Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam
How many of your cousins died in the Belgrade bombing?
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Yugoslavia was crazy as I read.
The country distanced itself from the Soviets in 1948 (cf. Cominform and Informbiro) and started to build its own way to socialism under the strong political leadership of Josip Broz Tito.
Tito broke decisively with Stalin on other issues, making Yugoslavia an independent communist state. Yugoslavia requested American aid. American leaders were internally divided, but finally agreed and began sending money on a small scale in 1949, and on a much larger scale 1950-53. The American aid was not part of the Marshall plan
Tito criticised both Eastern Bloc and NATO nations and, together with India and other countries, started the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, which remained the official affiliation of the country until it dissolved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslavia
Titoism was denounced by Moscow as a heresy that said Communist countries should take a nationalist road to socialism different from that of the Soviet Union. Across Eastern Europe Communist leaders suspected of Tito-like tendencies were purged by pro-Moscow elements.
After Stalin's death and the repudiation of his policies by Nikita Khrushchev, peace was made with Tito and Yugoslavia re-admitted into the international brotherhood of socialist states. However, relations between the two countries were never completely rebuilt; Yugoslavia would continue to take an independent course in world politics, shunning the influence of both west and east. The Yugoslav Army maintained two official defense plans, one against a NATO invasion and one against a Warsaw Pact invasion.
Tito used the estrangement from the USSR to obtain US aid via the Marshall Plan, as well as to found the
Non-Aligned Movement, in which Yugoslavia was a leading force.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito%E2%80%93Stalin_Split