JOSIP Broz-Tito was on his deathbed in Ljubljana, main town of Slovenia, as we went to press.
Born into a poor peasant family in 1892 in northern Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Tito became a metal worker and in 1914 was drafted into the Imperial army. As a prisoner witnessed the October Revolution, and in 1919 returned created OI committed communist.
1920, in the first the young Communist Party (YCP) emerged as the third strongest party and claimed over 80,000 members. afterwards, however, it was banned and driven underground in a red scare of continent-wide dimensions fuelled by the generalised unrest of DUSL-Wall Europe and Yugoslav case, the revolution of 1919.
The ban was never lifted, and the party declined, its leaders imprisoned or exiled. Outsider An outsider to the intense inner-party conflicts of the '20s and '30s, Tito was appointed party secretary in 1938 after the almost total physical elimination of the existing leadership in the Great Purges. His return to Yugoslavia in 1939 was followed by a growth of party membership about 3,000 in 1939 to about 12,000 in 1941.
In the ensuing years, Tito and his hand-picked Central (most of whom were some twenty of socialist revolution. the guerrilla against Franco.
Breach of war he It became to the newly Yugoslavia could popular Yugoslav La moment (the Shortly OLIC the in the Hungarian Yugoslav killed, other Communist parties At 'road to socialism'.
trom market elements into Committee SLaLC years younger than him) succeeded in turning the imperialist war into one By 1945 the role. partisan army was 250,000 strong and in virtual control of the country. An important contribution to its military which victory was made by veterans of the Spanish Civil War who learnt the art and warfare in the fight increasingly clear, however, that the Soviet leadership not tolerate an independent state within its "bloc'. In 1948, grave economic and political provocations. by Moscow led to an open breach.
difficult personal whole suffered in first including Tito himself, suffered those months a series of neurotically induced illnesses) and a dangerous revolution. Having entered the war under the banner not only of national liberation, but also leadership found must suddenly isolated and boycotted by and states, at a time when the Cold War was freezing international relations. vision time Stalin seriously contemplated invasion of the country in order to replace 'the Tito clique" But the Yugoslav regime passed this test of its popularity with enhanced prestige and embarked on a distinct (self-management) was accompanied certain devolution of power by the progressive introduction of the hitherto the centralised economy. The centralised vas weakened in tavou of republican centres and a re-definitior include of the role of the party emphasised its spiritual rather than administrative Yugoslavia also helped promote a 'non-aligned' movement, gave it TOOH manoeuvre between the Soviet Union the West. Although involved in all major policy decisions, Tito always had a preference for foreign affairs, which he conducted through frequent travel abroad.
At the same time he remained emotionally tied to the first land of socialism', which like so other militants of his generation — he had learnt in his young days to revolution. (in this he defered from identify with Mao and Castro, for example, visited Moscow only establishing themselves as supreme political leaders in their countries.) Equality Any review of Tito's leade give a special place solution of the country's na question. The Yugoslav revo was successful because it offe of Yugoslavia base equality of all its peoples. In s te of the revival of nationalist sent..nents in the early 1970s, the fact remains that no ethnic unit can be said to be oppressed the exception of the large Albanian th car, goslav , more optimistic days, both the CP and Comintern foresaw the division Albanian and Macedonian nations being healed by the creation of a Balkan federation, which was to Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria and hopefully Greece. This plan was dropped, however, in the face of British and Russian hostility.
to Product to deeply Yugoslav leadership must centre on the questions of internal democracy, economic planning, deformations present in the Yugoslav revolution were a much of Tito's mistakes many Stalinist degeneration of the October Revolution In replaced the perspective of world revolution by the monstrous theory of socialism in one country who The Yugoslavs carried through after their socialist revolution because they did not accept the own theory; but itself subsequently, above all after their break with Moscow.
Ever since then, economic and political insecurity has -hip continued to the original onal tion alignment' capital. The has often in policy ed mea.it tactical accommodation with on imperialism and collaboration with reactionary feudal regimes, and a sacrifice of proletarian to possible interests of the Yugoslav state. Passivity Historically, the emergence of a the workers of decisively dependent consolidation feature quite typical of proletariar revolutions in the 20th century In 35 years, the working class has grown A revolutionary critique of the and proletarian But the Yugoslavia product not So light of as of the politics.
USSR which development, logic of that this fact. it nevertheless asserted Positive the country's positive contribution exact a further price working revolutionary victory, of 'nonpractice Cuba) that the or bourgeois era. the short-term It Europe SUCCESS developed Yugoslavia was and on the prior and YCP achievements, pressing working political stage.
numerically and economically (though not politically) small minority to a position absolute social dominance. Yet at the same time it has been characterised by a deep political passivity, while an ossified and bureaucratic structure commands the political life of the country in its name.
The original Maoist charges that was reverting capitalism look a bit thin in the neon contemporary Chinese Yet there is no doubt that market forces have been allowed far too much freedom: uneven regional neglected infra. structure, large-scale unemployment and emigration, as well as the return old-style nationalism into Yugoslav political life all testify to History will pass a critical but judgement on Tito's to the class movement. By the Yugoslav revolution confirmed (like those that came afte it in Albania, China, Vietnam and Russian revolutior was no historical accident, but the beginning of the end of the capitalist furthermore showed that was ASTERNE tc revolutionary success. even if this had eluded more regions. Revolutionary should support the unity independence of Yugoslavia defend revolutionary while all the time for the return of the class to the centre of its Socialist Challenge 21 February 1980,
Despite being reduced to tears by intervened to try and prevent the