Organization of Yugoslav Nationalists

The Organisation of Yugoslav Nationalists (Croatian: Organizacija jugoslavenskih nacionalista, Serbian: Организација југословенских националиста), acronymised as ORJUNA or Orjuna, was a proto-fascist, anti-communist, terrorist, and Yugoslavist nationalist organisation established in 1921 in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Initially named the Yugoslav Progressive Nationalist Youth, it was founded on the initiative of the Democratic Party for extralegal suppression of political enemies—communists, political parties deemed separatist, proponents of a federal Yugoslavia, and ethnic minorities considered enemies of the state. Those included the Communist Party of Yugoslavia; the Croatian Peasant Party-dominated Croatian Bloc, the Slovene People's Party, the Džemijet, and the Yugoslav Muslim Organization, as well as minorities suspected to be enemies of the state, namely the Hungarians, the Volksdeutsche, and the Jews.

When founded, the organisation received political support from the government, especially the Democratic Party faction loyal to Svetozar Pribićević, and funding from the government budget. In 1925, at the peak of its power, ORJUNA had more than 300 local chapters organised in seven districts nationwide. Up to 40,000 members, including 10,000 belonging to its paramilitary wing, the Action Groups. Organisationally, they resembled the Italian fascist Blackshirts. ORJUNA glorified and used violence to achieve its objectives. The organisation rejected parliamentarism in favour of a dictatorship.

ORJUNA's activities led to the establishment of rival organisations. In 1922, the Party of Rights established the Croatian National Youth (HANAO), and the People's Radical Party founded the Serbian National Youth (SRNAO)—the former ostensibly to hold ORJUNA's actions in check, and the latter based on the belief that ORJUNA was inadequate for full realisation of Serbian interests. The situation produced frequent, often armed, clashes with HANAO, SRNAO, and communists.

After Pribićević split from the Democratic Party and moved to the opposition, ORJUNA gradually weakened. The leadership became divided in 1928 when Split district leaders and Pribićević accused the ORJUNA organisations in Vojvodina and Serbia of espousing the Greater Serbian agenda. The organisation was disbanded when the royal dictatorship took power in 1929.