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- published: 06 May 2012
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- author: darkrhawk
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Socijalistička Federativna Republika Jugoslavijaa (sh–lat) Социјалистичка Федеративна Република Југославијаb (sh–cyr & mk) Socialistična federativna republika Jugoslavijac (sl) |
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Motto Bratstvo i jedinstvo ("Brotherhood and unity") |
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Anthem Hej, Sloveni Hey, Slavs |
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Capital | Belgrade | ||||||||||||||||
Language(s) | Official Languages Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, Minority Languages Albanian, Hungarian |
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Government | Federal republic, Marxist–Leninist single-party state |
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President | |||||||||||||||||
- 1945–1953 (first) | Ivan Ribar | ||||||||||||||||
- 1953–1980 | Josip Broz Tito | ||||||||||||||||
- 1991–1992 (last) | Stjepan Mesić | ||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||
- 1945–1953 (first) | Josip Broz Tito | ||||||||||||||||
- 1989–1991 (last) | Ante Marković | ||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||||||||
- Proclamation | 29 November 1943 | ||||||||||||||||
- UN membership | 24 October 1945 | ||||||||||||||||
- Constitutional reform | 21 February 1974 | ||||||||||||||||
- Secessions | 25 June 1991 – 27 April 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||
- July 1989 | 255,804 km2 (98,766 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||||
- July 1989 est. | 23,724,919 | ||||||||||||||||
Density | 92.7 /km2 (240.2 /sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Currency | Yugoslav dinar | ||||||||||||||||
Calling code | +38 | ||||||||||||||||
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Today part of | Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Republic of Macedonia Montenegro Serbia Slovenia Kosovo [a][d] |
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a State name in Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian languages (the name is identical in both), spelled in the Latin alphabet. (See Name section for details.) b State name in Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian languages (the name is identical in both), spelled in Cyrillic. (See Name section for details.) c State name in the Slovene language. Slovene has used the Latin alphabet exclusively. (See Name section for details.) d Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 91 UN member states. |
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Serbia, in addition, included two autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija.
Initially siding with the Eastern bloc under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito at the beginning of the Cold War, Yugoslavia pursued a policy of neutrality after the Tito-Stalin split of 1948, and became one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the death of Tito in 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics, followed by collapse of inter-republic talks on transformation of the country and recognition of their independence by some European states in 1991. This led to the country collapsing on ethnic lines, followed by wars fraught with ethnic discrimination and human rights violations.
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The name "Yugoslavia", an Anglicised transcription of "Jugoslavija", is a composite word made-up of "jug" (with the "J" pronounced like an English "y") and "slavija". The translation of the Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian word "jug" is "south", while "slavija" ("slavia") keeps its meaning ("land of the Slavs"). Thus a translation of "Jugoslavija would be "South Slavia" or "Land of the South Slavs". The term unifies the six South Slavic nations of Yugoslavia, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosniaks, Montenegrins and Macedonians. The full official name of the country varied significantly between 1943 and 1992.[1]
Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In January 1929, King Alexander I assumed dictatorship of the country and renamed it into Kingdom of Yugoslavia, for the first time making the term "Yugoslavia", which was used coloquially for decades (even before the country was formed), the official name of the state.[1] After the Kingdom was occupied during World War II, AVNOJ announced in 1943 their intention to rebuild the country as Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DF Yugoslavia, DFY), leaving the question of republic or kingdom open.
In 1945, it became the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPR Yugoslavia, FPRY), with the constitution coming into force in 1946[2] and in 1963 the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia, SFRY). The state is most commonly referred to by this last full name (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), which it held for the longest period of all. Of the three Yugoslav languages, the Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian language name for the state was identical, while Slovene slightly differed in capitalization and the spelling of the adjective "Socialist". The names are as follows:
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" ("SFRJ"), though "SFR Yugoslavia" was also used in official capacity, particularly by the media.
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 royalist Yugoslav Army in Homeland[3] and the People's Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia, known simply as the Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was Josip Broz Tito (head of the KPJ), and under his command the movement soon began establishing "liberated territories" which attracted the attentions of the 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 (AVNOJ, Antifašističko Vijeće Narodnog Oslobođenja Jugoslavije).[4] The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942 (First Session of the AVNOJ), claimed the status of Yugoslavia's deliberative assembly (parliament).[1][4][5]
During 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations of 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. The battles, which were soon to be known as the Battle of the Neretva and the Battle of the Sutjeska respectively, saw the 20,000-strong Partisan Main Operational Group engaged by a force of around 150,000 combined Axis troops.[4] On both occasions, despite heavy casualties the Partisan commander Josip Broz Tito succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety.
Following the withdrawal of the main Axis forces, the Partisans emerged stronger than before and 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 Allied powers, leaving their occupation zone in Yugoslavia open to the Partisans. Tito took advantage of the events by briefly liberating the Dalmatian shore and its cities. This granted the Partisans Italian weaponry and supplies, volunteers from the cities previously annexed by Italy, and Italian recruits crossing over to the Allies (the Garibaldi Division).[1][5]
After the highly favorable chain of events, the AVNOJ decided to meet for the second time – now in Partisan-liberated Jajce. The Second Session of the AVNOJ 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 Serbian 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 favorable result of a pan-Yugoslav referendum on the question.[5]
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 Josip Broz Tito the Prime Minister. Having achieved success in the 1943 engagements, Tito was also granted the rank of Marshal of Yugoslavia. Favorable news also came from the Tehran Conference taking place at almost the same time in Iran, the Allied powers concluded that the Partisans would be recognized as the Allied Yugoslav resistance movement and granted supplies and wartime support against the Axis occupation.[5]
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 Josip Broz Tito, Prime Minister of the NKOJ (representing the AVNOJ), and Ivan Šubašić, Prime Minister of the royalist Yugoslav government-in-exile in London.[6] 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.[5] King Peter II's government-in-exile in London, partly due to pressure from the United Kingdom,[7] recognized the state in the agreement, signed on 17 June 1944 between the prime minister of the government-in-exile Ivan Šubašić, and the head of the AVNOJ's executive committee, the NKOJ, Marshal Tito.[7]
The DFY's legislature, after November 1944, was the Provisional Assembly.[8] The Tito-Šubašić agreement of 1944 declared that the state was a pluralist democracy that guaranteed: democratic liberties; personal freedom; freedom of speech, assembly, and religion; and a free press.[9] However by January 1945 Tito had shifted the emphasis of his government away from 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.[9] The People's Front coalition, headed by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and its general secretary Marshal Josip Broz Tito, was a major movement within the government. Other political movements that joined the government included the "Napred" movement represented by Milivoje Marković.[8]
Belgrade, 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.[5]
By 1945, the Partisans were mopping up 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.[4] 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, and was envisioned by the Partisans as a "Democratic Federation", including six federal states: the Federal State of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FS Bosnia and Herzegovina), Federal State of Croatia (FS Croatia), Federal State of Macedonia (FS Macedonia), Federal State of Montenegro (FS Montenegro), Federal State of Serbia (FS Serbia), and Federal State of Slovenia (FS Slovenia).[5][10] 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, however, was to proclaim on 7 March a new government under Tito's premiership.[11] The nature of the state was not cleared immediately after the war, and on 26 June 1945, the country signed the United Nations Charter using only Yugoslavia as an official name, with no reference to either a Kingdom or a Republic,.[12][13]
The first Yugoslav post-war 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 Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), and represented by Josip Broz 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.[10] As early as January 1945, while the enemy was still occupying the northwest, Josip Broz Tito commented:
I am not in principle against political parties because democracy also presupposes the freedom to express one's principles and one's ideas. But to create parties for the sake of parties, now, when all of us, as one, must direct all our strength in the direction of driving the occupying forces from our country, when the homeland has been razed to the ground, when we have nothing but our awareness and our hands (...) we have no time for that now. And here is a popular movement [the People's Front]. Everyone is welcome within it, both communists and those who were democrats and radicals, etc. whatever they were called before. This movement is the force, the only force which can now lead our country out of this horror and misery and bring it to complete freedom.—Prime Minister Josip Broz Tito, January 1945[10]
However, while the elections themselves were supposed to be fairly conducted by a secret ballot, the campaign that preceded them was highly irregular;[5] 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 Sutej, 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 agents.[14][15] The election results of 11 November 1945 were decisively in favor of the latter, with an average of 85% of voters of each federal state casting their ballot for the People's Front.[5] 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 "Federal States" became "People's Republic".,.[10][16] Yugoslavia became a single-party state and was considered in its earliest years a model of communist orthodoxy.[17]
The Yugoslav government allied with the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and early on in the Cold War shot down two American airplanes flying in Yugoslav airspace on 9 and 19 August 1946. These were the first aerial shoot downs 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.[18] The new Yugoslavia also closely followed the Soviet Stalinist model 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.[5] Having liberated most of the Julian March and Carinthia, 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 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.[5][10]
Meanwhile, civil war raged in Greece – Yugoslavia's southern neighbor – and the Yugoslav government was determined to bring about a communist victory.[5][10] Yugoslavia dispatched significant assistance, in terms of arms and ammunition, supplies, military experts on partisan warfare (such as General Vladimir Dapčević), and even allowed the Greek 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.[10]
The only communist neighbor of the People's Republic of Albania was Yugoslavia, and in the immediate post-war period the country was effectively a Yugoslav satellite. Neighboring Bulgaria was under increasing Yugoslav influence as well, and talks began to negotiate the inclusion of Albania and Bulgaria in Yugoslavia. The major point of contention was that Yugoslavia wanted to absorb the two as federal republics. Albania was in no position to object, but the Bulgarian view was that the new federation would see Bulgaria and Yugoslavia as a whole uniting on equal terms. As these negotiations began, Yugoslav representatives Edvard Kardelj and Milovan Đilas 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 merge between the countries, and generally tried to force them into subordination.[10] 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.[10]
The Tito–Stalin, or Yugoslav–Soviet split took place in the spring and early summer of 1948. Its title pertains to Josip Broz Tito, at the time the Yugoslav Prime Minister (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,[4] 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.[10]
Next came an exchange of letters directly between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (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, Aleksandar Ranković, Boris Kidrič, 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.[5][10]
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".[10] In a speech, the Yugoslav Prime Minister stated
We are not going to pay the balance on others' accounts, we are not going to serve as pocket money in anyone's currency exchange, we are not going to allow ourselves to become entangled in political spheres of interest. Why should it be held against our peoples that they want to be completely independent? And why should autonomy be restricted, or the subject of dispute? We will not be dependent on anyone ever again!—Prime Minister Josip Broz Tito[10]
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).[4][10] This time, the Soviets named Josip Broz 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 with 17 May 1948 letter which sharply criticized to Soviet attempts to devalue the successes of the Yugoslav resistance movement.[10]
On 19 May 1948, a correspondence by Mikhail A. Suslov informed Josip Broz Tito that the Communist Information Bureau, or 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 (1389), the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo (1914), and the adoption of the Vidovdan Constitution (1921).[10]
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".[10] 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.[10]
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 led by Aleksandar Ranković, the UDBA, was quick and efficient in cracking down on insurgent activity. Invasion appeared imminent, as Soviet military units massed along the border with the People's Republic of Hungary, 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. Welcoming the Yugoslav–Soviet rift, the West commenced a flow of economic aid in 1949, 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.[19][20] 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.
During the 1950s Yugoslavia began a number of fundamental reforms, 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 and became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement along with countries like India, Egypt and Indonesia, and pursued one of its center-left influences that promoted a non-confrontational policy towards the U.S.
After the breakaway from the Soviet sphere, Yugoslavia formed its own variant of socialism, sometimes informally called "Titoism". A significant degree of free market enterprise was allowed internally as the state instituted a market socialist system. The economic reforms began on 26 June 1950 when the introduction of workers' self-management was announced. Economic control was delegated to the individual republics, with government departments in Belgrade becoming coordination councils for cooperation. With the new system, workers' councils controlled production and the vast majority of the profits, which were in turn distributed among the workers themselves (as opposed to the state or owners/stockholders). Industrial and infrastructure development programs were implemented as well, as the country finally began to develop a strong industrial sector.[5][10]
This and other significant economic reforms of the period, helped along by western aid, revived Yugoslavia and created an economic boom. Employment doubled between 1950 and 1964, with unemployment falling to 6% in 1961. Despite the new mass of industrial laborers, the annual increase in wages was 6.2% per year, while industrial productivity increased by 12.7% annually.[5][10] Exports of industrial products, led by heavy machinery, transportation machines (esp. shipbuilding industry), and military technology and equipment, rose dramatically by a yearly increase of 11%. All in all, the annual growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) all through to the early 1980s averaged 6.1%. Literacy was increased dramatically and reached 91%, medical care was free on all levels, and life expectancy was 72 years.[5][10][21]
Economic reform was followed closely by political liberalization. The massive state (and party) bureaucratic apparatus was being rapidly reduced, a process described as the "whittling down of the state" by Boris Kidrič, President of the Yugoslav Economic Council (economics minister). The Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, held on 2 November 1952 in Zagreb, was conducted in the spirit of social liberalism, and the new mood led to the introduction of the 1953 "Basic Law" (in effect the new, second constitution), which emphasized the freedom of the "free associations of working people" and the "personal freedom and rights of man". The Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), which was composed of six individual republic communist parties, changed its name at this time to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), composed of six leagues of communists – one for each of the federal republics. 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.[5][10]
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.[22] These liberals were opposed by a group around Aleksandar Ranković.[23] In 1966 the liberals (the most important being Edvard Kardelj, Vladimir Bakarić of Croatia and Petar Stambolić of Serbia) gained the support of Tito. At 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. Ranković was forced to resign all party posts and some of his supporters were expelled from the party.[24]
The economic development and liberalization went unhindered throughout the 1950s and '60s, continuing their rapid pace.[5][10] 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.[25]
In 1971 the leadership of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, notably Miko Tripalo and Savka Dabčević-Kučar, allied with nationalist non party groups, began a movement to increase the powers of the individual federal republics. The movement was known as the Mass Movement (MASPOK) and led to the Croatian Spring.[26] Tito, whose home constituent republic was Croatia, responded with a dual action approach. Yugoslav authorities arrested large numbers of the Croatian protesters who were accused of evoking ethnic nationalism, while at the same time Tito began an agenda to initiate some of those reforms in order to avert a similar crisis from happening again.[27] At this time, Ustaše-sympathizers outside Yugoslavia tried through terrorism and guerrilla actions to create a separatist momentum,[28] but they were unsuccessful, sometimes even gaining the animosity of fellow Roman Catholic Croatian Yugoslavs.[29] 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.[30]
In 1974, a new federal constitution was ratified that gave more autonomy to the individual republics, thereby basically fulfilling the main goals of the 1971 Croatian Spring movement. The most controversial issue in the new federal constitution was the internal division of Serbia, by awarding a similar status to two autonomous provinces within it, Kosovo, a largely ethnic Albanian populated region of Serbia, and Vojvodina, a region with large numbers of ethnic minorities behind the majority Serbs, such as Hungarians. These reforms satisfied most of the republics, especially Croatia as well as 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 and Serb nationalists were frustrated over Tito's support of 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.
On 4 May 1980, Tito died and his death was announced through state broadcasts across Yugoslavia. While it had been known for some time that Tito had been increasingly ill, his death 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 years. His loss marked a significant alteration, and it was reported that many Yugoslavs openly mourned his death. In the Split soccer stadium, where Serb and Croat teams were playing against each other in a match, both stopped upon hearing of Tito's passing and tearfully sung the hymn "Comrade Tito We Swear to You, from Your Path We Will not Depart"[31]
Josip Broz Tito's coffin was symbolically carried across Yugoslavia by train before being laid down in Belgrade; thousands of people went to see the traveling of the coffin throughout Yugoslavia until it reached Belgrade."[32] Some of the attendance for the traveling of the coffin and funeral was state organized by the League of Communists but much was true spontaneous outpouring of grief.[33]
After Tito's death in 1980, a new collective presidency 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.[34]
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.[35]
Yugoslavia was the host nation of the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. For Yugoslavia, the games demonstrated the continued Tito's 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). However Yugoslavia's games were participated in by Western countries while the Soviet Union's Olympics were boycotted by some.
In the late 1980s, the Yugoslav government began to make a course away from communism as it attempted to transform to a market economy 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, later on he lost his popularity mainly due to rising unemployment. His work was left incomplete as Yugoslavia broke apart in the 1990s.
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 breakup of Yugoslavia.[36] 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 to give greater autonomy to Croatia and Slovenia, versus a conservative-centralist nationalist faction led by Serbia that supported a centralized federation to secure Serbia's and Serbs' interests across Yugoslavia – as they were the largest ethnic group in the country as a whole.[37] From 1967 to 1972 in Croatia and 1968 to 1981 involving the protests in Kosovo, nationalist doctrines and actions caused ethnic tensions that destabilized the country.[36] The suppression by the Communist regime of nationalists is believed to have had the effect of identifying nationalism as the primary alternative to communism itself and made it a strong underground movement.[38] 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.[38]
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.[39] The most developed republics, Croatia and Slovenia rejected attempts to limit their autonomy as provided in the 1974 Constitution.[39] Public opinion in Slovenia in 1987 saw better economic opportunity in independence from Yugoslavia than within it.[39] On the other extreme, the autonomous province of Kosovo was poorly developed and saw no economic benefit in being in Yugoslavia as per capita GDP had fallen from 47 percent of the Yugoslav average in the immediate post-war period to 27 percent by the 1980s.[40] However economic issues have not been demonstrated to be the sole determining factor in the breakup of Yugoslavia, as Yugoslavia in this period was the most prosperous Communist state in Eastern Europe at this time period and the country in fact disintegrated during a period of economic recovery after the implementation of the economic reforms of Ante Marković's government.[41] Furthermore, during the breakup 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.[41] 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.[41]
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.[42] Members of the political elite managed to redirect these protests against "others".[41] Serb demonstrators were worried about the disintegration of the country and alleged that "the others" (Croats, Slovenes, and international institutions) were deemed responsible.[42] 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.[42] These redirection actions of the popular protests allowed the regimes in Serbia and Slovenia to survive at the cost of undermining the unity of Yugoslavia.[42] Other republics such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia refused to follow these tactics taken by Serbia and Slovenia, later resulting in the defeat of these Communist regimes to nationalist political forces.[42]
From the point of view of international politics, it has been argued that the end of the Cold War contributed to the breakup of Yugoslavia because Yugoslavia lost its strategic international political importance as an intermediary between the Eastern and Western blocs.[43] 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.[43] 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.[43]
Since the 1974 Constitution reduced the powers of SR Serbia over its autonomous provinces of SAP Kosovo and SAP Vojvodina, nationalist sentiment in Serbia was on the rise, primarily centered on Kosovo. In Kosovo (administered mostly by ethnic Albanian communists) the Serbian minority increasingly put forth complaints of mistreatment and abuse by the Albanian majority. In Serbia, already agitated by the reduction of its powers, this provoked increasing anti-Albanian sentiments as ethnic hatred returned to Yugoslavia. In 1986 the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), published a controversial document known as the SANU Memorandum[citation needed]. In it, Serbian academics supported Serbian nationalist grievances inflaming ethnic tensions even among moderate Serbs. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ) was at the time united in condemning the memorandum, and resumed following its anti-nationalist policy.[1]
In 1987, an official of the ruling League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) (Serbian branch of the SKJ), Slobodan Milošević, was dispatched to Kosovo to quell the latest demonstration by the Kosovar Serbs. Up to this point, all branches of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, including Milošević, unanimously condemned all nationalist outcries. However, at this rally, Milošević abandoned party policy: he supported the claims of the gathered crowd – instantly casting himself as the "defender of the Serbs". This image was further promoted by his increasing personal control over the Serbian media, which he was establishing at this time. With his new-found popularity, Milošević managed to wrest control of the League of Communists of Serbia from his one-time political ally Ivan Stambolić, effectively becoming the most powerful politician in SR Serbia.[1]
Having secured his position in Serbia, 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 10 January 1989. This situation severely aggravated the governments of Croatia and Slovenia, along with the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, all of whom soon found themselves in conflict with Milošević (SR Bosnia and Herzegovina and SR Macedonia remained relatively neutral).[1]
During the extraordinary 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (January 1990), the delegations of the League of Communists of Croatia, led by Ivica Račan, and the League of Communists of Slovenia both walked-out of the congress frustrated by Milošević's stranglehold on the assembly. Thus the unitary League of Communists of Yugoslavia was dissolved, leading to the establishment of a multi-party system in the individual republics. The separate Leagues of Communists (most under new names) failed to win in the majority of republics. In Croatia, the nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the election promising to "defend Croatia from Milošević", and quickly reduced the status of the republic's large Serbian minority from "constituent nation" to "national minority" on 22 December 1990, causing great alarm among the Croatian Serbs.[1]
Both Croatia and Slovenia under new nationalist governments declared publicly their intention to secede from Yugoslavia. After referendums (boycotted by Serbs), the two countries declared their secession on 25 June 1991, but were stalled for three months by international efforts (the Brijuni Agreement). Immediately after the Slovene declaration, the Yugoslav Presidency ordered the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) to take control over the international border crossings in Slovenia. Thus began the half-hearted JNA effort to prevent the Slovene secession known as the Ten-Day War. Frustrated by the Slovene Territorial Defence (TO), the federal army was denied permission to occupy the Republic fully, and soon withdrew.[1]
In Croatia the Croatian War of Independence soon began, with Croatian Serb rebels (assisted by the JNA) consolidating their hold on chunks of Croatian territory, and declaring that their entities would not secede from Yugoslavia if Croatia followed through with independence (after the Brijuni Agreement three-month moratorium passed). In October 1991 Croatia and Slovenia finally declared independence, leading to full-scale war in Croatia. Serbian rebels and Serb-controlled JNA units succeeded in occupying large chunks of Croatia. A temporary armistice took hold in January 1992, with attention quickly shifting to SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. In September 1991, Macedonia also declared its independence. Five hundred US soldiers were then deployed under the UN banner to monitor Macedonia's northern borders.[1]
The federal institutions of Yugoslavia by this time all but ceased to function. The state was still formally in existence, comprising Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It housed a vast majority of ethnic Serbs, and was completely controlled by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević. After Croatia's secession, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims no longer desired to remain in a completely Serb-dominated federation ("Serboslavia"). Bosnian Serbs on the other hand were strongly against separation from Serbia (and the other Serb populations). This led to mutually boycotted referendums by the Muslim-dominated Bosnian government and the newly formed Serbian entity, the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the soon-to-be Republic of Srpska). Soon after its referendum, the Bosnian government declared its secession from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, triggering the Bosnian War between the mutually hostile ethnic groups.[1]
After the secession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia was officially dissolved by its two remaining members, Serbia and Montenegro. The two states then formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FR Yugoslavia, FRY), and claimed succession to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This move, however, was not granted legitimacy by the international community, and Yugoslavia was considered completely dissolved into five successor states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and FR Yugoslavia (later renamed into "Serbia and Montenegro").[1]
The Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was amended in 1963 and 1974.
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 completely composed 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 proclaimed 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 different republics. The head of 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.
Internally, the Yugoslav federation was divided into six constituent socialist republics established in 1944[44] and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces (Kosovo and Vojvodina) within the Socialist Republic of Serbia. The federal capital was Belgrade. In alphabetical order, the republics and provinces were:
Under Tito, Yugoslavia adopted a policy of neutrality in the Cold War. It developed close relations with developing countries (see 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. In 1968, following the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union, Tito added an additional defense line to Yugoslavia's borders with the Warsaw Pact countries.[45]
On 1 January 1967, Yugoslavia was the first communist country to open its borders to all foreign visitors and abolish visa requirements.[46]
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.[47] The Arab countries rejected his land for peace concept. However that same year, Yugoslavia no longer recognized Israel.
In 1968, Tito 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.[48]
Yugoslavia had mixed relations with the communist regime of Enver Hoxha of 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 nationalist sentiment in Albania as he officially believed in the communist ideal of international brotherhood of all people, though on a few occasions in the 1980s, Hoxha did make inflammatory speeches in support of Albanians in Kosovo against the Yugoslav government, when public sentiment in Albania was firmly in support of Kosovo Albanians.
Despite their common origins, the economy of socialist Yugoslavia was much different from the economies of the Soviet Union and other Eastern European communist countries, especially after the Yugoslav-Soviet break-up of 1948. Though ultimately owned by the state, Yugoslav companies were collectively managed by the employees themselves, much like in the Israeli kibbutz and the anarchist industrial cooperatives of Spanish Catalonia. 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 the mid-1960s, the country's economy prospered formidably[citation needed]. Unemployment was low and the education level of the work force steadily increased. 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.
The fact that Yugoslavs were allowed to emigrate freely from the 1960s on prompted many to find work in Western Europe, notably West Germany. This contributed to keeping unemployment in check, and also acted as a source of capital and foreign currency.
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 companies is based on the investment of labour. All companies were transformed into organizations of associated labor. 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 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 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. 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 Yugoslavian currency was the yugoslav dinar.
Yugoslav economy in numbers – 1990
Unemployment rate: 15% (1989)
GDP: $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)
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.
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 515.5 km², became part of the SFRY. Zone B was already occupied by the Yugoslav National Army.
In 1992, the SFRY's territory disintegrated as the independent states of Slovenia, Croatia, Republic of 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 1992.
The SFRY recognised "nations" (narodi) and "nationalities" (narodnosti) separately; the former included the constituent Slavic peoples, while the latter included other Slavic and non-Slavic ethnic groups such as Bulgarians and Slovaks (Slavic); and Hungarians and Albanians (non-Slavic). About a total of 26 known sizeable ethnic groups were known to live in Yugoslavia, including non-European originated Roma People or Gypsies.
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.
The population of Yugoslavia spoke mainly three languages: Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian.[49] The Serbo-Croatian language was spoken by the populations in the federal republics of SR Serbia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, and SR Montenegro – a total of 12,390,000 people by the late 1980s. Slovene was spoken by approximately 1,400,000 inhabitants of SR Slovenia, while Macedonian was spoken by 1,210,000 inhabitants of SR Macedonia. National minorities used their own languages as well, with 506,000 speaking Hungarian (primarily in a part of SAP Vojvodina), and 2,000,000 persons speaking Albanian in SR Serbia and SR Macedonia. Turkish, Romanian, and Italian were also spoken to a lesser extent.[49]
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 the Serbo-Croatian language 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.[49]
Two alphabets used in Yugoslavia were: the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic script. Both alphabets were modified for use by the Serbo-Croatian language 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. It should be noted that the Croatian variant of the language used exclusively Latin, while the Serbian variant used both Latin and Cyrillic.[49]
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, 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 and to North America.
The armed forces of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia consists of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), Territorial Defense (TO), Civil Defense (CZ) and Milicija (police) in war time. Much like the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that preceded it, the socialist Yugoslavia maintained a strong military force. Soon after the end of world war two, the Yugoslav Peoples Army was considered to be the 3rd strongest in Europe.
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. Most of its military equipment and pieces were domestically produced.
The regular army mostly originated from the Yugoslav Partisans and the People's Liberation Army of the Yugoslav People's Liberation War in the Second World War. Yugoslavia also had a thriving arms industry and sold to such nations as Kuwait, Iraq, and Burma, amongst many others (including a number of staunchly anti-Communist regimes like Guatemala). Yugoslavian companies like Zastava Arms produced Soviet-designed weaponry under license as well as creating weaponry from scratch. SOKO was an example of a successful design by Yugoslavia before the Yugoslav wars.
As Yugoslavia splintered, the army factionalized along cultural lines, by 1991 and 1992, Serbs made up almost the entire army as the separating states formed their own.
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 called "General Popular Defense" as an answer to the brutal end of the Prague Spring by the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia in 1968. It was organized on republic, autonomous province, municipality and local community levels.
The University of Belgrade (founded 1808) and University of Zagreb (founded 1669) already existed before the creation of Yugoslavia.
Between 1918 and 1992, these universities were established:[50]
Some of the most prominent Yugoslav writers were the Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Ivo Andrić, Miroslav Krleža, Meša Selimović, Branko Ćopić, Mak Dizdar and others. Notable painters included: Đorđe Andrejević Kun, Petar Lubarda, Mersad Berber, Milić od Mačve and others. Prominent sculptor was Antun Augustinčić who made a monument standing in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The pianist Ivo Pogorelić and the violinist Stefan Milenković were internationally acclaimed classical music performers, while Jakov Gotovac was a prominent composer and a conductor. The Yugoslav cinema featured the notable theatre and film actors Danilo Bata Stojković, Ljuba Tadić, Fabijan Šovagović, Mustafa Nadarević, Bata Živojinović, Boris Dvornik, Ljubiša Samardžić, Dragan Nikolić, Milena Dravić, Bekim Fehmiu, Neda Arnerić, Rade Šerbedžija, Mira Furlan, Ena Begović and others. Film directors included: Emir Kusturica, Dušan Makavejev, Goran Marković, Lordan Zafranović, Goran Paskaljević, Živojin Pavlović and Hajrudin Krvavac. Many Yugoslav films featured eminent foreign actors such as Orson Welles, Sergei Bondarchuk, 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, Armour of God, as well as Escape from Sobibor.
Cultural events across the former Yugoslavia included Dubrovačke ljetne igre, Pula Film Festival, the Struga Poetry Evenings and many others. The Yugoslav pop and rock music was also a very important part of the culture. The Yugoslav New Wave was an esspecially productive musical scene, as well as the authentic subcultural movement called New Primitives. The former SFR Yugoslavia was the only communist state that was taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest and it was one of its oldest participants starting in 1961 even before some Western nations, winning the contest in 1989. Notable domestic popular music festival was the Split Festival. Prominent traditional music artists were the award winning Tanec ensemble, the Romani music performer Esma Redžepova and others.
Prior to the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Yugoslavia had a multicultural society 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. In the SFRY the history of Yugoslavia during World War II 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.[51] 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 world.[52] Artists from different ethnicities in the country were popular amongst other ethnicities such as Bosniak Yugoslav pop-folk singer Lepa Brena from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was popular in Serbia, and the film industry in Yugoslavia avoided nationalist overtones until the 1990s.[53]
FPR/SFR Yugoslavia developed a strong athletic sports community, notably in team sports such as association football, basketball, handball, water polo, and volleyball.
The country's greatest footballing achievement ever came on the club level with Red Star Belgrade winning the 1990–91 European Cup, beating Olympique de Marseille in the final. Later that year, they would become World Champions by beating Colo-Colo 3-0 in the Intercontinental Cup. On the national team level, FPR/SFR Yugoslavia qualified for 7 FIFA World Cups, with the best result coming in 1962 with a 4th place finish. The country also qualified for five European Championships, however it participated in only four because it got banned from taking part in the Euro '92 due to an UN embargo as a result of the Yugoslav Wars despite qualifying for the tournament. Best results came in 1960 and 1968 when the final was reached and both times the team lost - in 1960 to Soviet Union and in 1968 to Italy. Additionally, the Yugoslav Olympic team (under-23) won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Rome after previously getting three silvers consecutively - 1948 in London, 1952 in Helsinki, and 1956 in Melbourne - as well as a bronze in 1984 in Los Angeles. In the youth category, Yugoslavia under-20 team qualified for just two FIFA U-20 World Cups (back then known as FIFA World Youth Championship), but famously won in 1987 in Chile while the Yugoslav under-21 team qualified for four UEFA European Under-21 Football Championships winning the inaugural edition in 1978 and coming runners-up in 1990. On the player front, SFRY produced some notable performers on the world stage; such as Rajko Mitić, Stjepan Bobek, Bernard Vukas, Vladimir Beara, Dragoslav Šekularac, Josip Skoblar, Ivan Ćurković, Velibor Vasović, Dragan Džajić, Safet Sušić, Dragan Stojković, Dejan Savićević, Darko Pančev, Robert Prosinečki, etc.
Unlike football which inherited a lot of its infrastructure and know-how from the pre-World War II Kingdom of Yugoslavia, basketball had absolutely no prior heritage. Basketball was thus developed from scratch within the communist Yugoslavia through enthusiasts such as Nebojša Popović, Aca Nikolić, and Bora Stanković. It didn't take long for the Yugoslav national team to become a contender on world stage. The country's most notable results were winning three FIBA Basketball World Cups (in 1970, 1978, and 1990), a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, in addition to five European Championships (three of them consecutively 1973, 1975, and 1977, followed by two more consecutive ones in 1989 and 1991). Furthermore, at the club level, Yugoslav clubs won the European Champion's Cup, the continent's premiere basketball club competition, on seven different occasions - KK Bosna in 1979, KK Cibona in 1985 and 1986, Jugoplastika Split in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and KK Partizan in 1992. Notable players include Radivoj Korać, Ivo Daneu, Zoran Slavnić, Dražen Dalipagić, Dragan Kićanović, Mirza Delibašić, Dražen Petrović, Vlade Divac, Dino Rađa, Toni Kukoč, Žarko Paspalj, etc.
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 managed to get 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 tile, 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, Perica Bukić, Veselin Đuho, Deni Lušić, Dubravko Šimenc, Milorad Krivokapić, Aleksandar Šoštar, etc. established themselves as the best in the world.
Yugoslavia had success in handball winning both the men's and women's World Championships. Veselin Vujović and Svetlana Kitić were voted best the handball players in the history of the sport. There was great enthusiasm in Yugoslavia when Sarajevo was selected as the site of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.[54]
FPR/SFR Yugoslavia also managed to produce a multitude of successful athletes in individual disciplines.
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 and welterweight Marijan Beneš, managed enormously successful careers with plenty of medals. Towards the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s their results were matched by heavyweight Slobodan Kačar.
Tennis had always been a popular sport in the country, and in 1977 Yugoslavia got its first Grand Slam champion when clay court specialist Mima Jaušovec won at Rolland Garros, beating Florența Mihai; Jaušovec reached two more French Open finals (in 1978 and 1983), but lost both of them. In 1973, Nikola Pilić also reached the French Open final, but lost it to Ilie Năstase. It was with the rise of the 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 representing the Unites States.
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The present-day states which succeeded the former Yugoslavia are still today sometimes collectively referred to as the former Yugoslavia. These countries are, listed geographically from northwest to southeast:
They are also sometimes referred to as the "Yugosphere",[57][58] or shortened as Ex Yu, ExYu or Ex-Yu. Remembrance of the time of the joint state and its perceived positive attributes is referred to as Yugo-nostalgia (Jugonostalgija). People who identify with the former Yugoslav state may self-identify as Yugoslavs.
All of the successor states have decided to join the European Union, and Slovenia is the only country of the former Yugoslavia in the EU as of 2004[update], while Croatia is joining in 2013. Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are official candidates, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo have not submitted an application but are nevertheless recognized as "potential candidates" for a possible future enlargement of the European Union.[59] All states of the former Yugoslavia, with the exception of the disputed Autonomous Province of Kosovo, have subscribed to the Stabilisation and Association Process with the EU. EULEX (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo) is a deployment of EU police and civilian resources to Kosovo in an attempt to restore rule of law and combat the widespread organized crime.
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:
Republic/province/country | 1991 | 2011 | growth rate p.a. (avg) |
growth rate (2011 est.) |
Bosnia and Herzegowina | 4,377,000 | 4,622,000 | +0.18% | +0.01% |
Croatia | 4,784,000 | 4,484,000 | -0.22% | -0.08% |
Republic of Macedonia | 2,034,000 | 2,077,000 | +0.07% | +0.25% |
Montenegro | 615,000 | 662,000 | +0.25% | -0.71% |
Kosovo [a] | 1,956,000 | 1,826,000 | -0.23% | N/A |
Serbia | 7,579,000 | 7,310,000 | -0.12% | -0.47% |
Slovenia | 1,913,000 | 2,000,000 | +0.15% | -0.16% |
total | 22,400,000[60] | 23,000,000 | +0.09% | N/A |
Source: The CIA Factbook estimates for the successor states, as of July 2011[update] |
The successor states of Yugoslavia continue to have a 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. Of an estimated 2.5 million refugees created by the Yugoslav Wars, more than a million resettled in Canada. Close to 120,000 refugees from former Yugoslavia were registered in the United States during 1991 to 2002, and 67,000 migrants from the former Yugoslavia were registered in Canada during 1991 to 2001.[61][62][63][64]
Notes:
a. | ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 91 UN member states. |
References:
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Timeline of Yugoslav statehood | |||||||||
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Timeline | Prior to 1918 | Creation 1918–1941 |
World War II 1938–1945 |
Socialist Yugoslavia 1943–1992 |
Breakup & Yugoslav Wars 1990–> |
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Slovenia | territories controlled by Austria-Hungary (1867–1918) Included Bay of Kotor See also: Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (1868–1918) Kingdom of Dalmatia (1815–1918) Condominium of BIH (1878–1918) |
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1929) ↓ renamed ↓ Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–1943) See also: State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (1918) Republic of Prekmurje (1919) Banat, Bačka and Baranja (1918–1919) Free State of Fiume (Free 1920–1924; Italy 1924–1947) |
annexed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany (1941 – 1943/1945) Prekmurje annexed by Hungary |
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (DFY, 1943–1946) ↓ renamed ↓ Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY, 1946–1963) ↓ renamed ↓ Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY, 1963–1992) Constituent federal subjects to the right |
SR Slovenia (1944–1991) |
Republic of Slovenia (since 1991; see Ten-Day War) |
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Dalmatia | Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945) puppet of Nazi Germany, parts annexed by Fascist Italy Međimurje and Baranja annexed by Hungary |
SR Croatia (1943–1991) |
Republic of Croatia (since 1991; see Croatian War of Independence) See also: SAO Kninska Krajina (1990) → SAO Krajina (1990–1991) SAO Western Slavonia (1990–1991) Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1990–1991) ↳ Republic of Serbian Krajina ↲ (1990–1995) → UNTAES (1996–1998) |
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Slavonia | |||||||||
Croatia | |||||||||
Bosnia | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina (1943–1992) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1992; see Bosnian War); Consists of: Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1995) Republika Srpska (since 1995) Brčko District (since 2000) See also: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia SAOs Bosanska Krajina, North-Eastern Bosnia, Romanija, & Herzegovina (1991–1992) ↳ Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ↲ (1992–1995) |
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Herzegovina | |||||||||
Vojvodina | Autonomous Banat (part of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia) Bačka annexed by Hungary (1941–1944) Syrmia annexed by Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944) |
SR Serbia (1943–1990) Included APs: SAP Vojvodina & SAP Kosovo |
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003) ↓ renamed ↓ State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) Consisted of until 2006: Republic of Serbia (1990) Republic of Montenegro (1992) See also: Republic of Kosova (1990–2000) |
Republic of Serbia (2006–2008) Included APs: Vojvodina & Kosovo and Metohija (under UN administration) |
Republic of Serbia (since 2006) Includes AP Vojvodina |
||||
Serbia | Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918) |
Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia (1941–1944) See also: Republic of Užice |
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Kosovo | Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) |
mostly annexed by Albania (1941–1944) along with western Macedonia and south-eastern Montenegro |
Republic of Kosovo (since 2008) Declared unilateral independence, which is since then only partially recognised |
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Metohija | Kingdom of Montenegro (1910–1918) Metohija controlled by Austria-Hungary (1915–1918) |
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Montenegro | Protectorate annexed by Fascist Italy (1941–1943) and Nazi Germany (1943–1944) Smaller part annexed by Independent State of Croatia (1941–1944) |
SR Montenegro (1943–1992) |
Montenegro (since 2006) |
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Macedonia | Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) |
annexed by Kingdom of Bulgaria (1941–1944) |
SR Macedonia (1944–1991) |
Republic of Macedonia (since 1991) |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008) |
Yugoslavia (Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: Jugoslavija; Cyrillic: Југославија) was a country in the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century which was established three times under differing forms of government.
The first country to be known by this name was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which before 3 October 1929 was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia (the Kingdom of Montenegro was annexed on 13 November 1918, and the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922).[1] The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941, and because of the events that followed, was officially abolished in 1943 and 1945.
The second country with this name was the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the Yugoslav Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed to the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria, Rijeka and Zadar were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.
The constituent six Socialist Republics and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that made up the country were: SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Slovenia and SR Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo which after 1974 were largely equal to the other members of the federation[2][3]).
Starting in 1991, the SFRY disintegrated in the Yugoslav Wars which followed the secession of most of the country's constituent entities. The third Yugoslavia, known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, existed until 2003, when it was renamed Serbia and Montenegro.
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Originating from Pan-Slavism ideologies, Yugoslavia was ultimately the idea for a single state for all South Slavic intelligentsia and emerged in the late 17th and gained prominence in the 19th century Illyrian Movement. Coined from the Slavic words "jug" (south) and "slaveni" (Slavs).
Formed in 1918 immediately after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia. Commonly called at the time a "Versailles state". Renamed to and first official use of Yugoslavia in 1929.
King Alexander I banned national political parties in 1929, assumed executive power and renamed the country Yugoslavia. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions. However, Alexander's policies later encountered opposition from other European powers stemming from developments in Italy and Germany, where Fascists and Nazis rose to power, and the Soviet Union, where Joseph Stalin became absolute ruler. None of these three regimes favored the policy pursued by Alexander I. In fact, Italy and Germany wanted to revise the international treaties signed after World War I, and the Soviets were determined to regain their positions in Europe and pursue a more active international policy.
Alexander attempted to create a centralized Yugoslavia. He decided to abolish Yugoslavia's historic regions, and new internal boundaries were drawn for provinces or banovinas. The banovinas were named after rivers. Many politicians were jailed or kept under police surveillance. The effect of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity.[4] During his reign the flags of Yugoslav nations were banned. Communist ideas were banned also.
The king was assassinated in Marseille during an official visit to France in 1934 by an experienced marksman from Ivan Mihailov's Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization with the cooperation of the Ustaše, a Croatian fascist revolutionary organization. Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin, Prince Paul.
The international political scene in the late 1930s was marked by growing intolerance between the principal figures, by the aggressive attitude of the totalitarian regimes and by the certainty that the order set up after World War I was losing its strongholds and its sponsors were losing their strength. Supported and pressured by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Croatian leader Vladko Maček and his party managed the creation of the Banovina of Croatia (Autonomous Region with significant internal self-government) in 1939. The agreement specified that Croatia was to remain part of Yugoslavia, but it was hurriedly building an independent political identity in international relations. The entire kingdom was to be federalized but World War II stopped the fulfillment of those plans.
Prince Paul submitted to the fascist pressure and signed the Tripartite Treaty in Vienna on 25 March 1941, hoping to still keep Yugoslavia out of the war. But this was at the expense of popular support for Paul's regency. Senior military officers were also opposed to the treaty and launched a coup d'état when the king returned on 27 March. Army General Dušan Simović seized power, arrested the Vienna delegation, exiled Paul, and ended the regency, giving 17-year-old King Peter full powers. Hitler then decided to attack Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, followed immediately by an invasion of Greece where Mussolini had previously been repelled.[5]
At 5:12 am on 6 April 1941, German, Italian and Hungarian forces attacked Yugoslavia. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) bombed Belgrade and other major Yugoslav cities. On 17 April, representatives of Yugoslavia's various regions signed an armistice with Germany in Belgrade, ending 11 days of resistance against the invading German Army (Wehrmacht Heer). More than 300,000 Yugoslav officers and soldiers were taken prisoner.
The Axis Powers occupied Yugoslavia and split it up. The Independent State of Croatia was established as a Nazi satellite state, ruled by the fascist militia known as the Ustaše that came into existence in 1929, but was relatively limited in its activities until 1941. German troops occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as part of Serbia and Slovenia, while other parts of the country were occupied by Bulgaria, Hungary, and Italy. From 1941–45, the Croatian Ustaše regime murdered around 500,000 people, 250,000 were expelled, and another 200,000 were forced to convert to Catholicism; the victims were predominantly Serbs but included 37,000 Jews.[6]
From the start, the Yugoslav resistance forces consisted of two factions: the communist-led Yugoslav Partisans and the royalist Chetniks, with the former receiving Allied recognition only at the Tehran conference (1943). The heavily pro-Serbian Chetniks were led by Draža Mihajlović, while the pan-Yugoslav oriented Partisans were led by Josip Broz Tito.
The Partisans initiated a guerrilla campaign that developed into the largest resistance army in occupied Western and Central Europe. The Chetniks were initially supported by the exiled royal government and the Allies, they but soon focused increasingly on combating the Partisans rather than the occupying Axis forces. By the end of the war, the Chetnik movement transformed into a collaborationist Serb nationalist militia completely dependent on Axis supplies.[7] The highly mobile Partisans, however, carried on their guerrilla warfare with great success. Most notable of the victories against the occupying forces were the battles of Neretva and Sutjeska.
On 25 November 1942, the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia was convened in Bihać, modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The council reconvened on 29 November 1943, in Jajce, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and established the basis for post-war organization of the country, establishing a federation (this date was celebrated as Republic Day after the war).
The Yugoslav Partisans were able to expel the Axis from Serbia in 1944 and the rest of Yugoslavia in 1945. The Red Army provided limited assistance with the liberation of Belgrade and withdrew after the war was over. In May 1945, the Partisans met with Allied forces outside former Yugoslav borders, after also taking over Trieste and parts of the southern Austrian provinces of Styria and Carinthia. However, the Partisans withdrew from Trieste in June of the same year.
Western attempts to reunite the Partisans, who denied the supremacy of the old government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the émigrés loyal to the king led to the Tito-Šubašić Agreement in June 1944; however, Marshal Josip Broz Tito was seen as a national hero by the citizens and was elected by referendum to lead the new independent communist state, starting as a prime minister.
The official Yugoslav post-war estimate of victims in Yugoslavia during World War II is 1,704,000. Subsequent data gathering in the 1980s by historians Vladimir Žerjavić and Bogoljub Kočović showed that the actual number of dead was about 1 million.
On 29 November 1945, while still in exile, King Peter II was deposed by Yugoslavia's Constituent Assembly. However, he refused to abdicate.
On 31 January 1946, the new constitution of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, modeled after the Soviet Union, established six republics, an autonomous province, and an autonomous district that were part of SR Serbia. The federal capital was Belgrade. Republics and provinces were (in alphabetical order):
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1 | Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo |
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2 | Socialist Republic of Croatia | Zagreb |
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3 | Socialist Republic of Macedonia | Skopje |
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4 | Socialist Republic of Montenegro | Titograd, now Podgorica |
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Socialist Republic of Serbia | Belgrade |
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6 | Socialist Republic of Slovenia | Ljubljana |
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In 1947, negotiations between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were led and finalized with the Bled agreement. The aim of the negotiations was to include Bulgaria in Yugoslavia or to form a new union of two independent countries. After the intervention of Stalin this agreement was never realized.
Yugoslavia solved the national issue of nations and nationalities (national minorities) in a way that all nations and nationalities had the same rights. The flags of the republics used versions of the red flag and/or Slavic tricolor, with a red star in the centre or in the canton.
In 1974, the two provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija (for the latter had by then been upgraded to the status of a province), as well as the republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, were granted greater autonomy to the point that Albanian and Hungarian became nationally recognised minority languages and the Serbo-Croat of Bosnia and Montenegro altered to a form based on the speech of the local people and not on the standards of Zagreb and Belgrade. In Slovenia the recognized minorities were Hungarians and Italians.
Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija formed a part of the Republic of Serbia but those provinces also formed part of the federation, which led to the unique situation that Central Serbia did not have its own assembly but a joint assembly with its provinces represented in it. The country distanced itself from the Soviets in 1948 (cf. Cominform and Informbiro) and started to build its own way to socialism under the strong political leadership of Josip Broz Tito. 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.
Yugoslavia had always been a home to a very diverse population, not only in terms of national affiliation, but also religious affiliation. Of the many religions, Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism and Protestantism as well as various Eastern Orthodox faiths composed the religions of Yugoslavia, comprising over 40 in all. The religious demographics of Yugoslavia have changed dramatically since World War II. A census taken in 1921 and later in 1948 show that 99% of the population appeared to be deeply involved with their religion and practices. With postwar government programs of modernization and urbanization, the percentage of religious believers took a dramatic plunge. Connections between religious belief and nationality posed a serious threat to the post-war Communist government's policies on national unity and state structure.[8]
After the rise of communism, a survey taken in 1964 showed that just over 70% of the total population of Yugoslavia considered themselves to be religious believers. The places of highest religious concentration were that of Kosovo with 91% and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 83.8%. The places of lowest religious concentration were Slovenia 65.4%, Serbia with 63.7% and Croatia with 63.6%. Religious differences between Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosniaks and the rise of nationalism contributed to the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991.[8]
On 7 April 1963, the nation changed its official name to Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Josip Broz Tito was named President for Life. In the SFRY, each republic and province had its own constitution, supreme court, parliament, president and prime minister. At the top of the Yugoslav government were the President (Tito), the federal Prime Minister, and the federal Parliament (a collective Presidency was formed after Tito's death in 1980). Also important were the Communist Party general secretaries for each republic and province, and the general secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Tito was the most powerful person in the country, followed by republican and provincial premiers and presidents, and Communist Party presidents. Slobodan Penezić Krcun, Tito's chief of secret police in Serbia, fell victim to a dubious traffic incident after he started to complain about Tito's politics. The Interior Minister Aleksandar Ranković lost all of his titles and rights after a major disagreement with Tito regarding state politics. Sometimes ministers in government, such as Edvard Kardelj or Stane Dolanc, were more important than the Prime Minister.
The suppression of national identities escalated with the so-called Croatian Spring of 1970–1971, when students in Zagreb organized demonstrations for greater civil liberties and greater Croatian autonomy. The regime stifled the public protest and incarcerated the leaders, but many key Croatian representatives in the Party silently supported this cause, so a new Constitution was ratified in 1974 that gave more rights to the individual republics in Yugoslavia and provinces in Serbia.
The post–World War II Yugoslavia was in many respects a model[citation needed] of how to build a multinational state. The Federation was constructed against a double background: an inter-war Yugoslavia which had been dominated by the Serbian ruling class; and a war-time division of the country, as Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany split the country apart and endorsed an extreme Croatian nationalist faction called the Ustaše which committed genocide[citation needed] against Serbs. A small faction of Bosniak nationalists joined the Axis forces and attacked Serbs while extreme Serb nationalists engaged in attacks on Bosniaks and Croats.
The ethnic violence was only ended[citation needed] when the multiethnic Yugoslav Partisans took over the country at the end of the war and banned nationalism from being publicly promoted. Overall relative peace was retained under Tito's rule, though nationalist protests did occur, but these were usually repressed and nationalist leaders were arrested and some were executed by Yugoslav officials. 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 Kosovo and the mixed-populated Vojvodina.
These autonomous provinces held the same voting power as the republics but unlike the republics, they could not legally separate from Yugoslavia. This concession satisfied Croatia and Slovenia, but in Serbia and in the new autonomous province of Kosovo, reaction was different. Serbs saw the new constitution as conceding to Croat and ethnic Albanian nationalists. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo saw the creation of an autonomous province as not being enough, and demanded that Kosovo become a constituent republic with the right to separate from Yugoslavia. This created tensions within the Communist leadership, particularly amongst Communist Serb officials who resented the 1974 constitution as weakening Serbia's influence and jeopardizing the unity of the country by allowing the republics the right to separate.
An economic crisis erupted in the 1970s which was the product of disastrous errors by Yugoslav governments, such as borrowing vast amounts of Western capital in order to fund growth through exports. Western economies then entered recession, blocked Yugoslav exports and created a huge debt problem. The Yugoslav government then accepted the IMF loan.
In 1989, according to official sources, 248 firms were declared bankrupt or were liquidated and 89,400 workers were laid off. During the first nine months of 1990 directly following the adoption of the IMF programme, another 889 enterprises with a combined work-force of 525,000 workers suffered the same fate. In other words, in less than two years "the trigger mechanism" (under the Financial Operations Act) had led to the lay off of more than 600,000 workers out of a total industrial workforce of the order of 2.7 million. An additional 20% of the work force, or half a million people, were not paid wages during the early months of 1990 as enterprises sought to avoid bankruptcy. The largest concentrations of bankrupt firms and lay-offs were in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo. Real earnings were in a free fall and social programmes had collapsed; creating within the population an atmosphere of social despair and hopelessness. This was a critical turning point in the events to follow.
Though the 1974 Constitution reduced the power of the federal government, Tito's authority substituted for this weakness until his death in 1980.
After Tito's death on 4 May 1980, ethnic tensions grew in Yugoslavia. The legacy of the Constitution of 1974 was used to throw the system of decision-making into a state of paralysis, made all the more hopeless as the conflict of interests had become irreconcilable. The constitutional crisis that inevitably followed resulted in a rise of nationalism in all republics: Slovenia and Croatia made demands for looser ties within the Federation, the Albanian majority in Kosovo demanded the status of a republic, Serbia sought absolute, not only relative dominion over Yugoslavia. Added to this, the Croat quest for independence led to large Serb communities within Croatia rebelling and trying to secede from the Croat republic.
In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts drafted a memorandum addressing some burning issues concerning position of Serbs as the most numerous people in Yugoslavia. The largest Yugoslav republic in territory and population, Serbia's influence over the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina was reduced by the 1974 Constitution. Because its two autonomous provinces had de facto prerogatives of full-fledged republics, Serbia found that its hands were tied, for the republican government was restricted in making and carrying out decisions that would apply to the provinces. Since the provinces had a vote in the Federal Presidency Council (an eight-member council composed of representatives from six republics and two autonomous provinces), they sometimes even entered into coalition with other republics, thus outvoting Serbia. Serbia's political impotence made it possible for others to exert pressure on the 2 million Serbs (20% of total Serbian population) living outside Serbia.
Serbian communist leader Slobodan Milošević sought to restore pre-1974 Serbian sovereignty. Other republics, especially Slovenia and Croatia, denounced this move as a revival of great Serbian hegemonism. Milošević succeeded in reducing the autonomy of Vojvodina and of Kosovo and Metohija, but both entities retained a vote in the Yugoslav Presidency Council. The very instrument that reduced Serbian influence before was now used to increase it: in the eight member Council, Serbia could now count on four votes minimum – Serbia proper, then-loyal Montenegro, and Vojvodina and Kosovo.
As a result of these events, the ethnic Albanian miners in Kosovo organized the 1989 Kosovo miners' strike, which dovetailed into ethnic conflict between the Albanians and the non-Albanians in the province. At around 80% of the population of Kosovo in the 1980s, ethnic-Albanians were the majority. The number of Slavs in Kosovo (mainly Serbs) was quickly declining for several reasons, among them the ever increasing ethnic tensions and subsequent emigration from the area. By 1999 the Slavs formed as little as 10% of the total population in Kosovo.
Meanwhile Slovenia, under the presidency of Milan Kučan, and Croatia supported Albanian miners and their struggle for formal recognition. Initial strikes turned into widespread demonstrations demanding a Kosovan republic. This angered Serbia's leadership which proceeded to use police force, and later even the Federal Army was sent to the province by the order of the Serbia-held majority in the Yugoslav Presidency Council.
In January 1990, the extraordinary 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia was convened. For most of the time, the Slovenian and Serbian delegations were arguing over the future of the League of Communists and Yugoslavia. The Serbian delegation, led by Milošević, insisted on a policy of "one person, one vote", which would empower the plurality population, the Serbs. In turn, the Slovenes, supported by Croats, sought to reform Yugoslavia by devolving even more power to republics, but were voted down. As a result, the Slovenian, and eventually Croatian delegation left the Congress, and the all-Yugoslav Communist party was dissolved.
Following the fall of communism in the rest of Eastern Europe, each of the republics held multi-party elections in 1990. Slovenia and Croatia held the elections in April since their communist parties chose to cede power peacefully. Other Yugoslav republics – especially Serbia – were more or less dissatisfied with the democratization in two of the republics and proposed different sanctions (e.g. Serbian "customs tax" for Slovenian products) against the two of the union but as the year passed other republics communist parties saw the inevitability of the democratization process and in December as the last member of the federation – Serbia held parliamentary elections which confirmed (former) communists rule in this republic.
The unresolved issues however remained. In particular, Slovenia and Croatia elected governments oriented towards greater autonomy of the republics (under Milan Kučan and Franjo Tuđman, respectively), since it became clear that Serbian domination attempts and increasingly different levels of democratic standards were becoming increasingly incompatible. Serbia and Montenegro elected candidates who favoured Yugoslav unity. Serbs in Croatia would not accept a status of a national minority in a sovereign Croatia, since they would be demoted from a constituent nation of Croatia and this would consequently diminish their rights.
This section is too long. Consider either splitting it into new page or sub-sections or summarizing it. |
The war broke out when the new regimes tried to replace Yugoslav civilian and military forces with secessionist forces. When in August 1990 Croatia attempted to replace police in the Serb populated Croat Krajina by force, the population first looked for refuge in the JNA caserns, while the army remained passive. The civilians then organised armed resistance. These armed conflicts between the Croatian armed forces (“police”) and civilians mark the beginning of the Yugoslav war that inflamed the region. Similarly, the attempt to replace Yugoslav frontier police by the Slovenian police provoked regional armed conflicts which finished with a minimal number of victims.
A similar attempt in Bosnia and Herzegovina led to a war that lasted more than three years (see below). The results of all these conflicts are almost complete emigration of the Serbs from all three regions, massive displacement of the populations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and establishment of the three new independent states. The separation of Macedonia was peaceful, although the Yugoslav Army occupied the peak of the Straža mountain on the Macedonian soil.
Serbian uprisings in Croatia began in August 1990 by blocking roads leading from the Dalmatian coast towards the inland almost a year before Croatian leadership made any move towards independence. These uprisings were more or less discretely backed up by the Serbian dominated federal army (JNA). The Serbs proclaimed the emergence of Serbian Autonomous Areas (known later as Republic of Serb Krajina) in Croatia. Federal army tried to disarm the Territorial defence forces of Slovenia (republics had their local defence forces similar to Home guard ) in 1990 but wasn't completely successful. Still, Slovenia began to covertly import arms to replenish its armed forces.
Croatia also embarked upon the illegal import of arms, (following the disaramament of the republics armed forces by the federal JNA) mainly from Hungary, and were under constant surveillance which produced a video of a secret meeting between the Croatian Defence minister Martin Špegelj and the two men, filmed by the Yugoslav Counter Intelligence (KOS, Kontra-obavještajna Služba). Špegelj announced that they were at war with the army and gave instructions about arms smuggling as well as methods of dealing with the Yugoslav Army's officers stationed in Croatian cities. Serbia and JNA used this discovery of Croatian rearmament for propaganda purposes. The film was spiced by distorting sounds and fabricated voice of the Croatian minister.
Also, guns were fired from army bases through Croatia. Elsewhere, tensions were running high.
In the same month, the Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, JNA) met with the Presidency of Yugoslavia in an attempt to get them to declare a state of emergency which would allow for the army to take control of the country. The army was seen as a Serbian service by that time so the consequence feared by the other republics was to be total Serbian domination of the union. The representatives of Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Vojvodina voted for the decision, while all other republics, Croatia (Stipe Mesić), Slovenia (Janez Drnovšek), Macedonia (Vasil Tupurkovski) and Bosnia and Hercegovina (Bogić Bogićević), voted against. The tie delayed an escalation of conflicts, but not for long. Slobodan Milošević installed his proponents in Vojvodina, Kosovo and Montenegro during Yogurt Revolutions.
Following the first multi-party election results, in the autumn of 1990, the republics of Slovenia and Croatia proposed transforming Yugoslavia into a loose confederation of six republics. By this proposal republics would have right to self-determination. However Milošević rejected all such proposals, arguing that like Slovenes and Croats, the Serbs (having in mind Croatian Serbs) should also have a right to self-determination.
On 9 March 1991, demonstrations were held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade, but the police and the military were deployed in the streets to restore order, killing two people. In late March 1991, the Plitvice Lakes incident was one of the first sparks of open war in Croatia. The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), whose superior officers were mainly of Serbian ethnicity, maintained an impression of being neutral, but as time went on, they got more and more involved in the state politics.
On 25 June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia became the first republics to declare independence from Yugoslavia. The federal customs officers in Slovenia on the border crossings with Italy, Austria and Hungary mainly just changed uniforms since most of them were local Slovenes. The border police were mostly already Slovenian before Slovenia's declaration of independence. The following day (26 June), the Federal Executive Council specifically ordered the army to take control of the "internationally recognized borders". See Ten-Day War.
The Yugoslav People's Army forces, based in barracks in Slovenia and Croatia, attempted to carry out the task within the next 48 hours. However, because of the misinformation given to the Yugoslav Army conscripts that the Federation was under attack by foreign forces, and the fact that the majority of them did not wish to engage in a war on the ground where they served their conscription, the Slovene territorial defence forces retook most of the posts within several days with only minimal loss of life on both sides.
There was a suspected incident of a war crime, as the Austrian ORF TV station showed footage of three Yugoslav Army soldiers surrendering to the Territorial defense, before gunfire was heard and the troops were seen falling down. However, none were killed in the incident. There were however numerous cases of destruction of civilian property and civilian life by the Yugoslav Peoples Army – houses, a church, civilian airport was bombarded and civilian hangar and airliners inside it, truck drivers on the road Ljubljana – Zagreb and Austrian journalists on Ljubljana Airport were killed. Ceasefire was agreed upon. According to the Brioni Agreement, recognized by representatives of all republics, the international community pressured Slovenia and Croatia to place a three-month moratorium on their independence.
During these three months, the Yugoslav Army completed its pull-out from Slovenia, but in Croatia, a bloody war broke out in the autumn of 1991. Ethnic Serbs, who had created their own state Republic of Serbian Krajina in heavily Serb-populated regions resisted the police forces of the Republic of Croatia who were trying to bring that breakaway region back under Croatian jurisdiction. In some strategic places, the Yugoslav Army acted as a buffer zone; in most others it was protecting or aiding Serbs with resources and even manpower in their confrontation with the new Croatian army and their police force.
In September 1991, the Republic of Macedonia also declared independence, becoming the only former republic to gain sovereignty without resistance from the Belgrade-based Yugoslav authorities. 500 U.S. soldiers were then deployed under the U.N. banner to monitor Macedonia's northern borders with the Republic of Serbia, Yugoslavia. Macedonia's first president, Kiro Gligorov, maintained good relations with Belgrade and the other breakaway republics and there have to date been no problems between Macedonian and Serbian border police even though small pockets of Kosovo and the Preševo valley complete the northern reaches of the historical region known as Macedonia (Prohor Pčinjski part), which would otherwise create a border dispute if ever Macedonian romantic nationalism should resurface (see VMRO). This was despite the fact that the Yugoslav Army refused to abandon its military infrastructure on the top of the Straža Mountain up to the year 2000.
As a result of the conflict, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted UN Security Council Resolution 721 on 27 November 1991, which paved the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.[9]
In Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of forming Serbian republic in borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina and staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. On 9 January 1992, the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate "Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina". The referendum and creation of SARs were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and declared illegal and invalid. However, in February–March 1992 the government held a national referendum on Bosnian independence from Yugoslavia. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the BiH and Federal constitution by the federal Constitution court in Belgrade and the newly established Bosnian Serb government.
The referendum was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. The Federal court in Belgrade did not decide on the matter of the referendum of the Bosnian Serbs. The turnout was somewhere between 64–67% and 98% of the voters voted for independence. It was not clear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied. The republic's government declared its independence on 5 April, and the Serbs immediately declared the independence of Republika Srpska. The war in Bosnia followed shortly thereafter.
Various dates are considered the end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia:
Main article: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
As Yugoslavia began to dissolve and the subsequent wars raged through Croatia and Bosnia, the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, which remained relatively untouched by the war, formed a rump state known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992 as a successor to the previous state. In 2003, it was reconstituted as a political union called the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia aspired to be a sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but those claims were opposed by other former republics. The United Nations also denied its request to automatically continue the membership of the former state.[10] Eventually, after the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević from power as president of the federation in 2000, the country rescinded those aspirations and accepted the opinion of Badinter Arbitration Committee about shared succession, and reapplied for and gained UN membership on 2 November 2000.[11] From 1992 to 2000, some countries, including the United States, referred to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as "Serbia and Montenegro".[12]
A loose confederation, Serbia and Montenegro were united only in certain realms, such as defense. The two constituent republics functioned separately throughout the period of the Federal Republic, and continued to operate under separate economic policies. On 21 May 2006, the Montenegrin independence referendum was held. Final official results indicated on 31 May that 55.5% of voters voted in favor of independence. The state union effectively came to an end after Montenegro's formal declaration of independence on 3 June 2006, and Serbia's formal declaration of independence on 5 June. Many view this as the final end of what was left of the former Yugoslavia.
Countries that emerged from the former Yugoslavia:
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Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo |
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Croatia | Zagreb |
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Macedonia | Skopje |
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Montenegro | Podgorica |
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Serbia | Belgrade |
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Slovenia | Ljubljana |
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The Yugosphere is a term used to describe the present day physical areas which formed Yugoslavia, as well as culture and influence.[14][15]
The similarity of the languages and the long history of common life have left many ties among the peoples of the new states, even though the individual state policies of the new states favour differentiation, particularly in language. The Serbo-Croatian language is linguistically a unique language, with several literary and spoken variants and also was the imposed means of communication used where other languages dominated (Slovenia, Macedonia). Now, separate sociolinguistic standards exist for the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages. Although the SFRY had no official language, technically there had been three official languages, along with minority languages official where minorities lived, but in all federal organs only Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian was used and others were expected to use it as well.
Remembrance of the time of the joint state and its perceived positive attributes is referred to as Yugo-nostalgia. Many aspects of Yugonostalgia refer to the socialist system and the sense of social security it provided. There are still people from the former-Yugoslavia who self-identify as Yugoslavs, and commonly seen in demographics relating to ethnicity in today's independent states.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yugoslavia |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Yugoslavia |
Look up Yugoslavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Coordinates: 44°49′14″N 20°27′44″E / 44.82056°N 20.46222°E / 44.82056; 20.46222
Country | Serbia |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Born | (1987-05-22) 22 May 1987 (age 25) Belgrade, Serbia |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Weight | 80.0 kg (176 lb; 12.60 st) |
Turned pro | 2003 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money |
$36,889,162 |
Singles | |
Career record | 427–116 (78.64%) |
Career titles | 30 |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (4 July 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 1 (28 May 2012)[1] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (2008, 2011, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2007, 2008, 2011) |
Wimbledon | W (2011) |
US Open | W (2011) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | W (2008) |
Olympic Games | Bronze Medal (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 31–44 (41.33%) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 114 (30 November 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 546 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2006, 2007) |
French Open | 1R (2006) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2006) |
US Open | 1R (2006) |
Last updated on: 19:34, 1 June 2012 (UTC). |
Olympic medal record | ||
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Competitor for Serbia | ||
Men's Tennis | ||
Bronze | 2008 Beijing | Singles |
Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић or Novak Đoković; pronounced [nɔ̂ʋaːk dʑɔ̂ːkɔʋitɕ] ( listen); born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year.
He is the first male player representing Serbia to win a Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively.[4] Amongst other titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was on the team which won the 2010 Davis Cup. He also won the bronze medal in singles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He has won 11 Masters 1000 series titles placing him joint fourth on the all time list. Djokovic has quickly moved up in the rankings of history. Tennis Channel ranked him number 40 [5], and former player Pat Cash said he is one of the greatest ever. [6]
Contents |
Djokovic was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to father Srđan (Срђан) and mother Dijana (Дијана). His two younger brothers, Marko and Đorđe (Ђорђе) are also tennis players with professional aspirations.[2] Residing in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Djokovic has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player Marián Vajda.[7] Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.[8][9] Since the end of 2005, Djokovic has been dating Jelena Ristić (Јелена Ристић).[10]
He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić[11] at Serbian Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour.[12] Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action, she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles."[2] Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition was the best option for his future. To that end, she contacted Nikola Pilić, and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there.[13] At age 14, he began his international career, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.[2]
Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.[14] He also did an impression of John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[15]
Djokovic is a Serbian Orthodox Christian. On 28 April 2011, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
He is a keen fan of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade,[17] Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan[18] and Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. Djokovic is good friends with fellow Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanović, whom he has known since the two were children growing up in Serbia.
As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team, he reached the finals of the 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.[19]
At the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour-level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he lost to Filippo Volandri in the round of 32. He made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by Marat Safin in the first round.
Djokovic briefly considered plans to move from Serbia to play for Britain.[20] He reached the top-40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
Djokovic began the year by defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final of the ATP Adelaide, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top 10. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.
Right after his first master series title, he went back home to contribute to his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia, and Djokovic won a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg, but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Major semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.
During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis. In his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal, he was forced to retire with elbow problems in the 3rd set after winning the first and losing the 2nd set.
Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated world no. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, world no. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and world no. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994.[21] Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)."[22] However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set, but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.
Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals. Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as world no. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.
He received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete in Serbia, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia declared him the best athlete.[23]
Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world no. 3 Jelena Janković. While he won all his round-robin matches, the team lost 1–2 in the final to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.
At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Major final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals. By reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four Majors. In the final, Djokovic defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title.[24] This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.
Djokovic's next tournament was the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the semifinals to Andy Roddick.
At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.
Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals. At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.
On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing in two sets. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third-seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin. This ended a streak of five consecutive Majors where he had reached at least the semifinals.
Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray. The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final, beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.
His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match.
After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals. To a smattering of boos in a post-match interview, Djokovic criticized Roddick for accusing him of making excessive use of the trainer during matches. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.
Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. In his first round-robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets, before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga. Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first Tennis Masters Cup title.
Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round.[25] At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals.[26]
As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former world no. 1 Andy Roddick.[27]
After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals, before losing to Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final.
Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year.[28] As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. There, he faced Nadal and lost despite holding three match points. The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, was the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era.[29] At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas.[30] Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.[31]
During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, before losing to Andy Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated world no. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He lost in the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer.[32] At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semifinals, having dropped only two sets, defeating Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco. He then lost to Roger Federer.[33]
At the China Open in Beijing, he defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets to win his third title of the year.[34] At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko.
At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic defeated Jan Hernych to make it to the quarterfinals.[35] He then recovered from a deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. He won the semifinals against Radek Štěpánek. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer to win his fourth title of the year.[36]
At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.[37] In the final, Djokovic prevailed over Gaël Monfils.[38]
Coming into the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round-robin match.[39] In his second match, he lost to Robin Söderling.[40] Despite victory over Rafael Nadal in his third round-robin match, Djokovic failed to make the semifinals.[41]
Djokovic ended the year as the world no. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches throughout the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.
Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second.[42]
At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets.[43] Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of world no. 2.
He reached the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in the U.A.E., Djokovic reached the final, defeating Mikhail Youzhny to win his first title of the year.[44]
He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarterfinal in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey and John Isner.
At the Indian Wells Masters, he lost in the fourth round to Ivan Ljubičić. At the Miami Masters, he lost in his opening match to Olivier Rochus. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.[45]
In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and David Nalbandian. There, he lost to Fernando Verdasco. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals.[46]
As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarterfinals while trailing Filip Krajinović.[47]
Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets.[48]
Djokovic entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, defeating Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Albert Montañés, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsun Lu en route to the semifinals, which he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets.
Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic also competed in doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership. That hadn't happened since 1976, when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as world no.1 and no.2 paired together as a doubles team.[49] They lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick.
As the third seed at the US Open, Djokovic came very close to losing in his opening round against Viktor Troicki in extreme heat. He then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils, all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets after saving 2 match points with forehand winners while serving to stay in the match at 4–5 in the 5th set. It was Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Major since the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.
After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (walkover), Gilles Simon, and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated David Ferrer in the final.
At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semifinal appearance, losing to Roger Federer.
Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych, and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round-robin match against Berdych. He next lost to Nadal. He defeated Roddick in his final round-robin match and advanced to the semifinals. He lost to Roger Federer in two sets.
Djokovic went on to win his two singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France. This started a long unbeaten run that went on into 2011. Djokovic finished the year ranked world no. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.
He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia[50] and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.[51]
Djokovic won ten tournaments in 2011,[12] including Grand Slam tournament victories at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.[12] Djokovic also captured a record-breaking five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles,[12][52] and set a new record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP World Tour (12.0 million dollars).[12] His level dropped at season's end beginning with a back injury and ended with a poor showing at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic finished the season with a 70–6 record and No. 1 in the world. Pete Sampras declared Djokovic's season as the best he has ever seen in his lifetime, calling it "one of the best achievements in all of sports."[53] Boris Becker called Djokovic's season "one of the very best years in tennis of all time," adding that it "may not be the best statistically, but he’s beaten Federer, he’s beaten Nadal, he’s beaten everybody that came around to challenge him in the biggest tournaments in the world."[54] Rafael Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in six finals on three different surfaces, described Djokovic's performances as "probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw."[55] Djokovic was named 2011 ITF World Champion.[56]
Djokovic began his season winning at the 2012 Australian Open. He won his first four rounds against Paolo Lorenzi,[57] Santiago Giraldo, Nicolas Mahut and Lleyton Hewitt respectively. In the quarter-finals he defeated David Ferrer in three sets. In the semifinal, Djokovic beat Andy Murray in five sets (7–5 in the fifth set) after 4 hours and 50 minutes, coming back from a two-sets-to-one deficit and fending off break points at 5-all in the fifth set .[58] In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from a break down in the final set to win 7–5. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history, as well as the longest match in Australian Open history, surpassing the 5 hour and 14 minute 2009 semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.[59]
Djokovic was beaten by John Isner in the semifinals at Indian Wells. He successfully defended his title in Miami.
In the Monte Carlo final, he lost in straight sets 3-6 1-6 to Nadal, unable to prevent Nadal from earning his record-breaking eighth consecutive title there.
Djokovic also lost in straight sets 7-5 6-3 to Nadal at the Rome Masters 2012 final.[60]
In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April, against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team an unsurmountable 3–1 lead in their best-of-five series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up, a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks.[20] Nineteen-year-old Djokovic, who was no.63 on the ATP list at the time, mostly dismissed the story at first by saying that the talks were not serious, describing them as "the British being very kind to us after the Davis Cup".[61] However, more than three years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006, were indeed serious:
Britain was offering me a lot of opportunities and they needed someone because Andy [Murray] was the only one, and still is. That had to be a disappointment for all the money they invest. But I didn't need the money as much as I had done. I had begun to make some for myself, enough to afford to travel with a coach, and I said, 'Why the heck?' I am Serbian, I am proud of being a Serbian, I didn't want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions. If I had played for Great Britain, of course I would have played exactly as I do for my country but deep inside, I would never have felt that I belonged. I was the one who took the decision.[62]
By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting the Serbia Davis Cup team to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008, in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 March 2010, he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils.[63] He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.
In the semi finals of the 2011 Davis Cup Djokovic played a crucial rubber match for Serbia against Juan Martin Del Potro playing for Argentina, which he lost 6–7, 0–3 having to retire after reaggravating a back injury sustained during the US Open tournament, which secured Argentina's place in the final defeating Serbia 3–2. This marked Djokovic's third loss of his 2011 season, and his second retirement.[64]
Djokovic and Nadal have met 32 times (the sixth-most head-to-head meetings in the Open Era)[65] with Nadal having a 18–14 advantage.[66] Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 11–2, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 11–5.[66] This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com[67] and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry.[68][69] Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively.[70] The two share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes), which was the 2012 Australian Open final,[71] as well as the record for the longest match played in a best-of-three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) which was the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifinal.[72] In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets, which was his first victory over Nadal in a Major.[73] By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament final. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final to capture his third major title of the year and fourth overall. By beating Nadal, Djokovic became the second player to defeat Nadal in more than one Grand Slam final (the other being Federer), and the only player to beat Nadal in a Slam final on a surface other than grass. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final which made Nadal the first player to lose in three consecutive Grand Slam finals.
At the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, Nadal finally beat Djokovic for the first time since November 2010. They had met in seven finals from January 2011 to January 2012, all of which Djokovic won. In the final at Monte Carlo, an in-form Nadal defeated Novak, 6–3, 6–1.
Djokovic and Federer have met 25 times, with Federer leading 14–11. Federer leads on all surfaces, although they have never met on grass. Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches.[4] Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semi-finals which many consider to be a classic match.[74] Djokovic played Federer in his first Major final at the 2007 US Open and lost in three sets.[75] Djokovic has the second-most wins against Federer (after Nadal). The two have met twice in Australian Open (in 2008 and 2011) both of which Djokovic won in straight sets. The two have met five years in a row at the US Open with Federer triumphant in their first three encounters while their last two meetings (in 2010 and 2011) were five-set matches in which Djokovic saved two match points before going on to win.
Djokovic and Murray have met 13 times with Djokovic leading 8–5. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay, and 6–5 on hard courts. The two went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met 5 times in finals, with Murray leading 3–2, however, their most important final was the 2011 Australian Open final, in which Djokovic won in straight sets.[76] The other four finals were all ATP Masters 1000 finals, with Murray winning the first three in straight sets. But Djokovic defeated Murray in the most recent final in straight sets. They also played a nearly five-hour long semifinal match in the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7–5 in the fifth set after Murray led 2 sets to 1.
Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play.[77] His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide.[77] Occasionally, Djokovic employs a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand. His drop shots still tend to be a drawback when hit under pressure and without proper preparation.[78]
Djokovic commented on the modern style of play, including his own, in interview with Jim Courier after his semifinal win against Andy Murray in the 2012 Australian Open tournament:[79]
“ | I had a big privilege and honour to meet personally today Mr. Laver, and he is one of the biggest, and greatest players ever to play the game, thank you for staying this late, sir, thank you ... even though it would actually be better if we played a couple times serve and volley, but we don’t know to play ... we are mostly around here [points to the area near the baseline], we are running, you know, around the baseline ... | ” |
Entering the pro circuit, Djokovic used Wilson rackets, continuing so until the end of 2008. At that time, he switched to Head rackets, using a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet. Starting with 2011 Australian Open, he began using Head's YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20. Djokovic uses a hybrid of Head Natural Gut in the mains and Luxilon Alu Power in the crosses.
After his 2011 victory in Montreal, tennis coach Nick Bollettieri stated that Djokovic is the most "complete" player of all time.[80] He has the backhand, forehand, serve, second serve, movement, mentality, and can play equally well on any surface. In assessing his 2011 season, Jimmy Connors said that Djokovic gives his opponents problems by playing "a little bit old-school, taking the ball earlier, catching the ball on the rise, (and) driving the ball flat." Connors adds that a lot of the topspin that Djokovic's opponents drive at him comes right into his zone, thus his ability to turn defense into offense well.[81]
From fall 2005 until June 2006, Djokovic was coached by Riccardo Piatti who divided his time between the 18-year-old and Ivan Ljubičić. Player and coach reportedly parted ways over the latter's refusal to work full time with Djokovic.[82]
Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marián Vajda. They met for the first time during that year's French Open, after which Vajda got hired to be the 19-year-old's coach. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.[83]
Since early 2007, Djokovic has been working with physiotherapist Miljan Amanović who was previously employed by Red Star Belgrade basketball team and NBA player Vladimir Radmanović.[84] In April 2009, Djokovic hired Austrian Gebhard Phil-Gritsch (formerly worked with Thomas Muster) to join the team in fitness coach capacity.[85][86]
In July 2010, before the Davis Cup clash away at Croatia, Djokovic made another addition to his team – nutritionist Igor Četojević who additionally focuses on Chinese medicine and does acupuncture.[87] He discovered the tennis player suffers from gluten intolerance and cannot eat gluten, purging it from his diet. It appeared to have worked as Djokovic began feeling stronger, quicker, and much more fit. After Djokovic's Wimbledon win in July 2011, Četojević left the team.[88]
Djokovic endorses Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija and German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.[89]
Since turning professional in 2003, Djokovic wore Adidas clothing and footwear. At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray).[90] Since Sergio Tacchini doesn't make shoes, he continued with Adidas as his choice of footwear. From 2011, Djokovic began to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag. On May 23, 2012, Uniqlo has appointed Djokovic as its global brand ambassador. The five-year partnership, will see Djokovic promoting the Uniqlo brand where Djokovic debut his newly designed Uniqlo match wear to spectators in Paris' Roland-Garros French Open Tennis Tournament and to a worldwide TV audience on May 27.
Djokovic did television commercial spots and print ads for supermarket chain Idea, the Serbian arm of Croatian supermarket retailer Konzum as well as for rival Serbian supermarket chain DIS Trgovina.
In August 2011, Djokovic became the brand ambassador of Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet.[91] Less than a month later, Djokovic signed a sponsorship deal with German car company Mercedes-Benz.[92] In March 2012, Djokovic was announced by Bombardier Aerospace as its latest Learjet brand ambassador, thus joining the likes of actor and pilot John Travolta, architect Frank Gehry, maestro Valery Gergiev, and classical pianist Lang Lang.[93]
The business end of Djokovic's career was initially handled by Israeli managers Amit Naor and Allon Khakshouri. In June 2008, he signed with CAA Sports.[94]
In 2005, as Djokovic moved up the tennis rankings, his family founded a legal entity in Serbia named Family Sport. Registered as a limited liability company, its initial focus was the restaurant business. The company's day-to-day operations are mostly handled by Novak's father Srdjan and uncle Goran expanded its activities into real estate, sports/entertainment event organization, and sports apparel distribution.[citation needed]
The company opened theme cafés named Novak Café, as well as Novak Café & Restaurant in the Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd.
In February 2008, the company reached an agreement with local authorities in the city of Kragujevac about jointly entering into a real estate development deal that was to include 4 hectares of city-owned land at Veliki Park being developed into a tennis center with 14 courts. But by 2010 the company pulled out of these plans.[95][96]
In March 2008, Family Sport won a municipal authority-organized tender in Novi Beograd by submitting an €11 million bid for the 3.8 hectares of land located in Ivan Ribar neighbourhood;[97] with the ambitious plan to build a big tennis center there.[98][99][100] As of fall 2011, construction is yet to commence.
In 2009, the company managed to buy an ATP tournament known as the Dutch Open and bring it to Serbia where it became – Serbia Open. With the help of Belgrade city authorities, the tournament's inaugural edition was held during May 2009 at the city-owned 'Milan Gale Muškatirović' courts, located at an attractive spot in Dorćol neighbourhood.[101]
On Monday, 4 July 2011, one day after Djokovic won Wimbledon, Family Sport organized the homecoming reception in front of the National Assembly building with more than 80,000 people gathering to greet him.[102][103]
From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Djokovic had a 43-match win streak, placing him behind Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982).[104][105]
He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals,[105] second only to John McEnroe's record (he started 42–0 in 1984[106]).
Novak Djokovic is one of only four players (besides David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal) to beat Roger Federer three times in one calendar year, and one of only two players (Juan Martin Del Potro being the other) to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam in consecutive matches. He is the only player who can claim to have beaten both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament on 4 different occasions (Montreal 2007, Indian Wells 2011, US Open 2011,). He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number three Andy Roddick, world number two Nadal, and World number one Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).[citation needed]
His five Masters titles in 2011 are a season record.[citation needed]
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | W | QF | QF | W | W | 3 / 8 | 32–5 | 86.49 |
French Open | A | A | 2R | QF | SF | SF | 3R | QF | SF | 0 / 7 | 25–7 | 78.12 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 4R | SF | 2R | QF | SF | W | 1 / 7 | 27–6 | 81.81 | |
US Open | A | A | 3R | 3R | F | SF | SF | F | W | 1 / 7 | 33–6 | 84.62 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 19–4 | 18–3 | 15–4 | 19–4 | 25–1 | 7–0 | 5 / 29 | 117–24 | 82.98 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
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Runner-up | 2007 | US Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Winner | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 2010 | US Open (2) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | US Open | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 6–2, 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–1 |
Winner | 2012 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 |
On 28 April 2011, in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2007 French Open — 2008 Australian Open |
Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Majors (20 years, 250 days old) | Stands alone |
2012 Australian Open | Longest Grand Slam final match (with Rafael Nadal)[111] | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2011–2012 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2011 | Winner of the hard court treble (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami) | Pete Sampras Roger Federer |
2011 | Player to qualify earliest for the ATP World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 Masters 1000 titles in 1 season | Stands alone |
2011 | 3 consecutive Masters 1000 titles | Rafael Nadal |
2011 | 31 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories | Stands alone |
2011 | 6 Masters 1000 finals in 1 season | Roger Federer |
2009 | Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)[112] | Rafael Nadal |
2007 | Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession | Stands alone |
2007–2009 | 91 consecutive weeks at World number 3 | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 consecutive match wins against World No. 1 player in finals (Rafael Nadal)[a] | Stands alone |
2011 | Most prize money in one season ($12,619,803) | Stands alone |
2007–2010 | 4 years ended at World number 3 | Jimmy Connors |
In 2009, and 2010, Djokovic won an Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.[113]
He was a special guest in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of the voting. Together with the presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sang a song about Belgrade.[114]
Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.[115]
In 2010, the Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.[116][117]
On 25 June 2011, its seventieth Congress in Chicago, all the members unanimously awarded Djokovic the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class, the highest decoration of the SND. The order was given to him because of his merits in the international sport scene and his contributions to the reputation of Serbs and Serbia around the world.[118]
Owing to his extroverted personality, fluency in several languages, and willingness to go along with comedic concepts, Djokovic became a fixture on entertainment-based TV talk shows around the globe immediately upon achieving a measure of prominence via results on the tennis court. After winning the Australian Open, his first major, in early 2008, Djokovic appeared on American late-night programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Throughout spring 2009, during ATP Master Series tournaments in Madrid and Rome, respectively, the Serb was a guest on Pablo Motos' show El Hormiguero[119] followed by an appearance on the Fiorello Show hosted by Italian comedian Rosario Fiorello.[120] Djokovic's television appearances particularly intensified during his amazing run of form throughout 2011: after winning Wimbledon and reaching number one spot on the ATP list, he again appeared on Leno's Tonight Show as well as on Conan O'Brien's show on TBS. Djokovic's dramatic win at the US Open was followed by another television blitz including spots on Live with Regis and Kelly, CBS' The Early Show, NBC's Today as well as a walk-on appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In mid-November 2011, he made a triumphant return to Rai 1's Fiorello Show. In late November during the ATP World Tour Finals in London he was a guest on Sir David Frost's interview programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English.
He was voted the 19th most influential man on AskMen.com's Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011. On invitation from film producer Avi Lerner, Djokovic became part of the high-budget Hollywood movie production The Expendables 2 in a cameo playing himself,[121] which he shot on 29 November 2011 in a warehouse in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.[122] He appeared on the cover of Italian GQ's March 2012 issue.[123]
He was a guest on the CBS show 60 minutes. He was one of TIME magazines 100 Most Influential People in 2012.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Novak Đoković |
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Name | Đoković, Novak |
Alternative names | Ђоковић, Новак; Djokovic, Novak |
Short description | Serbian tennis player |
Date of birth | 22 May 1987 |
Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia |
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Yugoslavs (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslaveni, Jugosloveni; Cyrillic script: Југословени; Slovene: Jugoslovani; Macedonian: Југословени; Bulgarian: югославяните) is a designation that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slav people. It has been used in two connotations, the first in an ethnic or supra-ethnic connotation, and the second as a term for citizens of the former Yugoslavia. Cultural and political advocates of Yugoslav identity have historically ascribed the identity to be applicable to all people of South Slav heritage, including those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the presently disputed region of Kosovo, Slovenia, and the Republic of Macedonia.[7]
Ethnic Yugoslavs referred to those who exclusively viewed themselves as Yugoslavs with no other ethnic self-identification. Yugoslavs has also historically been used referred to a Yugoslav supra-ethnic nation that has "tribal" ethnicities, such as Croats, Serbs, and others within it.[8]
In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the official designation for those who declared themselves Yugoslav was with quotation marks, "Yugoslavs" (introduced in census 1971). Quotation marks were meant to distinguish Yugoslav ethnicity from Yugoslav citizenship – which was written without quotation marks. Shortly before the dissolution of Yugoslavia many of those who had identified themselves as ethnic "Yugoslavs" reverted to or adopted traditional nationalities such as Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Muslims by nationality, Slovenes—and other small Yugoslav groups in Yugoslavia not officially represented by the state, including Bulgarians, Janjevci, Bunjevci, and Šokci. Some also decided to turn to sub-national regional identifications, especially in multi-ethnic historical regions like Istria, Vojvodina, or Bosnia. The Yugoslav designation however continues to be used by some.[2]
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The term Yugoslavs refers to Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, and Montenegrins as a single people. Slovenes and Macedonians are slightly different linguistically, but were an extended and crucial part of the Yugoslav identity— their cultural differences due to empires that ruled their tribes in the past. For instance, Austrian, Venetian, and Hungarian influence on the Yugoslavs is mainly found among the (Catholic) Croatian and Slovene regions, the (Muslim) Bosnian region under the Ottoman influence, and the Orthodox and Byzantine Serbian and Montenegrin region under Greek and Russian influence.
Since the late 18th century, when traditional European ethnic affiliations started to mature into modern ethnic identities, there have been numerous attempts to define a common South Slavic ethnic identity. The word Yugoslav itself, means South Slavic.
The first modern iteration of Yugoslavism was the Illyrian movement from Croatia. It identified southern Slavs with ancient Illyrians and sought to construct an Illyrian language based on the Shtokavian dialect.[9] The movement was led by Ljudevit Gaj, whose script became one of two official scripts used for the Serbo-Croatian language.[9]
Famous Croat sculptor Ivan Meštrovic became a supporter of Yugoslavism and Yugoslav identity after he traveled to Serbia and became impressed with Serb culture.[10] Meštrovic created a sculpture of Serbian folk-legend hero Prince Marko at the International Exhibition in Rome in 1911, when asked about the statue, Meštrovic replied "This Marko is our Yugoslav people with its gigantic and noble heart".[11] Meštrovic wrote poetry speaking of a "Yugoslav race".[12] Those who knew Meštrovic's views referred to Meštrovic as "The Prophet of Yugoslavism".[13]
Jovan Cvijić, in his article "The Bases of Yugoslav Civilization", developed the idea of a unified Yugoslav culture and stated that "New qualities that until now have been expressed but weakly will appear. An amalgamation of the most fertile qualities of our three tribes [Serbs, Croats, Slovenes] will come forth every more strongly, and thus will be constructed the type of single Yugoslav civilization-the final and most important goal of our country."[8]
Vladimir Dvorniković, a famous philosopher, later advocated the establishment of a Yugoslav ethnicity in his 1939 book entitled "The Characterology of the Yugoslavs". His views included eugenics and cultural blending to create one, strong Yugoslav nation.[8] He did not dismiss the differences among people that inhabited Yugoslavia, but stressed that these differences were "contingent and temporary and that they mask a deeper and more profound racial unity".[8] He also believed that "the primary ability of Yugoslavs is their ability to sacrifice themselves for a higher goal".[8]
In the 18th century Hristofor Zhefarovich promoted the idea of unity between South Slavic people, in particular the kinship between Bulgarians and Serbs. This idea was somewhat revived during the late 1940s when Tito and Stalin contemplated extending Yugoslavia to include Bulgaria as well.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the term Yugoslavs started to be used as a synonym for South Slavs, especially to denote those in Austria-Hungary.
Also was the fierce debate and controversies on whether or not the Croats, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Slovenes shared any similarities among each other or are considered part of the Serbian people, thus caused division and friction among Yugoslavian, Serbian and other ethnic nationalists in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.[citation needed]
On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, and his wife, in Sarajevo. Princip was a member of Young Bosnia, a group whose aims included the unification of the Yugoslavs and independence from Austria-Hungary.[14] The assassination in Sarajevo set into motion a series of fast-moving events that eventually escalated into full-scale war.[15] After the assassination, Princip was captured. During his trial he stated "I am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state, but it must be free from Austria."[16]
During June and July 1917, the Yugoslav Committee met with the Serbian Government in Corfu and on 20 July the Corfu Declaration that laid the foundation for the post-war state was issued. The preamble stated that the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were "the same by blood, by language, by the feelings of their unity, by the continuity and integrity of the territory which they inhabit undivided, and by the common vital interests of their national survival and manifold development of their moral and material life." The future state was to be called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and was to be a constitutional monarchy under the Karađorđević dynasty.[17]
After the First World War, when South Slavic lands were united in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the term Yugoslavs was used to refer to all of its inhabitants, but particularly to those of Southern Slavic origin. In reality and according to Croatian, Bosnian and other Yugoslav nationalists: the hands of power resided in an ethnic Serb majority who ruled the multi-ethnic kingdom from the capital of Belgrade in Serbia and the demographic fact Serbs were the largest ethnic group: 40–45% of the country's population to hold "majority" status.
In 1929, King Alexander sought to resolve a deep political crisis brought on by ethnic tensions by assuming dictatorial powers in the so-called 6 January Dictatorship, renaming the country "Kingdom of Yugoslavia", and officially pronouncing that there is one single Yugoslav nation with three tribes. The Yugoslav ethnic designation was thus for a time imposed on all South Slavs in Yugoslavia. Changes in Yugoslav politics after King Alexander's death in 1934 brought an end to this policy, but the designation continued to be used by some people.
Republics and Provinces | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 |
---|---|---|---|
Croatia | .4 | 1.9 | 8.2 |
Serbia | .2 | 1.4 | 4.8 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8.4 | 1.2 | 7.9 |
Kosovo | .5 | .1 | .1 |
Macedonia | .1 | .2 | .7 |
Montenegro | .3 | 2.1 | 5.3 |
Slovenia | .2 | .4 | 1.4 |
Vojvodina | .2 | 2.4 | 8.2 |
All of Yugoslavia | 1.7 | 1.3 | 5.4 |
After liberation from Axis Powers in 1945, the new socialist Yugoslavia became a federal country, and officially recognized and valued its ethnic diversity. Traditional ethnic identities again became the primary ethnic designations used by most inhabitants of Yugoslavia. However, many people still declared themselves as "Yugoslavs" because they wanted to express an identification with Yugoslavia as a whole, but not specifically with any of its peoples.
The 1971 census recorded 273,077 Yugoslav, or 1.33% of the total population. The 1981 census recorded 1,216,463 or 5.4% Yugoslavs. In the 1991 census, 5.54% (242,682) of the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared themselves to be Yugoslav.[19] 4.25% of the population of the republic of Montenegro also declared themselves Yugoslav in the same census.
The Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1990 ratified a Presidency of seven members. One of the seven was to be elected amongst/by the republic's Yugoslavs, thereby introducing the Yugoslavs next to Muslims by nationality, Serbs and Croats into the Constitutional framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina although on an inferior level, however to the Bosnian War that erupted in 1992, this Constitution was short-lived and unrealized.
The 1981 census showed that Yugoslavs made up around 8% of the population in Croatia, this to date has been the highest percentage of Yugoslavs within Croatia's borders. The 1991 census data indicated that the number of Yugoslavs had dropped to 2% of the population in Croatia. The 2001 census in Croatia (the first since independence) registered only 176 Yugoslavs.[20]
Just before and after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, most Yugoslavs switched to more conventional ethnic designations. Nevertheless, the concept has survived into Bosnia and Herzegovina (where most towns have a tiny percentage), and Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006), which kept the name "Yugoslavia" the longest, right up to February 2003.
When the term Yugoslav was first introduced, it was meant to unite a common people the same way the Germans united with Bavaria and other regions of Germany. In the book A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples by Fred Singleton, it states that Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks are one and the same people. "Once the South Slavs had settled in the Balkans they also became separated from each other, partly because of geographical obstacles, and partly because of the historical circumstances of foreign occupations."[21]
Josip Broz Tito expressed his desire for an undivided Yugoslav ethnicity when he stated, "I would like to live to see the day when Yugoslavia would become amalgamated into a firm community, when she would no longer be a formal community but a community of a single Yugoslav nation."[22]
Yugoslavs have affected world history on many occasions.[23] One prime example is the leader, president for life, and founder of second Yugoslavia, Marshal Josip Broz Tito who organized resistance against Nazi Germany in Yugoslavia,[24][25] he effectively expelled Nazi occupation in Yugoslavia, co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement, and defied Joseph Stalin's Soviet pressure on Yugoslavia. This is also seen as a reason for Austria Hungary to begin the First World War, which it had already planned to attack Serbia.
Other people from Yugoslavia include intellectuals, entertainers, singers and sportspersons, such as:
The Yugoslavs of Croatia have several organizations. The "Alliance of Yugoslavs" (Croatian: Savez Jugoslavena) is an association aiming to unite the ethnic Yugoslavs of Croatia, regardless of religion, sex, political or other views.[46] The Alliance of Yugoslavs was established on 21 March 2010 in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.[46]
Its main goal is the official recognition of the Yugoslav nation in every Yugoslav successor state: Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.[47]
Another pro-Yugoslav organization advocating the recognition of the Yugoslav nation is the "Our Yugoslavia" association (Croatian: Udruženje "Naša Jugoslavija"), which is an officially registered organization in Croatia.[48]
The seat of Our Yugoslavia is in the Istrian town of Pula,[49] where it was founded on 30 July 2009.[50] The association has most members in the towns of Rijeka, Zagreb and Pula.[51]
Its main aim is the stabilisation of relations among the Yugoslav successor states.
The pro-Yugoslav non-governmental organization Our Yugoslavia is active on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, its official registration as an association was denied by the Bosnian state authorities.[48]
The probably best-known pro-Yugoslav organization in Montenegro is the "Consulate-general of the SFRY" with its headquarters in the coastal town of Tivat. Prior to the population census of 2011, Marko Perković, the president of this organization called on the Yugoslavs of Montenegro to freely declare their Yugoslav identity on the upcoming census.[52]
The probably most frequently used symbol of the Yugoslavs to express their identity and to which they are most often associated with is the blue-white-red tricolor flag with a yellow-bordered red star in the flag's center,[53] which also served as the national flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1945 and 1991.
Prior to World War II, the symbol of Yugoslavism was a plain tricolor flag of blue, white and red, which was also the national flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav state in the interwar period.
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No. 19 – Milwaukee Bucks | |
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Point guard / Shooting guard | |
Personal information | |
Born | (1982-07-05) July 5, 1982 (age 29) Celje, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia |
Nationality | Slovenian |
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 203 lb (92 kg) |
Career information | |
NBA Draft | 2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28th overall |
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |
Pro career | 1997–present |
Career history | |
1997–2000 | KK Kovinotehna Polzela (Slovenia) |
2000–2002 | Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) |
2002–2003 | Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) |
2003–2004 | Avtodor Saratov (Russia) |
2004 | Breil Milano (Italy) |
2004–2007 | San Antonio Spurs |
2007–2011 | Sacramento Kings |
2011–present | Milwaukee Bucks |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Beno Udrih (born July 5, 1982 in Celje, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He was traded to the Bucks on June 23, 2011 after spending four seasons in Sacramento.[1]
Contents |
Beno Udrih is left-handed, and comes from a family of basketball players. His father Silvo played for Rudar Trbovlje. Udrih made his professional debut with a brief stint in the Slovenian secondary league in 1997, followed by three seasons in that country's premier league, the UPC Telemach League. He was named the 2000 Slovenian League Rookie of the Year, and has played for the Slovenian national team since that same year. He played for Olimpija Ljubljana in 2000–2002 season where he made great improvement and played in Euroleague for the first time. Udrih played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2002–2003 season, and split the 2003–2004 season among Avtodor Saratov (Russia) and Breil Milano (Italy). From 2004 to 2007 he played with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Prior to his NBA debut, he appeared in the Southern California Summer Pro League for the Spurs, and also appeared in three games with the Spurs squad in the 2004 Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue while averaging 10.3 PPG, 5 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.33 SPG, 24.7 MPG, and shooting .542 (13–24).
Udrih signed with the San Antonio Spurs in the summer of 2004 after being drafted with the 28th overall pick of the 2004 NBA Draft, signing a 3-year, US$2.4 million contract, and served as a key backup for starting point guard Tony Parker. In Udrih's rookie season, he won a Rookie of the Month award. Following that achievement, he was selected for the Rookie Team for the Rookie Challenge during All Star Weekend. In the 2005 NBA playoffs he won the championship with the Spurs. However, Udrih's playing time dropped significantly in the 2005–06 season with the Spurs signing Nick Van Exel during the off-season, but increased again after the All-Star break due to an injury to Van Exel's elbow. In the following 2006–07 NBA season and playoffs (where the Spurs won another NBA championship) his minutes were very limited, as the Spurs signed veteran point guard Jacque Vaughn to back up Tony Parker.
On October 27, 2007, Udrih was sent, along with cash considerations, by the Spurs to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for a protected 2008 second-round draft pick.[2] The Wolves immediately waived him.[2] He was later signed by the Sacramento Kings as a fill in for starting point guard Mike Bibby, who was out with an injured thumb for an estimated two months.[3] He stepped up well in his new role as starting point guard, scoring a career-high of 27 points on November 26, 2007 in a 112–99 win against his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.[4] He averaged 12.8 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds in 32 minutes per game in 65 games with the Kings in 2007–08.[5]
On July 1, 2008, Udrih agreed to a 5-year contract with the Sacramento Kings after being courted by the Los Angeles Clippers.[6]
On June 23, 2011 he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-way deal among the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.[7]
Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004–05 | San Antonio | 80 | 2 | 14.4 | .444 | .408 | .753 | 1.0 | 1.9 | .5 | .1 | 5.9 |
2005–06 | San Antonio | 55 | 3 | 10.7 | .455 | .343 | .780 | 1.0 | 1.7 | .3 | .0 | 5.1 |
2006–07 | San Antonio | 73 | 1 | 13.0 | .369 | .287 | .883 | 1.1 | 1.7 | .4 | .0 | 4.7 |
2007–08 | Sacramento | 65 | 51 | 32.0 | .463 | .387 | .850 | 3.3 | 4.3 | .9 | .2 | 12.8 |
2008–09 | Sacramento | 73 | 72 | 31.1 | .461 | .310 | .820 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 1.1 | .2 | 11.0 |
2009–10 | Sacramento | 79 | 41 | 31.4 | .493 | .377 | .837 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 1.1 | .1 | 12.9 |
2010–11 | Sacramento | 79 | 64 | 34.6 | .500 | .357 | .864 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 1.2 | .1 | 13.7 |
2011–12 | Milwaukee | 59 | 0 | 18.3 | .440 | .288 | .709 | 1.7 | 3.8 | .6 | .0 | 5.9 |
Career | 562 | 234 | 23.7 | .464 | .354 | .827 | 2.2 | 3.5 | .8 | .1 | 9.2 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004–05 | San Antonio | 21 | 0 | 11.5 | .359 | .270 | .857 | .8 | 1.0 | .4 | .1 | 3.7 |
2005–06 | San Antonio | 7 | 0 | 6.7 | .333 | .167 | .800 | .6 | 1.1 | .0 | .0 | 3.6 |
2006–07 | San Antonio | 8 | 0 | 2.5 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | .1 | .1 | .0 | .0 | .3 |
Career | 36 | 0 | 8.6 | .333 | .244 | .857 | .6 | .9 | .2 | .0 | 2.9 |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Udrih, Beno |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Basketball player |
Date of birth | July 5, 1982 |
Place of birth | Celje, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia |
Date of death | |
Place of death |