ABSTRACT
In the Western capitals the Stalin-Tito rupture was welcomed with enthusiasm bordering on ecstasy. Stalin thereupon summoned Tito to Moscow but he excused himself and sent instead his closest associates, Edvard Kardelj and M. Djilas. Before they left Moscow Stalin had signified his displeasure and Mvolotov called in Kardelj and made him sign a treaty then and there, under which Belgrade would have to consult Moscow before taking any initiative in international affairs. Though the errors did no more than pinpoint Tito's intellectual limitations, his enemies presented it as a case of sabotage and Tito was lucky to escape with his life, fito later told his associates that his premature grey hair dated from his Moscow sojourn. In Djilas's view, his clash with his party was inevitable though he attributes his nine years of subsequent imprisonment to Tito's eagerness to placate Moscow. Djilas s disgrace opened the way for the reconciliation with Moscow.
