Part Nine
Memorie.al / The CIA have revealed the major role that the Soviet Union played in communist Albania. In several documents labeled “Top Secret” but declassified for years, it is shown that the USSR built several important military bases, especially in the south of the country. There, details are given about the submarines that Moscow had on the island of Sazan and in the Bay of Vlorë, as well as air bases, such as those of Rinas, Kuçova, etc. Then, a panorama of political developments is provided, mentioning the dismissal of Defense Minister Beqir Balluku in the summer of 1974 from all his functions in the army and the party. Likewise, a special place in the declassified CIA documents is given to those that speak about Albanian political emigrants in Yugoslavia, who were integrated into the Prizren Committee, initially chaired by Apostol Tanefi, and under the pressures of the UDB (Yugoslav secret police), which recruited them through coercive measures, such as returning to Albania, etc.
Continued from the previous issue
Russia claimed that it was decisive in Albania’s victory over the Nazi-fascist invaders. The CIA has released a document on Albania for the year 1953, and there, details are given from a Russian book, which describes the situation in our country according to Moscow’s perspectives. There, the entire history of the country is shown, from the rule of Ahmet Zogu to the victory over the invaders.
1953
The Soviet version of Albania’s modern history
(Published in Moscow and Pristina)
The following passages are taken from the book by Nikolali Shmelev, “Novaja Albanija” (“New Albania”), first published in Moscow in 1951. Given the Soviet Union’s continued insistence on its assistance in the liberation of Albania, it is interesting to see what exactly the Soviet Union claims to have done for Albania’s liberation. It is also worth noting here that the name of Mehmet Shehu is never mentioned during the accounts of the liberation war; all dates are given as they appear in the text.
In the past, Albania served as ready cash in the hands of the imperialists. The Albanian people fought against imperialist bandits to regain their territory. With strength and stoicism, they fought against the Italian, German, and Greek invaders, who attempted to usurp various parts of the country.
The victory of the Great Socialist October Revolution in Russia inspired the Albanians to begin the decisive struggle for freedom and independence. The Albanian struggle for independence reached unprecedented dimensions.
In January 1920, a meeting of representatives from the Albanian prefectures was held in Lushnje, which rejected the idea of a foreign protectorate (the Italian mandate declared by the Paris Peace Conference in 1920) and declared Albania an independent state, forming its own government.
On June 28, 1920, to prevent a popular revolution in Albania, the Italian government renounced the protectorate. On November 9, 1920, the Council of Ambassadors in London was forced to formally confirm Albania’s independence. But this action again did not change the country’s position, which remained dependent on the imperialist powers.
Corrupted by long collaboration with foreign invaders, the feudal nobility of the country, which had usurped leadership positions, bargained left and right with their country’s interests. Such treacherous policies were the hallmark of Ahmet Zogu’s regime, one of the greatest feudal nobles, leader of the Muslim feudal clique.
Ahmet Zogu’s anti-people and anti-national policies aroused anger among the masses. In 1923, Zogu’s government lost the national elections, yet, despite the expression of the people’s will, he retained power.
Noli’s Government
In 1924, Zogu’s government was engulfed by an armed uprising led by the famous priest Fan S. Noli, leader of the so-called Liberal Party, representing the country’s new bourgeoisie. Frightened by the people’s hatred, Zogu fled to Yugoslavia for protection.
Fan Noli’s new government, established in Vlorë, yielded to the pressure of the masses and promised reforms, but in fact, no significant reform took place. The Albanian bourgeoisie was afraid both of the masses and of the feudal leaders or foreign imperialists. Even in foreign policy, Fan Noli had two faces.
After establishing diplomatic relations with the USSR, his government quickly bowed to an ultimatum from London and other imperialist powers to remove the Soviet mission from Tirana. Fear of the people’s anger and of a final break with the feudalists was the main driver of the government’s actions. The masses withdrew their support for the authorities, which provoked reactions from the feudalists.
At the end of 1924, Zogu’s bands, armed in Yugoslavia, managed to invade Albania. Fan Noli’s government fell, and Zogu’s regime returned to power. On January 22, 1925, Albania was formally declared a republic, with Zogu as its president.
While in 1928, Zogu turned the country into a monarchy and proclaimed himself king. The years of Ahmet Zogu’s reign were among the darkest periods in the history of the long-suffering Albanian people. He sold the country to the Italian imperialists, becoming entangled in a web of illogical agreements with them.
Tirana’s foreign policy was also entirely controlled by Rome. On November 22, 1927, Zogu signed the Italian-Albanian military pact, definitively ending the independence of the Albanian army and turning the government into a puppet of Italy. But the Italian imperialists were not the only ones operating freely in Zogu’s court.
British and American business leaders also plundered Albania, enriching themselves at the expense of the poor people, through concessions given to the Anglo-Persian oil group Standard Oil Company. Many dubious companies sought to get a piece of Albania, while agents of Italy, Germany, England, the United States, and many other imperialist countries had flooded every level of Albania’s government, police, and army. While Zogu and his clique enriched themselves at Albania’s expense, the people suffered a miserable existence.
The Italian Invasion
In 1930, Mussolini took control of Albania’s government as part of the fascist plan for penetration into the Balkans. In 1939, the Duce invaded Albania, making it part of Italy’s empire, while Zogu fled the country. His demoralized army offered no resistance.
Meanwhile, Britain stabbed Albania in the back. Prime Minister Chamberlain announced in parliament that Britain had no interests in Albania and therefore would not intervene against Mussolini, and that the Albanians must rely on themselves to resist the invasion.
Betrayed by their leaders and by the so-called “Western Democracies,” the Albanian people put up heroic resistance against the Italian invaders. Volunteer groups fought in Durrës, Vlorë, and Elbasan, but by April 13, Mussolini’s invasion of Albania was complete, and Albania was turned into a colony of Italy.
The Italo-German fascists did not hide their intentions to use Albania as a springboard for their aggressions. For a while, Mussolini, from bases in Albania, launched the invasion of Greece. But the Albanians’ struggle for freedom continued. Partisan groups reached a total of about 3,000 fighters in the first months of the occupation and kept growing.
From the 1930s, communist groups had taken the lead in the popular struggle against foreign usurpers. The communists, as in other European countries occupied by the fascists, stood by the people during this difficult period of their lives. They carried out the most dangerous tasks, keeping people’s morale high and their faith in victory alive.
Inspired by the communists, during the first three years of the fascist occupation, the partisans destroyed 69 bridges, 77 military depots, 162 vehicles, and 5 armored vehicles, and captured 85 automatic weapons and other arms. Meanwhile, enemy forces lost more than 4,000 men, about 3,600 were wounded, and 436 were captured. Such successes of the liberation forces would not have been possible without the organizational and agitation work of the communist groups.
The Founding of the CPA
On November 8, 1941, special representatives of Albania’s communist groups met secretly in Tirana at the conference that proclaimed the creation of the Communist Party of Albania. It also elected the central committee, which had already earned respect in the struggle for freedom. The formation of the communist party at this time was no coincidence.
Many developments of this period are related to the report presented by Stalin in his speech in Red Square on November 7, 1941, where, with full confidence, he predicted the Soviet victory against the fascist bandits. This inspired all the peoples subjugated by fascism in Europe, who mobilized under Stalin’s call for a merciless war against them, the echo of which penetrated even the distant mountains of Albania.
In 1941, the first communist tract was illegally distributed by the Communist Party Committee, calling for taking up arms and fighting for liberation. The leader of this mobilization for liberation, Enver Hoxha, had been in France in his youth, where he had become acquainted with communists and mainly with the editor-in-chief of the journal ‘Humanité,’ who was an admirer of the USSR.
After returning to Albania, he established connections with other communist groups, educated them, and prepared the cadre for Albania’s struggle for freedom. Other patriotic groups also joined his movement.
The Anti-Fascist War
In 1942, the communists began forming the National Anti-Fascist Council and national government organizations. That same year, the conference of representatives in Pezë elected the national liberation council. Meanwhile, in June 1943, the leaders of Albania’s liberation army gathered in Labinot.
Under Enver Hoxha’s leadership, these meetings united the partisan groups into fighting brigades, with a unified strategic plan. In September 1943, after the defeat of Hitler’s army on the Soviet front, Italy capitulated. Meanwhile, the Albanian liberation army took control of the situation, disarming the remaining Italian divisions, but shortly afterward, the German occupying army arrived in the country.
Hitlerite propaganda trumpeted in Albania the arrival of the army as an opportunity to liberate the country from the Italians. A puppet government was set up in Tirana led by Mustafa Kruja, but real power was in the hands of German General Schlliper. But the partisans were not fooled by this, and from the very first days of the German occupation, the puppet government building was hit from the hills around Tirana.
In December 1943, the Germans launched a campaign against the partisans but without much success. A second offensive launched by the Germans was repelled by partisan forces. While during the spring and summer of 1944, the southernmost part of Albania was cleared of German forces.
The Albanian people were now fighting on two fronts: against the Italo-German fascists and against the Albanian traitors in the feudal-bourgeois organizations such as Balli Kombëtar and Legaliteti. These organizations, assisted by the British and Americans, always tried to appear as part of the resistance against the occupiers, but they were enemies of the people and wanted to bring back to power King Zog, Mehdi Frashëri, Abaz Kuçi, and others.
It was now known that Ali Kelcyra, the leader of Balli Kombëtar, signed in Frashëri’s name to cooperate with the Italian army against the partisans. The Albanians were enraged when they learned of the duplicity of the representatives of London and Washington, who secretly cooperated in the war against the communist liberation army./ Memorie.al
To be continued in the next issue
