Original scientific paper
Multiple Grounds for the Assassination of the Croatian Peasant Party Leader Stjepan Radić in 1928 (Marking the 90th Anniversary of the Assassination in the National Assembly in Belgrade)
Mira Kolar-Dimitrijević
orcid.org/0000-0002-6050-5700
; Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Zagreb
Abstract
The widespread view in Croatian historiography is that the assassination in the National Assembly that took place on 20 June 2018 was motivated by nationalism, i.e. that it came about due to the request of the Croatian deputies for Croatia to be treated as a single unit, that is to respect the vested right of Croatia to autonomy. Many politicians and historians wrote about the death of Stjepan Radić and the events that unfolded as a consequence of the assassination in the National Assembly, most of which emphasized the ethnic character of that conflict, but an analysis of events shows that the cause of the conflict between Serbian nationals and the Peasant-Democratic Coalition deputies was multifaceted, with economic grounds having a prominent place.
It is worth noting that the harshest conflict in the Assembly was over Glavnjača and economic/financial issues. The Radicals wanted to reap the benefits of sending food into impoverished parts of the country because they already owned large swaths of land, but Radić believed Croatian regions should also take part in that state-funded operation. His idea was supported by Svetozar Pribićević, while the text of the Nettuno Conventions further exacerbated the conflicts in the Assembly. His efforts in the field of nutrition did not begin just before he passed away. He was supposed to become the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, which included food-related issues, as early as November 1918, but his appointment fell through due to him promoting republicanism and the opposition of Pribićević. Radić and Pribićević operated in unison during 1928, which represented a massive improvement. It is a shame that the assassination severed this connection and worsened the relations between Croatians and Serbs.
Stjepan Radić died on 8 August 1928, which was a consequence of the gunshot wound inflicted during the session of the National Assembly held in Belgrade on 20 June. Dr Đuro Basariček died in the Assembly, Pavao Radić was mortally wounded and died shortly after being hospitalized, while three CPP deputies suffered gunshot wounds (Ivan Granđa and Ivan Pernar, as well as S. Radić).
Keywords
Stjepan Radić; Svetozar Pribićević; assassination in the National Assembly in 1928; Croatian Peasant Party; Križevci
Hrčak ID:
216396
URI
Publication date:
27.12.2018.
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