IZA GVOZDENE ZAVESE - POČETAK I ESKALACIJA SUKOBA ТITО - STALJIN PRVIH MESECI 1948.
BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN - THE BEGINNING AND ESCALATION OF THE TITO-STALIN CONFLICT 1948

Summary/Abstract: The conflict between Tito and Stalin, and between the leaderships of the communist parties of Yugoslavia and the USSR was the result of different views regarding Yugoslavia’s position in foreign politics and did not arise from differences concerning domestic politics in Yugoslavia and the application of the Marxis-Leninist doctrine as was always emphasized in the accusations coming from the Soviet side and in the subsequent propaganda war between the two countries. After the American government had introduced the Marshal Plan, forming through it a strong coalition of western capitalist countries, the Soviet leadership wished to impose total control over the countries in their sphere of interest by ensuring absolute obedience of their party leaderships. The biggest stumbling block in achieving this was the high level of independence which Tito enjoyed in foreign politics which the Kremlin had previously tolerated. Tito was not, however, willing to relinquish this position, thus making the conflict inevitable. The initial excuse for the conflict came towards the end of January 1948, when the Soviet leaders learnt of Tito’s decision to send a completely equipped division to south Albania. It was decided in the Kremlin to use this incident as a pretext to force Tito to subordination. A bitter struggle ensued in the following months between Moscow and Belgrade but it was kept far from the public eye. It was only toward the end of June that the population was surprised to learn about the dissent between the two leading communist parties of the eastern bloc. Western observers were not able to discern from the fragmentary indications which surfaced sporadically, the depth of the rift which had occurred between Moscow ant Belgrade. The belief in Stalin’s absolute authority in the satellite parties was so deeply rooted that even the argumented warning to this effect, which the British ambassador in Belgrade sent to London in June, was not taken seriously.

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