Soviet–Albanian Political and Diplomatic Relations (1955–1961)

Abstract

The normalization of relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in 1955 was viewed with suspicion in Tirana. Dependent on Soviet economic aid, Albania publicly endorsed the new Soviet foreign policy, maintaining the line of ideological conformity. The secret report delivered by Nikita S. Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union worried decision-makers in Tirana. But again, Enver Hoxha did not protest, publicly supporting the decisions adopted during this congress. The emergence of Sino–Soviet differences during the June 1960 Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties led to a change in Albania’s stance within the international communist movement. Thus, unlike the other communist and workers’ parties, the Party of Labor of Albania adopted a stance of neutrality towards the Sino–Soviet polemic. Starting with August 1960, Albanian communists openly supported the stance of the Communist Party of China.