Authoritarian Repression
Throughout Tito's numerous shifts in economic policy, he never compromised his personal power. Tito led Yugoslavia as an authoritarian dictator. He imposed Communist ideology, and the country was dominated by bureaucracy and highly efficient secret police.
Despite this repression, Tito was an immensely popular leader. In 1963, he was proclaimed president for life. "The main guarantors of Yugoslavia’s unity were the communist police and army." |
Crowds celebrate Tito and chant his name (Kosovo, 1979, YouTube)
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"Repression, from one end of Yugoslavia to the other. There is one army with unified command, one powerful secret police watching every house and keeping a record of every family, one Party imposing political and cultural unity from Slovenia to Macedonia, one uniform torrent of broadcasts, one press..." |