During Stalin's rule, Yugoslavia was one of several satellite states under the control of the Soviet Union. The most important factors moving Yugoslavia away from Soviet control were Yugoslav revolutionary leader Josip Tito. He managed to liberate Yugoslavia from Soviet control through 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 brought him international recognition, but also united all of Yugoslavia's ethnic states 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 orientation and his refusal to accept Moscow as the supreme communist authority. Seeing that Yugoslavia could not be liberated from Soviet rule through diplomatic means, Tito sought a more revolutionary approach and moved towards a more independent path. Of course, tensions would begin to rise after several unauthorized events instigated by Tito, which would attract Stalin's attention. Several interesting approaches by which Tito began Yugoslavia's independent course were the deployment of his troops between several Eastern European countries and his refusal to attend several important Soviet political meetings. A particular approach was Tito's deployment of troops to Albania to prevent the civil war in Greece from spreading to neighboring countries (including Yugoslavia), carried out without consulting the Soviets, and which greatly angered Stalin. Stalin was also furious with Tito's aspirations to merge Yugoslavia with Bulgaria...... middle of paper ... a peasant, Tito became a revolutionary leader, one who was the leader who reshaped a nation and made it freed from Soviet control. Works Cited Anderson, H. Raymond. A giant among communists ruled like a monarch. New York: New York Times, 1980. WebBanać, Ivo. With Stalin against Tito The communist splits in Yugoslav communism. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1988. Print. Barnett, Neil. Tito. London: Haus, 2006. Print. Beloff, Nora. Tito's Imperfect Legacy: Yugoslavia and the West since 1939. Boulder, CO: West View, 1985. Print.Lees, Lorraine M. Keeping Tito afloat: The United States, Yugoslavia, and the Cold War.University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State UP, 1997. Print.Pavlowitch, Stevan K. Tito: The Great Dictator of Yugoslavia: A Reappraisal. London: C. Hurst, 1992. Print. West, Richard. Tito and the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. London: Faber, 2009. Print.