During Stalin's reign, Yugoslavia was one of many satellite states under the control of the Soviet Union. The most important factor that brought Yugoslavia out of Soviet control was the Yugoslav revolutionary leader Josip Tito. He managed to liberate Yugoslavia from Soviet control thanks to his reputation as a great military leader during World War II, his revolutionary approach against the Soviets and his uneasy alliance with the Western world, while maintaining a communist ideology. Tito's leading role in the liberation of Yugoslavia not only earned him international recognition, but also united all ethnic states of Yugoslavia into one. The friction that led to the final split of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union had many causes, many of which can ultimately be linked to Tito's regional focus and his refusal to accept Moscow as the supreme communist authority. Seeing that Yugoslavia could not be freed from Soviet rule through diplomatic means, Tito sought a more revolutionary approach and took a more independent path. Naturally, tensions would begin to rise after several unauthorized events caused by Tito, which would attract Stalin's attention. Several interesting approaches with which Tito began to initiate Yugoslavia's independent course were the deployment of his troops in several Eastern European countries and his refusal to participate in several important Soviet political meetings. A particular approach was Tito's deployment of troops in Albania to prevent the civil conflict in Greece from spreading to neighboring countries (including Yugoslavia), implemented without consulting the Soviets and which had greatly angered Stalin. Stalin was also enraged by Tito's aspirations to merge Yugoslavia with Bulgaria... middle of paper... peasant, Tito emerged as a revolutionary leader, one who reshaped a nation and freed it from Soviet control . Works Cited Anderson, H. Raymond. The giant among the communists ruled like a monarch. NewYork: New York Times, 1980. WebBanać, Ivo. With Stalin against Tito Cominformist splits in Yugoslavian communism. Ithaca:Cornell UP, 1988. Print.Barnett, Neil. Tito. London: Haus, 2006. Print.Beloff, Nora. Tito's flawed legacy: Yugoslavia and the West since 1939. Boulder, CO: Western View, 1985. Print.Lees, Lorraine M. Keeping Tito Afloat: The United States, Yugoslavia, and the Cold War.University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State UP, 1997. Print.Pavlowitch, Stevan K. Tito: The Great Dictator of Yugoslavia: A Reassessment. London: C. Hurst, 1992. Print.West, Richard. Tito and the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. London: Faber, 2009. Print.