Modern Albania
Modern Albania

Author: Fred C. Abrahams

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-03

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1479838098

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In the early 1990s, Albania, arguably Europe’s most closed and repressive state, began a startling transition out of forty years of self-imposed Communist isolation. Albanians who were not allowed to practice religion, travel abroad, wear jeans, or read “decadent” Western literature began to devour the outside world. They opened cafés, companies, and newspapers. Previously banned rock music blared in the streets. Modern Albania offers a vivid history of the Albanian Communist regime’s fall and the trials and tribulations that led the country to become the state it is today. The book provides an in-depth look at the Communists' last Politburo meetings and the first student revolts, the fall of the Stalinist regime, the outflows of refugees, the crash of the massive pyramid-loan schemes, the war in neighboring Kosovo, and Albania’s relationship with the United States. Fred Abrahams weaves together personal experience from more than twenty years of work in Albania, interviews with key Albanians and foreigners who played a role in the country’s politics since 1990—including former Politburo members, opposition leaders, intelligence agents, diplomats, and founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army—and a close examination of hundreds of previously secret government records from Albania and the United States. A rich, narratively-driven account, Modern Albania gives readers a front-row seat to the dramatic events of the last battle of Cold War Europe.

Modern Albania
Modern Albania

Author: Fred Abrahams

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 1479896683

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In the early 1990s, Albania, arguably Europe’s most closed and repressive state, began a startling transition out of forty years of self-imposed Communist isolation. Albanians who were not allowed to practice religion, travel abroad, wear jeans, or read “decadent” Western literature began to devour the outside world. They opened cafés, companies, and newspapers. Previously banned rock music blared in the streets. Modern Albania offers a vivid history of the Albanian Communist regime’s fall and the trials and tribulations that led the country to become the state it is today. The book provides an in-depth look at the Communists' last Politburo meetings and the first student revolts, the fall of the Stalinist regime, the outflows of refugees, the crash of the massive pyramid-loan schemes, the war in neighboring Kosovo, and Albania’s relationship with the United States. Fred Abrahams weaves together personal experience from more than twenty years of work in Albania, interviews with key Albanians and foreigners who played a role in the country’s politics since 1990—including former Politburo members, opposition leaders, intelligence agents, diplomats, and founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army—and a close examination of hundreds of previously secret government records from Albania and the United States. A rich, narratively-driven account, Modern Albania gives readers a front-row seat to the dramatic events of the last battle of Cold War Europe.

Women in Modern Albania
Women in Modern Albania

Author: Susan E. Pritchett Post

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13:

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Upon her arrival in Tirana, Albania, in April 1994, the author found a city unlike any other she had experienced. Rotting trash was piled in the center of the streets, animals shared the rutted roads with cars, and housing, when it could be found, was crowded and crumbling. But she found a people full of optimism, particularly the women. Despite the subservient role forced by tradition on nearly all Albanian women, they have increasingly become the foundation upon which the country exists. Not only are they responsible for caring for extended households, these women are now also becoming vital parts of the country's economy. Most importantly, however, they maintain a faith in Albania that belies the country's turbulent past and widely predicted future. Through interviews with over 200 Albanian women, this work is an insightful, often poignant, look at a country that remains a mystery to most in the West.

The Albanians
The Albanians

Author: Miranda Vickers

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-01-28

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0857736558

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This is the first full account of a country that, following decades of isolation, has undergone unprecedented changes to its political system: the collapse of communism, the progression to multi-party elections and the upheaval that followed the March 1997 uprising. Miranda Vickers traces the history of the Albanian people from the Ottoman period to the formation of the Albanian Communist Party. She considers the charismatic leadership of Enver Hoxha; Albania's relationship with Tito and the alliance with the Soviet Union and then China; and the long period of isolation. Newly revised for this paperback edition, The Albanians considers the gradual process of reform and the fragility of the Albanian experiment with democracy, and includes a dramatic account of the days leading up to Sali Berisha's resignation of the presidency. It has now been updated to cover the crisis in Kosovo that has led to the first 'Western' war in Europe since 1945.

Albania
Albania

Author: Elez Biberaj

Publisher: Westview Press

Published: 1990-06-18

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13:

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SCOTT (copy 1): from the John Holmes Library collection.

The Albanians
The Albanians

Author: Miranda Vickers

Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Published: 2014-02-27

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9781780766959

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This is the first full account of a country that, following decades of isolation, has undergone unprecedented changes to its political system: the collapse of communism, the progression to multi-party elections and the upheaval that followed the March 1997 uprising. Miranda Vickers traces the history of the Albanian people from the Ottoman period to the formation of the Albanian Communist Party. She considers the charismatic leadership of Enver Hoxha; Albania's relationship with Tito and the alliance with the Soviet Union and then China; and the long period of isolation. Newly revised for this paperback edition, The Albanians considers the gradual process of reform and the fragility of the Albanian experiment with democracy, and includes a dramatic account of the days leading up to Sali Berisha's resignation of the presidency. It has now been updated to cover the crisis in Kosovo that has led to the first 'Western' war in Europe since 1945.

Balkan Beauty, Balkan Blood
Balkan Beauty, Balkan Blood

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Published: 2006-07-07

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 0810123371

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In these stories representing the last three decades of Albanian writing--especially the burst of creativity in the newfound freedom of the 1990s--readers will encounter work that reflects the literary paradox of Eastern Europe in the late twentieth century: the startling originality of the new uneasily coupled with the strains of history; the sophistication and self-consciousness of late (or post-) modernity married to the simplicity of a literature first finding its voice; a refusal of political influence and pressure expressed through frankly political subject matter.

From Stalin to Mao
From Stalin to Mao

Author: Elidor Mëhilli

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2017-11-15

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 1501712233

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Elidor Mëhilli has produced a groundbreaking history of communist Albania that illuminates one of Europe’s longest but least understood dictatorships. From Stalin to Mao, which is informed throughout by Mëhilli’s unprecedented access to previously restricted archives, captures the powerful globalism of post-1945 socialism, as well as the unintended consequences of cross-border exchanges from the Mediterranean to East Asia. After a decade of vigorous borrowing from the Soviet Union—advisers, factories, school textbooks, urban plans—Albania’s party clique switched allegiance to China during the 1960s Sino-Soviet conflict, seeing in Mao’s patronage an opportunity to keep Stalinism alive. Mëhilli shows how socialism created a shared transnational material and mental culture—still evident today around Eurasia—but it failed to generate political unity. Combining an analysis of ideology with a sharp sense of geopolitics, he brings into view Fascist Italy’s involvement in Albania, then explores the country’s Eastern bloc entanglements, the profound fascination with the Soviets, and the contradictions of the dramatic anti-Soviet turn. Richly illustrated with never-before-published photographs, From Stalin to Mao draws on a wealth of Albanian, Russian, German, British, Italian, Czech, and American archival sources, in addition to fiction, interviews, and memoirs. Mëhilli’s fresh perspective on the Soviet-Chinese battle for the soul of revolution in the global Cold War also illuminates the paradoxes of state planning in the twentieth century.

Women in Modern Albania
Women in Modern Albania

Author: Susan E. Pritchett Post

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13:

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Upon her arrival in Tirana, Albania, in April 1994, the author found a city unlike any other she had experienced. Rotting trash was piled in the center of the streets, animals shared the rutted roads with cars, and housing, when it could be found, was crowded and crumbling. But she found a people full of optimism, particularly the women. Despite the subservient role forced by tradition on nearly all Albanian women, they have increasingly become the foundation upon which the country exists. Not only are they responsible for caring for extended households, these women are now also becoming vital parts of the country's economy. Most importantly, however, they maintain a faith in Albania that belies the country's turbulent past and widely predicted future. Through interviews with over 200 Albanian women, this work is an insightful, often poignant, look at a country that remains a mystery to most in the West.

Albania In Transition
Albania In Transition

Author: Elez Biberaj

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-20

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 042997096X

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This book focuses on the trials and tribulations of Albania's efforts to create a democratic political order. It assesses the degree and significance of changes since the early 1990s, providing a detailed account of the transition from Communist Party rule to multiparty competition.