By Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al / After 1949, when communist Albania broke ties with Tito’s Yugoslavia to align closely with “Father Stalin,” the era of Russian names began. During the “honeymoon years” with Moscow (1949–1961), many Albanian families – especially those with “high party spirit” or children studying in the Soviet Union – began naming their children Molotov, Vishinski, Zhukov, or Tamara. Adoration for the Kremlin reached such a point that when Stalin died on March 5, 1953, a family in a village in Vlora (then known as “Little Moscow”) opened their doors for a funeral wake. The son of the house, an aviator educated in the Soviet Union, was married to a Russian woman. The village women, covered in black, wailed for the Soviet leader in traditional verse: “Woe to us, O Stalin / you was a comrade to my son!”
However, love turned into a nightmare in 1961. When Enver Hoxha declared Nikita Khrushchev a “revisionist” and “sold out for five silver coins to imperialism,” families with children bearing Russian names felt endangered. Many rushed to the Civil Registry to change or shorten the names: Molotov became “Malo,” Vishinski became “Visho,” and Tamara simply “Mara.”
Yet, ironically, an unbelievable event occurred in 1969 – a time when official Tirana had denounced the “Warsaw Pact” following the Russian tank invasion of Prague. In Iballë of Puka, a 39-year-old man dared to name his newborn son: Brezhnev. This action caused immediate alarm. The case crossed the borders of Puka and ended up on the desk of Hysni Kapo at the Central Committee of the APL. It was inexplicable: how could a man with a “good biography,” a trusted individual armed as a stable guard, christen his son after the number one enemy of Socialist Albania?
How did the Civil Registry clerk “lower his vigilance” and sign that birth certificate? What pushed the villager from Iballë toward this “provocation”? These archival documents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, published for the first time with their respective facsimiles, shed light on this rare event from 57 years ago.
“TOP SECRET” OPERATIVE COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, DATED APRIL 30, 1969
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA “Top Secret”
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Copy No. 1
GENERAL BRANCH Tirana, April 30, 1969
OPERATIVE COMMUNIQUÉ No. 101
POLICE DIRECTORATE
It has recently been reported that the Civil Registry clerk of the Iballë locality accepted a birth certificate with the name Brezhnev. Measures were taken against the clerk by dismissing him from his job. The Internal Affairs Branch of Puka failed to notify the Police Directorate regarding this matter.
HEAD OF THE GENERAL BRANCH
PETRIT HAKANI
NOTE BY HYSNI KAPO, SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, ON THE COMMUNIQUÉ:
“This is all well and good, but what was done about the one who gave the name Brezhnev?! Where does he find such courage?!”
Hysni Kapo
SECRET ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT: OPERATIVE COMMUNIQUÉ DATED MAY 15, 1969, EXPLAINING MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST THE VILLAGER FRAN UKA
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA “Top Secret”
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Copy No. 1
GENERAL BRANCH Tirana, 15.5.1969
OPERATIVE COMMUNIQUÉ No. 113
NOTE regarding the notice in Communiqué No. 101 concerning the dismissal of the Civil Registry clerk who accepted the name “Brezhnev,” where you noted: “What about the one who gave the name? Where did he find such courage?”
The Internal Affairs Branch of Puka, in letter No. 83 dated April 10, 1969, reports that the parent is Fran Has Uka, aged 39, resident of Iballë, Puka, a member of the Volunteer Workers’ Groups (G.B.V.), a reservist, and employed as a guard at the Seed Enterprise.
Previously, nothing negative was known about this person. He was summoned by the Branch and claims he did not know it was forbidden to give his child this name. The Party Committee was informed, and during his public denunciation before the villagers, it emerged that Fran Uka is an intriguer who pretends to have connections with high-ranking people.
During the public meeting, a fellow villager told him: “You named your son Brezhnev because you hope that Brezhnev will come to power in Albania, and then you will be in his good graces and receive a post from him.”
Following the denunciation, Fran has been alarmed [put under surveillance], and measures were taken for any eventuality. His weapon was confiscated, and the case is being followed to determine if there was a specific [political] intent behind the naming.
HEAD OF THE GENERAL BRANCH
PETRIT HAKANI
FINAL NOTE BY HYSNI KAPO AFTER THE PUBLIC DENUNCIATION:
“That is enough. What ‘intent’ are you looking for? If he were such an enemy, he would not have given the name and registered it officially!”/Memorie.al
Hysni Kapo
