Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the
Yugoslav state that existed from the end of
World War II (1945) until it disintegrated in the
Yugoslav wars in the 1990s. It was a
Socialist state that comprised the area of the present-day independent states of
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia,
Macedonia,
Montenegro,
Serbia and
Slovenia.
The country was proclaimed in
1943 and formed from the remains of the pre-war
Kingdom of Yugoslavia under the name
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, in
1946. It changed its name to
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and again in
1963 to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Throughout the
Cold War, Yugoslavia was an important member of the
Non-Aligned Movement. The
economy of the SFRY is known for the organization of that country, and its particular brand of
workers' self-management system.
Democratic Federative Yugoslavia was constituted at the
AVNOJ or the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia conference in
Jajce (
November 29 -
December 4 1943) while negotiations with the royal
government in exile continued. On
November 29 1945 the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia was established as a
socialist state during the first meeting of democratically established but Communist-led Parliament in Belgrade. On
January 31,
1946, the
new constitution of FPR Yugoslavia selected the six constituent republics.
The first
president was
Ivan Ribar and
prime minister Josip Broz Tito. In
1953,
Tito was elected as president and later in
1974 named "
President for life".
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.
Yugoslavia, unlike other Eastern and Central European communist countries, chose a course independent of the
Soviet Union (see
Informbiro), and was not a member of the
Warsaw pact nor
NATO.
Yugoslavia was subsequently expelled from the World Communist League by the Soviet Union for its refusal to follow
Moscow's lead. Because of Yugoslavian designs on her territory, this expulsion prompted
Albania to align herself with Moscow, on the theory "my enemy's enemy is my friend." ( Subsequent thawing of relations between Moscow and Belgrade in the years after the death of
Josef Stalin, combined with the break in relations between the U.S.S.R. and
China, led Albania to realign itself in 1961 with
Beijing.
That same year, Yugoslavia became a founding member of the
Non-Aligned Movement (established in
1961), and, alongside countries like Indonesia, one of its central-left influences that promoted a non-confrontational policy towards the U.S.
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 Yugoslavian Zone B, which covered 515.5 km², became part of the SFRY. Zone B was already occupied by the Yugoslav National Army.
After Tito's death in
1980, tensions between the various peoples grew, and in
1991 its constituent republics Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina started breaking away. After the initial
Yugoslav wars, the process ended in
1992 when the remainder of Yugoslavia, now having only two republics,
Serbia and
Montenegro, formed the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The FRY was reformed and renamed
Serbia and Montenegro in
2003, and was split into the two independent countries of
Serbia and
Montenegro in June 2006.
 |
Numbered map of Yugoslav republics and provinces |
Internally, the state was divided into six Socialist Republics, and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that were part of SR Serbia. The federal capital was
Belgrade. Republics and provinces were (in alphabetical order):
# Socialist republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, with capital in
Sarajevo,# Socialist republic of
Croatia, with capital in
Zagreb,# Socialist republic of
Macedonia, with capital in
Skopje,# Socialist republic of
Montenegro, with capital in
Titograd (now Podgorica),# Socialist republic of
Serbia, with capital in
Belgrade, which also contained:
5a. Socialist autonomous province of
Kosovo, with capital in
Pristina5b. Socialist autonomous province of
Vojvodina, with capital in
Novi Sad# Socialist republic of
Slovenia, with capital in
Ljubljana.
SFRY recognised "nations" (
narodi) and "nationalities" (
narodnosti) separately; the former including the constituent Slavic peoples, and the latter other Slavic and non-Slavic ethnic groups, including the Hungarians and the Albanians.
The country consisted of six republics, with their appropriate constitutional nations:
*
Slovenia -
Slovenes*
Croatia -
Croats,
Serbs*
Bosnia and Herzegovina -
Bosniaks (referred to as
Muslims by nationality at the time), Serbs, Croats
*
Serbia -
Serbs**
Vojvodina: Serbs,
Hungarians, Croats,
Romanians,
Slovaks,
Rusins.
**
Kosovo:
Albanians,
Serbs*
Montenegro -
Montenegrins,
Serbs*
Macedonia -
MacedoniansAlso, there was an ethnic designation of
Yugoslavs, for the people who did not wish to express specific ethnic designation, being of mixed ancestry or for other reasons. Their number on
censuses varied, but never exceeded 6%.
The diversity of nations was a major factor for the dissolution of the federation.
Nationalism during Tito's rule was cracked down upon wherever it sprung up. Nationalism had sprung up after the death of Tito and fuelled by the then leaders of the federation.
Tito's successors chose a different way towards the nationalists, instead promoting their ideas and taking their side on some issues, claiming they will defend them and fight, even war, for their cause. Nationalists from other ethnic groups responded with arguments such as "During your [Tito's] rule, our culture had been cracked down upon, our people oppressed ... but now you won't anymore" and so forth, initiating hatred towards the different nationalities.
The process towards war in order for the leaders to create "
ethnically cleansed" nations had begun, with state-owned media propagating nationalistic ideas, this later led to nationalism seen previously in
World War II, the dissolution of the federation and the war that followed.
Despite common origins, the economy of socialist Yugoslavia was much different from economies of the Soviet Union and other Eastern European socialist countries, especially after the
Yugoslav-Soviet break-up of
1948. Rather than being owned by the state, companies were
socially owned and managed with workers' self-management. 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.
With the exception of a recession in mid-
1960s, the country's economy prospered formidably. Unemployment was low and the education level of the work force steadily increased. Due to Yugoslavia's neutrality and a 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.
The fact that Yugoslavs were allowed to emigrate freely from 1960s onwards prompted many to find work in Western Europe, notably
Germany. This contributed to keeping unemployment in check and also acted as a source of capital and foreign currency.
In
1970s, the economy was reorganized according to
Edvard Kardelj's theory of
associated labour, in which the right to decision making and a share in profits of
socially owned companies is based on the investment of labour. All companies were transformed into
organizations of associated labour. The smallest,
basic organizations of associated labour, 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 labour, 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. The appointment of managers and strategic policy of composite organizations were, depending on their size and importance, in practice 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 labour were also introduced into 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
Yugoslav wars, consequent loss of market, as well as mismanagement and/or non-transparent privatization brought further economic trouble for all former republics of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Only
Slovenia's economy grew steadily after the initial shock and slump.
Croatia reached its 1990
GDP in 2003, a feat yet to be accomplished by other former Yugoslav republics.
The currency of the SFRY was the
Yugoslav dinar.
Much like the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia that preceded it, the socialist Yugoslavia maintained a strong military force. Unofficially Yugoslavia was often considered a "second tier" power in Europe, meaning that it was only behind the traditional Big Three (Germany, France, Britain) in military power.
The
Yugoslav People's Army or JNA/JLA was the main organization of the military forces. It was composed of the ground army, navy and aviation.
The regular army mostly originated from the
Yugoslav Partisans of the
Second World War.
Each of the six Republics had their own "territorial defense", a National Guard of sorts, which were established in the frame of a new doctrine called "general people's resistance" as an answer to the brutal end of the
Prague Spring by the
Warsaw Pact in
Czechoslovakia.
The defining document of the state was the
Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was amended in 1963 and 1974.
The
Communist Party of Yugoslavia had won the first elections, and remained in power throughout the state's existence. It was also called League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and it was composed of individual parties from each constituent republic.
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.
When the individual republics organized multi-party elections in the
1990s, the Communist Parties mostly failed to win re-election.
See:
*
Music of former Yugoslavia* Yugoslavia used to be described as a country with seven neighbouring countries, six
republics, five
languages, four
nations, three
religions, two
alphabets and one
party. (Though this is fairly incorrect; the country had several languages and nations not accounted for, like Roma and their language. Muslims (Bosniaks) received recognition as being a nation in 1971.)
*
Yugoslavia*
History of the Balkans*
History of computer hardware in the SFRY*
Unique Master Citizen Number
