Anti-Stalinist left

The Education Ministry is launching a literary initiative aimed at familiarizing students with classic works and renowned authors. 

Starting in February, artists will visit schools to read from a selection of 21 literary books, including works by Arthur Conan Doyle, Anne Frank, Anton Chekhov, and George Orwell. 

With no street or statue to remember Yugoslavia's late strongman Josip Broz Tito, a new tour in the Croatian capital Zagreb is hoping to trace the leader's complicated legacy in a city where he remains divisive.

Former Yugoslav Navy Fleet Admiral Branko Mamula in 1977. Photo: Private archive of Branko Mamula.

Born into a Serb family in Croatia in 1921, Mamula became a member of the Communist Party in his youth. At the start of Yugoslavia's involvement in World War II in 1941, he joined the Partisan resistance movement led by Josip Broz Tito.

The exhibition begins with the garments that Josip Broz Tito's wife wore at her first public appearance after their marriage and ends as she withdrew from public life with the conclusion of the Yugoslav President's rule four decades ago.

When the Zagreb city authorities removed the name of former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito from a prominent square in September 2017, Danijela Matijevic said she felt "revolted".

People gathered in the Serbian capital Belgrade and the Croatian village of Kumrovec to mark the Socialist-era 'Youth Day', when showpiece events used to be held all across the former Yugoslavia and its leader Josip Broz Tito's birthday was also celebrated.

Orwellian Communist-like methods in a Western country?

Josip Broz Tito, as President of Yugoslavia, first of all, built his reputation with the people of Yugoslavia. For years, a cult of leader was developed, so the marshal's photographs hung above school boards, but also in the homes of many Yugoslavs - from Vardar to Triglav. He remained remembered for his turbulent political and private life.

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito used many residences and holiday homes during the long period of his rule from 1944 until his death in 1980.

The collection of more than 500 images includes portrait and documentary photographs which show ordinary members of the Communist Partisan movement, which was led by Josip Broz Tito, on battlefields and at cultural events, but also at social occasions such as weddings.