Tito-Stalin Split
Encyclopedia
The Tito–Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform
) in 1948. This was the beginning of the Informbiro Period marked by poor relations with the USSR, until it came to an end in 1955.
It was said by the Soviets to be caused by Yugoslavia's disloyalty to the USSR and socialism
in general, while in Yugoslavia and the West it was presented as Josip Broz Tito
's national pride and refusal to submit fully to Joseph Stalin
's will.
During the Second World War
, unlike the other countries in occupied Europe, Yugoslavia defeated the Axis
occupation without major, direct support from the Allies
. The Red Army
merely assisted the Yugoslav Partisans in the capture of Belgrade
; any other help was indirect, in the form of fighting Germany elsewhere and distracting them from the Yugoslav front.
Marshal Josip Broz Tito
's leading role in liberating Yugoslavia not only greatly strengthened his position in his party and among the Yugoslav people, but also caused him to be more insistent that Yugoslavia would get more room to follow its own interests than other Eastern Bloc
leaders who had more reason (and came under more pressure) to recognize Soviet efforts in helping them liberate their own countries from Axis control. This had already led to some friction between the two countries before World War II
was even over. Although Tito was formally an ally of Stalin after World War II, the Soviets had set up a spy ring in the Yugoslav party as early as 1945, giving way to an uneasy alliance.
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, there occurred several armed incidents between Yugoslavia and the Western Allies
. Following the war, Yugoslavia successfully captured the territory of Istria
, as well as the cities of Zadar
and Rijeka
that had formed part of Italy
from the 1920s. This move was of direct benefit to the Slavic populations of the regions (ie. mainly Croats
and Slovenes). Yugoslav leadership was looking to incorporate Trieste
into the country as well, which was opposed by the Western Allies. This led to several armed incidents, notably air attacks by Yugoslav fighter planes on U.S. transport aircraft, causing bitter criticism from the west. From 1945 to 1948, at least four US aircraft were shot down. Stalin was opposed to these provocations, as he felt that the USSR was unready to face the West in open war so soon after the losses of World War II.
In addition, Tito was openly supportive of the communist side in the Greek Civil War
, while Stalin kept his distance, having agreed with Churchill
not to support communism there with the Percentages Agreement
.
in 1947, where the Yugoslav representatives were the most strident critics of the national Communist parties viewed to be insufficiently devoted to the cause, specifically the Italian
and French
parties for engaging in coalition politics. They were thereby essentially arguing Soviet positions. The headquarters for Cominform were even set up in Belgrade
. However, all was not well between the two countries, due to a number of disputes.
were not effective in Yugoslavia. In addition, Tito's deployment of troops in Albania
to prevent the civil conflict in Greece from spreading into neighbouring countries (including Yugoslavia), carried out without consulting the Soviets, had greatly angered Stalin.
Stalin was also enraged by Tito's aspirations to merge Yugoslavia with Bulgaria
(and therefore create a true "Land of the South Slavs"), an idea with which he agreed in theory, but which had also taken place without prior Soviet consultation. He summoned two of Tito's officials, Milovan Đilas and Edvard Kardelj
, to Moscow
to discuss these matters. As a result of these talks, Đilas and Kardelj became convinced that Yugoslav-Soviet relations had already reached an impasse.
, Bolshevik
".
The CPY response on April 13 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 CPY noted also that "no matter how much each of us loves the land of socialism
, the USSR, he can in no case love his own country less." The Soviet answer on May 4 admonished the CPY for failing to admit and correct its mistakes, and went on to accuse the CPY of being too proud of their successes against the Germans, maintaining that the Red Army had "saved them from destruction", an unlikely statement, as Tito's partisans had successfully evaded Axis forces for three years before the appearance of the Red Army there. The CPY's response on May 17 reacted sharply to Soviet attempts to devalue the success of the Yugoslav resistance movement, and suggested that the matter be settled at the meeting of the Cominform to be held that June.
-like prison camp at Goli otok
. Between 1948 and 1952, the Soviet Union encouraged its allies to rebuild their military forces—especially Hungary
, which was to be the leading force in an eventual war against Yugoslavia. Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev
, later commented that "Tito was next on Stalin's list, after Korea
."
The other socialist states of Eastern Europe subsequently underwent purges of alleged "Titoists". Titoism
was associated with the position that countries should take a nationalist road to socialism different from that of the Soviet Union. While this had been allowed in the years directly after World War II, the rift caused the Soviets to encourage Eastern European leaders to use harsh measures to prevent Tito's mutiny from spreading. After Stalin's death and the repudiation of his policies by Nikita Khrushchev, peace was made with Tito and Yugoslavia re-admitted into the international brotherhood of socialist states. However, relations between the two countries were never completely rebuilt; Yugoslavia would continue to take an independent course in world politics, shunning the influence of both west and east. The Yugoslav Army
maintained two official defense plans, one against a NATO invasion and one against a Warsaw Pact
invasion.
Tito used the estrangement from the USSR to attain US aid via the Marshall Plan
, as well as to found the Non-Aligned Movement
, in which Yugoslavia was a leading force.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 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,...
and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform
Cominform
Founded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties...
) in 1948. This was the beginning of the Informbiro Period marked by poor relations with the USSR, until it came to an end in 1955.
It was said by the Soviets to be caused by Yugoslavia's disloyalty to the USSR and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
in general, while in Yugoslavia and the West it was presented as Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's national pride and refusal to submit fully to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's will.
Origins
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, unlike the other countries in occupied Europe, Yugoslavia defeated the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
occupation without major, direct support from the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. The Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
merely assisted the Yugoslav Partisans in the capture of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
; any other help was indirect, in the form of fighting Germany elsewhere and distracting them from the Yugoslav front.
Marshal Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's leading role in liberating Yugoslavia not only greatly strengthened his position in his party and among the Yugoslav people, but also caused him to be more insistent that Yugoslavia would get more room to follow its own interests than other Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
leaders who had more reason (and came under more pressure) to recognize Soviet efforts in helping them liberate their own countries from Axis control. This had already led to some friction between the two countries before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was even over. Although Tito was formally an ally of Stalin after World War II, the Soviets had set up a spy ring in the Yugoslav party as early as 1945, giving way to an uneasy alliance.
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, there occurred several armed incidents between Yugoslavia and the Western Allies
Western Allies
The Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
. Following the war, Yugoslavia successfully captured the territory of Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
, as well as the cities of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
and Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
that had formed part of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
from the 1920s. This move was of direct benefit to the Slavic populations of the regions (ie. mainly Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Slovenes). Yugoslav leadership was looking to incorporate Trieste
Free Territory of Trieste
The Free Territory of Trieste was to be a city-state situated in Central Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, created by the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II and provisionally administered by an appointed military governor commanding the peacekeeping United...
into the country as well, which was opposed by the Western Allies. This led to several armed incidents, notably air attacks by Yugoslav fighter planes on U.S. transport aircraft, causing bitter criticism from the west. From 1945 to 1948, at least four US aircraft were shot down. Stalin was opposed to these provocations, as he felt that the USSR was unready to face the West in open war so soon after the losses of World War II.
In addition, Tito was openly supportive of the communist side in the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
, while Stalin kept his distance, having agreed with Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
not to support communism there with the Percentages Agreement
Percentages agreement
The percentages agreement was an alleged agreement between Soviet premier Joseph Stalin and British prime minister Winston Churchill about how to divide southeastern Europe into spheres of influence during the Fourth Moscow Conference, in 1944 . This agreement was made public by Churchill...
.
First Cominform
However, the world still saw the two countries as the closest of allies. This was evident at the first meeting of the CominformCominform
Founded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties...
in 1947, where the Yugoslav representatives were the most strident critics of the national Communist parties viewed to be insufficiently devoted to the cause, specifically the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
parties for engaging in coalition politics. They were thereby essentially arguing Soviet positions. The headquarters for Cominform were even set up in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. However, all was not well between the two countries, due to a number of disputes.
Trip to Moscow
The friction that led to the ultimate split had many causes, many of which can be eventually linked to Tito's regional focus and his refusal to accept Moscow as the supreme Communist authority. Yugoslavs were of the opinion that the joint-stock companies favored in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were not effective in Yugoslavia. In addition, Tito's deployment of troops in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
to prevent the civil conflict in Greece from spreading into neighbouring countries (including Yugoslavia), carried out without consulting the Soviets, had greatly angered Stalin.
Stalin was also enraged by Tito's aspirations to merge Yugoslavia with Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(and therefore create a true "Land of the South Slavs"), an idea with which he agreed in theory, but which had also taken place without prior Soviet consultation. He summoned two of Tito's officials, Milovan Đilas and Edvard Kardelj
Edvard Kardelj
Edvard Kardelj also known under the pseudonyms Sperans and Krištof was a Yugoslav communist political leader, economist, partisan, publicist, and full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts...
, to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to discuss these matters. As a result of these talks, Đilas and Kardelj became convinced that Yugoslav-Soviet relations had already reached an impasse.
Letter exchange
Between the trip to Moscow and the second meeting of the Cominform, the CPSU and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) exchanged a series of letters detailing their grievances. The first CPSU letter, on March 27, 1948, 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 CPY 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-LeninistMarxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
, Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
".
The CPY response on April 13 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 CPY noted also that "no matter how much each of us loves the land of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, the USSR, he can in no case love his own country less." The Soviet answer on May 4 admonished the CPY for failing to admit and correct its mistakes, and went on to accuse the CPY of being too proud of their successes against the Germans, maintaining that the Red Army had "saved them from destruction", an unlikely statement, as Tito's partisans had successfully evaded Axis forces for three years before the appearance of the Red Army there. The CPY's response on May 17 reacted sharply to Soviet attempts to devalue the success of the Yugoslav resistance movement, and suggested that the matter be settled at the meeting of the Cominform to be held that June.
Second Cominform
Tito did not even attend the second meeting of the Cominform, fearing that Yugoslavia was to be openly attacked. On June 28, the other member countries 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 CPY. The resolution warned Yugoslavia that it was on the path back to bourgeois capitalism due to its nationalist, independence-minded positions.Results
The expulsion effectively banished Yugoslavia from the international association of socialist states. After the expulsion, Tito suppressed those who supported the resolution, calling them "Cominformists". Many were sent to a gulagGulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
-like prison camp at Goli otok
Goli otok
Goli otok is an island off the northern Adriatic coast, located between Rab's northeastern shore and the mainland, in what is today Croatia's Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. The island is barren and uninhabited...
. Between 1948 and 1952, the Soviet Union encouraged its allies to rebuild their military forces—especially Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, which was to be the leading force in an eventual war against Yugoslavia. Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, later commented that "Tito was next on Stalin's list, after Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
."
The other socialist states of Eastern Europe subsequently underwent purges of alleged "Titoists". Titoism
Titoism
Titoism is a variant of Marxism–Leninism named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe the specific socialist system built in Yugoslavia after its refusal of the 1948 Resolution of the Cominform, when the Communist Party of...
was associated with the position that countries should take a nationalist road to socialism different from that of the Soviet Union. While this had been allowed in the years directly after World War II, the rift caused the Soviets to encourage Eastern European leaders to use harsh measures to prevent Tito's mutiny from spreading. After Stalin's death and the repudiation of his policies by Nikita Khrushchev, peace was made with Tito and Yugoslavia re-admitted into the international brotherhood of socialist states. However, relations between the two countries were never completely rebuilt; Yugoslavia would continue to take an independent course in world politics, shunning the influence of both west and east. The Yugoslav Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
maintained two official defense plans, one against a NATO invasion and one against a Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
invasion.
Tito used the estrangement from the USSR to attain US aid via the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, as well as to found the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
, in which Yugoslavia was a leading force.
Further reading
- Nyrop, Richard F., ed. Yugoslavia: A Country Study. Department of the Army, Washington, D.C. 1981.
- Ridley, Jasper. Tito. Constable, London. 1994.
- Stokes, Gale, ed. From Stalinism to Pluralism: A Documentary History of Eastern Europe Since 1945. Oxford University Press, New York. 1996.
- West, Richard. Tito: And the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia. Sinclair-Stevenson, London. 1994.
- Perovic, Jeronim. The Tito–Stalin Split: A Reassessment in Light of New Evidence. Journal of Cold War Studies 9, No. 2 (Spring 2007): 32-63, http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/jcws.2007.9.2.32