Informbiro
Encyclopedia
Informbiro was a period (1948-1955) in the history of Yugoslavia
characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union
. The word Informbiro is the Yugoslav name of the Cominform
, an abbreviation for "Information Bureau," from "Communist Information Bureau".
Resolution of June 28, 1948 (resulting from the Tito-Stalin Split
) that accused the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), among other things, of "depart[ing] from Marxism-Leninism
," exhibiting an "anti-Soviet attitude," "meeting criticism with hostility" and "reject[ing] to discuss the situation at an Informbureau meeting." Following these allegations, the resolution expelled the KPJ from Cominform. As a result, Yugoslavia fell outside of the Soviet sphere of influence, and the country's brand of Communism, with its independence from the Soviet line, was called Titoism
by Moscow
and considered treasonous. Party purge
s against suspected "Titoites" were conducted throughout Eastern Europe
.
Significant evidence supports the opinion that the actual reason for the Cominform Resolution was the unwillingness of Josip Broz Tito
to obey the instructions of Joseph Stalin
. The most serious disputes concerned policy in the Balkans. In particular, Yugoslavia was considered to be pushing too fast towards unification with Bulgaria
and Albania
. Although following Stalin's proposal for a series of such unifications, Tito was seen to be proceeding without proper consultation with Moscow. Another issue was Tito's eagerness to "export revolution" to Greece.
The Cominform Resolution is seen as a failed attempt by Stalin to command obedience not only from Tito, but from other national Communist parties as well.
Considering Stalin's brutal repression of other satellites' independent moves, it remains unclear what prevented him from military intervention. In his memoirs, Nikita Khrushchev
asserted that he was "absolutely sure that if the Soviet Union bordered Yugoslavia, Stalin would have intervened militarily."
This period was also marked by dissent within the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
and subsequent repression and deportations of many pro-Soviet members to labor camp
s and prisons, notably Goli Otok
island.
Khrushchev reconciled with Tito in 1955. Afterwards, Tito dramatically changed his domestic policies and also created an amnesty programme. Most of the prisons were closed and destroyed, and government also loosened controls in the media to much wider extent than in the rest of the Communist bloc.
This period figures prominently in Yugoslav literature and cinema.
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,...
characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The word Informbiro is the Yugoslav name of the 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...
, an abbreviation for "Information Bureau," from "Communist Information Bureau".
History
The term refers to 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...
Resolution of June 28, 1948 (resulting from the Tito-Stalin Split
Tito-Stalin Split
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 in 1948...
) that accused the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), among other things, of "depart[ing] from Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-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...
," exhibiting an "anti-Soviet attitude," "meeting criticism with hostility" and "reject[ing] to discuss the situation at an Informbureau meeting." Following these allegations, the resolution expelled the KPJ from Cominform. As a result, Yugoslavia fell outside of the Soviet sphere of influence, and the country's brand of Communism, with its independence from the Soviet line, was called 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...
by 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...
and considered treasonous. Party purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
s against suspected "Titoites" were conducted throughout Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
Significant evidence supports the opinion that the actual reason for the Cominform Resolution was the unwillingness of 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...
to obey the instructions of 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...
. The most serious disputes concerned policy in the Balkans. In particular, Yugoslavia was considered to be pushing too fast towards unification 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 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...
. Although following Stalin's proposal for a series of such unifications, Tito was seen to be proceeding without proper consultation with Moscow. Another issue was Tito's eagerness to "export revolution" to Greece.
The Cominform Resolution is seen as a failed attempt by Stalin to command obedience not only from Tito, but from other national Communist parties as well.
Considering Stalin's brutal repression of other satellites' independent moves, it remains unclear what prevented him from military intervention. In his memoirs, 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...
asserted that he was "absolutely sure that if the Soviet Union bordered Yugoslavia, Stalin would have intervened militarily."
This period was also marked by dissent within the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
and subsequent repression and deportations of many pro-Soviet members to labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s and prisons, notably 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...
island.
Khrushchev reconciled with Tito in 1955. Afterwards, Tito dramatically changed his domestic policies and also created an amnesty programme. Most of the prisons were closed and destroyed, and government also loosened controls in the media to much wider extent than in the rest of the Communist bloc.
This period figures prominently in Yugoslav literature and cinema.
Informbiro timeline
- February 1948 - Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
threatens Tito that "serious differences of opinion about relations between our countries" will result if Tito does not clear his actions with Moscow. - March 27, 1948 - the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionCommunist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(CPSU) sends a letter of warning to the Central Committee of the KPJ. - April 12 - 13, 1948 - A CC KPJ plenum discusses the CPSU letter.
- May 4, 1948 - The CC CPSU sends a new letter to the CC KPJ with additional allegations.
- May 9, 1948 - At a meeting in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade 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...
the CC KPJ issues its reply to the CKVKP(b) letter. - May 20, 1948 - The CC KPJ issues a statement that the KPJ will not send a delegation to the next Cominform meeting.
- June 28, 1948 - Cominform circulates the "Resolution on the situation in the KPJ."
- September, 1948 - The USSR unilaterally annuls its treaty with Yugoslavia. HungaryHungaryHungary , 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...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , 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...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
follow suit. - October 25, 1948 - The USSR expels the Yugoslav ambassador. Other pro-Soviet governments follow suit.
- November 29, 1948 - From the scheduled meeting in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Cominform issues a new resolution that states in part that "the transformation of Yugoslavia from the phase of bourgeois nationalismNationalismNationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
into fascismFascismFascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and direct betrayal of national interests is complete." - 1949 - Goli OtokGoli otokGoli 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...
prison camp is established for the internment of "supporters of the Informbiro." - June 6, 1953 - Under Khrushchev, the USSR suggests the exchange of ambassadors with Yugoslavia. Hungary, Bulgaria and AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , 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...
follow suit. - 1954 - Poland and Czechoslovakia also restore relations with Yugoslavia.
- June 2, 1955 - Yugoslavia and the USSR sign a joint declaration in BelgradeBelgradeBelgrade 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...
.
- 1995 - Goli Otok internees from post-Yugoslav republics seek damages.
Informbiro in cinema
- Tajna Dvorca I.B. by Fadil HadžićFadil HadžićFadil Hadžić was a prominent Croatian film director within the former Yugoslavia, screenwriter, playwright and journalist, mainly known for his comedy films and plays.Hadžić was born in Bileća, Bosnia-Herzegovina...
, 1951. - Red Boogie by Karpo GodinaKarpo GodinaKarpo Ačimović Godina is a Slovenian cinematographer and film director. His film Artificial Paradise was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Occupation in 26 Pictures...
, 1982. - When Father Was Away on BusinessWhen Father Was Away on BusinessWhen Father Was Away on Business is a 1985 Yugoslav film by Serbian director Emir Kusturica. The screenplay was written by the Bosnian dramatist Abdulah Sidran...
(Otac na službenom putu) by Emir KusturicaEmir KusturicaEmir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
, 1985. - Balkanski Špijun (Balkan Spy) by Dušan KovačevićDušan KovacevicDušan Kovačević is a Serbian playwright and director best known for his theater plays and movie scripts. He also served as the ambassador of Serbia in Lisbon, Portugal....
, 1984. - Srećna nova '49.Srecna nova '49.Srećna nova '49. is a 1986 Yugoslavian drama film directed by Stole Popov, starring Svetozar Cvetković, Meto Jovanovski, Vladislava Milosavljević and Aco Đorčev. It was Yugoslavia's submission to the 59th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film , but it failed to make...
by Stole PopovStole Popov-Biography:Stole Popov born August 20, 1950 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.Graduated film directing at the Academy of Theatre, Film & Television in Belgrade....
, 1986. - My Uncle's Legacy by Krsto PapićKrsto PapicKrsto Papić is a Croatian screenwriter and film director whose career spans several decades....
, from the novel by Ivan AralicaIvan AralicaIvan Aralica is a Croatian novelist and essayist.Born in Promina near Knin, and having finished pedagogical school and Philosophical Faculty at the University of Zadar, Aralica had worked in post-war period as a high school teacher in the backwater villages of the rural hinterland of northern and...
, 1988.
See also
- CominformCominformFounded in 1947, Cominform is the common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties...
- CominternCominternThe Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
- Sreten ZujovicSreten ŽujovicSreten Žujović was a Serbian veteran of World War I and long-time communist. He was a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo before World War II. He helped organize the Partisan uprising in Serbia in 1941 and became a member of the Supreme Staff...
- Communist Party of the Free Territory of TriesteCommunist Party of the Free Territory of TriesteCommunist Party of the Free Territory of Trieste was a communist party in the Free Territory of Trieste...