Milovan Đilas

1911–1995

1 standalone book

Milovan Djilas (1911–1995) was a Yugoslav politician, theorist, and author. Born in Polja, Montenegro, he studied law at the University of Belgrade, where he adopted Marxism. He became a close associate of Josip Broz Tito and was a member of the Yugoslav Communist Party's Politburo by 1940. Djilas fought with Tito's partisans during World War II and held high government positions after the war. He supported Tito's 1948 break from the USSR. By 1953, he was vice president under Tito and seen as a potential successor. His criticism of Communist rule led to his expulsion from the party in 1954 and imprisonment in 1956. His 1957 book The New Class, an exposé of the Communist elite, resulted in an extended sentence. Conversations with Stalin (1962) added four more years in prison. He was released in 1966 and continued writing. His other works include Land Without Justice (1958) and Rise and Fall (1983), a memoir of his political career. The New Class was published in Yugoslavia in 1990.

Born

1911