Introduction

Summary

The works dedicated to European communist dictatorships represent, in modern history writing, a rich and varied collection, analysing a wide range of appearances identified with communism – from political-ideological matters to the rituals of daily life. In the wealth of literature, the case of Albania seems to be clearly marginalized. Covering an area of less than 29 thousand square kilometres, Albania belongs to the smallest European states, but its strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea basin has long given this country a greater significance than a country of its size and population would normally warrant.

Recalling the communist period of Albanian history shows a range of phenomena, which give base to the special treatment of this country against the background of other countries with similar ideology, or, in actual fact, its treatment as the totally separate “Albanian case.” Attempts to define the specifics of the rule of Enver Hoxha inclines critics of the system to use the description of crazy or irrational dictatorship, built upon a picture of the hundreds of thousands bunkers which cover the country. Other researchers, who are less critical towards Hoxha's regime, provide examples of Albanian rationality, treating it as an example of an exceptionally pragmatic communist dictatorship. In many aspects, the Albanian regime of Enver Hoxha operated in a system which seems to be original and unrepeatable.