Ivan Simić Soviet Influences on Yugoslav Gender Policies, 1945-1955 UCL Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy I, Ivan Simić confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis explores Soviet influences on Yugoslav gender policies, examining how Yugoslav communists interpreted, adapted and used Soviet ideas to change Yugoslav society. The project sheds new light on the role of Soviet models in producing Yugoslav family and reproductive laws, and in framing the understandings of gender which affected key policies such as the collectivisation of agriculture, labour policies, policies towards Muslim populations, and policies concerning youth sexuality. Through a gender analysis of all these policies, this thesis points to the difficulties of applying Soviet solutions in Yugoslavia. Deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes undermined Yugoslav communists’ ability to challenge gender norms, causing many disputes and struggles within the Communist Party over the meanings and application of Soviet gender models. Yet, Soviet models informed how Yugoslav communists approached gender- related issues for many years, even after the conflict erupted between these two countries. This project contributes to existing scholarship in three key areas. First, it seeks to provide new insights into Yugoslav-Soviet relations, including into the circulation of policies and cultural representations, as well as the broader repercussions of the Yugoslav-Soviet break. Second, it offers a new perspective on the origins, development and implementation of gender policies in Yugoslavia. In examining both abstract models and practices, it further focuses upon the under-researched gap between ideology and practice so as to reveal the power of cultural patterns in shaping daily lives over official policies and ideologies. Finally, it seeks not only to shed light on the neglected history of women, but to contribute to the literature on Yugoslav gender history, especially during the first decade after the Second World War when the roots of many cultural models and practices were formed with long-lasting consequences. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 6 Soviet Influences on Yugoslav Gender Policies, 1945-1955 ................................... 7 Research Scope and Methods ................................................................................. 9 Scholarship on Yugoslav Gender Policies ............................................................ 15 Thesis Structure ..................................................................................................... 19 Terminology and Abbreviations ........................................................................... 22 Chapter 1: The Transfer of Soviet Models ........................................................... 25 Alternatives to Soviet Models - Communists’ Pre-War Experiences ................... 30 Stalinist Gender Policies ....................................................................................... 35 Teaching Soviet Ideas during the War .................................................................. 39 Postwar Soviet Mentorship ................................................................................... 45 Bitterness over the Soviet Women ........................................................................ 48 Chapter 2: Framing Gender Policies .................................................................... 52 War Experience: Reshaping the Political Sphere.................................................. 53 Politics Is for Men: The AFŽ Paradox .................................................................. 59 Abandoning Political Work – Creating the Socialist Household .......................... 67 Crafting Family and Reproductive Policies .......................................................... 71 Anxieties over Divorce ......................................................................................... 76 Legislation and Debates over Abortion ................................................................ 81 Chapter 3: ‘Equal but…’ – The Impact of Gender on Labour Policies ............ 87 New Opportunities for the Working-Class Women .............................................. 88 Male Working Class Resistance ........................................................................... 96 Impact of Economic Changes: The Road to Self-Management .......................... 103 Chapter 4: The Impact of Collectivisation on Yugoslav Gender Relations ..... 114 Policies Regarding Peasant Women.................................................................... 120 4 Problems in Strengthening Socialism in the Countryside ................................... 127 The Failure of Collectivisation and the Shift in Gender Politics ........................ 135 Chapter 5: The Veil Lifting Campaign ............................................................... 139 The Idea of ‘Backward’ Muslim Women ........................................................... 140 Models for Yugoslav Policies ............................................................................. 142 The Communist Party and the Islamic Community in Yugoslavia ..................... 147 Why Focus on Veils? .......................................................................................... 151 The Aggressive Veil Lifting Campaign .............................................................. 155 Resistance to Unveiling and the Aftermath ........................................................ 157 Chapter 6: Gender Policies towards Youth: From Stalinism to the Yugoslav Dilemma ....................................................................................................................... 162 High Stalinist Ideals: Gender Relations at Youth Work Actions ........................ 163 Silence over Sex .................................................................................................. 169 Young People’s Sexuality: Concerns .................................................................. 171 Defining Communist Morality ............................................................................ 182 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 191 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 198 Literature ............................................................................................................. 198 Primary Sources .................................................................................................. 208 5 Acknowledgments Many people have helped me with my work on this thesis. First, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Bojan Aleksov for patient reading, advice, and guidance during the course of my studies. His support has been immense and has made this whole PhD journey enjoyable. I would also like to thank Prof Susan Morrissey, who helped me with this project in its initial stages, and from whom I have learned a great deal about the early Soviet Union. I am very grateful to Vanja Spirić, Aleksandar Kostić, and my sister Marina Simić, for their support and comments. I have also received comments, ideas, and feedback from my Yale writing group (Shana Zaia, Elizabeth Lang and Daniel Schriever), who have also been very inspiring over the final months of dissertation writing. Mary Greenshields and Andrew Hodges have also patiently proofread my chapters. This research was conducted in several archives throughout the Balkans, in addition to libraries at UCL and Yale. I want to thank the archivists at the Archive of Yugoslavia, and Ivan Hofman amongst them, for helping me to locate very important sources about Yugoslav youth. I also wish to thank the Yale community of historians who supported me during my semester there, and to the numerous conference participants whose insightful questions guided this work. Finally, I want to thank the SSEES Foundation and the Frederick Bonnart-Braunthal trust for providing me with scholarships to cover the large tuition fees, and my living expenses in London. 6 Soviet Influences on Yugoslav Gender Policies, 1945-1955 When Ivka Dugorepac, a textile worker in Zagreb, tried to work on sixteen machines simultaneously, her actions were based on Soviet textile workers as role models. A comrade from her factory had just returned from the Soviet Union and told Ivka about Soviet workers’ efforts to work on ever more machines. Ivka wanted to follow their example, and with Soviet workers in mind, Ivka succeeded. She increased the factory’s production norms, invented new methods of work, and educated other workers. Ivka became a multiple shock-worker.1 Newspapers described her mastery over sixteen machines using military metaphors, describing it as a battle in which she had won a significant victory. Over a short period, an experienced textile worker from a poor family background became a Yugoslav heroine of labour, even receiving the most prestigious state medal for her work. She became a celebrity featuring in newspapers and magazines; the Party’s political organisations and Unions invited