Party in Montenegro organized (dangerous) manifestations causing clashes with the police. Dapčević was arrested and spent four months in the

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

jail. In 1937, he was promoted to the post of Organizing Party Secretary in Cetinje. At the same time he signed up as a volunteer in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, on the Republican side. But police discovered the plot and arrested a large group of volunteers, including Dapčević. After his release in 1939, the authorities allowed him to graduate from secondary school in

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

, and he was accepted for studies at the School of Chemical Engineering in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. At Belgrade University he took a part in struggles for University autonomy from the Royal Government. In a clash with pro-royalist youths he gained a serious head injury. During 1940, he went on a Party assignment to Boka Kotorska in Montenegro, where he worked on organizing Party cells. But the local KPJ committee dissolved due to internal misunderstandings and Dapčević headed back to Belgrade.

World War II

Dapčević was living in Belgrade when, on April 6, 1941, the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

unleashed a savage bombing of the city. As

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

surrendered to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, Dapčević moved from Belgrade back to Montenegro where he was active in the organization of resistance. However, shortly after a rebellion attack in Čevo on July 13, 1941, he was expelled from the Party. As a fighter of the Lovćen Battalion, he took part in the assault on Pljevlja, in which he was wounded, and he also played a part in the founding of the First Proletarian Brigade in Rudo, and crossed Mount Igman at Sarajevo. He was re-admitted into the Party in

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...

in early 1942, and designated political

Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

for the Drina Volunteer (Partisan) Detachment. By mid-1942, he was promoted to commander of the First Detachment of the Lovćen Battalion. However, due to his continued criticism of the Party, he was once again expelled. As a commander of a bombing squad, he took part in many actions until he was, once again, wounded at the end of 1942. He also took part in battles on

Neretva The Neretva (, sr-Cyrl, Неретва), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants with Dam, large dams (higher than 15 metres) provide flood ...

and Sutjeska. After these, he was again re-admitted into the Party and assigned as the party for the Seventh Krajina Brigade. During the first half of 1944, he was promoted to the Headquarters Officer School, and then to Commissar of the Tenth Division of NOVJ. When the war ended, he held the rank of a lieutenant colonel in the Yugoslav People's Army. After the war, he worked as a professor at the Party School for Officers, and in 1947, he was promoted to JNA Chief of Administration for Agitation and Propaganda (Agitprop).

After the war

In 1948, he attended the Fifth Party Congress. However, as he was in favor of the resolutions of the Information Bureau, he was forced to flee the country. He attempted to leave Yugoslavia together with his companion

Arso Jovanović Arsenije "Arso" Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Арсо Јовановић; 24 March 1907 – 12 August 1948) was a Partisans (Yugoslavia), Yugoslav partisan General officer, general and one of the country's foremost military commanders during World War I ...

, an army general and the chief of army headquarters. They tried to cross the border with

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

but were stopped by the border guards. In the skirmish, Jovanović was shot to death, while Dapčević escaped unscathed and spent the following months in hiding in

. In the fall of 1948, he attempted to escape to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, but was arrested and kept in custody for a total of 22 months before finally receiving a 20-year jail sentence. From June 1950 to December 6, 1956, he was imprisoned in concentration camps at Stara Gradiška, Bileća and Goli Otok, and each time exposed to brutal torture. After his early release and due to the threat of re-arrest, he escaped to

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

in 1958 with a group of comrades. After a couple of months, they traveled to and settled in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Upon arrival in the USSR, he was offered to continue with his education or accept a corresponding job. He refused this offer and continued with his political work. During 1961, he organized strong propaganda for the Conference of Communist Parties in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. As a result, thanks in part to his activity, the Conference adopted the resolution of condemnation of the Yugoslav Communist Alliance (SKJ) as a revisionist and an Anti-Marxist party. During the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, Dapčević and other émigrés organized volunteer groups to Cuba, but were prevented from departing by the Soviet authorities. Between 1964 and 1965, Dapčević lived in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

where he worked on a doctoral dissertation on the Yugoslav workers movement. In early 1965, he wanted to join the communist forces fighting the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

as a volunteer, but was still not allowed to leave the Soviet Union. He finally left the Soviet Union in 1966, by illegally emigrating to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. He lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he mostly worked as a physical laborer. He strove to develop political dissent among the Yugoslav economic emigration ( gastarbeiters), but with little result. He was arrested several times and deported from each of the three countries he had been staying in. In 1969, he managed to obtain permanent residence in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In Brussels, he married a Belgian citizen and lived in Ixelles near the Brussels university ULB. In 1975 even became a Belgian citizen himself. While there, he kept in touch with West European Marxist–Leninist groups and took part in their activities. In 1973, he survived an assassination attempt by UDBA. In 1975, the Romanian and Yugoslav secret services organized Dapčević's kidnapping while he was visiting

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, after which he was extradited to Yugoslavia. He had been sentenced to death in absentia, but the punishment was commuted to 20 years of hard labor (this leniency was shown to him as his brother Peko Dapčević was a renowned army general and World War II hero). He was released from the

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čač ...

prison in 1988, and promptly expelled from Yugoslavia. Dapčević was allowed to return to Yugoslavia in September 1990, in the midst of political turmoil. In his many interviews and public appearances he indicated there was an imminent danger of civil war and dissolution of Yugoslavia. On March 27, 1992, he founded the Party of Labour and during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, he actively worked on the strengthening of democracy and unity against the Milošević government. Between 1992 and 1996, he attended Marxist–Leninist party conferences and meetings. In 1997, at the first Party of Labour congress, Dapčević set the party program and political aims, laying foundations for a ''real'' revolutionary party in Yugoslavia. Dapčević continued with political activities until his death on July 12, 2001. He was a strong advocate of an independent

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

External links

Vlado Dapčević - Partija Rada

(in Serbo-Croatian)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dapcevic, Vlado 1917 births 2001 deaths Yugoslav Partisans members Anti-revisionists People sentenced to death in absentia Yugoslav escapees Escapees from Yugoslav detention League of Communists of Montenegro politicians Party of Labour (Serbia) politicians Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Yugoslav dissidents Montenegrin communists Politicians from Cetinje Montenegrin atheists Immigrants to the Soviet Union Yugoslav emigrants People granted political asylum in the Soviet Union Hoxhaists Prisoners and detainees of Hungary

Early life

World War II

After the war

See also

External links

Sources