Slobodan Milosevic

"Butcher of the Balkans"

Background of Serbia1929- 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

o 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).

• Political Reformo 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.

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 warso 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.o 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.

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, non-political 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 powero 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