ABSTRACT
The first "old" Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY), which had perished in the Second World War, had been formed on December 1, 1918, as an alliance of several South Slavic and other nations. In the course of the war, however, the balance of forces in Yugoslavia altered radically and the CPY found itself in an advantaged position to lead a Partisan movement for liberation from foreign occupiers. Yugoslavia would become known for the greater degree of freedom and economic prosperity it offered. The events outlined above developed as the result of a complex mixture of forces, including ideology, international events, and Yugoslavia's domestic circumstances. Even in the early stages of the war, CPY leaders took a number of decisions separate from or in opposition to the Soviet line, and as the party's position of authority in Yugoslavia increased, so too did its independence.
