Yugoslav Revolution and Red October

SIMILARITIES AND DIVERSITY

Abstract

To compare similar historical "actions", for example revolutions in two different countries, is an ungrateful task. The author outlines the essential features of the socialist revolution in Yugoslavia/Slovenia, which took place during World War II in the circumstances of the resistance against the occupiers. He "looks for" (but cannot identify!) any common points with the first socialist revolution, which had occurred in Russia in November 1917. Both of these socialist revolutions – the Russian as well as the Yugoslav – occurred in different historical, social, political, and military circumstances, with different starting points and causes, and yet with the same purpose: to take over the power and change the social relations. Both were successful. These two successful socialist revolutions do exhibit some similarities, yet disparities are much more prominent. The author establishes that due to the different circumstances the socialist revolution in Yugoslavia was completely unlike the one in Russia in 1917, even though they both shared the same intention. Most importantly, the Yugoslav socialist revolution was original. It started and developed on its own, without any external assistance or influences. The similarities between the two revolutions lie mostly in the fact that they both took into account the so-called stages of revolution, but in the Yugoslav case this was less evident. The Yugoslav socialist revolution consisted of two stages, though most of the so-called second, i.e. class stage, took place after the war. In the first post-war period, however, the Yugoslav revolution emulated a lot of what had been achieved in the Soviet Union or had an impact on the development of the Soviet Union – for example the wartime communism, new economic policy, and collectivisation. Therefore most similarities between the two revolutions can be found in regard to these particular characteristics.