Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Janša remains the chairman of the Slovenian Democratic Party, and a large number of officers in the military remain loyal to him. The contrast between the deteriorating economic situation, the European Community's reluctance to annex Slovenia, the suffocating effect of the encroachment of neighboring former Yugoslavian states, and the perceived incompetence of Dernovšek's center-left government...

These useless bunch of people can't save the economy themselves, and they can't even reach an agreement to join the European Community or NATO. They might as well set things right!

"We shed blood when we gained independence, and now these civil servants and politicians are bankrupting the country we won with our blood!"

With Soviet support, Jansha orchestrated a military coup.

If it were a military coup like those in Latin America, with rebels and government forces exchanging fire, tanks and armed helicopters taking to the streets, and television stations being occupied, then Slovenia's actions could have been showcased on the international stage. However, Slovenia only has a little over 1 troops nationwide, and the lack of soldiers and equipment makes this coup seem more like a semi-legal political intervention.

Early one Tuesday morning, a group of men in military uniforms walked into the prime minister's office and told him, "Your duties are over."

Prime Minister Milan Couchan was asked to rest at a military facility, and parliament was suspended. The military subsequently issued a brief statement:

"Given the current regional security situation and domestic economic challenges, the Slovenian Armed Forces have decided to temporarily assume national administrative functions in order to maintain national stability and the safety of its citizens."

Janissary, who was "smoothly" elected prime minister as the leader of the coup, said at his first press conference after the coup:

“Politicians are talking about joining NATO, but what are the conditions for joining NATO? It’s handing our troops over to Washington, allowing the United States to build bases on our territory, and completely breaking with Moscow—our largest energy supplier.”

"Politicians are talking about joining the European Community, but what are the conditions for joining? Is it opening our markets to German and Italian companies to compete? What about our own companies?"

"I am not against the West, nor am I against the East. What I oppose is binding Slovenia to any war machine."

Janša announced that Slovenia would suspend its application process to join NATO and the European Community, and that Slovenia would pursue a policy of "active neutrality" and not join any military bloc.

And that was it. Washington considered Greece more important than this tiny country. Slovenia is about the size of New Jersey, and its GDP is about one-fifth of Greece's. Slovenia is ranked very low on the Pentagon's priority list.

Gephardt discussed the Slovenian issue with the National Security Advisor. About fifteen minutes later, the State Department concluded by issuing a statement condemning the coup, calling for the restoration of democratic order, and freezing military aid to Slovenia (which was already minimal).

Moscow followed suit and extended an olive branch to Slovenia. Slava did not intend to bring Slovenia into the Warsaw Pact—Slovenia was too small and would have little strategic value if brought in; on the contrary, it would provoke Italy and Austria, since they border Slovenia.

It would be better to turn Slovenia into a gray area that is nominally neutral but actually dependent on the Soviet Union, belonging neither to NATO nor the Warsaw Pact.

Just like Finland, the Soviet Union also had its own Hong Kong. During the Cold War, Finland was nominally neutral but heavily dependent on the Soviet Union for economic and security reasons. The Soviet Union purchased embargoed goods from the West through Finland.

The West has given this state a name: "Finnishization".

As a consequence of its Finnishization, Slovenia relied on the Soviet Union for cheap energy, becoming heavily dependent on imports. Before independence, this energy was supplied from the Soviet Union via Yugoslavia's pipeline system; after independence, who took over its supply?

The Soviet Union then agreed to reopen Croatia's transport pipelines to Slovenia, allowing them to purchase energy at relatively low prices.

Secondly, there's trade. After losing its internal market in Yugoslavia, Slovenia needed new export destinations. Western markets were too competitive, and Slovenian products couldn't compete with German and Italian quality. However, the Warsaw Pact market had a demand for Slovenian machinery, electronics, and food.

The Soviet Union replaced Yugoslavia and gave Slovenia a relatively favorable trade framework, reducing tariffs and guaranteeing purchase volumes so that Slovenian factories could keep working.

As for who the exports went to? They went to Croatia and other members of the Yugoslav Federation.

After going around in circles, it seems like it would have been better not to be independent at all.

Fearing retaliation from the United States after dealing with Greece, Jansha offered to hand over defense contracts to the Soviet Union, allowing Slovenia to purchase all Soviet-made equipment and establish Soviet-affiliated banks there. He reasoned that when the Soviet Union used these neutral countries as fronts to rob some unfortunate victim, it could leave Slovenia a piece of the pie.

Slava readily agreed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The story of Slovenia barely made the international news in 1995.

Amidst major events such as the million-person march in Greece, the rise of the Italian Communist Party to become the largest opposition party in France, the escalating crisis across the Taiwan Strait, and the convening of the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, who cares about the fate of a bizarre little country with two million people?

Perhaps after the Cold War ends, many history enthusiasts will look back to find the stories of small countries struggling to survive in the shadow of superpowers and listen to the voices of the people who lived in that era.

Some might laugh at the bizarre policies implemented by the leader of a small country, but for these tiny nations caught between larger powers—

In this life, we are often not in control of our own destiny.

The Iron Curtain, which fell half a century ago, has not yet dissipated. One small country after another has been shattered and battered before this Iron Curtain. They are not chess players, but rather expendable objects sent to the table. Those who perform well can gain the favor of the chess players, while those who perform poorly will be abandoned.

Slovenia was thus placed on the chessboard as an insignificant piece in a corner that no one really paid much attention to.

No one sheds tears for it, no one fights for it, and no one argues about it for more than 10 minutes in a conference room in Moscow or Washington!

But one day their story will be told, and that will be the story of millions of working people.

Now, the world’s attention is focused on Moscow, thousands of kilometers away, awaiting the strategy to be adopted by the Soviet Union, the leader of the communist world, at its 28th Party Congress.