He was the chief architect of the “second” Yugoslavia that lasted from 1943 until 1991. Tito is best known for organizing the anti-fascist resistance movement Yugoslav Partisans, defying Soviet influence (Titoism), and founding and promoting the Non-Aligned Movement worldwide. He broke with the Soviet Union in 1948 and enjoyed good relations with the Western powers, who sold him arms to defend Yugoslavia from possible attack from the USSR. Tito was able to build one of the largest armies in Europe. During his long rule, the provinces of Yugoslavia were treated equitably and regionalism was discouraged although cultural identity could be freely expressed. The particular brand of communism that Tito espoused was known as ‘market socialism’, with workers rather than the state owning the means of production while the market is allowed to determine production and pricing. Yugoslavia was economically better off than most other Communist states. Following his death, however, Yugoslavia only survived as a federation for a decade before its republics declared independence and war around territorial claims especially involving Croatian and Serbian claims on Bosnia quickly followed.
