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The Reforms in Yugoslavia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Fred Warner Neal
Fred Warner Neal*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
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Extract

In the five years since the Yugoslav-Soviet split, the ideological, political, and economic complexion of Marshal Tito's Communist state has been altered in a number of basic respects. It is still too early to attempt to say how the new Yugoslav reforms will work out in practice. Particularly one does not know to what extent the new role of the Communist Party has in fact altered the balance of political power in Yugoslavia, or whether it has altered it at all. But the major reforms now seem to have been completed, at least on paper, and it is possible to summarize them and make some tentative, over-all conclusions.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , April 1954 , pp. 227 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1954

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References

1 See, for example, Dedijer, Vladimir, Tito (New York, 1953)Google Scholar, especially Chapters VII, XI, XII and XVI-XIX.

2 Cf. Seton-Watson, Hugh, The East European Revolution (New York, 1951), pp. 219–26, 246–48Google Scholar. Also see Armstrong, Hamilton Fish, Tito and Goliath (New York, 1951).Google Scholar

3 It is often forgotten that Tito did not willingly withdraw from the Cominform but was forced out, much against his will. Cf. Handler, M. S., “Communist Dogma and Jugoslav Practice,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. XXX, No. 3 (April, 1952).Google Scholar

4 For example, Tito, concluding his report to the Fifth Congress of the Yugoslav Communist Party, right after publication of the Cominform resolution, declared: “At the end, comrades, I should like to emphasize that we shall work with all our might to mend the relations between our Party and the CPSU (B),“ Political Report of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, 1948.

5 Mr. Kidrič was then chairman of the Planning Commission and the Economic Council of Yugoslavia and a member of the Political Bureau of the Party.

6 It was especially interesting to find this attitude in those Yugoslav officials who, prior to the rift with the Cominform, refused, Moscow style, to admit error in anything. Mr. Kidrič did not humble himself in this respect as far as some, who went so far in their “confessions” as to resemble witnesses at Communist purge trials.

7 Numerous Yugoslav publications are filled with this point of view. One of the best, and certainly the most official, expositions of it was given by Marshal Tito in an address to the Yugoslav Federal Assembly, quoted in the Communist Party newspaper, Borba, June 27, 1950.

8 Ibid.

9 Edvard Kardelj, “The Meaning and Importance of the Changes in the Organization of Economy and Self-government in Yugoslavia,” New Yugoslav Law, No. 4(1951).

10 Milovan Djilas, “Is Stalin Turning in a Circle?” Borba, October 13, 1952.

11 Djordjević, Jovan, “About Socialist Democracy,” Review of International Affairs, Vol. IV, No. 1 (January 1, 1953).Google Scholar

12 Edvard Kardelj, addressing the Yugoslav National Assembly April 1, 1952, quoted in Borba, April 2, 1952. See also Aleksandar Rankovic, “For the Further Consolidation of the Judiciary and Legality,” New Yugoslav Law, No. 4 (October-December, 1951). This is the text of a report submitted to the Fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

13 Kardelj, ibid.

14 The reforms in local government have been well described by Djordjević, Professor, “Local Self-government in Yugoslavia,” the American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. XII, No. 2 (April, 1953).Google Scholar

15 Marshal Tito, addressing the National Assembly, quoted in Borba, June 27, 1950.

16 Promulgated in Službeni list (Official Gazette) of the FRPY, No. 43, July 5, 1950.

17 Borba, June 27, 1950.

18 The text of the statute is published in Arhiv za pravne i društvene nanke (Archive for Law and Social Science), Nos. 2-3 (1950). Most issues of this periodical, issued by the Association of Jurists of Yugoslavia, are available in English under the title New Yugoslav Law.

19 For a discussion of this point see my article, “Certain Aspects of New Reforms in Yugoslavia,” University of Colorado Studies, “Series in Political Science,” No. i (June, 1953).

20 Article 29 of the law.

21 “Uprava narodnih preduzeca” (Management of People's Enterprises), Ekonomski pregled, Nos. 2-3 (Zagreb, 1949).

22 Originally it was decided to fix minimum wages, which, if not payable out of a factory's profits, would be made up in large part by the state, with a variable part to be paid from extra profits. Now, however, it appears that, while a minimum is contemplated in the over-all economic plans, in fact the whole wage fund will be variable, that is, depending on the income of the factory. See Milentije Popovic, the Yugoslav Finance Minister, “Concerning the Law on Budgets and the Basic Law on Social Contribution and Taxation,” New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 1-2 (1952). This is the text of a speech delivered to the National Assembly on December 28, 1951.

23 Kidrič, Boris, “From State Socialism to Economic Democracy,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. 1, No. 2 (February, 1952)Google Scholar. See also, Kidrič, , “Concerning the Law on the Planned Management of National Economy,” New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 1–2 (1952).Google Scholar

24 Cf. Dermastija, Marijan, “Devaluation of the Dinar,” Review of International Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 2 (January 16, 1952).Google Scholar

25 Boris Kidrič, “Značaj reorganizacije državne administracije” (The Significance of the Reorganization of the State Administration), Arhiv za pravne i društvene nauke, Nos. 2-3 (1950).

26 The new Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly on January 13, 1953, and became operative at that time. The text has been published, with comments, by the Union of Jurists’ Associations of Yugoslavia in Belgrade under the title, New Fundamental Law of Yugoslavia.

27 Stefanovic, Jovan, “The Relationship between the Federation and the People's Republics under the New Federal Constitutional Law,” the New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 3–4 (July-December, 1952)Google Scholar. Also, Kardelj, Edvard, “The New Social and Political System of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,” New Fundamental Law of Yugoslavia (Belgrade, 1953).Google Scholar

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid. See also, Lukić, Rad. D., “The Principle of Unity of Powers in the Federal Constitutional Law,” and Ivo Krbek, “The President of the Republic,“ New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 3–4 (July-December, 1952).Google Scholar

30 “Legislation and Comments: the Structure of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia,” the New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 3–4 (July-December, 1952).

31 Djordjević, Jovan, “The Organization of the Yugoslav Federal and Republican Government after the Reorganization of April, 1951,” New Yugoslav Law, Nos. 2–3 (1951).Google Scholar

32 See Službeni list (Official Gazette), No. 40, June 12, 1950, for texts of the decrees.

33 Ibid.; Djordjević, “The Organization of the Yugoslav Federal and Republican Governments after the Reorganization of April, 1951,” op. cit.

34 “Pregled reorganizacije u državnoj administraciji Narodne Republike Jugoslavie” (Survey of the Reorganization in the State Administration of the People's Republic of Yugoslavia), Arhiv za pravne i drustvene nauke, Nos. 2–3 (1950), p. 36.

35 Djordjević, “The Organization of the Yugoslav Federal and Republican Governments …,” op. cit.

36 “Interview with Marshal Tito,” U. S. News and World Report, Vol. XXXIV, No. 16 (April 17, 1953).

37 Marshal Tito, addressing the Sixth Party Congress, November 2, 1952, in Zagreb. The Yugoslav Information Service has published Tito's report to the Congress under the title The Struggle of the Communists of Yugoslavia for Socialist Democracy.

38 “Farm Cooperatives Enter a New Phase,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I (January, 1952).

39 Glavni zadruzni savez FNRJ (Central Cooperative Union of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia), “The Peasant Work Cooperatives,” Bulletin of Information and Documentation, Vol. I, No. 3 (Belgrade, 1952).Google Scholar

40 Glavni zadruzni savez FNRJ (Central Cooperative Union of the FPRY), Bulletin of Information and Documentation, Vol. I, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 (1952). Also, articles in Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 1 (January, 1952), Vol. 2, No. 5 (May, 1953), and Vol. 2, No. 6 (June, 1953).

41 Cf. Baykov, Alexander, The Development of the Soviet Economic System (Cambridge, 1946), pp. 451–70Google Scholar, and Schwartz, Harry, Russia's Soviet Economy (New York, 1950), p. 138 Google Scholar. See also Voznesenski, Nikolai, The Economy of the USSR during World War II (Washington: Public Affairs Press, 1948).Google Scholar

42 Kidrič, Boris, “From State Socialism to Economic Democracy,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 2 (February, 1952).Google Scholar

43 Ibid.

44 Ibid.

45 The New York Times, May 9, 1952. The unemployment was also attributed to raw material shortages. In February, 1953, 70,000 persons were said to be unemployed. Trade Union relief and government work projects were to be undertaken. “Trade Unions Act to Solve Unemployment Problems,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, No. 2 (February, 1953). The development of decentralized social security may also prod republic and local government units to fight against unemployment- producing decisions in the factory. See “Self Management of Social Security,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 9 (November, 1952).

46 Yugoslav Newsletter, November 6, 1950.

47 Speech by Milentije Popovic to the Yugoslav National Assembly, reported in Borba, December 29, 1951.

48 “Yugoslavia's Social Plan and Its Applications,” Review of International Affairs, Vol. III, No. 4 (February 13, 1952).

49 Warriner, Doreen, Revolution in Eastern Europe (London, 1950), pp. 104–5.Google Scholar

50 Tito, Josip Broz, Radnici upravljaju fabrikama u Jugoslaviji (Workers Manage Factories in Yugoslavia) (Belgrade, 1950).Google Scholar

51 Ibid.

52 “Preview of the Sixth Congress,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 8 (October, 1952).

53 Kardelj, Edvard, “The Role and Task of the Socialist Alliance,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, Nos. 3–4 (March-April, 1953).Google Scholar

54 “Resolution of the Sixth Congress,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 10 (December, 1952).

55 “Report on the IVth Congress of the People's Front,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, Nos. 3–4 (March-April, 1953).

66 “Preview of the Sixth Congress,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 8 (October, 1952).

57 “Report on the IVth Congress of the People's Front,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, Nos. 3–4 (March-April, 1953).

58 Ibid.

59 Yugoslav Newsletter, October 23, 1950.

60 The New York Times, October 16, 1950.

61 Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, Nos. 3–4 (March-April, 1953).

62 Yugoslav Review, Vol. II, No. 1 (January, 1953).

63 For example, the columns of Review of International Affairs were opened to a debate on “Socialism and Democracy” between Rodoljub Čolakovič, a member of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and Kaj Bjbrk, Secretary for International Affairs of the Social Democratic Workers (Socialist) Party of Sweden. See Vol. Ill, Nos. 22 and 24, and Vol. IV, No. 2 (November 16 and December 16, 1952, and January 16, 1953).

64 Quoted in the New York Times, August 22, 1953.

65 Djilas, Milovan, “The Challenge to the Communists in the Battle of Free Opinions,” Yugoslav Review, Vol. I, No. 10 (December, 1952).Google Scholar

66 Cf. Arhiv za pravne i drustvene nauke, Nos. 2-3 (1951).

67 W. O. Douglas, “A Wedge of Freedom in a One Party State,” the Reporter, February 5, 1952. »

68 Aleksandar Rankovič, “For Further Consolidation of the Judiciary and Legality,“'a report submitted to the Fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party on June 3, 1951 and published in New Yugoslav Law, No. 4 (October-December, 1951).

69 Ibid.