I wish he was still there. UK has a huge number of illegal Albanians, and there's an alarming level of organised crime involving them. I realise I shouldn't have to, because it's obvious, but I'll include the usual "not all".
@@showbizsam4440 That'll be 6 years in HM's prisons for you then. I'm taking bets on whether the Labour judge strikes the desk with her hammer or her sickle as she announces your inevitable guilt. Also you're a transphobe and an islamophobe as well as being a reactionary capitalist agitator. All hail to Great Leader Starmer.
I spent roughly two months in Korce ( Southern Albania,) and some it’s neighboring villages up near Lake Orhid, and yea counted well over 100 bunkers alone - and it always floored me to hear how there were hundreds of thousand bunkers of all shapes, sizes and purposes in every imaginable place you can put one. My favorite was one in the middle of a playground painted as a lady bug.
@@Compulsive_LARPerironically though, this is about a stalinist ML party split and not trotskyists, communists in general love splits it seems, look up how many maoist parties there are in Nepal, one thing is for sure communist parties love splitting and factional infighting
I recall when I was a kid back in the 70s, my step dad was stationed in Southern Italy, and we would take a ferry to Corfu island - and from there, you had a great view of Albania- looked so empty.
@@marcusott2973 Yes it is, standard is up, touriusm, hotels, great for Albanian people. Newest European "country" disputed Kosovo on other hand remains poorest
Actually the closest to European North Korea would be Romania because the dictator there actually like the dprk so much that he literally modeled his own country after it
I am a Kosovo Albanian and to this day, there are still big differences between us and our brothers in Albania, particularly on the views of Hoxha. However, despite what westerners view of him, he is quite liked here, especially by the older generations. They mostly claim that he was the man who kept Albania alive
And how do those old generations feel about family and friends being repressed, sent to hard labour or executed by Hoxha? I doubt that's called "alive" You can't keep the country alive if there are no people in it to represent the country
As he was enemy of Yugoslavia plus poverty made influx of Albanians to Kosovo province, in Serbia he is regarded as Small Stalin / Kim il / Pol Pot of Europe
@@RasVoja albanians never mass migrated from albania to kosovo, there was already much poverty in kosovo through the 20th century. Most albanians fled to Greece and Italy after communism ended.
As a teenager I remember listening to Albania radio on my shortwave radio, The English broadcasts were short but filled with enough propaganda to fill a lifetime:o). I seem to remember that Bulgaria was also considered a closed country at that time. Shortwave radio listening was very interesting during the cold war. I have lots of QSL cards from those countries.
I have travelled in the Albanian countryside. The number of bunkers is incredible. They were one of the poorest countries in the world and yet they were devoting huge resources to bunker building. It makes one think that Hoxha was mad.
All communists are mad. It is the most self destructive ideology on earth, literally not a single example of success. It only attracts narcissists, psychopaths, and those riddled with self hatred. Hoxha was just the one who happened to take leadership position, but they are all the same. It does not matter whether Albania, soviet union, venezuela, cuba, noth korea. The ideology/cult of communism always strive to take the pride and dignity of its victims.
Interesting. Militarily, those bunkers were USELESS death traps. To be effective, such bunkers need interlocking fields of fire to cover each other, but these bunkers were placed to deliver maximum fire at specific points like roads (because it looked good), leaving blind spots were the enemy could reach each bunker freely and without risk....
I think he is a great and also an autocratic ruler. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication to make these videos. Albania is such a great country. Huge fan of you from Sri Lanka ❤️
History of 20th century Albania🇦🇱 Friendship ended with Italy, now Tito is my best friend. Friendship ended with Tito, now the USSR is my best friend. Friendship ended with USSR, now China is my best friend. Friendship ended with China, now bunker is my best friend. Friendship ended with bunker, now ponzi scheme is my best friend. Friendship ended with ponzi scheme, now Mercedes is my best friend.
More like from 1945 to 1999, not all 20th century I'll tell you the history for the 20th century 1. 1900 (2nd League of Prizren)-Ottoman, stop these attacks immediately! -I will crush you! (Battles happen) -OK, we [Albanians] surrender... 2. 1905 -NOO, OUR CITY SHKODRA...😭, WHAT AN EARTHQUAKE! 3. 1907 3a. -Young Turks we support you, you will give us autonomy! -Thank you, Albanians! 3b. -Young Turks, YOU BETRAYED US! YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR WORD! WE WILL REVENGE! 4. 1908 4a. -We have a language, but we don't know with what alphabet to write it🥲 Let's meet in Monastir (Bitola) YES, WE NOW HAVE AN ALPHABET! THE LATIN ALPHABET! 3b. -You Ottomans give us autonomy or else... -Else? -(Uprising starts)... OK we [Albanians] surrender... 5. 1910 -Ottoman, take this! 🔪 -You again?!!! -(Albanians surrender) 6. 1911 -Ottoman, we Albanian highlanders declare UPRISING! -Not again... (Uprisings happens) -We [Albanians] surrender, but we will strike you again in the future! -That wasn't easy... 7. 1912 7a. -We will never stop until we get AUTONOMY! UNTIL ALBANIAN LANDS BECOME UNITED! WE DECLARE NATIONAL UPRISING! OTTOMAN, YOU WILL PAY FOR 5 CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION! -Allah, why??? (Uprisings continue) We [Ottomans] surrender... Four Albanian vilayets will unite and create an autonomous Albanian state...😫 -YAY!!! (Meanwhile Serbia, Greece and Montenegro: No! The Greater Albanian state will be created, we won't allow this! War to the Ottomans! First Balkan War starts) 7b. No! Balkan League is invading our lands! Our lands which we won by blood! We won't allow this. Change plans! No more autonomy, INDEPENDENCE! On 28th November, our leader Ismail Qemali declares independence in Vlora! Our government is formed on 4th December! 8. 1913 8a. We will fight in the London Conference for our rightful lands!! 8b. The British...🤬! 40% of Albanians are left outside our borders 😭 8c. We now have international recognition. 8d. -Thanks Greece, for returning Southern Albania! -Don't thank me! I was forced to cede Northern Epirus! I will get it back! 8e. -We ethnic Greeks declare the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus! -You...🤬! 9. 1914 9a. Why did you resign Ismail Qemali😭? We now have a German prince, Wilhelm the Wied. 9b. -Essad, please Essad, don't... -I, Essad Pasha Toptani, declare the Muslim Republic of Central Albania! Everything against Wilhelm! We want a Muslim prince! 9c. -My country is collapsing 😢 -Take this Albania!!! I said I will get Northern Epirus! -.... Do as you wish Greece...😭 9d. Wilhelm the Wied flied from here...WW1 started...Italy and Montenegro is starting to invade me...I, Albania, officially collapse! 10. 1915 Italy invaded my beautiful Vlora😭, Montenegro is bombing my candle of culture, Shkodra, oh no! Serbia is invading me to be saved from Austria-Hungary! What a mess... 11. 1916 Italy invaded Southern Albania, also got the real Southern Albania from Greece, Austria-Hungary invaded the north... My people are sometimes supporting Entente, sometimes the Central Powers...I'm really separated... 12. 1918. ENOUGH WITH THIS!!! WE DECLARE UPRISINGS IN ALL ALBANIAN LANDS, IN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN AND ITALIAN OCCUPATIONS! END SEPARATION! LONG LIVE ALBANIA! 13. 1919 You, Essad!!! You s.. of a b.....! You killed AVNI RUSTEMI! HE WAS THE ONLY HOPE FOR US TO REGAIN INDEPENDENCE IN THE PARIS CONFERENCE! Now we're going to be split between Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy😫. Uprising will continue everywhere!!! 14. 1920 -Thank you USA! You are my best friend, you're the independence keeper, you're the legend!! President Woodrow Wilson supported the Albanian delegation in the Paris Conference, Albania got independence again!!! We must be bigger than this, but at least we are independent with the 1913 lands😄 15. 1921 YUPPY!!! Essad 🔪 Pasha is no more! 😊 16. 1922 16a. Meet with our new leader: Ahmet Zogu is now the Prime Minister of the princeless Principality of Albania! But there are clashes between him and a pro-Western, patriot and poet named Fan Noli. 16b. American-Albanian diplomatic relations started! 17. 1923 Will stability ever come...? Fan Noli becomes the new prime minister! Ahmet Zogu is not allowed to come to Albania, he flew to Yugo. Fan Noli starts to implement democratic and Westernisation policies. But faces opposion from feudals, beys, and land owners. Wait, it's not the end of this political instability! 18. 1925 18a. I feel scared! Ahmet Zogu comes armed, supported by Yugoslavia and overthrows Fan Noli. 18b. Ahmed Zogu proclaimed our FIRST REPUBLIC! He becomes President and promises modernizations. 19. 1927 President Zogu ends the good relations with Yugoslavia and starts to cooperate with Fascist Italy... He makes the Albanian Bank under Italian protection... I feel that bad things will happen in the future...🫤 20. 1928 20a. Ahmed Zogu abolished the 3 year-living Republic, and makes us a Kingdom! WOW! A Kingdom! The makes himself the only monarch of Albania and Albanians. He was sworn in front of both the Qur'an and the Bible! What a great act! 21. 1934 Under his Monarchy, we are becoming more and more developed. Better infrastructure and better education, also war against analfabetism. Great! But...these were mostly Italian money...I feel that we are unofficially becoming a vassal of Italian Fascists. 22. 1938 Ahmet Zogu marries with a Hungarian princess, Geraldine! May both have a prosperous life! 🙏 23. 1939 23a. Ahmed Zogu and Geraldine have a child, Leka Zogu! Happy birthday to him! 23b. Italy...Italy... They sent us an ultimatum about us becoming their protectorate without war. A great thanks to the Albanian parliament which was categorically against the Ultimatum! The ultimatum was refused! Great patriots!...Or worse thing will happen to our fatherland? 23c -Hello, Albania! My glorious army is in you port city, Durrës. Think again before we start the invasion! -Italy🤬, we should have never trusted you! We will never make our country a gift for you! -😂 So sad, because your King already left you. -What?? -So it's war, let's not lose time! -You will pay for this!!! Maybe not, now but you will! (Italy invaded all Albanian for 5 days and some hours). 23d. Italy establishes the Italian Protectorate of Albania, with King Victor Emmanuel III as king of both Albania and Italy. Mussolini called us like we made a personal union with Italy, voluntarily, but that is just propaganda! 24. Enough until this point. 10 likes for the other part until today
I'm guessing some way or another Albania must have had the ability to mount a fierce enough resistance to deter the Soviets, and certainly Yugoslavia, from using military force at some point, to bring Albania back into line. You could argue, from a Soviet perspective at least, that Albania wasn't geopolitically important enough, but that certainly wasn't the case with Yugoslavia.
To David and the entire Cold War crew, it would mean a lot to me if you made videos on these following topics: - Argentina during the rule of Juan Peron. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the unique ideology of Peronism, Peron's cult of personality, his economic policies, and how they all affect Argentina's politics, economy and society to this day. - The history of Thailand during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the return of Phibun (who governed Thailand during WW2) as well as the numerous on-and-off military governments that governed Thailand during the Cold War. - Gastarbeiters (foreign migrant workers) in both West and East Germany. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Germany's Turkish diaspora came into existence. - Indonesia's Chinese diaspora population. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how this influential community was affected by the governments of both Sukarno and Suharto. - The history of Quebec's Quiet Revolution. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn not only about how it led to the secularisation of Quebec's society and government, but also how it led to the emergence of a distinct Quebecois identity. - The history of Macau during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Macau's Cold War history differs from that of Hong Kong.
When I attended the University of Toronto in the mid to late 70s the Marxist-Leninists used to poster the campus urging people to vigorously support the struggle of Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Communist Party. I was tempted, but never had the time or budget, to put up posters calling to vigorously support the struggle of King Leka and the Albanian Monarchist League.
Hoxha is the weirdest man in the Cold War history. Like he was so paranoid that people would invade Albania, but let's be honest, who would have wanted that?
@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5 Mostly because he didn't do away with Stalinism like most of the Eastern Bloc did. So in a sense, this fear of invasion was by his own doing. You might say he feared himself
@@Barricade379the USSR only invaded Communist countries that were democratizing (Czechosolvakia, Hungary), while leaving the authortrian Communist states who weren't very obedient alone (Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania).
There's a lot of cultural context missing in most modern analyses of Hoxha's regime. Albanians are like Sicilians, or Corsicans; hard, insular, clannish, + prone to ruthlessness in conflicts big + small. Hoxha's rule both reflected that character, + constantly was defending itself against the nastier outbursts of that kind of culture, against + between clan-group + religious factions. That excuses 0 of its worst excesses, of course; but it does contextualize a lot about his "hermit regime". You don't last 40 years on top in a society like that by playing nice.
I've heard Albania joked about as being Europe's North Korea before, but I never really knew the history behind it. Thank you for another informative video. God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)
Never a good sign when a country bans beards, this reminded me of travelling through Yugoslavia as a child and seeing across a lake Albania which my father explained wouldn't have allowed him entry for possessing facial foliage.
@TheColdWar You mentioned several hundred foreign nationals executed... can you comment on that? What were they doing there? What were they executed for? They weren't diplomatic staff I assume.
In 1957 a US Shooting Star was made to land in Albania by Albanian MiG-15s. The pilot, a Major Curran, was later repatriated to the USA but the jet is still on display in Albania. There were a number of other incidents, involving foreign aircraft. German, Yugoslav, Greek etc. Whether anyone was executed, I don't know.
How can we be considered rural when 40% of our population works abroad and the average Albanian speaks at least two other languages besides Albanian? So, are Greeks, Basques, Armenians......, and so on also considered weird just because they have their own unique heritage and speak a unique language? Since you are making assumptions about Albanians, then I am allowed to assume that you indeed come from a Slavic country where shared values and similar languages are common. From our point of view, this would make you weird, too. 😂
@@vendumsica Working in Italy and abroad does not chage fact of rural urban distribution of populous, but that is changing in recent decades. Its good coastal Albanians are well educated. Yes, I am a Yugoslav born in Belgrade.
The bunkers were anything but weird. You'd bet ukraine would be glad to have such an immense amount of concrete bunkers all over her current frontlines.
@9:05 - In the part of the video where he says "He decided to cut mid and high level bureaucratic salaries to make sure they were completely ideologically and commited to his vision." When has cutting someone's pay ever made them more loyal or more committed to the leader's vision of the future? 🤷
@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5Ceausescu did alot of trade and received investment from Western countires which Mao didn't do. I guess he's a mixture of Deng, Mao, and Kim
800,000 bunker were build in 29,000 square meter and today one bunker cost about 7-8000$ so this is what was build ! Albania was 99% green energy (hydropower ) and Albania military reserves were 200 MIG , and about 7-8milliard $ military reserves !
Hoxha was good at one thing, imitating others. First Stalin, then Mao until finally he combined the two and basically called it Hoxhaism Creativity was obviously not his strongest suit
Hoxha's flip flopping went as follows: 1. Supporter of Yugoslavia. 2. Supporter of Stalin's Russia on anti-Yugoslavia grounds. 3. Supporter of Mao's China on anti-"revisionist Soviet" grounds. (During the late 1970s, Albania was one of few nations which had diplomatic relations with Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. ) 4. Supporter of Soviet Union/Vietnam when the latter invaded Cambodia, this time on anti-China grounds. No wonder Albania had no friends.
The last Stalinist left are North Korea Ceausescu Romanian Stalinist of personality cult was gun down on publics TV. Hoxha's paranoid 70 thousands concrete bunkers are still present and is biggest tourist attraction in Albania, which consumed 60% all GDP and was more than Soviet Union expenditure on militarism. Ceausescu Palace of the Parliament 2nd most expensive government building after Pentagon which destroyed beautiful old city tissue of old Bucharest with small churches and narrow low-rise baroque style buildings, instead it has 8 lanes boulevard road which leads to marble building but is is ugly.
@@RasVoja Mao was based on cult of personality, but today it is not. Same with Capitalists far-right Latin American countries Junta style Generalissimo uniform wearing "banana republics".
@@RasVoja Stalin created cult of personality. North Korea, Mao China, Hoxha later Romanian Ceausescu being followers of that style. But it is not specific for communist's countries too. Capitalist (right wing ) countries also have their own cult of leaders: fascist Italy, nazi Germany and majority of Latin America junta style countries. For example Peronism in Argentina is the same meaning as Stalinism even they are on different party spectrum.
I really enjoy these type of episodes i love couple of episodes covering. People like Ulbricht, bierut and rakosi. And episode covering kim ll sung personality cult.
Enver Hoxha created a real life Orwellian state. In the Museum of Leaves in Tirana which focuses on Sigurimi spy devices, some Albanian engineers invented a small microphone that they hid inside shoes and fake fruits. It’s bizarre.
My Dad was a football journalist and in 1967 he was one of the first Yugoslavs to visit Albania since1948 when Tito split with Stalin (& Hoxha). As soon as he landed at Tirana airport he was taken to have his head shaved by immigration police so as not to corrupt the Albania youth with his decadent hair style (it was already short). Yugoslavia won the football match, and as a reward some of the Yugoslav delegation were attacked by Albanian FA officials after the game. He wrote this up, but it was cut from final copy on the orders of someone higher up. Albania and neighbouring Yugoslavia were at opposite ends of the scale when it came to oppressive communist regimes. Crucially, if you didn't like Yugoslavia you could leave and even come back at will, preferably with a load of western currency in your pockets. Everyone had a passport. In Albania you needed written permission to leave your village.
Without Hoxha Albania would become a 8th Republic of Jugoslavia or a northern part of Greece. You have to judge Hoxha not by 2024 opinions. But by the years of his rule.
People understand it very poorly. They call him mad for all the bunkers. Yet, they apparently don't understand how heated was the world, the region and how big blessing these bunkers would be for regular Albanians during real military conflict.
@chanpasadopolska yes indeed And now the rest of Europe is clearing and maintaining the old bunkers because the Russian invasion of Ukraine... The only mistake Hoxha did (in my opinion) was the isolation from the outside world ,persecution of the intelektuals and the ban of religion....
Hoxha was diabetic (apparently first diagnosed in the late 1940s - it is noticeable that he lost considerable weight around that time, though he was a bit on the chubby side for much of his life). In his later years he reportedly needed kidney dialysis, and in his last official portrait he is quite emaciated.
What is crazy about Hoxha was how he deal with his supposed successor, Mehmet Shehu, who according to the official information, lost his life to insanity, and Hoxha subsequently rounded up the entire family, along with the killers in the national security department who did the dirty job.
Who he should have aligned himself with? United States? Hoxha liked Stalinism and he didn't want to be a marionette of Kremlin anymore, especially after Hungary-1956. And Czechoslovakia-1968 showed him that he was right and Brezhnev was no better than Khrushchev. Nothing baffling. He saw Moscow's national-communism for what it really was - Russian Imperialism
@@Matt_The_Hugenot Nothing baffling here too - any ally is good ally, especially in Europe, especially critical of Moscow revisionism. Chinese tried to subvert Romania and Yugoslavia too
@@Matt_The_HugenotAs it was pointed out in History matters at the time China didn't have the vote on the UN, so Albania was its permanent presence in the UN (alongside other recently freed colonial nations)
Despite the encouragement of non-religious names (Arben for example for men, Pranvera for women, the latter derived from the word for "spring"), people who already had religious names do not seem to have changed them, certainly in the case of Muslim ones - Enver Hoxha himself being a prime example.
@@stevekaczynski3793 Thanks ! You seem to be a "Albaniologist". I wonder if there was a change of the Muslim convention of names into Western style (name & surname) as it was the case in Turkey under Mustafa Kemal ?
@@andy99ishSurnames no, just during communism Slavic names like Bogdanovic, was changed to Bogdani (an "Albanized" form). But Albanian surnames, religious or no, weren't changed
@@andy99ish I read something about the place in Hoxha and Alia's time, but did not learn the language, probably vital to be a true Albania expert. I don't know how Albanian surnames were formed, and the fact that a significant number are Christians by origin would also complicate things.
Hoxha, far better liked by ethnic Albanians in neighbouring countries the by his own people. Incidentally the History of Everything channel just did a video about the adventures of the exiled Albanian crown prince. In person not a lot different from Hoxha.
I’ve been in the capital of Albania and up in the mountains. It is extremely beautiful, food is super cheap and absolutely delicious. but it’s basically Mexico with white people. all the cars are stolen and the coastline is absolutely gorgeous but you need a bodyguard
@@alangalantin8614"Cult of Personality" also includes said presidents being above any criticism. You can say jack anything against any of the presidents carved into it and you won't get persecuted for saying it. Do you know which republic has a pervasive cult of personality? Turkey/Turkiye. Every town and city has a street, plaza, and statue or any memorial to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Every classroom has a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and you can get arrested for saying negative things about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. America is child's play compared to what Turkey does...
Too be quite honest most countries try not too allow ....Albanian influence to leave Albania and cohabitate 😂 sounds nice enuff huh , making it pretty easy to be a hermit kingdom
Sure, very funny, says someone who knows nothing about ancient Albanian history and relies only on prejudice and believes that we feed you w*ed, and you don't buy it of your own will. Don't tell me you're all puritans and immaculate. Very funny indeed. 😂
Dardania was Roman province inhabited by Illyrians and Traci ans. I am glad to learn that Albanian ethnic theory was Hoxhas creation to justify isolation. Dont bv Hoxha or I ll take Seseljs stupid theory of Serbs linked to Vinca neolithic culture, which is exact same level of bull.
Get out of Albanian related business you 7th century Slavic immigrant. Albanians are Paleo-Balkan people, native to the Balkans in every sense, be it culturally, linguistically or genetically, which is something you will never ever ever be. Cope and seethe
@@southepirote7676 Yes such as Epirus was ancient Greek, but neither Albanians and modern Greeks are ancient so its dumb land marker prob, often with Serbs (we kill ourselfs where is border so often)
Why did Albania need a Minister of Justice when there was no justice in Albania. Children are like trucks--both are high-maintenance. Doesn't matter how many trucks your army has--what matters is how many of those trucks are operational and whether or not you can fuel those trucks and crew them with drivers. When hunger is normal, children lack fuel. When Mommy works 60 hours a week or more outside the home, who takes care of her kids? And, like trucks, when there is no work, both children and trucks sit idle.
I have to say this “widely discredited illyrian theory “ is incorrect yes he nationalised the illyrian theory but this theory holds the most grounds and genetics and linguistics only prove it
The origins of the Albanians are somewhat mysterious - the language itself is considered Indo-European but in a branch of its own. Some think it is a descendant of Thracian, but too little of that language is attested to prove the theory one way or another.
Amerika carmatosi Shqiperie ne 2007 Enver Hoxha kishte te drejte per Ameriken.te prishen maredhenidt me Ameriken.ENVER HOXHA ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
two years before his death, the population had nearly tripled (2.8m) from the figure you provided enver hoxha kicked out the fascist italian occupation through popular people's struggle set the goal of full electrification to 15 years, did it in 5 brought life expectancy up from 38 in 1940 to 71 in 1985 encircled and under fire by enemies at all corners, hoxha was able to subvert western attempts at infiltration by sending PLA members into the albanian expat training camps where NATO was training saboteurs, and sabotage that effort from the inside; the king of double agents. along with all of this, by the end of hoxha's life, he had become one of the absolute most principled marxist-leninists that the world has ever seen. his polemics of the 20th congress of the CPSU, his stalwart support both ideologically and material to freedom fighters from recently (at the time) colonized palestine. additionally, when the ugly head of mao's revisionism reared its head, hoxha was one of the first to correctly analyze it in his magnus opus "Imperialism and the Revolution." say what you want, those that read for themselves will know. love live enver hoxha
The fact that Enver Hoxha made Albania even *more* isolated than North Korea is a strangly impressive feat.
I wish he was still there. UK has a huge number of illegal Albanians, and there's an alarming level of organised crime involving them. I realise I shouldn't have to, because it's obvious, but I'll include the usual "not all".
@showbizsam4440 all Albanians are in organized crime
*than
@@showbizsam4440they would still be coming from Kosovo
@@showbizsam4440
That'll be 6 years in HM's prisons for you then. I'm taking bets on whether the Labour judge strikes the desk with her hammer or her sickle as she announces your inevitable guilt. Also you're a transphobe and an islamophobe as well as being a reactionary capitalist agitator. All hail to Great Leader Starmer.
I spent roughly two months in Korce ( Southern Albania,) and some it’s neighboring villages up near Lake Orhid, and yea counted well over 100 bunkers alone - and it always floored me to hear how there were hundreds of thousand bunkers of all shapes, sizes and purposes in every imaginable place you can put one. My favorite was one in the middle of a playground painted as a lady bug.
How do you find that in mostly Albanian towns near Lake you see Albanian and Kosovo flags?
@ I like it was an after thought to make it lady bug but very clearly a bunker.
@@RasVoja That is rather true for the Tetovo.
As someone of Albanian heritage abroad he is still reviled for what he did to our people decades after our people were freed from him.
Some Albanians miss him
Glad you guys do never let communism take root.
He should be reviled. He was a garbage person and a maniac.
@@FermentedOuroborosYes, some brainwashed
But today Albanians are most numerous and united then ever, despite having different religions. And look up the Yugoslavia.
I've been waiting forever for you to cover Hoxha.
18:05 In France, there was even a "pro-Albanian" faction of the French Communist Party that split in 1979. And these guys still exist today!
Why did the two Trotskyist cross the street?
To form three political parties.
@@Compulsive_LARPerPeople's Front of Judea
@@Compulsive_LARPerironically though, this is about a stalinist ML party split and not trotskyists, communists in general love splits it seems, look up how many maoist parties there are in Nepal, one thing is for sure communist parties love splitting and factional infighting
Yes, Stalinists supported such madman
@@jeffkardosjr.3825 we're the Judean people's front, not the people's front of Judea.
I recall when I was a kid back in the 70s, my step dad was stationed in Southern Italy, and we would take a ferry to Corfu island - and from there, you had a great view of Albania- looked so empty.
I have traveled through all the Eastern block communist countries. Only Albania still has this very strange feel like a hangover from communism.
Yeah but slowly and surely it is getting out of it
Nonsense take.
Serbia has same border control and president instead of reverting to 1941 monarchy
Albania is progressing at an unbelievable pace. I was 1998, 2005 and last year....the difference is staggering.
@@marcusott2973 Yes it is, standard is up, touriusm, hotels, great for Albanian people. Newest European "country" disputed Kosovo on other hand remains poorest
The bunkers bit is probably the best known fact about Hoxha's Albania.
I'm looking to the day when you make a video on the "Catalina affair", back in 1952!
Excellent video, as always!
Quite possibly the weirdest and most forgotten communist dictators. He single-handedly created the European North Korea.
Actually the closest to European North Korea would be Romania because the dictator there actually like the dprk so much that he literally modeled his own country after it
Pol Pot of Europe
Its a truly sad story.
The 2016 biography "Enver Hoxha: The Iron Fist of Albania" by historian Blendi Fevziu should be on every bookshelf.
Everytime my ears hear Comecon, my brain hears Comiccon.
It’s the peoples comics comrade!
Economi alliance of Soviet block?
Stalin in a Sailor Moon suit.
@@garrettallen7427 No, it was longer effective then Marshall aid, abeit with less money
Both meetings tend to smell funny
I am a Kosovo Albanian and to this day, there are still big differences between us and our brothers in Albania, particularly on the views of Hoxha. However, despite what westerners view of him, he is quite liked here, especially by the older generations. They mostly claim that he was the man who kept Albania alive
And how do those old generations feel about family and friends being repressed, sent to hard labour or executed by Hoxha? I doubt that's called "alive"
You can't keep the country alive if there are no people in it to represent the country
As he was enemy of Yugoslavia plus poverty made influx of Albanians to Kosovo province, in Serbia he is regarded as Small Stalin / Kim il / Pol Pot of Europe
@@RasVoja albanians never mass migrated from albania to kosovo, there was already much poverty in kosovo through the 20th century. Most albanians fled to Greece and Italy after communism ended.
@@euphoriaggaminghd Surely educated Catholic and Orthodox do. But what about poorer muslim Geghas in mountains bordering Yugoslavia, where Kosovo is?
@@RasVojano there was no massive influx especially under communist Albania lol
As a teenager I remember listening to Albania radio on my shortwave radio, The English broadcasts were short but filled with enough propaganda to fill a lifetime:o). I seem to remember that Bulgaria was also considered a closed country at that time. Shortwave radio listening was very interesting during the cold war. I have lots of QSL cards from those countries.
I remember Radio Tirana had quite a strong signal. I was listening to it in April 1985 when a lot of mourning music started - Enver Hoxha had died.
I have travelled in the Albanian countryside. The number of bunkers is incredible. They were one of the poorest countries in the world and yet they were devoting huge resources to bunker building. It makes one think that Hoxha was mad.
Like everyone really wanted to invade Albania
Mad ? Aren't you understating Hoxha !!!!!!
He was mad and more
All communists are mad. It is the most self destructive ideology on earth, literally not a single example of success. It only attracts narcissists, psychopaths, and those riddled with self hatred. Hoxha was just the one who happened to take leadership position, but they are all the same.
It does not matter whether Albania, soviet union, venezuela, cuba, noth korea. The ideology/cult of communism always strive to take the pride and dignity of its victims.
Interesting. Militarily, those bunkers were USELESS death traps. To be effective, such bunkers need interlocking fields of fire to cover each other, but these bunkers were placed to deliver maximum fire at specific points like roads (because it looked good), leaving blind spots were the enemy could reach each bunker freely and without risk....
I think he is a great and also an autocratic ruler. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication to make these videos. Albania is such a great country. Huge fan of you from Sri Lanka ❤️
History of 20th century Albania🇦🇱
Friendship ended with Italy, now Tito is my best friend.
Friendship ended with Tito, now the USSR is my best friend.
Friendship ended with USSR, now China is my best friend.
Friendship ended with China, now bunker is my best friend.
Friendship ended with bunker, now ponzi scheme is my best friend.
Friendship ended with ponzi scheme, now Mercedes is my best friend.
More like from 1945 to 1999, not all 20th century
I'll tell you the history for the 20th century
1. 1900
(2nd League of Prizren)-Ottoman, stop these attacks immediately!
-I will crush you!
(Battles happen)
-OK, we [Albanians] surrender...
2. 1905
-NOO, OUR CITY SHKODRA...😭, WHAT AN EARTHQUAKE!
3. 1907
3a.
-Young Turks we support you, you will give us autonomy!
-Thank you, Albanians!
3b.
-Young Turks, YOU BETRAYED US! YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR WORD! WE WILL REVENGE!
4. 1908
4a.
-We have a language, but we don't know with what alphabet to write it🥲
Let's meet in Monastir (Bitola)
YES, WE NOW HAVE AN ALPHABET! THE LATIN ALPHABET!
3b.
-You Ottomans give us autonomy or else...
-Else?
-(Uprising starts)...
OK we [Albanians] surrender...
5. 1910
-Ottoman, take this! 🔪
-You again?!!!
-(Albanians surrender)
6. 1911
-Ottoman, we Albanian highlanders declare UPRISING!
-Not again...
(Uprisings happens)
-We [Albanians] surrender, but we will strike you again in the future!
-That wasn't easy...
7. 1912
7a.
-We will never stop until we get AUTONOMY! UNTIL ALBANIAN LANDS BECOME UNITED! WE DECLARE NATIONAL UPRISING! OTTOMAN, YOU WILL PAY FOR 5 CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION!
-Allah, why???
(Uprisings continue)
We [Ottomans] surrender... Four Albanian vilayets will unite and create an autonomous Albanian state...😫
-YAY!!!
(Meanwhile Serbia, Greece and Montenegro: No! The Greater Albanian state will be created, we won't allow this! War to the Ottomans! First Balkan War starts)
7b.
No! Balkan League is invading our lands! Our lands which we won by blood! We won't allow this. Change plans! No more autonomy, INDEPENDENCE! On 28th November, our leader Ismail Qemali declares independence in Vlora! Our government is formed on 4th December!
8. 1913
8a. We will fight in the London Conference for our rightful lands!!
8b. The British...🤬! 40% of Albanians are left outside our borders 😭
8c. We now have international recognition.
8d.
-Thanks Greece, for returning Southern Albania!
-Don't thank me! I was forced to cede Northern Epirus! I will get it back!
8e.
-We ethnic Greeks declare the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus!
-You...🤬!
9. 1914
9a. Why did you resign Ismail Qemali😭? We now have a German prince, Wilhelm the Wied.
9b.
-Essad, please Essad, don't...
-I, Essad Pasha Toptani, declare the Muslim Republic of Central Albania! Everything against Wilhelm! We want a Muslim prince!
9c.
-My country is collapsing 😢
-Take this Albania!!! I said I will get Northern Epirus!
-.... Do as you wish Greece...😭
9d.
Wilhelm the Wied flied from here...WW1 started...Italy and Montenegro is starting to invade me...I, Albania, officially collapse!
10. 1915
Italy invaded my beautiful Vlora😭, Montenegro is bombing my candle of culture, Shkodra, oh no! Serbia is invading me to be saved from Austria-Hungary! What a mess...
11. 1916
Italy invaded Southern Albania, also got the real Southern Albania from Greece, Austria-Hungary invaded the north... My people are sometimes supporting Entente, sometimes the Central Powers...I'm really separated...
12. 1918.
ENOUGH WITH THIS!!! WE DECLARE UPRISINGS IN ALL ALBANIAN LANDS, IN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN AND ITALIAN OCCUPATIONS! END SEPARATION! LONG LIVE ALBANIA!
13. 1919
You, Essad!!! You s.. of a b.....! You killed AVNI RUSTEMI! HE WAS THE ONLY HOPE FOR US TO REGAIN INDEPENDENCE IN THE PARIS CONFERENCE! Now we're going to be split between Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy😫. Uprising will continue everywhere!!!
14.
1920
-Thank you USA! You are my best friend, you're the independence keeper, you're the legend!! President Woodrow Wilson supported the Albanian delegation in the Paris Conference, Albania got independence again!!! We must be bigger than this, but at least we are independent with the 1913 lands😄
15. 1921
YUPPY!!! Essad 🔪 Pasha is no more! 😊
16. 1922
16a. Meet with our new leader: Ahmet Zogu is now the Prime Minister of the princeless Principality of Albania! But there are clashes between him and a pro-Western, patriot and poet named Fan Noli.
16b. American-Albanian diplomatic relations started!
17. 1923
Will stability ever come...? Fan Noli becomes the new prime minister! Ahmet Zogu is not allowed to come to Albania, he flew to Yugo. Fan Noli starts to implement democratic and Westernisation policies. But faces opposion from feudals, beys, and land owners. Wait, it's not the end of this political instability!
18. 1925
18a. I feel scared! Ahmet Zogu comes armed, supported by Yugoslavia and overthrows Fan Noli.
18b. Ahmed Zogu proclaimed our FIRST REPUBLIC! He becomes President and promises modernizations.
19. 1927
President Zogu ends the good relations with Yugoslavia and starts to cooperate with Fascist Italy... He makes the Albanian Bank under Italian protection... I feel that bad things will happen in the future...🫤
20. 1928
20a. Ahmed Zogu abolished the 3 year-living Republic, and makes us a Kingdom! WOW! A Kingdom! The makes himself the only monarch of Albania and Albanians. He was sworn in front of both the Qur'an and the Bible! What a great act!
21. 1934
Under his Monarchy, we are becoming more and more developed. Better infrastructure and better education, also war against analfabetism. Great! But...these were mostly Italian money...I feel that we are unofficially becoming a vassal of Italian Fascists.
22. 1938
Ahmet Zogu marries with a Hungarian princess, Geraldine! May both have a prosperous life! 🙏
23. 1939
23a. Ahmed Zogu and Geraldine have a child, Leka Zogu! Happy birthday to him!
23b. Italy...Italy... They sent us an ultimatum about us becoming their protectorate without war. A great thanks to the Albanian parliament which was categorically against the Ultimatum! The ultimatum was refused! Great patriots!...Or worse thing will happen to our fatherland?
23c
-Hello, Albania! My glorious army is in you port city, Durrës. Think again before we start the invasion!
-Italy🤬, we should have never trusted you! We will never make our country a gift for you!
-😂 So sad, because your King already left you.
-What??
-So it's war, let's not lose time!
-You will pay for this!!! Maybe not, now but you will!
(Italy invaded all Albanian for 5 days and some hours).
23d. Italy establishes the Italian Protectorate of Albania, with King Victor Emmanuel III as king of both Albania and Italy. Mussolini called us like we made a personal union with Italy, voluntarily, but that is just propaganda!
24. Enough until this point. 10 likes for the other part until today
I'm guessing some way or another Albania must have had the ability to mount a fierce enough resistance to deter the Soviets, and certainly Yugoslavia, from using military force at some point, to bring Albania back into line. You could argue, from a Soviet perspective at least, that Albania wasn't geopolitically important enough, but that certainly wasn't the case with Yugoslavia.
It was good Tito wasnt with Stalin, and Greece did not became communist due to WWII Yalta deal. Otherwise no Hoxa no bunkers
To David and the entire Cold War crew, it would mean a lot to me if you made videos on these following topics:
- Argentina during the rule of Juan Peron. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the unique ideology of Peronism, Peron's cult of personality, his economic policies, and how they all affect Argentina's politics, economy and society to this day.
- The history of Thailand during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the return of Phibun (who governed Thailand during WW2) as well as the numerous on-and-off military governments that governed Thailand during the Cold War.
- Gastarbeiters (foreign migrant workers) in both West and East Germany. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Germany's Turkish diaspora came into existence.
- Indonesia's Chinese diaspora population. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how this influential community was affected by the governments of both Sukarno and Suharto.
- The history of Quebec's Quiet Revolution. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn not only about how it led to the secularisation of Quebec's society and government, but also how it led to the emergence of a distinct Quebecois identity.
- The history of Macau during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Macau's Cold War history differs from that of Hong Kong.
Peronism protected nazis, no matter the madonna movie
"You get a bunker! You get a bunker! Everybody get a bunker!"
Bunker Friday: big discount
They went bunkers
When I attended the University of Toronto in the mid to late 70s the Marxist-Leninists used to poster the campus urging people to vigorously support the struggle of Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Communist Party. I was tempted, but never had the time or budget, to put up posters calling to vigorously support the struggle of King Leka and the Albanian Monarchist League.
I bet those people are now the ones who run Canada
Fascinating.
A very obscure Cold War figure, in my opinion. When able, see if you can cover Popes Paul Vi and John Paul 2's time in office during the Cold War.
Hoxha is the weirdest man in the Cold War history. Like he was so paranoid that people would invade Albania, but let's be honest, who would have wanted that?
well, USSR, for example
Realistically speaking, Yugoslavia wanted to annex Allbania.
@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5 Mostly because he didn't do away with Stalinism like most of the Eastern Bloc did. So in a sense, this fear of invasion was by his own doing. You might say he feared himself
Bruh u know nothing about history dont u ? Italy,greece and yugolslavia all wanted to invade albania
@@Barricade379the USSR only invaded Communist countries that were democratizing (Czechosolvakia, Hungary), while leaving the authortrian Communist states who weren't very obedient alone (Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania).
There's a lot of cultural context missing in most modern analyses of Hoxha's regime.
Albanians are like Sicilians, or Corsicans; hard, insular, clannish, + prone to ruthlessness in conflicts big + small. Hoxha's rule both reflected that character, + constantly was defending itself against the nastier outbursts of that kind of culture, against + between clan-group + religious factions. That excuses 0 of its worst excesses, of course; but it does contextualize a lot about his "hermit regime". You don't last 40 years on top in a society like that by playing nice.
Some of his purges, notably of Mehmet Shehu, which extended to Shehu's entire family, somewhat resembled traditional clan feuds in Albania.
I've heard Albania joked about as being Europe's North Korea before, but I never really knew the history behind it. Thank you for another informative video.
God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)
"voluntary" comment to appease the all mighty algorithm
Never a good sign when a country bans beards, this reminded me of travelling through Yugoslavia as a child and seeing across a lake Albania which my father explained wouldn't have allowed him entry for possessing facial foliage.
@TheColdWar You mentioned several hundred foreign nationals executed... can you comment on that? What were they doing there? What were they executed for? They weren't diplomatic staff I assume.
I second this Q.
They were ex capitalist pigs from stalinist perspective from time of kingdom (see kulaks and pol pot year zero)
In 1957 a US Shooting Star was made to land in Albania by Albanian MiG-15s. The pilot, a Major Curran, was later repatriated to the USA but the jet is still on display in Albania. There were a number of other incidents, involving foreign aircraft. German, Yugoslav, Greek etc. Whether anyone was executed, I don't know.
Realistically Hoxha was the embodiment of Albanian society of the time.
Even today Albania is a bit weird, mostly rural in mentality country.
Serbia had less stalinism, but suffers same mentality
@@RasVojaSerbs don't fuck goats mate
How can we be considered rural when 40% of our population works abroad and the average Albanian speaks at least two other languages besides Albanian? So, are Greeks, Basques, Armenians......, and so on also considered weird just because they have their own unique heritage and speak a unique language?
Since you are making assumptions about Albanians, then I am allowed to assume that you indeed come from a Slavic country where shared values and similar languages are common. From our point of view, this would make you weird, too. 😂
@@vendumsica Working in Italy and abroad does not chage fact of rural urban distribution of populous, but that is changing in recent decades. Its good coastal Albanians are well educated. Yes, I am a Yugoslav born in Belgrade.
@@Janandrea1477 No one fuck goats, but hilibillies
3rd poorest in the world? Wow, wonderful ☭ achievement!
LOOOOOOOOOOL.
The bunkers were anything but weird. You'd bet ukraine would be glad to have such an immense amount of concrete bunkers all over her current frontlines.
@9:05 - In the part of the video where he says "He decided to cut mid and high level bureaucratic salaries to make sure they were completely ideologically and commited to his vision."
When has cutting someone's pay ever made them more loyal or more committed to the leader's vision of the future? 🤷
He was the Kim jong un of Europe.
Well, he didn't manage to establish a dynasty like the Kims did...
More like Kim il sung. But neither of like each other
You're two generations earlier though
More like Mao.
Nicolae Ceaușescu was Kim Il Sung of Eastern Bloc
@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5Ceausescu did alot of trade and received investment from Western countires which Mao didn't do. I guess he's a mixture of Deng, Mao, and Kim
800,000 bunker were build in 29,000 square meter and today one bunker cost about 7-8000$ so this is what was build ! Albania was 99% green energy (hydropower ) and Albania military reserves were 200 MIG , and about 7-8milliard $ military reserves !
Hoxha was good at one thing, imitating others. First Stalin, then Mao until finally he combined the two and basically called it Hoxhaism
Creativity was obviously not his strongest suit
Image if he added Pol Pot in the mix
@@Nathan-jh1ho oh god
That would be a nightmare of extreme proportions.
Tito emulated Stalin before split. Capitalist emulated US presidents. It was a trend except De Gaul
Hoxha's flip flopping went as follows:
1. Supporter of Yugoslavia.
2. Supporter of Stalin's Russia on anti-Yugoslavia grounds.
3. Supporter of Mao's China on anti-"revisionist Soviet" grounds. (During the late 1970s, Albania was one of few nations which had diplomatic relations with Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. )
4. Supporter of Soviet Union/Vietnam when the latter invaded Cambodia, this time on anti-China grounds.
No wonder Albania had no friends.
The last Stalinist left are North Korea Ceausescu Romanian Stalinist of personality cult was gun down on publics TV. Hoxha's paranoid 70 thousands concrete bunkers are still present and is biggest tourist attraction in Albania, which consumed 60% all GDP and was more than Soviet Union expenditure on militarism. Ceausescu Palace of the Parliament 2nd most expensive government building after Pentagon which destroyed beautiful old city tissue of old Bucharest with small churches and narrow low-rise baroque style buildings, instead it has 8 lanes boulevard road which leads to marble building but is is ugly.
Yes, but Cuba, China and Vietnam are less communist countries
@@RasVoja Mao was based on cult of personality, but today it is not. Same with Capitalists far-right Latin American countries Junta style Generalissimo uniform wearing "banana republics".
@@phyarth8082 There are communisms not based on cult and party. See Catalonian anarchism and anarchists and Trotskyeties
@@RasVoja Stalin created cult of personality. North Korea, Mao China, Hoxha later Romanian Ceausescu being followers of that style. But it is not specific for communist's countries too. Capitalist (right wing ) countries also have their own cult of leaders: fascist Italy, nazi Germany and majority of Latin America junta style countries. For example Peronism in Argentina is the same meaning as Stalinism even they are on different party spectrum.
@@phyarth8082 I agree, but that is not real feat of idea of socialism
Thanks!
I really enjoy these type of episodes i love couple of episodes covering. People like Ulbricht, bierut and rakosi. And episode covering kim ll sung personality cult.
Enver Hoxha created a real life Orwellian state. In the Museum of Leaves in Tirana which focuses on Sigurimi spy devices, some Albanian engineers invented a small microphone that they hid inside shoes and fake fruits. It’s bizarre.
Judging from the fact they were Albanian engineers I'm guessing that super small extremely advanced spy microphone was created in 2012?
My Dad was a football journalist and in 1967 he was one of the first Yugoslavs to visit Albania since1948 when Tito split with Stalin (& Hoxha). As soon as he landed at Tirana airport he was taken to have his head shaved by immigration police so as not to corrupt the Albania youth with his decadent hair style (it was already short). Yugoslavia won the football match, and as a reward some of the Yugoslav delegation were attacked by Albanian FA officials after the game. He wrote this up, but it was cut from final copy on the orders of someone higher up.
Albania and neighbouring Yugoslavia were at opposite ends of the scale when it came to oppressive communist regimes. Crucially, if you didn't like Yugoslavia you could leave and even come back at will, preferably with a load of western currency in your pockets. Everyone had a passport. In Albania you needed written permission to leave your village.
Without Hoxha Albania would become a 8th Republic of Jugoslavia or a northern part of Greece.
You have to judge Hoxha not by 2024 opinions.
But by the years of his rule.
People understand it very poorly. They call him mad for all the bunkers. Yet, they apparently don't understand how heated was the world, the region and how big blessing these bunkers would be for regular Albanians during real military conflict.
@chanpasadopolska yes indeed
And now the rest of Europe is clearing and maintaining the old bunkers because the Russian invasion of Ukraine...
The only mistake Hoxha did (in my opinion) was the isolation from the outside world ,persecution of the intelektuals and the ban of religion....
By his years of rule I can say worse things than in the 2024 opinion
@@eaglempire_mapper and I can say a lot more good things ....
Let's see who can say the truth and not the mythic legend's...
🫡
@@ABC.947-y3iCrazy how you love a psychopathic dictator...
More Hoxha content please.
Hoxha was diabetic (apparently first diagnosed in the late 1940s - it is noticeable that he lost considerable weight around that time, though he was a bit on the chubby side for much of his life). In his later years he reportedly needed kidney dialysis, and in his last official portrait he is quite emaciated.
What is crazy about Hoxha was how he deal with his supposed successor, Mehmet Shehu, who according to the official information, lost his life to insanity, and Hoxha subsequently rounded up the entire family, along with the killers in the national security department who did the dirty job.
Classic, Stalin kept wifes of all CPR officiuals in gulags
It's a fascinating story that is often not told
Stalin invited Hoxha to Comicon, Kruschev tried to cancel him…
Will you talk about Ramiz Alia, the one who succeeded Hoxha and eventually democratized Albania?
For the glory of the algorithm!
interesting video
He was always a foot note in Cold War history books.
To this day, I’m still baffled at Albania’s decision at an alliance with China which really did not make any sense in a geopolitical stance!
Who he should have aligned himself with? United States?
Hoxha liked Stalinism and he didn't want to be a marionette of Kremlin anymore, especially after Hungary-1956. And Czechoslovakia-1968 showed him that he was right and Brezhnev was no better than Khrushchev. Nothing baffling.
He saw Moscow's national-communism for what it really was - Russian Imperialism
What baffles me more is what advantage Mao saw in the alliance.
@@Matt_The_Hugenot Nothing baffling here too - any ally is good ally, especially in Europe, especially critical of Moscow revisionism. Chinese tried to subvert Romania and Yugoslavia too
@@Matt_The_HugenotAs it was pointed out in History matters at the time China didn't have the vote on the UN, so Albania was its permanent presence in the UN (alongside other recently freed colonial nations)
Plus, yeah they saw the thaw that was happening in Moscow and they didn't want any part on that.
16:51 "China doesn't follow marxism-leninism!"
Meanwhile, in China "Hahaha, Deng Xiaoping's totally-not-capitalist-trust-us-bro economy goes brrrrr"
Strange that a man with such a religious name was anti-religion.
His family belonged to the Bektashi version of Islam.
Despite the encouragement of non-religious names (Arben for example for men, Pranvera for women, the latter derived from the word for "spring"), people who already had religious names do not seem to have changed them, certainly in the case of Muslim ones - Enver Hoxha himself being a prime example.
@@stevekaczynski3793 Thanks ! You seem to be a "Albaniologist". I wonder if there was a change of the Muslim convention of names into Western style (name & surname) as it was the case in Turkey under Mustafa Kemal ?
@@andy99ishSurnames no, just during communism Slavic names like Bogdanovic, was changed to Bogdani (an "Albanized" form). But Albanian surnames, religious or no, weren't changed
@@andy99ish I read something about the place in Hoxha and Alia's time, but did not learn the language, probably vital to be a true Albania expert.
I don't know how Albanian surnames were formed, and the fact that a significant number are Christians by origin would also complicate things.
Hoxha, far better liked by ethnic Albanians in neighbouring countries the by his own people.
Incidentally the History of Everything channel just did a video about the adventures of the exiled Albanian crown prince. In person not a lot different from Hoxha.
I’ve been in the capital of Albania and up in the mountains. It is extremely beautiful, food is super cheap and absolutely delicious. but it’s basically Mexico with white people. all the cars are stolen and the coastline is absolutely gorgeous but you need a bodyguard
No, they're not stolen. And why in hell do you need a bodyguard??
@ I was all over , and the Up in the mountains believe me you need a bodyguard.
Is the Museum Of Atheism still there? I'd love to visit.
Those Thug Life glasses at 1:23 lol
7:22 There is no such thing as _"Outer Mongolia",_ there is only Mongolia, and the PRC occupied "Inner Mongolia".
Geographically there are
B U N K E R B O Y 👁️👄👁️
Albania was like the Turkmenistan of Europe
May the general secretary rest in peace from an albanian who has red star tattooed for respect for Dear Leader Xhaxhi Enver Hoxha! ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼
You seem not to be normal...
Tattooing an ideological symbol
Also, may Enver Hoxha rest in hell
You must either retarded or one of his descendants
Enver Hoxha would have loved reddit
No, it would be censored
Many psychological problems...
A channel called HistoryMatters has some videos on Albania 🇦🇱
One bunker per 4 citizens. Not bad, not bad.
Comic-con? 4:24
Comie-con
COMECON
Talk about the Indonesian Antu-communist massacre
Why did I read "Europe's Kermit Kingdom" 😅
Comic con? Arent you talking about the comintern?
COMECON = Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the Soviet answer to the Marshall Plan:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comecon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comecon
Comintern was dissolved by Stalin in 1943
@@Kawauso21 I see, I know the organization by a different name, KGST. Thank you for the clarification!
Commie-Con
Please change that font!
Who is Shannon Woodcock and what does she even have to do with Albania?
And we have the British comic Norman Wisdom,......
So it was only European Maoist country before Romania?
Watched another video on this character. As my British friend's would say, he was a complete bellend.
Top tier of cult of personality:
US destroyed an holy mountain to sculpt 4 giant white presidents.
These statues were built way after their death and other presidents are allowed to be lionized or loathed.
@videonofan
Still a Holy mountain for the culture...
Still a cult of personality
@@alangalantin8614"Cult of Personality" also includes said presidents being above any criticism. You can say jack anything against any of the presidents carved into it and you won't get persecuted for saying it. Do you know which republic has a pervasive cult of personality? Turkey/Turkiye. Every town and city has a street, plaza, and statue or any memorial to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Every classroom has a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and you can get arrested for saying negative things about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. America is child's play compared to what Turkey does...
@theotherohlourdespadua1131
You could be correct, but you are looking at the scenario through Americanized eyes.
Holy mountain? Say, isn't that also a cult of personality for imaginary beings invented by some tribes?
Too be quite honest most countries try not too allow ....Albanian influence to leave Albania and cohabitate 😂 sounds nice enuff huh , making it pretty easy to be a hermit kingdom
Sure, very funny, says someone who knows nothing about ancient Albanian history and relies only on prejudice and believes that we feed you w*ed, and you don't buy it of your own will. Don't tell me you're all puritans and immaculate. Very funny indeed. 😂
While Albanians brought civilization, you were still hanging from trees.
Dardania was Roman province inhabited by Illyrians and Traci ans.
I am glad to learn that Albanian ethnic theory was Hoxhas creation to justify isolation.
Dont bv Hoxha or I ll take Seseljs stupid theory of Serbs linked to Vinca neolithic culture, which is exact same level of bull.
It wasn’t made by hoxha you fool 😂
Get out of Albanian related business you 7th century Slavic immigrant. Albanians are Paleo-Balkan people, native to the Balkans in every sense, be it culturally, linguistically or genetically, which is something you will never ever ever be. Cope and seethe
You must be an expert when it comes to history 😂
@@southepirote7676 Yes I am. No, Tachi is expert in history, as well as Edi Rama and Vucic :D
@@southepirote7676 Yes such as Epirus was ancient Greek, but neither Albanians and modern Greeks are ancient so its dumb land marker prob, often with Serbs (we kill ourselfs where is border so often)
Why did Albania need a Minister of Justice when there was no justice in Albania.
Children are like trucks--both are high-maintenance. Doesn't matter how many trucks your army has--what matters is how many of those trucks are operational and whether or not you can fuel those trucks and crew them with drivers. When hunger is normal, children lack fuel. When Mommy works 60 hours a week or more outside the home, who takes care of her kids? And, like trucks, when there is no work, both children and trucks sit idle.
To ensure that no one deviates from "the right path of socialism and Marxism-Leninism"
old joke in National Lampoon (humor magazine) re: Hoxha's Albania:
Welcome to Albania
We have no Women here
Now go home!!
I have to say this “widely discredited illyrian theory “ is incorrect yes he nationalised the illyrian theory but this theory holds the most grounds and genetics and linguistics only prove it
The origins of the Albanians are somewhat mysterious - the language itself is considered Indo-European but in a branch of its own. Some think it is a descendant of Thracian, but too little of that language is attested to prove the theory one way or another.
America disarmed Albanians in 2007. Enver Hoxha was right about America. Breaking off relations with America. ENVER HOXHA ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Enver Hoxha ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.
Enver Hoxha 👹👹👹👹👺👺👺👺
Jesus imagine getting banished from Comic Con... Even furries are still allowed to attend.
Hey thats me
He literally abolished taxes
It would be kinda funny if all wages came from the state just to have it taken back
Amerika carmatosi Shqiperie ne 2007 Enver Hoxha kishte te drejte per Ameriken.te prishen maredhenidt me Ameriken.ENVER HOXHA ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
two years before his death, the population had nearly tripled (2.8m) from the figure you provided
enver hoxha kicked out the fascist italian occupation through popular people's struggle
set the goal of full electrification to 15 years, did it in 5
brought life expectancy up from 38 in 1940 to 71 in 1985
encircled and under fire by enemies at all corners, hoxha was able to subvert western attempts at infiltration by sending PLA members into the albanian expat training camps where NATO was training saboteurs, and sabotage that effort from the inside; the king of double agents.
along with all of this, by the end of hoxha's life, he had become one of the absolute most principled marxist-leninists that the world has ever seen. his polemics of the 20th congress of the CPSU, his stalwart support both ideologically and material to freedom fighters from recently (at the time) colonized palestine. additionally, when the ugly head of mao's revisionism reared its head, hoxha was one of the first to correctly analyze it in his magnus opus "Imperialism and the Revolution."
say what you want, those that read for themselves will know.
love live enver hoxha
Your English is superb! What part of Albania do you live in?
I respect him
Dude took no shit from anyone, and was no pewssie, I'll give him that. But yeah. COMPLETELY FACKING INSANE.
Red and black I dress eagle on my chest proud to be an Albanian
It's /ˈho.d͡ʒa/ the letter *xh* (it's a single letter in the Albanian alphabet) makes the /d͡ʒ/ sound like in the English word _bul_ *ge*