History UsefulNotes / Albania

After the war, Communist partisans under Enver Hoxha (pronounced "Hod-jah") took over and Albania became part of CommieLand, though Hoxha's regime wasn't part of the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact for too long -- they thought the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviets]] were too soft after the death of UsefulNotes/JosefStalin and ensuing condemnation of his policies in the USSR, and aligned themselves with UsefulNotes/MaoZedong's UsefulNotes/{{China}} instead. At least until they decided the Chinese had gone soft as well (after the passing of Mao) and decided to go it alone. Albania became the most isolated and secretive nation in Europe, a sort of European UsefulNotes/NorthKorea, until UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag and the revolutions that swept Europe in 1989-91.

Albania ('''Albanian:''' ''Shqipëri/Shqipëria'', '''Gheg Albanian:''' ''Shqipni/Shqinia/Shqypni/Shqypnia''), officially known as the '''Republic of Albania''' ('''Albanian:''' ''Republika e Shqipërisë''), is a small Southern European country on the shores of the Adriatic Sea - just opposite the stiletto heel of the Italian boot. The Albanian language is, much like UsefulNotes/{{Armenia}}n (with which it should NOT be confused) and UsefulNotes/{{Gree|ce}}k, another one of those weird offshoots of the Indo-European family tree, with no particularly close relation to any other Indo-European language.

* Frank Castle goes up against the Albanian mafia's sex slave trafficking operation in ''Punisher: Slavers''.

After the war, Communist partisans under Enver Hoxha (pronounced "Hod-jah") took over and Albania became part of CommieLand, though Hoxha's regime wasn't part of the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact for too long -- they thought the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviets]] were too soft after the death of Stalin and ensuing condemnation of his policies in the USSR, and aligned themselves with UsefulNotes/MaoZedong's UsefulNotes/{{China}} instead. At least until they decided the Chinese had gone soft as well (after the passing of Mao) and decided to go it alone. Albania became the most isolated and secretive nation in Europe, a sort of European UsefulNotes/NorthKorea, until UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag and the revolutions that swept Europe in 1989-91.

One of the few countries wholly located in Europe with a Muslim-majority population, alongside UsefulNotes/{{Bosnia}} and the still-contested Kosovo, though in practice it's more like [[InformedJudaism Informed Islam]] more than anything, and out of all three is definitely the least religious of them all. Seriously, Hoxha's regime is infamous among the Eastern Bloc for overdoing the whole atheism thing. The religion only survives today as a NostalgiaFilter, like for example in personal names. Surprisingly, the religious life is a bit more vibrant in the Christian side, particularly the Catholic branch (having the Catholic Skanderberg and Mother Teresa as national icons helps).

* Music/RitaOra (Born 26th November 1990) and Music/DuaLipa (Born August 22nd 1995) are both British of Albanian descent despite for the fact that Rita Ora was born in Pristina, Kosovo while Dua Lipa was born in London to Kosovar Albanian parents. Their American counterparts Music/BebeRexha (Born in New York City on August 30th 1989 to Albanian parents) and Ava Max (Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 16th 1994) are also of Albanian descent. All 4 of them are famous pop stars.

In international stage, Albania is known for being among the most pro-American countries in the world. This reception dates back to World War I, when UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson personally supported the creation of an independent Albania. The Americans' firm commitment to protecting ethnic Albanians of UsefulNotes/{{Kosovo}} during the 1998 war did wonders for the relations as well. When UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush visited the country in 2007, he was greeted with great fanfare, something notable since by this time, he was hated by virtually everyone in Europe, thanks to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Iraq War]]. A statue of him was even erected in 2011.

Having been passed around between the [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Romans]], [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Byzantine Greeks]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}} Bulgarians]], Sicilian-Normans, [[UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}} Serbs]] and Venetians for pretty much its entire history, Albania ended up as an isolated backwater of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Ottoman Empire]][[note]]largely created due to the [[http://www.albanianhistory.net/en/texts1000-1799/AH1470.html common Ottoman policy]] of emptying conquered lands from native inhabitants[[/note]]. At the threat of losing their native culture [[note]]Ottomans did not allow non-Muslims to bear arms and Albanians had a reputation as mercenaries, often hired in many European campaigns[[/note]] the people largely became Muslim [[note]]albeit Bektashi, called a blasphemous sect and banned in many Muslim civilizations for supporting drinking, eating pork, and interreligious marriages[[/note]] and were loyal to Ottoman rule. Albanians were often used as enforcers by the Turks, which sometimes worked but often backfired, as in the case of Muhammad Ali--sent to UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} to enforce Ottoman rule, he ended up founding his own separate state and turning on the Turks. Or in the case of the national hero Skanderbeg, who was a Ottoman general before he went on a revolt. Creator/LordByron particularly admired the Albanians and considered them a counterpart culture of the Scottish Highlanders he was familiar with--from a mountainous region, wore kilts and had clans perpetually fighting each other.

'''Famous Albanians'''

'''Albania in fiction'''

* ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' - The famous scene with the pistachio shells in the warehouse was set in Albania.
* ''Film/WagTheDog'', in which a Washington spin doctor devises a fictional war in Albania to boost polls - released just as Albania imploded in the mid-90s.

* ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeatimeOfTheSoul'' - Kate at one point wonders about a lorry, in point trying to think of if it came from here. Turns out it's more carrying a cargo from the northern part of Europe...

* Frank Castle goes up against the Albanian mafia's sex slave trafficking operation in ''Punisher: Slavers''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once took in an Albanian exchange student. Unsurprisingly, he turned out to be a Communist spy.
* In ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' the Big Bad was to be made Albanian but it was dropped soon because of the complaints.
* Albanian gangsters show up in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''.
* A major oil refinery is located in Vlorë in ''VideoGame/EndWar'' and is a possible battlefield which is, like Albania and the rest of the Balkan peninsula (Greece, Serbia, UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}, Bulgaria, etc.), under Russian control by [[TwentyMinutesinthefuture 2020]], when WorldWarIII starts.
* ''{{Series/Daredevil|2015}}'' Season 3 features the Albanian Syndicate as secondary antagonists.
* ''[[VideoGame/SOCOMUSNavySeals SOCOM II: U.S. Navy [=SEALs=]]]'' has three missions in Albania involving taking down the Sesseri, a black market syndicate.
* ''Series/SEALTeam'': Season 3's third episode sees Bravo Team go to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prokletije Prokletije]] (which translates to the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace "Cursed Mountains"]]) to track down an Islamic terrorist leader who has been working with local [[TheMafiya mafiya]] groups to orchestrate bombings targeting Americans in the Balkans.

** Bajram Begaj

** President: Ilir Meta

* '''Lowest point:''' Adriatic Sea (-1,233 m/-4,045 ft)

Recently in UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}, Albania has become known for a GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff-type fondness for Norman Wisdom films. This is because they were some of the few Western media allowed in the country under Communism, because Norman Wisdom tended to play cheeky working class characters who stuck it to TheMan.

* '''Lowest point:''' Adriatic Sea (1,233 m/4,045 ft) (-)

* '''Highest point:''' Korab (2764 m/9,068 ft) (89th[[note]]shared with UsefulNotes/NorthMacedonia[[/note]])