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The Vlora incident was a military confrontation between Albania and the Soviet Union in 1961. The Albanian People's Army blockaded the Vlora naval base, leading to the seizure of Soviet ships and equipment. The incident underscored the escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations, ultimately resulting in the expulsion of Soviet forces from Albania. [1] [2]
Vlora incident | |||||||||
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Part of the Cold War and Albanian–Soviet split | |||||||||
![]() Withdrawal of the Soviet Navy from Pasha Liman Base, Vlora (1961) | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Units involved | |||||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
none | Material losses seized by the Albanian Army 4 submarines 5 Komsomolets torpedo boats [12] 4 defence ships 8 minesweepers 1 degaussing ship 2 tanks 1 Torpedo (Project 368T) 1 dive boat [13] Military casualties: Soviet transport ship was shot by cannon and destroyed Soviet group was killed [7] several Soviet sailors were killed by Albanian soldiers [14] |
After World War II, Albania came under communist leadership, and under Enver Hoxha's direction, the country grew to be one of the Soviet Union's closest allies in Europe. The Albanian government received financial and military assistance from the Soviet Union, which also helped to industrialize the nation.[ citation needed ]
However, in the 1960s, a rift developed between Albania and the Soviet Union as a result of divergent views on how to interpret Marxism-Leninism and the best method for implementing communism on a global scale. Albania criticised the USSR for being too accommodating towards the United States and its allies, and rejected the détente approach that the Soviet Union was pursuing with the West. [15] [16] [17]
In 1960, Enver Hoxha caused a rift with the Soviets after he aligned his military with China. [18] Nikita Khrushchev hoped that Albania would serve as a military base on the Mediterranean Sea for "all the socialist countries" and provided equipment and training to the Albanian army, which included a fleet of twelve submarines. As a result of the rift the Soviet Union imposed economic sanctions on Albania, withdrew eight of the twelve submarines, broke up Soviet naval facilities at the Albanian port of Vlora, engaged in polemical exchanges with Albanian leadership and encouraged pro-Moscow leaders in Albania to stage a coup against Hoxha. [18] Among the conspiracy's ringleaders was Vice Admiral Teme Sejko, a senior Albanian military officer. [19] [20] Although the submarines withdrawal came shortly after the announcement of a trial against Sejko, it should not be assumed that the Albanians had prompted the Soviets to withdraw. [21] [22] [ failed verification ]
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union tried to increase its military presence and influence outside of its boundaries, notably in the Mediterranean area. The stance of the Soviet Union in the Mediterranean was mainly intended to counter the United States and NATO, who maintained a sizable naval presence in the area. The Soviet Union was successful in increasing its naval presence in the Mediterranean. Albania was one instance of this, giving the Soviet Union a portion of its coastline as part of the latter's swift push into the Mediterranean. [23] While comparatively insignificant politically and economically to the Soviet Union, Albania allowed the country to establish a strong military base that housed marines and larger units similar to destroyers. [24] [25]
Vlora Base, also known as Pasha Liman Base, was a major Soviet naval base on the Albanian coast. Established in 1957, it served as an important base for Soviet submarines and warships in the Mediterranean. [26]
In 1961, the Albanian government decided to use military force to expel the Soviet forces from Albania and to take control of four of the twelve Soviet submarines. On April 7, 1961, Albanian troops began to position the Vlora base and encircle the Soviet soldiers. Soviet forces were ordered to evacuate the base and leave Albania. Soviet troops initially resisted, but after several days of siege and negotiations, an agreement was reached. Soviet forces left the Vlora base on April 12, 1961 and withdrew from Albania. [27] The Soviets withdrew, recalling eight submarines. [28]
After the Soviets tried to leave Albania, they were pursued by the Albanian Naval Force and threatened with gunships. During this crisis, a group of Soviets were killed and a Soviet ship was destroyed by the Albanian army. [12]
Following these events, Khrushchev sought revenge on Albania. In 1962 he engaged with Warsaw Pact members on how they could launch an invasion of Albania. However, this plan was curtailed by the advent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. [29]
It led to the expulsion of the Soviets from Albania. During the attack several Soviet sailors were killed by Albanian Armed forces. After the incident, diplomatic relations between Albania and the Soviet Union were cut off and the Soviet Union lost access to the Mediterranean on the Albanian coast. [30] [31] [32]
Despite the dramatic shift in relations with the Eastern Bloc for Albania, the Vlora incident did not result in any kind of improvement in relations between Albania and Western countries, either. Albania maintained excellent relations with the People's Republic of China, until those too were broken off after Enver Hoxha strongly criticized China's rapprochement with the United States. [33]
Enver Hoxha was an Albanian communist politician who was the ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, a member of its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army. He was the twenty-second prime minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times was both foreign minister and defence minister of the country.
Vlorë is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coasts. It experiences a Mediterranean climate, which is affected by the Ceraunian Mountains and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
Vlorë County is one of the 12 counties of the Republic of Albania with the city of Vlorë being the county capital. The county spans 2,706 square kilometres (1,045 sq mi) and has a total population of 187,675 people as of 2021. It borders the counties of Fier and Gjirokastër, as well as the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. Greece borders Vlorë to the south.
Operation Valuable was a covert operation conducted during the Cold War by the United Kingdom and the United States in collaboration with other Western Bloc nations. The operation aimed to overthrow the communist regime of Albanian ruler Enver Hoxha as part of broader efforts to counter communist influence around the world and install pro-Western leaders. It involved strategic military actions, incorporating air, naval, and ground assets in pursuit of its objectives. As part of the operation, MI6 and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a joint covert operation using Albanian expatriates as agents. Other anti-communist Albanians and Europeans from other nations worked as agents for Greek and Italian intelligence services, some supported by MI6 and the CIA. Many of the agents were caught, put on trial, and either shot or condemned to long prison terms of penal labor.
The Albanian Naval Force is the naval branch of the Albanian military. Their name was changed from the Albanian Naval Defense Forces in 2010. The Naval Force is headquartered in Durrës, and operates multiple bases, including Kepi i Palit base in Durrës, and Pashaliman in Vlorë.
The Three Worlds Theory, in the field of international relations, posits that the international system during the Cold War operated as three contradictory politico-economic worlds. It was first formulated by Mao Zedong in a conversation with Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda in February 1974. On April 10, 1974, at the 6th Special Session United Nations General Assembly, Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping applied the Three Worlds Theory during the New International Economic Order presentations about the problems of raw materials and development, to explain the PRC's economic co-operation with non-communist countries.
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, officially the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 until 1976, and from 1991 to 1992 as the Republic of Albania, was the communist state in Albania from 1946 to 1991. It succeeded the Democratic Government of Albania (1944–1946).
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Albania and the Soviet Union happened on April 7, 1924. Both countries were also allies in the Warsaw Pact. Albania has an embassy in Moscow. Russia has an embassy in Tirana.
The Corfu Channel incident consists of three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications. The second incident involved Royal Navy ships striking mines; and the third occurred when the Royal Navy conducted mine-clearing operations in the Corfu Channel, but in Albanian territorial waters, and Albania complained about them to the United Nations.
Beqir Balluku was an Albanian politician, military leader, and Minister of Defense of Albania. Balluku assisted Enver Hoxha in carrying out the 1956 purge within the Party of Labour. However, in 1974, Balluku himself, along with a group of other government members was accused by Hoxha of an attempted coup d'état against the Albanian People's Republic. He was executed the next year.
Teme Sejko was an Albanian Rear Admiral and commander of the Albanian navy and the naval base of Durrës. In 1961 he was executed for allegedly being the leader of a pro-Soviet group that had been planning a coup d'état against Enver Hoxha by selling the Albanian Navy to the United States Sixth Fleet.
The Albanian People's Army was the national army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1990. Like the militaries of other Communist states, the UPSh was subjected to the nation's ruling party, in this case the Party of Labour of Albania. In fact, as in other Communist states, the Party considered the military to be a creation of the Party itself. The UPSh consisted of the Ground Forces, the Navy and the Air Force. The militia of the UPSh was the Voluntary Forces of Popular Self-Defense (FVVP), and affiliate military structures included the Armed School Youth (RSHA) and Civil Defense of the Republic (MCR). After the fall of communism in Albania, the UPSh was replaced by the Albanian Armed Forces.
The Pasha Liman Base, or Pashaliman Base, is an Albanian Navy base south of Vlorë, Albania.
Tahir Demi (1919–1961) was an Albanian politician. He was high-ranking member of the Party of Labour of Albania and representative of Albania at Comecon. In 1960 he was arrested and sentenced to death in 1961 for being a member of a pro-Soviet group, led by Rear Admiral Teme Sejko, that had been planning a coup d'état against Enver Hoxha.
Liberation Day in Albania is commemorated as the day, November 29, 1944, in which the country was liberated from Nazi Germany forces by the Albanian resistance during World War II.
The Albanian–Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the People's Republic of Albania, which occurred in the 1956–1961 period as a result of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's rapprochement with Yugoslavia along with his "Secret Speech" and subsequent de-Stalinization, including efforts to extend these policies into Albania as was occurring in other Eastern Bloc states at the time.
The Porto Palermo is a bay in southwestern Albania. In the middle of the bay there is a small peninsula, it connection to the mainland serves as a parking space for campers and it has sandy beach.
The Skanderbeg Military High School, nicknamed as the Army Nursery was a military boarding school of the Albanian People's Army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. It served to prepare youth with general military education and the necessary secondary education to attend civilian and military higher military institutions. In doing so, it served as a feeder school for the Enver Hoxha United School of Officers. By 1960 about sixty-percent of the graduates of the United School of Officers came from the Military High School.
The expulsion of Soviets from Albania was an anti-Soviet campaign carried out by the Albanian leader Enver Hoxha. It was a significant event in the history of Albania and took place during the Cold War. This phase was characterized by tensions between the Soviet Union and the socialist regime in Albania. The expulsion began from 1961 and continued until 1964.
The expulsion of Yugoslavs from Albania was an anti-Yugoslav campaign carried out by Albanian leader Enver Hoxha against the leadership of Yugoslav leaders Josip Broz Tito and Aleksandar Ranković. This happened during the Cold War period as during the geopolitical tensions between the Communist Albania and Yugoslavia.
The expulsion was particularly unpleasant as the Albanians shot and killed several Soviet sailors and seized some Soviet Whiskey submarines
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: CS1 maint: others (link)In December 1961, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic ties with Albania,
The expulsion was particularly unpleasant as the Albanians shot and killed several Soviet sailors and seized some Soviet Whiskey submarines.
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: CS1 maint: others (link)