The town and municipality of Koprivnica did not actively participate in the reformist movement of the Croatian Spring until April 1971. The local Communist Party organisation leadership were toeing the rigid dogmatic Party line, exercising complete control over the local weekly Glas Podravine and Radio Koprivnica. This partly changed with the visit of Savka Dab?evi?-Ku?ar to the the Podravka factory resulting in a telegram of support sent to the Croatian Spring leadership. These events coincided with the launch of the youth paper Susreti (Meetings). Although only three issues were printed, Susreti caused a stir in the Koprivnica public life by opening a number of political and social topics and ideological taboos, at times in direct conflict with the Party officials. Due to a turn of political events, Koprivnica was in September 1971 chosen as the central destination of President Titos tour of north-western Croatia, with the purpose of demonstrating that there was no nationalism and chauvinism in this area. The minutely organised event drew mass attendance, which for a time changed Titos view of the Croatian Spring activists. Still, just a few weeks later Koprivnica saw an open suppression of Susreti contributors, who ended up banished from the public life for a considerable length of time. At the meeting of the federal Party senior leadership held in Kara?or?evo, the most influential local Party functionary Pavle Gai eventually turned against the Croatian Spring activists, leading to a political and media upheaval in Koprivnica, which during the next few years lived through its Years of Led.
Izvorni znanstveni rad / Original scientific papereljko KRUELJ