In an earlier post we talked about the history of Montenegro up until 1929 when it became part of Yugoslavia. Here we’ll briefly bring the story up to today.
WWII
To begin with, Yugoslavia – the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes – was an uneasy alliance, forced by European powers. Naturally, the Montenegrins chafed at the loss of their independence. One indication of their dissatisfaction was the eagerness with which Montenegrins joined local branches of the Yugoslav Communist Party. But whatever shape the country’s history would have taken became moot when World War II broke out.
In April 1941 the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia. In the division of rule that followed, Italian forces occupied Montenegro and set up a puppet government there. A July 1941, an uprising by Montenegrins, mostly members of the Communist Party, had limited success. An Italian counter-offensive in August of that year soon put it down. In its aftermath the Montenegrins split into two camps. On the one side were the Partisans, who joined with other Yugoslavians to work against the occupation, and on the other were the so-called Loyalists, who collaborated with the Italians against the Partisans.
With the support of the Italians, the Loyalists controlled much of Montenegro during 1942 and 1943, while the Partisans, supported by the Allied powers, controlled much of the rest of Yugoslavia. In February 1943 the Partisans won an important victory over the Loyalists at the Battle of Neretva. The man most responsible for this success was Josip Broz Tito, who was to be the major figure in post-war Yugoslavia. After the surrender of Italy in September 1943, there was fierce fighting in Montenegro between the Germans and the Partisans. The country was finally liberated in December 1944.
Post WWII
In the dispositions made after the war, Montenegro became one of the six republics of the now Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its leader was Josip Tito, who became prime minister in 1944, president in 1953, and president for life in 1974. In the aftermath of the war, Tito tried to arrange the six republics in such a way as to minimise ethnic tensions. (It was at this point that Kotor became a part of Montenegro, having formerly been independent.) Famously, Tito broke with the Soviet Union and kept Yugoslavia as a non-aligned nation. At home he decentralised the government and gave greater autonomy to local ‘workers’ councils’. Even after the breakup of Yugoslavia, he remains a much loved leader, and here in Kotor we see pictures of him in stores and restaurants everywhere.
1990s and Beyond
Montenegro was not an active participant in the wars that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. She did, however, initially support Slobodan Milosević and Serbia, and Montenegrin paramilitary groups played a role. Montenegro remained loyal to Serbia, even voting to remain in a union with Serbia when the other four republics had declared independence. But after 1995, when the Dayton Accords brought peace to the Balkan wars, Montenegro and its then prime minister, Milo Đukanović, began to distance itself from Serbia, and in the years that followed they adopted a stronger pro-Western attitude.
Given that Serbia was so much larger than Montenegro, it was perhaps natural that tensions would arise. In 2006, in a national referendum, the Montenegrins voted for independence – but the margin was slim.
Walking around Kotor today, you could easily miss most of this history. The impressive walls, of course, belong to its time as a vassal of Venice. And at the main gate of these walls one can see the date of Kotor’s liberation from the Nazis. But so much of the history here lies under the surface. Perhaps Kotor’s status as a cruise-ship destination has caused it to emphasise only certain aspects of its past. We assume that the many tourists who pass through Kotor have only a limited sense of this history. But of course, we were in the same boat before we arrived.
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