livelihood were also stronger than in the ’80s. During the early
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’90s, earning a livelihood was a much more precarious task than it had been in the ’80s (Fischer et al. 1217). Piecemeal economic stabilisation followed only during the late ’90s, while the final resolution of the crisis came much later, in 2004, with Slovenia’s accession to the EU also a contributing factor. Inevitably culture was one area seriously affected by the crisis and changes. Although all post-communist countries were similarly affected by global transition processes, the case of Slovenia – which will be analysed in this article – is unique in several ways: 1) Ever since the 1950s, Yugoslavia had been politically and culturally open towards the Western countries; 2) The Soviet Union had no significant influence on Yugoslavia after the conflict with the Soviet Informbiro in 1948; 3) In Yugoslavia, culture was not federally regulated, and it developed autonomously within constituent republics, because of language 1 Attendance in 1947 was 450,000; attendance in 1991/92 was 322,000. The figures include professional drama, opera and ballet theatres, excluding youth, puppet and amateur theatres and performances produced by independent groups and cultural centres.
differences, among other factors; 4) In Slovenia, the political transition was carried out with the assistance of the communist party, which slowed down the transition process but maintained continuity; 5) The country’s small geographic size, two million population and
the traditional role of culture (that is, the nation-formative role) significantly influenced the shaping and operation of the cultural system in sovereign Slovenia.
The influence of economic recession on cultural institutions The Yugoslav crisis of the 1980s seriously affected the operation of cultural institutions. An overview of cultural indicators in Slovenia for the period 1985-2000 shows that during the years of the worst economic instability (1989-1992), attendance figures for professional theatres reached the lowest point since 1947 (Statistical Yearbook of RS 2007: Table 8.1). The number of performances, full-length movies and new books also decreased.1 What caused such changes in the operation of the cultural system? Longitudinal studies by American researchers showed that an economic crisis in itself has only a weak impact on theatre attendance (Baumol, Bowen 241-243, 291-302, 478-488; Frey,
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