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Yugoslavia: Difference between revisions
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The idea of a united South Slavic state has its roots in the Pan-Slavic ideology that emerged in the late 17th century, but only gained prominence in the 19th century, when it was called the "Illyrian movement" (after a popular theory - later discredited - that the Slavs are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians).
The South Slavic people include the following: the [[
'''The Kingdom of Yugoslavia'''
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Tito and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia soon took all power into their own hands, and tried to form a union with Bulgaria, but Stalin's intervention prevented it. Finally, increasing conflicts between the two leaders led to the Tito-Stalin split in 1948. After that, the country criticized both Eastern bloc and NATO nations and, together with other countries, started the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, which remained the official affiliation of the country until it dissolved. Democratic reforms were not implemented, however, and the country remained a one-party state, with Tito having the final say in most things. Political dissidents (particularly Stalinists) were often dealt with harshly.
Overall relative peace was retained under Tito's rule, though nationalist protests did occur, but these were usually repressed and nationalist leaders were arrested. However one protest in Croatia in the 1970s, called the "Croatian Spring" was backed by large numbers of Croats who claimed that Yugoslavia remained a Serb hegemony and demanded that Serbia's powers be reduced. Tito, whose home republic was Croatia, was concerned over the stability of the country and responded in a manner to appease both Croats and Serbs, he ordered the arrest of the Croat protestors, while at the same time conceding to some of their demands. In 1974, Serbia's influence in the country was significantly reduced as autonomous provinces were created in ethnic Albanian-majority populated [[
After the Tito-Stalin Split, the economy was re-organized along the principles of "worker's self-managment", as advised by Tito's vice president, Milovan Djilas. At first it worked, and Yugoslavia's economy soon recovered and greatly surpassed pre-war levels. This system was later re-organized in an attempt to improve its efficiency, but the market-orientated reforms introduced in the late seventies - and especially during the eighties - led to increasing unemplooyment and reliance on IMF debts (there is evidence that the U.S. government was deliberately intervening to move the country away from socialism). Unlike the people of the Eastern Bloc, Yugoslavs were allowed to emigrate freely, and this caused many to find work in Western Europe, notably Germany.
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