[tlogan]

The point here is that in the former Yugoslavia, there was essentially a ban on almost everything, pushing a significant part of the economy into the grey or black market. These bans often felt like the odd attempts of a dysfunctional and decaying system to maintain control. For instance, it was technically illegal to buy foreign currency, yet all valuable assets—like land and houses—were still priced in Deutsche Marks (DMs).

Adding to the irony, nearly a million Yugoslavs worked in Germany as “Gastarbeiter” (guest workers). They acted as unofficial import channels, bringing foreign goods and currency back home.

Interestingly, despite the “restrictions”, there was a vibrant tech scene. Commodore and ZX Spectrum computers were surprisingly common. If I remember correctly, Galaksija actually looked like attempt by government to maintain control - I could be wrong (war might change perspective).

[grujicd]

Galaksija was purely enthusiasm of one man (Voja Antonić), with support from Dejan Ristanović and crew gathered around Računari u vašoj kući magazine, who published Galaksija bluprints and instructions, and provided logistic help with boards and parts. It was not in any form government project. If anything, it was intended to fly under the radar. At that time in Yugoslavia, enthusiastic people doing progressive things were more concerned about how to make something work without the government noticing and meddling too much. There were several factory made home computers afterwards in Yugoslavia, and for them we can discuss whether they were encouraged by the government to keep things under control and locally produced, but it should not apply to Galaksija.