Anarchism in Croatia first emerged in the late 19th century within the socialist workers' movement. Anarchist tendencies subsequently spread from neighboring countries, taking root in a number of cities throughout the country. The movement experienced repression from a succession of authoritarian regimes before finally reemerging around the time of theindependence of Croatia.
In 1868, theCroatian–Hungarian Settlement brought theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia under the rule ofAustria-Hungary,[1] beginning a period of significant industrialization in the country, which saw the emergence of the first workers' associations in cities throughout Croatia. In 1869, the first strikes broke out inOsijek andRijeka and there were debates over the establishment of a Croatian branch of theInternational Workingmen's Association. Croatian workers eventually began to express their demands in the newWorkers' Friend newspaper, which was launched in 1874. Meanwhile, a split in the earlySocial Democratic Party led to the emergence of an anarchist faction, which extended its influence to Croatia.
In 1885, the Croatian worker Ignjat Graff was detained in Osijek and accused of anarchist agitation by the authorities, which seized several issues ofFreiheit from him.[2] In 1887, theRadnik newspaper began publication inDubrovnik. In 1890, workers in Zagreb celebratedMay Day for the first time. In 1894, the Hungarian anarchist Henrik Wieneke began to agitate in the city of Osijek, leading the mayor to express fear of "propaganda of the deed" and the administration ofKároly Khuen-Héderváry to warn of the spread of anarchist views among state officials and the home guard.
In 1898, a socialist newspaper began to be published inZadar and the Italian anarchist Attilio Pieroni moved toSplit. The same year, the musicologistFranjo Kuhač published a work titledAnarchy, in which he criticized the emergence ofArt Nouveau in Croatia. The authorities then began to point to the influences of Serbian anarchists in Osijek.
In 1900, the French anarchist Joseph Signac was expelled from Rijeka, while arrest warrants for Italian anarchists began to circulate Croatia, many wanted for their connections to the assassinations ofEmpress Elizabeth of Austria andUmberto I of Italy. In 1902, two Croatian anarchists were arrested and put on trial in Osijek and the authorities reported that anarchists were spreading throughout the area ofTrieste,Istria andRijeka. In 1903, several anarchists were arrested inPula and their illicit press was seized. The next year, fifteen anarchists led a protest through the city. In 1905, a general strike broke out in Osijek, becoming the first of its kind in Croatian history and eventually forcing the government to legalize trade unions. This strike inspired another inSlavonski Brod, whereMiloš Krpan propagatedanarcho-syndicalist ideas, even inviting Viennese anarchists to establish a commune near the city.[3]
In 1907, the Trieste anarchist newspaperGerminal described Split as a city revived by "a group of young rebels, freemen", while the city's police began mass arrests of anarchists. In 1909, the people of Split organized demonstrations against the murder ofFrancesc Ferrer. In 1912, an anarchist football club was founded in Split, who continue to exist under the nameRNK Split.[4]
Towards the end ofWorld War I in 1918, a wave of general strikes and the strengthening of theGreen Cadres led the authorities to begin writing about an environment of "general anarchy" in Croatia. In 1920, the government of the newKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes issued theObznana, which outlawed the activities of all socialist organizations.
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Following theMarch on Rome and the rise ofFascist Italy, repression intensified against anarchists.[5] The subsequent institution ofAlexander I'sroyal dictatorship, followed by the government of the fascistYugoslav Radical Union, led to the repression of anarchism inCroatia, as well as the nascent Croatian calls forfederalism inYugoslavia.[6] In the 1930s, a number of prominent Croatian anarchists, including Miloš Krpan and Stjepan Fabijanović died.
Individual anarchists continued to agitate in Croatia, with some becoming involved in theanti-fascist resistance movements during theSpanish Civil War (seeYugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War) andWorld War II in Yugoslavia, with anarchistpartisans being particularly prominent in the area ofRovinj.[7] However, the command of theLeague of Communists over the partisan movement, followed by its subsequent rise to power inYugoslavia and the constitution of theSocialist Republic of Croatia, led to the suppression of any remaining anarchist and left-communist tendencies.[5]
The newly established government of theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia began implementing a limited form of workers'socialist self-management, directed byworkers' councils. However, these were in practice still under the control of the state bureaucracy, which in some cases even introduced amarket economy. As unemployment continued to rise, people began to demand a more genuine form ofworkers' self-management, culminating in the1968 student demonstrations.[5]
Following thedeath ofJosip Broz Tito, a performative anarchist group formed in Zagreb during the 1980s. Initially nameless, it later changed its names several times, some of which included:Train Toilet Band,Svarun andAutonomija. This group mostly held limited performances and "empty demonstrations", in which members ridiculed politics by giving silent speeches and handing out black leaflets. The group eventually disbanded around the time of thebreakup of Yugoslavia.[8]
Following theindependence of Croatia, the Croatian anarchist movement began to slowly reconstitute itself. Anarchists began to participate in theanti-war movement against theCroatian War of Independence. The Zagreb Anarchist-Pacifist Movement (ZAPO) was formed spontaneously to agitate against the war, holding events throughout the 1990s, before eventually dissolving itself in 2001, once theYugoslav Wars had drawn to a close.[9] During the 1990s, anarchism was largely subcultural, with many anarchists forming connections with Croatian NGOs and participating in the opposition movement to the government ofFranjo Tuđman and theCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ).[5]Food Not Bombs collectives also began to emerge around this time, organizing the distribution of food in cities throughout Croatia.
On October 31, 1999, Anfema (Anarchofeminist Action) was created in Zagreb, intensifying the problematization of women's issues in the anarchist movement. Anfema began to create an alternative feminist scene, as group members had argued that in institutionalized feminist associations, too many relationships were still based on hierarchy and domination, only without men. In early 2000, they published the first issue of WOMB magazine. The main activities of the group were organizing workshops and informing citizens about the problems of women in society.[10]
At the turn of the 21st century, anarchist organizations built aroundclass struggle began to emerge, including the Zadar Anarchist Front (ZAF) and the Anarcho-Syndicalist Confederation (ASK), which were instrumental in re-introducinganarcho-syndicalist ideas to the country.[11] The ZAF began to translate anarchist texts intoCroatian and published their own magazineSolidarity and Freedom.[12] Around the same time, the Rijeka Anarchist Initiative was founded, as an interest group gathered around protests against the installation of radar inUčka, later taking part in other protests against NATO.[13] However, Croatian anarchist groups largely remained localized and disconnected during the early 2000s, and these organizations eventually fell apart.[5]
In February 2008, theNetwork of Anarcho-Syndicalists (MASA) was formed at a national meeting inZadar, holding their first congress inZagreb on April 12 of that same year, where it formally constituted its aims and structure. It was made up of local groups in Zagreb, Pula, Split, Rijeka and Zadar, with contacts in various other cities, and participated in a number of direct actions throughout Croatia.[11]
In 2009, MASA opened the Centre for Anarchist Studies,[11] a registered NGO formed with the intention of collecting and publishing anarchist literature, holding lectures and public discussions, and promoting the study of anarcho-syndicalist theory.[14]
Following a number of neoliberal reforms and with theCroatian entry into theEuropean Union on the horizon, popular discontent with the ruling HDZ government began to grow. This culminated on February 22, 2011, when protests broke out against the government,[15] calling for the resignation of the prime ministerJadranka Kosor and early elections.[16] By February 28, many of the protests had taken on a largely self-organized character, which led the Network of Anarcho-Syndicalists to begin participating in the protests, while also criticizing the inaction of mainstream trade unions and the potential of a new government under theSocial Democratic Party (SDP).[17] As the protests continued, MASA noted the emergence of libertarian principles among the protestors and denounced the leading opposition figuresIvan Pernar (ZZ) andDragutin Lesar (HLSR) for having promoted the continuation of capitalism.[18]
In 2013, the Rijeka branch of MASA left the organization to found the Network of Anarchists of Rijeka (MASA Rijeka).[19] In June 2014, MASA Rijeka became a full member of theFederation for Anarchist Organisation (FAO) at the organization's 6th Congress in Slovenia.[20][21] In January 2017, at a regular meeting of the FAO, the group confirmed its plans to expand theNetwork of Anarchists throughout the Croatian region, with operations planned inIstria andKvarner.[22]
