Page 225 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Yugoslav-Soviet Union relations from the 1950s to 1970s …
In this study, we will first examine in greater detail the context of
SAKOJ’s and UKS’s activities, and then, based on specific examples, illus-
trate how intercultural cooperation between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Un-
ion functioned. We will also aim to highlight the key problematic aspects
of these relations, specifically through examples of music cooperation, ex-
change, and cultural transfer from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Sources and Methodological Approach
Our research began with an examination of archival sources from the Ar-
chives of Yugoslavia, primarily correspondence from the Federal Commit-
tee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (1953–1971), the archive
of the Agency for Business Registers, as well as periodicals, memoirs, and
internal documentation of institutions, which are dispersed across multi-
ple locations and chronologically inconsistent. We need to emphasize that
SAKOJ organized its Congress annually, mostly on the Adriatic coast, but
also having meetings on occasions such as the Composers’ Forum in Opati-
ja and others, where they discussed activities and international coopera-
tions thoroughly. UKS also had annual assemblies as a central activity. Still,
opinions of its members were not fully reported in public, and stenographic
notes and official records from their meetings were not preserved for every
year of their existence.
After a decade and a half of existence, SAKOJ launched its Bulletin
(Bilten saveza kompozitora Jugoslavije) in 1964, motivated by “the need for
mutual knowledge and cooperation.” Its purpose was to “inform the mem-
bers of the republican associations of composers about the most important
events for Yugoslav musical creativity,” while also aiming to contribute to in-
terpersonal acquaintance with music creators, as well as greater connection
and inform-relations between republican music centers and professional
6
music associations. The bulletin was intended for all institutions that co-
operate or have occasional contacts with the Alliance, embassies of the SFR,
as an overview of events, and journalists as a basic source of information
7
about the Union. However, although very important for the research of
SAKOJ activities and history, the Bulletin was not published regularly. Af-
ter the first issue, there was a break until 1971. Then, it was published from
1975, from 1978–1985, and from 1987 to 1992. The only valuable source for re-
search on this topic is a monographic volume published in 1970, dedicated

6 Bilten saveza kompozitora Jugoslavije, no. 1 (January 1964): 1.
7 Ibid.

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