From a Note by M.Y. Khoshev, Counsellor of the Soviet Embassy in Albania, “On the Study and Discussion of Materials and Decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU in The PLA”
The comments of the Soviet ambassador in Albania during the period after the 20th Congress of the CPSU are quite revealing. It shows the resistance of the leadership of the Party of Labour of Albania, with Comrade Enver Hoxha at the head, to implement its decisions. It also shows the dire position of the Party with regards to the anti-Party group in Tirana. As Comrade Enver notes in “The Titoites”, behind the scenes of this plot were the Yugoslav legation (something this note speculates about) and the hidden enemy elements of the Beqir Balluku, Mehmet Shehu, and, especially, the First Secretary of the Tirana City Party Committee Fiqret Shehu.
In this situation, Albania was forced to implement some (not nearly all) decisions of the 20th Congress in its Report to the 3rd Congress as well as popularize them among the people. At this time, the Soviet Union was still the leader of the world communist movement, an objective fact that all the people recognized, it would have been impermissible for the Party not to at least inform them of the developments taking place. Some lip service was even paid to the Congress by Comrade Enver Hoxha himself during this time, it was impossible to come out openly against the Soviet Union in such a hostile situation. But as this note clarifies, the support the PLA gave the Soviet Union was very muted, never even considered rehabilitating Koci Xoxe and co. (something the Soviets and Yugoslavs wanted very badly), and I have emboldened a paragraph that shows their resistance to all this.
Nevertheless, despite all these plots and intrigues, Albania never wavered on matters of principle. The Resolution of the 3rd Congress, approved by the whole Party, noted that the line of the Party, from the beginning of the national liberation war, was correct [2]; it endorsed the necessity for the struggle against revisionism and opportunism of all hues [3]; it criticised the 20th Congress by stressing the continuation of the class struggle in socialism [4]; it ripped the mask off all those who wanted to ease vigilance, to replace class struggle with “democratization”, with peaceful coexistence, as the Khrushchevites so badly wanted. [5]
So, here I want to stress that one who comes away with the wrong illusion, from this note, that the Party of Labour of Albania supported the 20th Congress, is dead wrong. It was a matter of timing, and soon afterwards the Resolution of the 3rd Congress refused to implement the revisionist theses of the 20th Congress (indeed it combatted them), refused to change its line, even if it paid lip service to the 20th Congress generally. The astute tactical and strategical genius of Comrade Enver Hoxha knew that the preparation for a full assault against the Khrushchevites was coming, and as soon as November that year he was openly stating [6], before the whole world, the grave effects of the 20th Congress.
ShokuEnver
[1] Enver Hoxha, The Titoites, pp. 588–597, Eng. ed.
[2] Resolution of the 3rd Congress of the PLA. Principal Documents of the PLA, vol. 2, p. 593, Alb. ed.
[3] Ibid, p. 609.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid, p. 610.
[6] Enver Hoxha, In No Way Will We Make Concessions on Principles. Selected Works, vol. 2, pp. 616–630, Eng. ed.
June 14, 1956
Secret
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the decisions taken by it were received very favourably in Albania and gave rise to a great political and labour enthusiasm among the members of the Party of Labour of Albania and the workers of the country.
The 20th Congress took place in a period when the Party of Labour of Albania, having completed its first five-year plan, was elaborating directives for the second five-year plan and was preparing to convene the Third Party Congress, which was to outline the further tasks of socialist construction. The discussion of the materials of the 20th Congress of the CPSU was directly linked to the preparations for the 3rd Congress of the PLA and the development of the Second Five-Year Plan of Albania, which gave particular importance to the decisions of the Party Congress.
The CC of the PLA from the first days of the 20th Congress has paid a lot of attention to the promotion, study and practical implementation of the historical decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU. The Albanian press covered the whole course of the Congress meetings in considerable detail. The newspapers published the full report of the CPSU Central Committee and the resolution of the Congress on the report report report, the report on the directives of the 20th Congress of the CPSU on the sixth five-year plan for the development of the USSR national economy and the directives for the sixth five-year plan, the report of the chairman of the revision commission, the new composition of the CPSU Central Committee, statements of members of the Central Committee Presidium, the content of delegates and other materials. In addition, separate booklets were published the Report of the CPSU Central Committee with a circulation of 20,000 copies, the Report on the directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan and speeches of the members of the Central Committee Bureau with a circulation of 8,000 copies, and the Resolution of the Congress on the Report Report with a circulation of 8,000 copies. The speeches of a number of Congress delegates of particular interest to Albania were printed and sent to the periphery. It cannot be overlooked that the newspapers containing the materials of the 20th Congress and the pamphlets containing the speeches of Khrushchev and Bulganin sold out quickly and there was even a shortage of them in some places.
On the occasion of the end of the 20th Congress the Albanian Labour Party organized large rallies of workers, first in Tirana and then in other cities of the country. Enver Hoxha, head of the PLA delegation to the 20th Congress, addressed the rally in Tirana, while responsible Party workers addressed the rallies in other cities. Readings of the Congress materials were organized in all the enterprises, institutions and villages of the country. In addition, all the materials of the Congress were broadcast on the radio. The Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, where Enver Hoxha made a report, was held on March 2nd to discuss the results of the 20th CPSU Congress. In accordance with the decisions of the Central Committee Plenum, broad party activists were held in all regions and districts of the country.
It should be noted that the regional and district activists, as well as party meetings and party conferences focused on economic issues, the work of the party and the state apparatus, while issues of ideological work and the fight against the cult of personality were not given the necessary importance, and therefore the party activists were left uninformed about these issues. Neither did the press give these questions proper coverage, although the Reuter Agency and Radio Belgrade had already broadcast the main contents of Mr. Khrushchev’s report to the 20th Congress. In the GDR Walter Ulbricht spoke on these questions, and in Hungary Rajk and his supporters were rehabilitated. In this connection, questions about the cult of personality, the observance of Leninist norms of Party life in the PLA, the observance of the rule of law and others were put to the lecturers of the Central Committee of the PLA, but they, not being aware of the problem, could not, in fact, give correct answers to the questions raised.
A certain part of the Party activists were of the opinion that if there were abnormalities in this respect in other countries, then they must surely be in Albania too. Moreover, there was an opinion among some members of the party that if Enver Hoxha was very popular and respected by the people, then this was a cult of personality. Without finding proper coverage of these problems either at the party meetings, in lectures or in the press, discussions about them went on behind the scenes, and hostile elements sought to give them the direction they wanted.
Although the Party conferences in the country as a whole went well, at a high organizational and political level, there were cases where the conferences fell short, particularly in Tirana and Durrës. According to Albanian comrades, the party conference in Durrës attempted to hit the district party leadership and protect anti-party elements. Here, too, the weakness of party discipline was revealed.
The Tirana (capital) party conference, held from April 14th to 19th this year, took an unfavourable turn. Instead of discussing the report of the city party committee in substance, with the approval of the majority of the conference a number of delegates came up with numerous provocative questions directly to the Central Committee, demanding an immediate answer from the PLA Central Committee representative at the conference, Beqir Balluku. The essence of the questions mainly boiled down to the following: whether the Central Committee of the PLA made an analysis of the situation in the party in the light of the decision of the 20th Congress of the CPSU and what conclusions follow from this; whether the leadership of the Central Committee of the PLA is aware of the difficult material situation and low living standards of ordinary people; why the material situation of the people has become worse compared to 1946 and the Central Committee members themselves have special shops; how did the PLA Central Committee understand the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU on the fight against the cult of personality in the conditions of Albania and what is being done in this direction; does the APT Central Committee intend to take action on the Koci Xoxe case, etc. The debate at the conference began in a similar vein. It cannot be overlooked that the speakers were mainly responsible workers, in particular the former secretary of the city committee of the party, Niyazi Yaho, the officer in charge of the tyrant radio, Veim Demi, director of the film studio, Nesti Zoto, head of the press department of the PLA Central Committee, Vandush Vinciani, etc. Enver Hoxha came to the conference from Vlora and had to speak three times, after which the conference took a normal course and lasted for 6 days. There was much criticism of the work of the city and central organizations. The group which tried to stir up the conference turned out to be completely isolated and did not attempt to speak at the conference again. Elections for a new city committee and delegates to the 3rd PLA congress proceeded in an orderly manner. Enver Hoxha, Mehmet Shehu and other comrades from the Central Committee were unanimously elected as delegates to the congress. The leadership of the city party committee was renewed. Rapo Dervishi, a Central Committee member who had previously worked as first secretary of the Gjirokastra regional party committee, was elected first secretary and Fiqret Shehu, who had previously worked as first secretary, was elected second secretary.
Two other secretaries were elected from among the inspectors of the PLA Central Committee. Two workers directly from industry were elected to the bureau of the Municipal Committee.
The anti-party speeches at the Tirana Party Conference were due to a number of reasons. In particular, they are explained by the existence of certain economic difficulties in the country and a comparatively low standard of living of the people; by the weak political-educational and organizational work in the Tirana party organization and especially among the intelligentsia, due to which the propaganda of the decisions of the 20th Congress and their adaptation to the conditions of Albania in Tirana was clearly insufficient, and people were more easily influenced by the enemy’s propaganda; by the accumulation in Tirana of a significant number of unreliable elements, which have a negative influence on the internal affairs of the people. In addition to this there has been some influence from the hostile propaganda and underhanded work of Koci Xoxe’s supporters. The comrades also do not rule out that some work in this respect was also carried out by the Yugoslav mission workers in Tirana.
The fact that in the PLA and especially in Tirana, at almost every acute moment the enemy elements tried to drive a wedge into the unity of the party cannot be ignored. Thus, for example, at the moment of the change in relations with Yugoslavia, Tuk Jakova and Bedri Spahiu opposed the line of the Party, and now, after the 20th Congress of the CPSU, other anti-party elements came out.
In studying the question of what constituted the group of persons who spoke at the Tirana conference, the Central Committee of the PLA came to the conclusion that these speeches had been prepared in advance and were being discussed behind the scenes, but the City Party Committee, being poorly connected with the primary organizations, was not aware of this. These speeches had been instigated by the long-standing opposition to the party by Pëllumb Dishnica, head of the Ministry of Industry, General Hulesi Spahiu, Deputy Minister of Industry Pae Yaslami and others. The Central Committee addressed a closed letter to all party organizations in the country, condemning for anti-party behaviour the persons who had opposed and incited the Party leadership, calling on party organizations to increase political vigilance, strict observance of Party norms, strengthening the ideological education of Party members, improving communication between party organizations and the masses, more extensive promotion of workers to leadership positions and mobilizing all Party forces for the implementation of national economic plans. The discussion of the closed letter of the Central Committee in the primary party organizations was vigorous. Those who spoke against the Central Committee at the Tirana conference were expelled from the Party and transferred to other jobs.
It cannot be overlooked that the group which made provocative anti-party criticism against the Central Committee of the PLA and sympathizers included persons who had graduated from universities in the Soviet Union. In particular, the former secretary of the city committee, Niyazi Yaho, the teacher at the economic institute, Pechi Fedi, Colonel Ilyas Ahmeti, the composer Dora Leka, the film director, the teacher of philosophy at the Party school and others were expelled from the Party or brought to justice. This situation, in the opinion of the Albanian comrades, can be explained by the fact that in the early years of the people’s power people from a bourgeois environment were sent to study in the USSR, as there were no children of workers and peasants with a secondary education. Secondly, in the Soviet universities the Albanian students were not included in public life and did not always get the necessary Party and Komsomol training. Thirdly, upon their return to Albania, the Party, hoping for their high Party and political training, did little educational work with them.
Drawing a conclusion from the results of the Tirana conference, Enver Hoxha said that in the light of the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, they would take measures to make the workers and the new active members of the Party more active in the leading bodies, select people for leading work only on political and business grounds, pursue a policy of improving the economic situation of the people, reduce the state machinery, more clearly define the attitude to the Koci Xoxe case and relations with Yugoslavia, explain the essence of the fight against the cult of personality in Albania, etc. All these points the Albanian comrades sought to take into account in their future work.
During the period of the Tirana Conference and immediately afterwards, a number of articles appeared in the press devoted to explaining the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU in relation to the conditions in Albania, which was almost non-existent in the first period. The most important role in this respect was played by an article by Enver Hoxha, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PLA, in the newspaper Zeri i Popullit, under the heading “Marxism-Leninism Teaches That the People Are the Creators of History”. In this article a number of questions considered at the 20th Congress were raised with regard to the Albanian conditions. In particular, the fight against the cult of personality and the observance of Leninist norms of party life were dealt with in more detail. Enver Hoxha noted that the question of the fight against the cult of personality in Albania had been raised as early as July 1954, and the fight against the cult of personality in all its manifestations was permanent.
The decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU have been reflected in all areas of life in the country. The economic and political situation in the country, as well as its foreign policy, is examined from the angle of the decisions of the 20th Congress.
Summing up the above, the following conclusions can be made: The decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU contributed to the further strengthening of the Party of Labour of Albania, which was reflected in a closer connection of the Party organizations and the Party as a whole with the masses, in an increase in the activity of Party members and the development of criticism and self-criticism, in a more specific approach of Party organizations to solving the issues of economic and cultural construction, in the strengthening of the struggle against the cult of personality and the strengthening of collegial leadership of Party bodies. The results of the elections at the district and provincial conferences and the Third Congress of the PLA also testify to this. It can be assumed that all this will contribute to a significant strengthening of the Party and increase its leading role in the life of the country.
However, it must be noted that there were certain shortcomings in the discussion of the decisions of the 20th Congress. In particular, the party organizations, while paying great attention to economic and foreign policy issues, overlooked the issues of ideological work. In addition, the friends at first underestimated the importance of clarification of the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU on the issues concerning the struggle against the cult of personality and strengthening the socialist rule of law, as well as correct understanding of the Koci Xoxe case and relations with Yugoslavia, which tried to use the hostile elements and bring doubt into the ranks of the Party.
In connection with the discussion of the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the weak work of the Party with the workers of the ideological front, including those who graduated from universities in the USSR, was exposed at the Tirana Party Conference. It would be advisable to recommend to the friends to strengthen the cadres of ideological institutions, improve their material conditions of life and strengthen the political and educational work with the intelligentsia.
In view of the fact that the comrades are experiencing difficulties in restructuring in the light of the decisions of the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Party political education, the work of the Party school and the teaching of socio-economic disciplines in higher educational institutions, we would consider it expedient to assist them in this matter by granting their request to send their representatives to Moscow for appropriate advice on these matters.
