Behind The Curtain: Private Photos Of Yugoslavia's Tito
Fascinating photographs from a Belgrade archive, some published here for the first time, show the authoritarian ruler of Yugoslavia relaxing between official engagements on the hunting grounds and dance floors of the Balkans.
Josep "Tito" Broz smokes a pipe as party guests sing during a massive gathering in Belgrade in 1960.
Tito lights his cigar from a smoldering stick from a bonfire during a gathering of foreign diplomats in Karadjordjevo, a village near Novi Sad in present-day Serbia.
Tito (right) tracks a pheasant he had just blasted at with a shotgun during a hunting trip in Karadjordjevo in 1960.
These are some of the thousands of images in the Archives Of Yugoslavia capturing moments between formal engagements of Josep Broz Tito, the ethnic Slovene-Croat who ruled over Yugoslavia from the final days of World War II until his death in 1980.
The photos were released to RFE/RL by the Archives Of Yugoslavia. Some of the images come without dates or a location but most were shot in the 1960s and 1970s in today's Serbia.
Tito reviews a lineup of freshly killed pheasants during a hunting trip to Karadjordjevo in November 1961.
Many of Tito's informal contacts with diplomatic missions took place during hunting trips to Karadjordjevo, a picturesque village known for its hunting and equestrian traditions. Photos from the expeditions show diplomats who were usually only seen in stiffly formal portraits wandering the hunting grounds with shotguns and rubber boots.
Fadil Hodza, who headed the government of Kosovo, an autonomous province of Yugoslavia, shows off a freshly shot hare in Karadjordjevo.
An unnamed North Korean ambassador to Yugoslavia (left) poses with a hunting companion in Karadjordjevo.
O.H. Osman, the Sudanese ambassador to Yugoslavia, scans the sky for game as he reloads his shotgun in Karadjordjevo.
"Mrs. Pusanov," the wife of Soviet Ambassador Aleksandr Pusanov, shows off a freshly killed fox "that she thinks may be good for a fur scarf" in Karadjordjevo.
The Karadjordjevo hunting expeditions were massive affairs involving the senior diplomatic corps stationed in Belgrade boarding a special train for the countryside before being taken to the hunting grounds in horse-drawn carriages.
Tito caught in a snowstorm at Karadjordjevo. One of the carriages that transported diplomats to the shooting grounds is visible at right.
Tito with wild boars that had just been hunted at Karadjordjevo
The Yugoslavian delegation instructed participants to hunt mostly "pheasants and rabbits, while the hunting of deer, does, and roebucks is prohibited." The hosts also requested that everyone bring their own rifles and ammunition.
Pit masters turn unidentified animal carcasses ahead of a feast at Karadjordjevo in December 1977.
As well as images of Tito's hunting trips, the Belgrade archive also contains thousands of pictures of the Yugoslavian ruler throwing spectacular parties.
A car apparently carrying Tito arrives at a ball in Belgrade in 1960.
Tito dances with his wife, Jovanka Broz, in Belgrade in 1960.
Singer Zdravo Colic performs for Tito with the Lokice dance group at an unnamed location.
Tito photographs the dance floor at a party in the 1970s.
Tito and companions, including his wife Jovanka, roar with laughter during a speech at a dinner party.
Tito and his wife make an appearance in a theater in the 1960s.
Tito chats with the manager of Yugoslavia's National Theater and an actor in stage makeup in 1968.
Tito sights a hunting rifle that was given to him by a delegation from Bugojno, in today's Bosnia-Herzegovina, in April 1978.
A portrait of Tito is displayed along with flags flown at half-mast in Sarajevo in May 1980.
Tito died on May 4, 1980, of complications from gangrene and was interred in a mausoleum in Belgrade dubbed the "House of Flowers." Jovanka Broz died in 2013 and was lain to rest alongside her husband in the Belgrade mausoleum.
