Montenegro in administrative division

• In the territorial-administrative
division of the Yugoslav
kingdom, Montenegro was the
nucleus of the Zeta region and
from 1929 to 1941 the Zetska
banovina with its center in
Cetinje.
• The difficult economic and
social situation was important
issue throughout this period.
The most undeveloped part of the country
• In the period from 1918 to 1941
Montenegro was an agriculturally
underdeveloped region in which small
landownership was dominant.
• It was isolated by way of communication,
without connections to its hinterland,
and culturally backward with a high
percentage of the population being
illiterate.
• According to census data from 1921, the
agrarian population made-up 85.3% of
the overall population. In 1921, the
illiteracy rate in Montenegro was about
67%, while ten years later it was reduced
to 56.1%, of which 34.2% were male and
77.3% female.
 The most undeveloped part of the country
• Montenegro entered Yugoslavia as one of the least developed territories.
Industry was very weak, agriculture as well. The transport infrastructure
was weak, it was not connected to the rest of Yugoslavia at all.
• In the period from 1918 to 1941, 71 km of railway network was built in
Montenegro. In 1927, the Podgorica - Plavnica railroad was built with a
length of 20 kilometers.
• In 1938, the construction of the Bileća - Nikšić narrow gauge railway was
completed, leaving Montenegro peripherally connected to the railway
network of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• In the period 1918-1941. activity on the construction of the road
network has been intensified.
• About 600km of new roads have been built. The roads Andrijevica -
Peć, Murino - Gusinje, Pljevlja - Ribarevina, Berane - Bijelo Polje were
built.
• In 1931, Montenegro had 360,044 inhabitants registered inhabitants
somewhere around 2.5%.
• In education, 12 gymnasium worked and several schools were opened,
such as several teachers' schools, a trade school, a religious school and a
maritime school.
 Political life
• Political life in Montenegro between 1918
and 1941 was marked by the founding of
new political parties, harsh parliamentary
and extra-parliamentary clashes,
numerous victims of political conflicts, the
politicization of society and a social
rhetoric
• Several parties that have had the most
influence in Montenegro will also appear
on the political stage. These were Radical,
Democratic and Montenegrin (Federalist).
• Owing to the abuse of state authorities,
the ruling parties have always been
favored in the elections
 Representers in Parliament
• In the Yugoslav Assembly, which numbered
anywhere from 419 to 319
representatives, Montenegrin MPs, even if
they had all been from the same party,
made up such a minority that they had no
influence whatsoever on the decision –
making process.
• The fact that in 39 Yugoslav governments
in the period between the two World
Wars, in which there were altogether 819
ministerial portfolios, only five were
ministers from Montenegro, who had been
active for less than an average mandate of
a government, is fairly indicative. Jovan Tomašević, Leader of Communists
 Election in Montenegro
• In the period before the introduction of dictatorship in
1929, four parliamentary elections were held in the
Yugoslav state (1920, 1923, 1925, 1927).
• The general characteristic of parliamentary life in the
electoral district of Montenegro before the
dictatorship of 6 January was that the parties in power
(the Radicals and Democrats, in coalition or
separately) could never gain a majority.
• The introduction of dictatorship did not meet with
resistance either in Montenegro or in other parts of
Yugoslavia. The first to feel the repression of the
dictatorship were the Communists.
• Some 100 members and sympathizers of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ) were arrested in
Montenegro, including some high-ranking party
officials. They were convicted and handed down long-
term sentences, while others immigrated to the Soviet
Union.
 Elections in Montenegro
• The three most influential
opposition groups (Democrats,
Farmers and Federalists) renewed
their political activities on the eve
of the May 1935 elections.
• From 1933 onwards the
Communist Party advocated
cooperation with other
opposition parties but as yet still
lacked the influence to make
itself politically effective. Marko Daković, Minister from Montenegro
 Communists
• In order to appease political passions, King
Alexander introduced a dictatorship in 1929.
• The work of political parties was banned and the
country was renamed the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia.
• The assassination of King Alexander in 1934 in
Marseille would further aggravate national
problems in the Kingdom.
• Although the work of political parties was
restored, the government continued its
repression.
• The Communists were particularly at stake. That
is why there are major protests in Montenegro,
such as the one in Belvedere (Cetinje) in 1936
and in Nikšić and Podgorica in 1938.