424 The Later Years
that of Stalin, but also that of King Aleksandar Karadjordjević. She came to
work in uniform, heavy boots and with a cap on her head, à la Tito.^172
Jovanka had allegedly been chosen for this job by Ranković himself, hoping
that “nature would take its course.”^173 It is more probable, however, that she was
included in Tito’s entourage by the NKVD collaborator, Ivan Krajačić (Stevo),
who was interested in strengthening his influence at court and was convinced
that he could easily manipulate this ignorant young woman. Josip Kopinič, a
former Comintern agent in Zagreb, confided later to Vladimir Dedijer that
Jovanka was sent to a “cadre” school in Moscow in mid-1945 founded by Lenin’s
spymaster, Feliks E. Dzerzhinskii, where Soviet and satellite secret agents were
trained. “When she turned, Stevo put her in Tito’s house,” probably obeying his
Russian superiors, who wanted to have trusted people near the marshal.^174
(Both Jovanka and Krajačić denied this assertion.)
With flowing, silky black hair and a pale complexion, Jovanka was strikingly
beautiful. She was devoid of coquetry, but not without a reserved femininity,
which Djilas said called to mind nuns or unmarried peasants. The tight uni-
form highlighted her charms and the slenderness of her young body. She had
a gentle face and big brown eyes that reflected patience, respect, and dedication.
The only small imperfection was her querulous voice, which at the time was
not a grave defect since she spoke little. She was only twenty-three, whereas
Tito was fifty-five. His comrades were quickly aware that the two had estab-
lished an intimate relationship and were not at all scandalized. “Why not?” said
Koča Popović. “It is perfectly natural.”^175 As Gustav Vlahov, Tito’s secretary,
related: “Once, when we were in the big hall near the piano, Jovanka Budisav-
ljević ascended the stairs to the first floor to check if everything was alright
there. Tito looked at me, commenting: ‘Jovanka is a really cool girl.’ It was a
signal to me that he was attracted to her.”^176
Their relationship, which for a time they tried to hide, got off on the wrong
foot. For six years, Jovanka’s role at Tito’s side was not clear to his entourage
as she was both part of the staff and his lover. She had practically no private
life, so during important meetings she remained waiting in the anteroom with
the bodyguards until Tito appeared. She had an extremely deferential attitude
toward members of the Politburo, almost not daring to say a word.^177 This was
a situation that exposed her to humiliations and all kinds of harassment, to the
point of being obliged to taste the food that she herself had prepared for the
marshal to make sure it was not poisoned. In love as she was with her hero, she
bore all this willingly. She saw Tito as an idol and he was just as captivated by
her. When she went to the Golnik Sanatorium because of a pulmonary infection
for a period during 1946 and 1947, he sent her red roses and love letters daily. It is
not clear why he decided to marry her after more than five years of cohabitation,