What is the collapse of Yugoslavia? This is a generalized name for events that have taken place over the course of seventeen years. Until 2008, a state such as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was present on the map of Europe. Later it was divided into several independent countries, one of which was recognized by no means by all the powers. The reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia will be discussed in today's article.
Background
Before telling about the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia, it is worth recalling the events that took place as early as the middle of the 20th century. In the forties and sixties, the leadership policy of the SFRY was based on the ideology of proletarian internationalism. The dictatorship of I. B. Tito reigned in the state. The country witnessed processes of national self-determination, which could be suppressed only if power was retained in the hands of one political figure. By the early sixties, the struggle between proponents of reform and adherents of increased centralism intensified.
In the seventies, republican movements in Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia began to gain strength. The dictator realized that these processes pose a threat to his power. The movement, which went down in history under the term “Croatian spring,” was finished in 1971. Soon, the Serbian liberals were defeated. The Slovenian "technocrats" did not escape a similar fate.
In the mid-seventies, dangerous aggravations were observed in relations between the Serbian population, Croats, and Bosnians. In May 1980, a new stage in the history of Yugoslavia began - Tito died. The post of president after the death of the dictator was abolished. Power now passed into the hands of the collective leadership, which, however, quickly lost popularity among the population. In 1981, the contradictions between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo escalated. There was a clash, which received wide resonance in the world and became one of the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia.
SANI Memorandum
In the mid-eighties, a document was published in a Belgrade newspaper, which, to some extent, became one of the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia. It was a memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The content of the document: analysis of the political situation in Yugoslavia, the requirements of Serbian society and dissidents. The anti-communist sentiments that grew in the eighties are another reason for the collapse of Yugoslavia.
The manifesto has become the most important document for all Serbian nationalists. He was sharply criticized by the official authorities and political figures of other republics of the SFRY. Nevertheless, over time, the ideas contained in the memorandum gained distribution and were actively used by various political forces.
The followers of Tito hardly kept the ideological and ethnological balance in the country. The published memorandum significantly undermined their strength. Rallies were organized throughout Serbia, the participants of which spoke out under the slogan “In Defense of Kosovo”. On June 28, 1989, an event occurred that can be considered as a consequence of one of the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia. On the day of the landmark battle that took place in 1389, Milosevic called on the Serbs to “remain in their native land, despite the difficulties and humiliations”.
Why did the SFRY cease to exist? The cause of the crisis, the collapse of Yugoslavia is cultural and economic inequality between the republics. The collapse of the country, like any other multinational state, took place gradually, accompanied by rallies, riots, and bloodshed.
NATO
This politician played an important role in the events discussed in today's article. A series of civil clashes that caused the collapse of Yugoslavia is associated with his name. The consequences of numerous ethnic conflicts are NATO military intervention.
Milosevic’s activities in the world are viewed differently. For some, he is the main culprit in the collapse of the SFRY. For others - just an active politician who defended the interests of his own country. Many believe that NATO intervention is the reason for the collapse of Yugoslavia. There are several stages of the Yugoslav crisis. At the initial stage, the United States was neutral. By the beginning of the nineties, according to the Russian diplomat Kvitsinsky, it was the States that played a significant role in ethnic conflicts in Kosovo.
So, the collapse of Yugoslavia, the causes, stages and results of this long-standing conflict - all this is interpreted differently in the world. For obvious reasons, the opinions of American and Russian researchers differ. The preparation of world public opinion, the intervention of NATO, the change in the economic and political course of Yugoslavia, the control of European structures, the break in relations between the SFRY and Russia - such actions were undertaken by the United States in the nineties, according to the aforementioned diplomat, and, according to his point of view, they were the reasons collapse of Yugoslavia. The stages and results are described in more detail below. It is worth giving a few facts from the biography of Milosevic. This will shed light on the reasons for the collapse of Yugoslavia.
Brief information on the political activities of Milosevic
In the early seventies, he led the information service in Belgrade. Later he headed the oil company, then one of the largest banks in the capital. Milosevic was a communist since 1959, in the mid-eighties he took the post of chairman of the city committee, then the Presidium of the Central Committee. In 1988, he led a rally in Novi Sad against the government of Vojvodina. When the conflict between the Albanians and the Serbs was rampant, he addressed the latter with a speech calling for not to back down and not give in to any difficulties.
In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. During the Croatian conflict, several hundred people died. In the midst of the Bosnian war, Milosevic gave an interview to a leading Russian newspaper that accused Germany of breaking up Yugoslavia.
Mass discontent
In socialist Yugoslavia, national issues were considered a relic of the past. But this does not mean that such problems did not exist during the reign of Tito. They were only temporarily forgotten. What is the reason for tensions between representatives of various ethnic groups? Croatia and Slovenia flourished. The standard of living in the southeastern republics, meanwhile, left much to be desired. Mass dissatisfaction grew. And this is a sign that the Yugoslavs did not consider themselves to be a single people, despite sixty years of existence within the framework of one state.
Multi-party system
The mood in political public circles was influenced by the events that occurred in 1990 in Central and Eastern Europe. At this time, a multi-party system was introduced in Yugoslavia. Held the election. The party won by Milosevic, which, however, was the former communist. She received more votes in many regions.
In Serbia and Montenegro, there was not as much debate as in other regions. Tough measures were taken, the main purpose of which was the elimination of Albanian nationalism. True, they met a decisive rebuff in Kosovo. The referendum held in December 1990, as a result of which Slovenia gained independence, was the biggest blow to Yugoslavia.
The beginning of hostilities
In 1991, Yugoslavia broke up. But this, of course, did not end the conflicts. It was just the beginning. Croatia, like Slovenia, declared independence. The fighting began. However, UNA troops were soon withdrawn from Slovenia. Significantly more power was sent by the Yugoslav army to the fight against the Croatian rebels. A war broke out, during which a huge number of people died. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Croatians were forced to leave their homes. European communities intervened in the conflict. However, ceasing fire in Croatia was not so simple.
Bosnia
Montenegrins and Serbs resigned to a split, then proclaimed the creation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The conflict was not settled even after the hostilities in Croatia ended. A new wave of armed clashes began after the exacerbation of national contradictions in Bosnia.
Genocide Accusations
The collapse of Yugoslavia is a long process. His story, perhaps, begins long before the death of the dictator. In the early nineties, UN peacekeeping forces arrived in Bosnia. They tried to stop the armed clashes, ease the fate of the starving population, and create a “security zone” for Muslims.
In 1992, more and more information began to appear in the press about atrocious crimes committed by the Serbs in prison camps. The world community has started talking about genocide. Serbs increasingly recalled the persecution during World War II. In the forties in the territory of occupied Yugoslavia, the Croats destroyed a huge number of Serbs. Memories of historical events have become another cause of exacerbation of ethnic hatred.
Stages of the Yugoslav crisis
The disintegration of Yugoslavia, the reasons, the course, the results — all this can be briefly described as follows: inequality between the republics in economic and cultural terms, which grew into civil strife and led to armed conflict. The first stage of the collapse of Yugoslavia began immediately after the death of Tito. This policy, thanks to its authority over the years, has been able to smooth out the contradictions between Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Slovenes, Macedonians, Kosovo Albanians and other ethnic groups of a multinational country.
After the death of Tito, all sorts of attempts by the Soviet Union were considered as interference in the internal affairs of the state. The next stage of the Yugoslav crisis is the growth of nationalist sentiments in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Kosovo, Islamic fundamentalism has become almost a state ideology.
Effects
In the late eighties in Slovenia, Croatia, tendencies were formed to abandon the common Yugoslav idea. Some politicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina adhered to the point of view according to which the joint Slavic past should be completely rejected. So, Izetbegovic once said: “It is important for me that our independent state becomes Islamic.”
The consequences of the breakdown of the SFRY are the emergence of several independent states. The republic has no successor country. The division of property dragged on for a long time. Only in 2004 did the agreement enter into force providing for the division of foreign exchange assets.
According to most historians, in the war, which lasted on the territory of Yugoslavia for about ten years, the Serbs suffered the most. The International Tribunal has condemned more than a hundred representatives of this ethnic group. Other national commanders committed no less crimes during the war years. But, for example, there were only about 30 Croats among the accused.
So, what is the main reason for the collapse of the once largest state in the Balkans? National hatred, propaganda, interference of other states.