The political history of Albania, in comparison with most other European countries, remains one of the least studied and poorly known to the domestic audience. Only the era of the reign of Enver Hoxha is sufficiently well covered in Soviet and Russian literature, i.e. history of post-war communist Albania. Meanwhile, one of the most interesting periods in the life of this relatively young country (and Albania gained political independence just over a century ago), namely Albanian fascism, remains very unexplored. The topic of Albanian nationalism is very relevant, which is confirmed by the events of recent years and decades in the Balkans.
Albania, the former possession of the Ottoman Empire, which gained political independence after the Balkan Wars, became the object of Italian expansionist plans back in the 1920s. Benito Mussolini and his supporters viewed Albania, along with Dalmatia and Istria, as the natural sphere of influence of the Italian power. The plans to transform the Adriatic into an "Italian inland sea", hatched by the Italian fascists, directly implied, if not the annexation of Albania to Italy, then at least the establishment of an Italian protectorate in this country. Albania, in turn, in the 1920s - 1930s. was a weak state politically and economically, experiencing numerous problems. Many Albanians left to work or study in Italy, which only exacerbated the cultural and political influence of Italy on the country. Within the Albanian political elite, a rather impressive Italian lobby was formed, which sought to focus on cooperation with Italy. Recall that in December 1924, a coup d'etat took place in Albania, as a result of which Colonel Ahmet Zogu (Ahmed-bey Mukhtar Zogolli, 1895-1961) came to power. In 1928 he proclaimed himself king of Albania under the name Zogu I Skanderbeg III. Initially, Zogu sought to rely on the support of Italy, for which Italian companies were granted exclusive rights to develop fields in the country. In turn, Italy began to finance the construction of roads and industrial facilities in the country, took on help in strengthening the Albanian army. On November 27, 1926, in Tirana, Italy and Albania signed the Treaty of Friendship and Security, on November 27, 1926, Italy and Albania signed the Treaty of Friendship and Security, and in 1927, the Treaty of Defense Alliance. After that, instructors arrived in Albania - Italian officers and sergeants, who were supposed to train the 8,000-strong Albanian army.
- Ahmet Zogu and Galeazzo Ciano
However, already in the early 1930s. Zogu, who felt the excessive interference of Italy in the internal affairs of the Albanian state, tried to distance himself a little from Rome. He did not renew the Treaty of Friendship on Security, refused to sign a treaty on a customs union, and then completely expelled Italian military advisers and closed Italian schools. Of course, Rome reacted immediately - Italy stopped financial assistance to Albania, and without it the state turned out to be practically unviable. As a result, already in 1936, Zog was forced to make concessions and return Italian officers to the Albanian army, as well as remove restrictions on the import of Italian goods into the country and grant additional rights to Italian companies. But these steps could no longer save the Zogu regime. For Rome, the Albanian king was too independent a figure, while Mussolini needed a more obedient Albanian government. In 1938, preparations for the annexation of Albania intensified in Italy, for which Count Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), Benito Mussolini's son-in-law, campaigned most zealously. On April 7, 1939, the Italian army under the command of General Alfredo Hudsoni landed at the ports of Shengin, Durres, Vlore and Saranda. By April 10, 1939, the entire territory of the Albanian state was in the hands of the Italians. King Zogu fled the country. Shefket Bey Verlaji (1877-1946, pictured), one of the country's largest landowners and a longtime enemy of Ahmet Zogu, was appointed the country's new prime minister. On April 16, 1939, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was proclaimed king of Albania.
Until 1939, there were no political organizations in Albania that could be characterized as fascist. There were groups of Italophilic orientation among the military-political and economic elite of the country, but they did not have a clear ideology and structure, and their Italophilia was not ideological, but practical in nature. However, having established control over Albania, the Italian leadership also thought about the prospects of creating a mass fascist movement in Albania, which would demonstrate support for Mussolini from the Albanian population. April 23 - May 2, 1939, a congress was held in Tirana, at which the Albanian Fascist Party (AFP) was officially established. The charter of the party emphasized that it was subordinate to Duce Benito Mussolini, and the secretary of the Italian fascist party, Achille Starace, was the direct management of the organization. Thus, Albanian fascism was originally formed as a "subsidiary" of Italian fascism. The secretary of the Albanian Fascist Party was a member of the National Council of the National Fascist Party of Italy as one of its members.
The head of the Albanian Fascist Party was the country's Prime Minister Shefket Verlaji. Once Ahmet Zogu himself was engaged to his daughter, but, having become king, Zogu broke off the engagement, which inflicted a mortal insult on the largest Albanian feudal lord and forever turned into his enemy. It was on Verlaji that the Italians staked, intending to remove Zoga and annex Albania. Of course, Verlaji was far from fascist philosophy and ideology, but was an ordinary dignitary, concerned about the preservation of power and wealth. But he had great influence in the Albanian political elite, which was what his Italian patrons needed.
The Albanian Fascist Party set as its goal the "fascisation" of Albanian society, which meant a comprehensive affirmation of Italian culture and the Italian language among the population of the country. The newspaper "Tomori" was created, which became the party's propaganda tool. Under the AFP, numerous auxiliary organizations of a fascist type appeared - the Albanian fascist militia, the fascist university youth, the Albanian lictor youth, the National Organization "After Work" (to systematize the free time of workers in the interests of the state). All state structures of the country were under the control of Italian emissaries, placed in important posts in the army, police and government apparatus. At the first stage of the existence of the Albanian Fascist Party, its most important task was to "fascize" the system of state administration in the country. The leaders of the AFP paid much more attention to this direction than to the real establishment of fascist ideology among the masses. It turns out that the first time of its existence, the party remained a "copy" of Italian fascism, which actually did not have its own original "face".
However, as the structures of the Albanian Fascist Party developed and strengthened, ideologically motivated comrades-in-arms appeared in its ranks, who considered it necessary to improve Albanian fascism through its orientation towards Albanian nationalism. This is how the concept of "Greater Albania" appeared - the creation of a state that could unite all groups of ethnic Albanians who lived not only in the territory of Albania proper, but also in Epirus - in the north-west of Greece, in Kosovo and Metohija, in Macedonia and a number of regions of Montenegro … Thus, a group of supporters of its transformation into the "Guard of Great Albania" was formed in the ranks of the Albanian fascist party. This group was headed by Bayraktar Gyon Mark Gyoni, the hereditary ruler of the Mirdita region in northern Albania.
Soon the secretary of the Albanian Fascist Party Mustafa Merlik Kruja (1887-1958, pictured), a well-known political figure in the country, raised the question of whether a “fascist revolution” like the Italian one should take place in Albania? After consultations, the Italian leaders passed the verdict that the Albanian Fascist Party itself was the personification of the Fascist Revolution in Albania. At the same time, it was emphasized that without the leading role of Italy, the fascist revolution in Albania could not have occurred, therefore Albanian fascism is a derivative of Italian fascism and copies its ideological and organizational foundations.
With the beginning of preparations for the war of Italy against Greece, the Albanian fascist party became involved in the propaganda support of the aggressive policy of Italy in the Balkans. At the same time, the Italian leadership, having analyzed the situation in Albania, came to the conclusion that the Albanian army was unreliable, which was taken into account by the leadership of the Albanian fascist party. Worried about criticism from Italian patrons, Albanian fascists intensified their anti-Greek campaign in the country. In order to provide the ideological motivation of the Albanians to participate in the aggression against Greece, the fascists announced the occupation of the original Albanian lands by Greece, and the oppression of the Albanian population by the Greek authorities. In turn, Italy promised to expand the territory of the Albanian kingdom by annexing part of the Greek lands inhabited by ethnic Albanians.
However, even such circumstances did not contribute to the "fascization" of the Albanian society. The majority of Albanians were absolutely uninterested in Italy's imperialist plans, at least the Albanians did not want to go to war for Italian domination over Greece for sure. The communist underground also became more active in the country, gradually gaining prestige among ordinary Albanians. Under these conditions, the Italian leadership was less and less satisfied with the work of Shefket Verlaji as Prime Minister of Albania. Finally, in December 1941, Shefket Verlaci was forced to resign as head of the Albanian government.
The new Prime Minister of Albania was the secretary of the Albanian Fascist Party, Mustafa Merlika Kruya. Thus, the party leadership was united with the state power. Gyon Mark Gioni was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the country. As prime minister, Kruja advocated reforming the system of party and state administration, since it was unable to resist at a serious level the growing anti-fascist opposition led by the Albanian communists. Fighting the communists was also very difficult because they also exploited the concept of "Greater Albania" and argued that Kosovo and Metohija were originally Albanian lands. Finally, in January 1943, Mustafa Merlika Kruja was forced to step down as Prime Minister of the Albanian state. Ekrem Bey Libokhova (1882-1948) became the new Prime Minister of Albania. A native of Gjirokastra, in his youth Libokhov served in the diplomatic mission of Albania in Rome and had long-standing ties with Italy. From January 19 to February 13, 1943 and from May 12 to September 9, 1943, Libokhova twice served as Prime Minister of Albania. Kol Bib Mirak became the secretary of the Albanian Fascist Party.
Ekrem Bey Libokhova tried to slightly strengthen the independence of Albania and the Albanian Fascist Party from the Italian leadership. A list of demands was sent to King Victor Emmanuel and Duce Benito Mussolini, which included the creation of the royal court of Albania, the elimination of the "Albanian" sub-secretariat in the Italian Foreign Ministry, the granting of Albania the right to independently conduct foreign policy, the transformation of the Albanian fascist party into the Guard of Great Albania, and the elimination of Albanian nationalism. the Albanian army from the Italian, the transformation of the gendarmerie, police, militia and financial guards into Albanian formations, the disbandment of the fascist militia of Albania and the inclusion of its personnel in the gendarmerie, police and financial guard of the country. From February to May 1943, Malik-bey Bushati (1880-1946, pictured) was at the head of the Albanian government, during the months of his rule a very large-scale transformation took place.
On April 1, 1943, the Albanian Fascist Party was officially renamed the Guard of Great Albania, and the Albanian Fascist Militia was abolished, with the subsequent inclusion of its fighters in the state power structures. After fascist Italy surrendered on September 8, 1943, the question of the future of Albania inevitably arose, in which the partisan war of the communists against the fascist government did not stop.
The leaders of Albania hastened to declare the need for political changes in the life of the country. However, shortly before Italy's surrender, Nazi troops entered Albania. So the Italian occupation of Albania was replaced by the German occupation. The Germans hastened to replace the head of the Albanian government, to whom Ibrahim Bey Bichaku was appointed on September 25, 1943.
The Hitlerite leadership decided to play on the nationalist feelings of the Albanian elite and announced that Germany intends to restore the political independence of Albania, lost during the union with Italy. Thus, the Nazis hoped to enlist the support of the Albanian nationalists. A special committee was even created to proclaim the independence of Albania, and then the Supreme Regency Council was formed, which replaced the fascist government of Italy. Its chairman was a well-known nationalist politician Mehdi-bey Frasheri (1872-1963, pictured). On October 25, 1943, Mehdi Bey Frasheri was also appointed Prime Minister of Albania, replacing Ibrahim Bey Bichak in this post. After the appointment of Mehdi Bey Frasheri, the ideological paradigm of Albanian collaboration also changed - the Albanian leadership reoriented itself from Italian fascism to German Nazism. We will describe how the further transformation of Albanian fascism took place in the next part of the article.
