Stalin was initially cool – thinking that, as in all the other Eastern European countries the Red Army had campaigned against the Nazis, all military forces would come under the Red Army command.
Tito, the leader of the largest Partizan movement in Europe, did not agree. By the time an official account of the meetingwas released on 28 September, it stated that the Yugoslavs agreed to the “…temporary entry of Soviet troops onto Yugoslav territory,” and further went on to state that they would leave the Yugoslav borders once the “operational task” was completed, which was later spelled out as the liberation of the capital. Further, not only was Tito to retain command of the Partizans, Yugoslavia itself would retain control of civil affairs even after the Red Army entered Yugoslav territory.
The Red Army and the Yugoslav Partizans after victory in Belgrade.
They were concessions no other nation was able to wring from the leader of international communism, and Stalin was less than amused.
The agreement worked, however. Once Belgrade was liberated, the majority of Soviet military might in Yugoslavia was redeployed to places where they were needed more, leaving Tito with Soviet advisors to mop up the final Axis resistance and begin to rebuild the shattered Balkans.
The Albanian Palace was a popular spot for victorious troops to photograph. In Partizan photos the Yugoslav flag is prominent.In photos of the Soviet soldiers, the Yugoslav flag was not present on the same Albanian Palace building.