Slobodan Milosevic
"Butcher of the Balkans"
Background of Serbia
1929- A group of collective of Austrian Hungary states broke
apart after World War I and were renamed Yugoslavia
1945- After World War II Yugoslavia becomes a Communist
Republic under the rule of Prime Minister Tito. Yugoslavia
was composed of seven republics: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia,
Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Monte Negro, also
included the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina
1980- Tito kept a tight reign on ethnic groups until his death
in 1980. After his death Yugoslavia was able to develop
extreme nationalists and ethnic groups since Tito's
Panslavic ideals were gone.
Background of Serbia Continued...
• The Region of Yugoslavia had been heavily under a 400
year influence of the Ottoman Empire, as a result there
were many Muslims in the region.
• Before WWII there was an uneasy tension between
Roman Catholics and Muslims.
• With the backing of the Soviet Union Yugoslavia
officially became a Communist Republic after WWII in
1945.
• This Government was ran under the dictatorship of
Marshal Josip Tito who believed in a Panslavic nation.
After his death in 1980 his ethnic reigns were lifted
and many extreme nationalist and ethnic groups began
to form.
The Life of Slobodan Milosevic
• Born in 1941 during the Axis occupation in Pozarevac,
Serbia, Yugoslavia.
• His parents were separated after the war
• In 1962, his father, Svetozar Milosevic, commited
suicide.
• In 1974, his mother, Stanislava Milosevic, hanged
herself (she was an active leader in the communist party
and a school teacher).
• Surrounded by death, Milosevic finds a new life when he
meets his wife Mirjana Markovic. She was a Marxist
follower and was the driving force behind his political
ambitions.
Life continued...
• While Slobodan was getting a Law degree at the
University of Belgrade, he joined the Communist
Party of Yugoslavia, where he became very
politically active. He was the head of the ideology
department of the party.
• After he graduated from the University he got his
first job with the Mayor of Belgrade as a financial
adviser, some how this financial advisor would
evolve into a mass murderer.
• Total death toll: Around 230,000
Slobodan's Rise to Power
• In 1964, Slobodan becomes the head of the national gas company
called Technogas.
• In 1978 he becomes president of Beobanka, the national bank of
Belgrade. From this position he was able to travel through out
western Europe and America that lead him to master the English
language.
• In 1984 Slobadan becomes a full time politician when he becomes
the Leader of a communist party in Belgrade. From this platform he
uses words and nationalism to appeal to the common people, and
to promote his political agenda.
• 1986 - Slobadan wass elected the leader of the League of
Communists of Yugoslavians (LCY); from this platform he preached
a message of solidarity and Serbian ethnic superiority. He became
a nationalistic figure and used the media to gain a political edge.
• In 1989, Slobadan was elected president running under the LCY
party; this was the beginning of many years of terror for Serbian
minorities.
Establishment of the Single Party State
Methods to Gain/Maintain Power:
• Unity of the Serbian population
In April 1987, Milosevic gave a famous speech uniting the Serbs of
Yugoslavia together against the Albanians, who were accused of harassing
and abusing the Serbs.
o During the "Anti-Bureaucracy Revolution," many mass protests took place to
force the resignations of the autocratic rulers of Serbian provinces (Kosovo,
Vojvodina, and Montenegro).
o
• Political Reform
Many of Milosevic's allies were elected to different positions in the
government once Milosevic was elected on May 8th, 1989 (elections were
mainly run by the different Communist Leagues in Serbia).
o Provincial Autocracy was ended, and the very Nationalistic Milosevic was
gaining power quickly in Yugoslavia.
o An amended constitution was set up, mainly granting independence to the
provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina.
o
Government and Ideology
Form of Government: Started out as a Communist nation,
then it changed to the Socialist Party of Serbia in July
1990.
Ideology:
• "Serbification" - Everyone who was not Serbian in any Serbian
held territory was exiled, imprisoned, took hostage, or even
executed.
• Serbia was involved in many wars
o
Slovenia and Croatia were attempting to gain their
independence, but Milosevic would lose territory that way, so he
retaliated by sending his army into Slovenia and Croatia. About
20,000 people die in just about a half year of war.
Government and Ideology (Cont.)
Wars (Cont.)
• Bosnian-Serb minority in Bosnia-Herzegovina rebel against
Serbia in 1991 and for many years to follow. Serbia takes over
two-thirds of the land, and soon moves along to Croatia.
Muslims and Croats are basically destroyed, 200,000 total
dead.
• In 1998, the Albanians of Kosovo try again to gain
independence, but the Serbian security tries to fight back. After
NATO intervenes, Serbia backs off just a little bit. The next
year, Serbia refuses to sign a cease-fire, and NATO launches
air strikes at Serbia.
Treatment of Opposition
• Anyone who opposed Serbia or Milosevic faced extreme
consequences.
Opposition of Milosevic were usually threatened by the
military power Milosevic had in his arsenal. He was
always quick to send forces across borders if necessary.
o In the war with Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992),
anyone who got in the way of the Serbs were exiled,
imprisoned, or sent to concentration camps. Of course, in
some cases, some people were executed if they were
charged with something severe.
• Very rarely did Milosevic actually sit down and negotiate with
people in a peaceful manner.
o
Treatment of Women and Religion
• During the wars Serbia was involved in, women (including
younger girls even) were sent to rape camps, where
obviously they were raped.
o These women and girls were mainly Muslims.
o About 20,000 women/girls were sent to these camps.
• As mentioned in the previous note, Muslims were
persecuted against by Milosevic. The Muslims were mainly
from Bosnia, and Bosnia was causing trouble in Milosevic's
eyes.
Political Policies
• When Milosevic was first elected, he promised the Serbs a
new Democratic system of government. He did amend
Serbia's constitution to grant the independence of Kosovo
and Vojvodina, but only to unite them together under Serbia.
• Instead of giving the Serbs a Democratic system, he simply
just changed the name of his political party from the League
of Communists of Serbia to the Socialist Party of Serbia. He
focused on building the strength and unity of Serbia by ways
of military, territory, and population.
• Held many staged elections, most of them in which
Milosevic planted the candidates he wanted in power for
certain positions.
• Eliminated all other political parties in Serbia.
Economic/Social Policies
• In Montenegro in 1989, Milosevic wanted to reform the
wages of the workers because they were the lowest there in
all of Yugoslavia.
o After this change to the wages, Milosevic doesn't ever
focus on economy at all.
• One of Milosevic's main focuses was strengthening Serbia
as a nation.
o Anyone who wasn't a Serb or who didn't agree with
Milosevic's ways was taken care of (in a bad way).
o Any territory outside of Serbia that was occupied by
mainly Serbs was treated as if it belonged to Serbia.
Again, anyone not associated with Serbia or Milosevic
was dealt with.
o Wanted to unite all Yugoslavian nations just so he could
take them all over as a "bigger" Serbia.
Art and Education
• Not much on art; Milosevich was a fan of Walt Disney, nonpolitical comic strips, and Frank Sinatra.
• Same with education: nothing was found...
Yeah.....
Why did people embrace this guy?
• He was a great speaker when he first came to power
o
In almost all of his speeches, he made the Serbs feel
involved. He made sure the people got what they wanted.
• He offered a lot to the Serbs, and talked things up. In
the long run, though, he only said those things to get
support, and to better himself.
• Basically, he was very nationalistic. He did things to
make Serbia a more powerful nation, which was
important to a lot of Serbs.
• He was a very powerful leader. If anyone got in his way,
he would make sure that person was dealt with right
away in an "appropriate" manner.
Maintaining Power
• With the collapse of Communism in Western Europe,
Milosevic took advantage of ethnic battles between
Serbs and ethnic Albanians, by taking sides with the
Serbs.
• Milosevic did this to get the support of the Serbs and
overpower the neutral president, Ivan Stambolic.
• The Anti- Bureaucratic Revolution was also a big part of
Milosevic maintaining power because it was a series of
revolts and protests against the Yugoslavian
government
• Milosevic used methods such as populism, by gaining
support of anti-ethnic Albanians
• Milosevic's goal was to create an autocracy of Serbs.
Maintaining power continued...
• Milosevic continued to promise the Serbs unity and security,
and with the fall of communism, people were apt to believe
him.
• After his creation of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Milosevic
focused on the needs and demands of the Serbs.
• Milosevic gave support to not only his army of Serbs, but
also the Yugoslav army as a whole.
• Milosevic even took control of the media by broadcasting
anything he wanted. He hired editors to make sure to
approve what was on the radio.
• Topics were biased and were demeaning and threatening to
anyone who wasn't a Serb, because Milosevic wanted to
create fear for anyone opposing him, and for the Serbs to
support the war against the enemies.
• People feared that if they didn't support Milosevic, they
weren't viewed as being Nationalist enough, and that was a
negative thing according to Milosevic.
The End