УДК 94(497.1)”196” 323(497.1)”196/197” 32:929 Ранковић А. Оригиналан научни рад Примљен: 16. 5. 2016. Прихваћен: 16. 1. 2017. Srđan CVETKOVIĆ Institute for Contemporary History
[email protected] Fall of Aleksandar Ranković and Condemnation of “Rankovićism”*1 Abstract: This study examines the circumstances which lead to the purge of Aleksandar Ranković, the longtime person “Number one” in the State Security’s apparatus. The study also analyses the impact it had on the future events in the history of Yugoslavia. The political fall of Aleksandar Ranković coincided with the beginning of the process of redeining relations between the member-states of the Federation sparkling suspicions that the two events were closely interlinked. Moreover, Aleksandar Ranković was posthu- mously proclaimed Serbian nationalist. In this study, we also ana- lyse what affairs during the Ranković’s ouster can be linked to his name; how much truth there is in the accusations of his involve- ment in the wire-tapping of the Yugoslav top level political lead- ers’ affair and what were his ambitions to become one of them. What implications did these events have on the wider scope of the state’s political actions? Key words: Aleksandar Ranković, UDBA (State Security Adminis- tration), communism, Serbia, political purges, party purges, Josip Broz Tito According to the common view of historians, Aleksandar Rank- ović’s fall from power was the result of his opposed efforts to the pro- * This article has been written within the framework of the scholarly project: Serbian Society in the Yugoslav State in the 20th century: Between Democracy and Dictatorship (№ 177016), inanced by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.