Josip Broz, who went down in history under the party pseudonym Tito, is one of the powerful and mysterious personalities of the 20th century. For many years, the Tito regime was held not by force of arms, but by its own authority. He was able to provide his country with enormous influence and a high international position and, according to US President Nixon, was perceived on a par with the legendary leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Childhood and youth
Josip Broz was born on May 25, 1892 in the village of Kumrovets in Croatia. He was the seventh child in the family of Croat Franjo and Slovenian Maria Broz.
Young Josip entered primary school in Kumrovts in 1900, which he graduates in 1905. Two years later, he moved to Sisak, where he got a job at a railway depot as a train driver's apprentice.
At the same time, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Slovenia. In the following years, he worked as a foreman in factories and factories in Kamnik, Chenkov, Munich, Mannheim and Austria.
In 1913 he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army. After completing non-commissioned officer courses, he went to the Serbian front with the rank of sergeant in 1914.
His courage and courage helped him quickly get the rank of sergeant major. In 1915, he was transferred to the Russian front, where after some time he was wounded and taken prisoner.
After treatment in the hospital, he was sent to a prisoner of war camp. However, he was lucky and was released in 1917 when revolutionary workers broke into the prison.
He actively participated in Bolshevik propaganda and July demonstrations in Petrograd. He was arrested again, but was soon released and left for Omsk, where he joined the Red Army in 1980.
In 1920 he returned to his native Croatia, which became part of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Career
Returning to Yugoslavia, he joined the Communist Party, which won the 1920 elections with 59 seats. However, the ban and dispersal of the Communist Party forced him to move from the capital.
In the following years, he held various positions and was eventually appointed secretary of the Croatian metal workers' union in Zagreb. At the same time, he continued to work in the communist underground.
In 1928, he finally took up the post of secretary of the Zagreb branch of the CPY. In this post, under his leadership, anti-government street demonstrations and strikes took place.
Alas, he was soon arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. It was in prison that he met Mosha Pidzhade, who became his ideological teacher. During this time, he adopted the party name Tito. After his release, he moved to Vienna and became a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
During the year from 1935 to 1936, he worked as a confidant of CPY General Secretary Milan Gorkich in the Soviet Union.
The death of Gorkich in 1937 led to his appointment as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He officially took office in 1939 and organized an underground convention in 1940, which was attended by 7,000 participants.
During the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, the CPY was the only organized and functional political force. Having made the most of the opportunities, he called on the people to unite in the fight against the occupation.
He founded a military committee within the CPY and was appointed commander-in-chief.
After the Tehran Conference, at which he was recognized as the only leader of the Yugoslav resistance, Tito signed a treaty that led to the merger of his government with the government of King Peter II. A little later, Tito was appointed interim prime minister of Yugoslavia. But this appointment did not prevent him from remaining in the post of commander-in-chief of the resistance forces.
In October 1944, the Soviet army, with the support of Tito's partisans, liberated Serbia. By 1945, the Communist Party had become the main political force in Yugoslavia.
Having received massive popular support, he earned the title of "liberator of Yugoslavia." He won a landslide victory in the elections, and took over as prime minister and foreign minister.
His role in the liberation of Yugoslavia made him believe that the country could follow its own course, unlike other countries in the bloc, which must recognize the CPSU as their leading force.
Consolidating his powers, he wrote and adopted a new constitution for Yugoslavia in November 1945. He has prosecuted all collaborators and oppositionists. Then he goes to diplomatic rapprochement with Albania and Greece, which caused sharp criticism of Stalin.
The growth of the personality cult irritated Stalin so much that he made several attempts to remove the latter from the leadership of Yugoslavia, but without much success. The split between the two leaders led to the fact that Yugoslavia was cut off from the Soviet Union and its allies, but rapidly forged diplomatic and trade ties with capitalist countries.
After Stalin's death, he faced a dilemma: either continue building relations with Western countries or find common ground with the new leadership of the CPSU Central Committee. However, Tito was able to surprise the whole world by choosing the third path, which was to establish contacts with the leaders of developing countries.
He made Yugoslavia one of the founders of the non-aligned movement and established strong ties with third world countries. He was appointed the first Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement. The first congress of this organization took place in Belgrade in 1961.
In 1963, he officially changed the name of the country to the socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He carried out various reforms in the country, giving people freedom of speech and religious expression.
In 1967, he opened the borders of his country by abolishing entry visas. He took an active part in promoting the peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In 1971 he was re-elected President of Yugoslavia. After his appointment, he introduced a series of constitutional amendments that decentralized the country, granting autonomy to the republics.
While the republics controlled education, health care, and the housing sector, the federal center was in charge of foreign affairs, defense, internal security, currency issues, free trade within Yugoslavia, and development loans to poorer regions.
In 1974, a new constitution was passed that made him President for life.
Personal life
He was married three times, first to Pelageya Broz, then to Hert Haas and finally to Jovanka Broz. He had four children: Zlatitsa Broz, Hinko Broz, Zharko Leon Broz and Aleksandar Broz.
Death
Since 1979, he has retired more and more and more often appears at the medical center in Ljubljana. Josip Broz Tito's life ended on May 4, 1980.
His funeral was attended by statesmen and politicians from all over the world. He was buried in a mausoleum in Belgrade
