Part Two
Memorie.al / The CIA have declassified the intentions that the Soviet Union had for Albania during their cooperation in 1954. According to a declassified document, Moscow was aiming to strengthen Albania, due to its geographic position. It is further shown how Mehmet Shehu became prime minister by their order.
Continues from the previous issue
February 1950
Regulation
Individual farms with up to ten head of livestock or goats per hectare must deliver to the state 1.25 kg of wool, while those with 21 to 40 head must deliver an additional 0.7 kg more. Collective livestock farms must deliver to the state 0.4 kg of wool for each head of sheep or goat.
Urban residents who own five or fewer livestock are not obliged to deliver wool. The wool delivered according to the above quotas must be clean and cut from local livestock, dry and with no more than 3 percent foreign matters. Wool from dead or dirty livestock is not accepted.
Mandatory deliveries of wool quotas must be made by July 30, except in cases where individuals or farms have the October deadline. Farms that have no livestock may be allowed by the plenipotentiary to settle their obligations in other products according to this scale of comparison: 1 kg of wool equal to 5 kg of meat, four kilograms of poultry meat, 60 eggs, 800 grams of butter, 7 kg of beans, 1 kg of fat, 24 kg of grain, or 1 kg of olive oil.
Any person who does not fulfill his delivery quotas suffers immediate confiscations by the plenipotentiary. Those who refuse to make deliveries hide or destroy wool, are prosecuted for obstructing trade, speculation, espionage and sabotage. Farmers who own up to 40 head of cattle must deliver to the state 32 kg of meat for each hectare of land.
The Corn Plan
According to data from the agricultural committee, the corn collection plan throughout Albania has been realized at the level of 71.1 percent. Good results were achieved in the district of Gramsh, where the plan was realized at 94.6 percent, Pogradec 86.5 percent, in Peshkopi 88.3 percent and in Korçë 85.2 percent. In other areas the harvest campaign lagged behind with the organization of work. In Vlorë the plan was realized at only 48.3 percent, in Fier 53.5 percent, in Lushnjë 57 percent and in Tepelenë 64.6 percent. The final deadline for corn deliveries has already passed and the executive committees of the violating areas must take serious educational and organizational measures against the kulaks that obstruct the realization of the plan.
According to the decision of the council of ministers of December 31, 1949, after the realization of the agricultural delivery plan, the free sale of surpluses of rye, oats, barley and other secondary products is permitted in the districts of Burrel, Lushnjë, Elbasan, Berat, Pogradec and Tirana. The decision also permits the free sale of corn surpluses in the districts of Pukë and Burrel, after 100 percent realization of the delivery plan.
February 1954
Hotels and Inns
In Albania there are no hotels in private ownership or with private administration; they are all owned and administered by the state. The only luxury hotel in Albania is the Dajti hotel on “Shqipëria e re” Boulevard. It was built by the Italians in the years 1944-1945, while now it is used for the residence of foreign diplomatic missions or privileged Albanian citizens such as deputies, members of the party’s central committee, or directors of factories and institutions. The price for a room is 300 lekë per night. Tirana also has hotels where all citizens can stay, who can make the payment of 100 to 200 lekë per night.
The rooms have electricity and running water. In some hotels the rooms have private bathrooms. Besides about ten hotels, in Tirana there is also the Inn of the Association of Invalids, the profits of which go to the Association of Invalids. In the city of Durrës there are only three hotels: “Vollga”, Hotel “Adriatik” and “Shtëpia e Beqarit” where only officers of the armed forces could be accommodated and payments were deducted from their salaries. In Shkodër there are three hotels with electricity and running water, Hotel “Kafja e Madhe”, Hotel “Internacional”, Hotel “Ballkan”. In the city of Kukës there are two hotels known as “Hotel 1” and “Hotel 2”. And in other small cities of Albania the hotels bear numbers, not names.
Inns
Inns are the low-quality type of hotels and are usually located on the outskirts of large cities or in small centers and have neither electricity nor running water. In the surroundings of Tirana there are three-four inns, one in Kukës and three in Shkodër. Their rooms are lit with oil lamps and have basins for washing. They do not even have separate beds and people happen to sleep 10-15 people in one room. Each client receives only two blankets from the innkeeper, and sleeps on a straw mat. The price for one person is 50 lekë per night, while the same costs the sheltering of his transport or work animal.
Required Documentation
To be accommodated in a hotel, an identity card is needed. The hotel clerk records all the data and returns the identity card to its owner. Security officers may check the hotels during the night or even the clients’ rooms if there are suspicions of unmarried couples. According to hotel regulations, only married couples may stay in a hotel room and for this they must have with them the celebration document. If a person from Tirana goes for example to Kukës, he does not need to leave his identity card at the hotel.
In small towns there are no hotels or inns and an ordinary citizen can find accommodation only by knocking on the doors of houses and seeking hospitality. This way usually brings results in the north of Albania, where hospitality is given to anyone according to the rules of the Muslim faith, while in the south of Albania, the situation depends on the choice of each family.
Hotel Administration
State hotels are administered by the commercial enterprise of hotels and restaurants located near the former “Berlin” cafe on “Shqipëria e Re” Boulevard. It is assisted by the commercial enterprise of Clothing on “Rruga e Barrikadave” and by the enterprise of mixed articles, in the supplies of hotels and restaurants, as well as by the various cooperatives for food supplies.
August 20, 1954
Recruitment of Agents in Durrës and Bari
Our office has received information since spring that there has been an increase in military and political activity in Albania. The situation makes one believe that the Soviet Union may intend to use Albania’s geo-strategic position, more than was previously believed. Therefore we have concentrated our resources and personnel for obtaining additional information.
Reliable Information
During the months May-July 1954, we have been assured from sources and through observations that the activity of maritime traffic between the USSR and Albania has increased greatly. There has been an increase in materials transported toward Albania, confirmed by a recently created source. Cargo loads at the port of Durrës have increased and photographic evidence shows that work has begun on defense installations.
Three naval vessels have recently been spotted, one near Durrës and two in Vlorë, observed by Italian navy vessels and confirmed by our new source in Durrës. There has also been an increase in activity in Albanian skies, including daytime air exercises in Durrës. The strength of Soviet military personnel in Albania has increased to 400 people, while some Albanian military personnel have been sent for exercises and training at the Soviet base of Odessa.
Several air force officials have been sent for training in Sevastopol. Recently a broad reorganization of the Albanian armed forces has begun. A number of military personnel from East Germany have come to Albania by sea route from Gdynia. The presence of three Russian submarines in Albanian waters has been reported, while it is reported that soon the Soviet navy will transfer a warship, three corvettes and three smaller military boats, for the Albanian army.
Political Activity
Undoubtedly, Enver Hoxha has been replaced in the post of prime minister by Mehmet Shehu, by order of the Soviets. There have also been changes in other organs of the administration, increasing the means of control for the Soviets both at high and lower levels. Given this situation, one can reach the conclusions that the Soviet Union no longer considers Albania as a distant indefensible base, but on the contrary, it seems to be trying to strengthen Albania militarily and politically, to turn it into a usable point of the geographic area of a new Balkan alliance.
The signals indicate that the military use of Albania can only be made for offensive purposes, which contradicts the slow political and economic pace of the past, which made one believe that the Soviet strategy had only containment purposes. We recall that the information refers only to some areas of Albania, and for certain time periods. But it is logical to assume that the increase of the above activity may extend to all areas of Albania.
Monitoring and Recruitment
Our operations in Albania are currently in slow phases, focusing on maintaining the service of couriers with naval vessels, monitoring of Italian vessels that pass through the port of Durrës. This is carried out through contacts with the owners and captains of the vessels, reaching 54 days of monitoring, in a 90-day period.
We have also penetrated into the maritime sector in Bari, which has contacts with Albania. Seeing the growth of Russian interest in Albania, it is proposed to intensify our efforts in that country, starting with the increase of personnel to spread the risk over the observers and monitors of the vessels.
It is recommended to recruit at least four people trained as machinists and radio operators, to operate from the boats that stop in Albanian ports. Steps must be taken to increase contacts with the owners of the boats used and the offering of forms of compensation for the owners, in exchange for the risk involved, since until now we have offered them fuel from the supply points. It is suggested that a boat controlled by the service, with special installations and a selected crew, work against Albania in Vlorë, in the Porto-Palermo area.
Another vessel similar to the first may allow itself to be captured by Albanian forces, so that we learn the security and interrogation methods, from our professional observers. Our new source in Durrës should be exploited more intensively, ensuring that the financial compensation will be paid to his family. Our agent in Bari should also be exploited more and a regular compensation should be assigned to him.
July 1965
Psychological Warfare
For many reasons the populations of the countries of the Soviet bloc are not affected by psychological warfare campaigns, since the current conditions and popular mentality toward the USSR do not suit the psychological warfare techniques used twenty years earlier. This does not mean that in these countries there are no dissidence or dissident groups. But words alone are not enough to change the bitter lessons learned from the events in Berlin in 1953 and Hungary in 1956, which have gradually brought a general regime of indifference and compromise between the people and the regime.
It should also be taken into consideration that in recent years, with the exception of Bulgaria and Albania, the Eastern countries have managed to adopt policies that reflect national interests, contrary to those that interest the USSR or the Soviet Bloc as a whole. Dissatisfaction with the USSR for many aspects of the system is widespread, but the difference between dissidence and concrete resistance is great.
April 1977
The Yugoslavia-Greece Situation
Last week’s reports from the Balkans indicate the possibility of guerrilla action by the USSR against Yugoslavia. Such an action is supposed to begin first toward Macedonia from Bulgaria, where about 4,000 anti-Tito Yugoslavs have been gathered, as well as from smaller groups of Yugoslav dissidents in Albania and Hungary. Tito’s possible reaction to such actions would be harsh; therefore a military attack against Bulgaria could also result, which in turn would bring open war between the Balkan satellites. Meanwhile, the recent agreements between Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe indicate that the Kremlin has not yet intervened to suspend Yugoslavia’s ties with the countries of the Soviet orbit.
The recent achievements of the North Atlantic Alliance and Tito’s open challenge to the USSR are having an effect in Eastern Europe, with a growth of the hopes of non-communists for an eventual liberation from Moscow’s control. But at the same time the USSR is tightening measures for the strengthening of communist bastions in the region. Non-communist elements now believe that the West has expressed its determination to stop the spread of communism and consequently will encourage the liberation of Eastern Europe.
This kind of mentality, although based only on desire, will increase, especially in the border countries of the communist Bloc such as Sweden, Germany, Austria and Italy. Meanwhile the USSR is also taking its measures for the strengthening of communism, the elimination of Western influences, etc. In connection with the propaganda of reinforcing its ideology, the USSR seems to have begun an anti-Semitic campaign in defense of the superiority of Russian culture and race.
Jews have always been a visible non-Russian group and open to foreign influences, therefore they are also a simple object of demonization. The Russian authorities have banned several Hebrew publications as well as attacked particular Jewish scientists and members of the intelligentsia, labeling them as “homeless cosmopolitans” or “wanderers without a passport.” This perhaps has as its aim the encouragement of their forced emigration to the Jewish colony of Birobidzhan in Siberia.
Yugoslavia
Reports of the possible presence of about 4,500 armed anti-Tito Yugoslavs in Bulgaria indicate the intensification of the Russian anti-Tito campaign and possible preparation for the launching of a guerrilla campaign from Macedonia. These forces would be a useful instrument in case of a guerrilla campaign, similar to the post-war one in Greece, from Albania. Smaller groups of dissidents are also being organized in Hungary and Albania. Some recent broadcasts on Bulgarian radio have mentioned the unjust treatment of Macedonians by Tito, which may be propaganda for encouraging direct action. / Memorie.al
Continues in the next issue
