Vlora incident

Vlora incident
Part of the Cold War and Albanian–Soviet split
Withdrawal of the Soviet Navy from Pasha Liman Base, Vlora (1961)
Date 28 March – 8 June 1961 Location Vlorë, Albania 40°19′26″N19°25′09″E / 40.323889°N 19.419167°E / 40.323889; 19.419167 Result Albanian victory
Belligerents
Albania	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Enver Hoxha	Nikita Khrushchev
Units involved
Albanian Armed Forces Albanian Naval Force	Soviet Navy
Casualties and losses
None

The Vlora incident was a dispute between Albania and the Soviet Union that lasted from 28 March to 8 June 1961. The Albanian People's Army blockaded the Pasha Liman Base, leading to the seizure of Soviet submarines and equipment. The incident underscored the escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations, ultimately resulting in the expulsion of Soviet navy from Albania.

Background and prelude

The Pasha Liman Base was the only naval base of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in the island Sazan in the Mediterranean and was established in the 1950s. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Differences in views emerged between the Soviet Union and Albania in the 1950s over Nikita Khrushchev's rapprochement with SFR Yugoslavia, the "revisionist" 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, the anti-Stalin campaign, the Hungarian Revolution, and the rising Sino-Soviet dispute. ^[4] Soviet submarine operations in the Mediterranean Sea began in July 1958 after the emergence of the Lebanon crisis. The Soviets set up 12 Whiskey attack submarines at the port in Vlorë. ^[5]

In 1960, there were food shortages in Eastern Europe and famine in China. Albania received wheat from China, which was purchased from France. Albanian leader Enver Hoxha refused to attend the meeting of Eastern European leaders in Bucharest in June 1960 to discuss the ideological and political differences between the Soviet Union and China. ^[6] In the same year, Hoxha caused a rift with the Soviet Union after he aligned his country with China. Khrushchev hoped that Albania would serve as a "military base on the Mediterranean Sea for all the socialist countries". The Soviets had provided equipment and training to the Albanian army and navy extensively, which included a fleet of 12 attack submarines for the navy. ^[7] At a meeting in Moscow of the 81 communist parties in November, Hoxha defended Stalin's legacy against revisionism, criticized Khrushchev's anti-Stalinism, and criticized the Soviet Union for interfering in Albanian affairs, for trying to encourage international communists to condemn China, for trying to blackmail Albania into submission and for failing to support the country during the famine. ^[6] The Soviet Union applied pressure on Albania to support its position on China, which worsened relations between the two countries. ^[4]

Incident and aftermath

Due to the worsening relations between the two countries, the Soviet Union annulled the military agreements it had signed with Albania and terminated all shipments intended for Albania. The Soviets had expelled all Albanian military students and personnel from the Soviet Union, and recalled their military advisers and specialists from Albania. In 1961, the Soviet Union demanded the evacuation of all Albanian personnel from the Vlorë base and placing it "solely under Soviet command; otherwise the Soviet Government would proceed to the liquidation of the base." On 5 April 1961, Albania alleged that the presence of Soviet military personnel in Vlorë was temporary and conditional, i.e. the Soviets were just there to train the Albanians in the use of Soviet military equipment and techniques, following which they were to leave the base. Albania also claimed that all of the warships and other naval equipment on the base were under its legal ownership. ^[4]

In April 1961, Soviet deputy premier Alexei Kosygin informed Hoxha about the Soviet Union's decision to withdraw all of its ships. Albanian forces blocked the base, deployed artillery and entered a submarine that was under Soviet command. Some Soviet ships were allowed to leave, but Albania kept four submarines, along with smaller craft, weapons and equipment. ^[3] Soviet submarine operations ended in the same year because of the rift between the Soviet Union and Albania. ^[5] As a result of the rift, the Soviet Union imposed economic sanctions on Albania, recalled eight submarines, ^[8] broke up Soviet naval facilities at the port of Vlorë, and engaged in polemical exchanges with Albanian leaders. ^[7] Although the submarines' withdrawal came shortly after the announcement of a trial against Albanian navy admiral Teme Sejko, it should not be assumed that the Albanians had prompted the Soviets to withdraw. ^[9] The Soviet Navy was expelled from Vlorë. Per professor of Soviet studies Bruce W. Watson, several Soviet sailors were killed by Albanian forces during the expulsion. ^[5] Due to strong Soviet pressure, Albania agreed to let the Soviets evacuate with most of their submarines and other military equipment. The Soviet ships had left Albania on 26 May 1961, while the remaining Soviet naval personnel left Albania on 5 June 1961. ^[4] Khrushchev ordered Soviet warships to perform maneuvers along the Albanian coast, and secretly encouraged pro-Soviet rivals of Hoxha to carry out a coup d'état. The coup attempt failed. ^[7] Sejko was executed along with other conspirators. ^[6] Khrushchev was unwilling to carry out a full-scale invasion to bring Albania back within the Soviet influence. In December 1961, the two countries severed diplomatic ties. ^[7] Albania was removed from participation in Warsaw Pact's councils in December 1961. ^[3] As they did not have an adequate logistical capability, the Soviet Navy had to stop its Mediterranean operations after its expulsion from Albania. As a result, there was a three-year halt in operations which ended when Soviet warships passed through the Turkish straits in 1964. In later years, the navy created a submarine contingent as a part of its Mediterranean fleet. ^[5]

See also

• Face to Face (1979 film), Albanian film adaptation of the 1961 military conflict with the Soviets

References

1. "Pasha Liman MAP · Remains of Paranoia". ausstellungen.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
2. Breemer, Jan S (1989). Soviet Submarines. University of Michigan: Jane's Information Group. p. 109. ISBN   9780262160704.
3. Mastny, Vojtech; Byrne, Malcolm (2005-01-01). A Cardboard Castle?: An Inside History of the Warsaw Pact, 1955–1991. Central European University Press. p. 108. ISBN   978-963-7326-08-0.
4. Prifti, Peter R (1978). Socialist Albania Since 1944. Ohio State University: MIT Press. pp. 202–204. ISBN   9780262160704.
5. Bruce W. Watson; Susan M. Watson (2020). The Soviet Naval Threat To Europe: Military And Political Dimensions. London: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-429-31478-0. OCLC   1135666648. The expulsion was particularly unpleasant as the Albanians shot and killed several Soviet sailors and seized some Soviet Whiskey submarines.
6. Morgan, Peter (2017). Ismail Kadare: The Writer and the Dictatorship 1957-1990. Routledge. pp. 39–40. ISBN   978-1-351-56200-3.
7. Fink, Carole; Gassert, Philipp; Junker, Detlef; Mattern, Daniel S., eds. (1998). 1968: The World Transformed. Cambridge University Press. pp. 117–119. ISBN   978-0-5216-4637-6.
8. "Albania's Soviet-era sub awaits its fate, refusing to sink". France 24. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
9. Kramer, Mark; Makko, Aryo; Ruggenthaler, Peter, eds. (2021). The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 354. ISBN   978-1-793-63193-0.