Kumrovec

As buses started to arrive just before the start of the official programme, the old Yugoslav Partisan song 'Fall, Oh Force and Injustice' could be heard coming from the speakers.

People gathered in the Serbian capital Belgrade and the Croatian village of Kumrovec to mark the Socialist-era 'Youth Day', when showpiece events used to be held all across the former Yugoslavia and its leader Josip Broz Tito's birthday was also celebrated.

Across the territory that was once ruled as a unitary state by Josip Broz Tito, small groups of people who still maintain affection for the Yugoslav Communist ruler gathered on Tuesday to mark the 41st anniversary of his death.

Josip Broz Tito, as President of Yugoslavia, first of all, built his reputation with the people of Yugoslavia. For years, a cult of leader was developed, so the marshal's photographs hung above school boards, but also in the homes of many Yugoslavs - from Vardar to Triglav. He remained remembered for his turbulent political and private life.

"The story, first and foremost, is told by women," declared Croatian dramatist Jelena Kovacic as she outlined the themes of the play 'The Hotel Tito', which opened earlier this month at Zagreb's Gavella Drama Theatre.

The modernist building is appreciated by many architects and lovers of brutalism, but it is now surrounded by unkept grass, with broken windows and a damaged roof, while its once impressive interior is full of dust, dirt and rubbish. Grass is even growing inside the building.

People from all over the former Yugoslavia gathered in the Croatian village of Kumrovec, the birthplace of the leader of socialist Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, to celebrate his birthday.