Yugoslavia on the brink of break-up: was it possible to avoid the war?

Abstract

The article is devoted to the times when the foreign policy of the USSR in relation to socialist countries changed, and the “Gorbachev Doctrine” appeared in perestroika. M. S. Gorbachev was actively engaged in foreign policy issues, lying his particular attention to Europe. The author tries to fi nd an answer to the question: to what extent was he interested in the Balkans? To answer this question, the author refers to one of the signifi cant events of that time - M. S. Gorbachev's visit to Yugoslavia in 1988. It was then when the foundations of the country's Balkan policy were laid, which manifested itself in the 1990s. The visit gave Mikhail Gorbachev an opportunity to get to know Yugoslavia better, to get a better idea of the life of the peoples of this country, to feel the love of the Yugoslavs for Russia and the Russian people. As Gorbachev's close party comrades supposed, it was during the years of perestroika that a full understanding was reached between the leadership of the USSR and Yugoslavia. The contents of the conversations, and the fi nal documents gave the Yugoslav side the assurance that mutual understanding reached will in case of possible difficulties allow it to be provided with Soviet help and support. It is this kind of assistance that Yugoslavia would need in two years, when the country began to fall apart, when Slovenia and Croatia decided to leave the Federation on their own and received full support from Germany and the United States. But Moscow refused to help.