Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tito's Yugoslavia was communist, but it wasn't Soviet communism; you'll find no
statuesofLeninorStalinhere.DespitestrongpressurefromMoscow,Titobrokeawayfrom
Stalin in 1948 and refused to ally himself with the Soviets—and therefore received good
will (and $2 billion) from the United States. He ingeniously played the East and the West
against each other. He'd say to both Washington and Moscow, “If you don't pay me off, I'll
let the other guy build a base here.” Everyone paid up.
Economically, Tito's vision was for a “third way,” in which Yugoslavia could work with
both East and West without being dominated by either. Yugoslavia was the most free of the
communist states. While large industry was nationalized, Tito's system allowed for small
businesses. Though Yugoslavs could not become really rich, through hard work it was pos-
sible to attain modest wealth to buy a snazzy car, a vacation home, Western imports, and
other niceties. By some GDP and other economic measures, Yugoslavia was at times more
prosperous than poorer capitalist European countries like Italy or Greece. This experien-
ce with a market economy benefited Yugoslavs when Eastern Europe's communist regimes
eventually fell. And even during the communist era, Yugoslavia remained a popular tour-
ist destination for visitors from both East and West, keeping its standards more in line with
Western Europe than the Soviet states. Meanwhile, Yugoslavs, uniquely among communist
citizens, were allowed to travel to the West. In fact, because Yugoslavs could travel relat-
ively hassle-free in both East and West, their “red passports” were worth even more on the
black market than American ones.
With Tito's death in 1980, Yugoslavia's six constituent republics gained more autonomy,
with a rotating presidency. But before long, the fragile union Tito had held together started
to unravel.
The breakup began in the late 1980s, with squabbles in the autonomous province of
Kosovo between the Serb minority and the ethnic-Albanian majority. Remember that the
SerbsconsiderKosovothecradleoftheircivilization—themedievalhomelandoftheirmost
important monasteries and historic sites. Most significantly, it was the location of the Battle
of Kosovo Polje (“Field of Blackbirds”), an epic 14th-century battle that formed the found-
ation of Serbian cultural identity...even though the Serbs lost to the Ottoman invaders (sort
of the Serbian Alamo). One Serb told me, “Kosovo is the Mecca and Medina of the Serb
people.” But by the 1980s, 9 of every 10 Kosovans were Albanian, and the few Serbs still
living there felt oppressed and abused by the Albanian leadership. To many Serbs, this was
the most offensive of the many ways in which they felt they'd been victimized by their
neighbors for centuries.
Serbian politician Slobodan Miloševi
ć
saw how the conflict could be used to Serbia's
(and his own) advantage. In April of 1987, Miloševi
ć
delivered a rabble-rousing speech to
