Workers World, Vol. 4 No. 1
Genuine communists the world over cannot fail to be saddened by the expulsion of the Albanian People’s Republic from the socialist camp. The diplomatic measures taken to isolate her economically and politically are a tragic blow to the entire communist movement.
At present, Albania only has diplomatic relations with France, Italy and Austria in the capitalist bloc. Of course, an attempt to normalize relations with the capitalist west is necessary.
But if Khrushchev’s policies of diplomatic isolation and economic strangulation continue it may force Albania to reach out for closer relations with the west. The responsibility for such a move will rest exclusively on the shoulders of Khrushchev.
But note – if Albania had seceded from the socialist camp, and applied to the imperialist powers for aid – how gleefully the world imperialist press would have hailed “heroic Albania”! How the hireling cartoonists of the bourgeois press would have depicted Hoxha as “David,” and Khrushchev as “Goliath” in a gargantuan battle between “tyranny” and “freedom.” Bourgeois columnists would “suddenly remember” that the regime of Hoxha and his party was legally elected to power by the Albanian people in a democratic, constitutional election. Perhaps even some of the tears that are now being shed for Portugal would be generously donated to the cause of Albania.
At the height of the Berlin crisis last year, C.L. Sulzberger, the chief foreign affairs analyst of The New York Times, stated that “if Khrushchev makes a grab for West Berlin,” it was likely that “we too” might make a “grab for Albania.”
Not much attention was given to this provocative statement which was evidently inspired by State Department strategy. It is worthy of note that since the split, there has been much talk and many rumors about how Tito could “make a grab” for Albania, with the acquiescence of the Pentagon, if not Khrushchev.
Alongside these well-planted rumors, comes news that certain ultra-chauvinistic elements in Greece have suddenly raised their ugly heads, and are finding ground for making an “ethnic dispute” with Albania.
There is no question that this is encouraged entirely by U.S. diplomatic personnel in Athens. They would like nothing better than a dispute like this one, which, while hurting Albania, would at the same time divert attention from the atrocious rule of the Karamanlis police dictatorship in Greece.
The pressure exerted on Albania from all sides is indeed very heavy. The new agreement executed between the Albanian and Chinese governments, which establishes a joint shipping company, comes as a welcome relief. It indicates the renewed determination of China not only to maintain, but to strengthen, her fraternal relationship with Albania.
What will happen, in the event of a military provocation perpetrated by imperialist plotters or Titoist attempts at internal subversion is hard to predict. But it is comforting to note that the imperialist press has been unable yet to report any kind of internal disturbance on which they can peg their hope for a “liberation” – Yankee style.
On the other hand, new signs of a steady deterioration in the relationship of the Soviet Union and China are truly alarming. The fact that direct service between Moscow and Peking, with Soviet TU 104 jets, has been cut to a mere twice-a-week run, is one of those signs which speaks volumes. The significance of this fact is buttressed by the sharp curtailment of Chinese passengers to the important airport at Irkutsk, USSR, which is a transfer point to Moscow from Peking.
The inauguration of the monumental TU 104 run between Moscow and Peking helped more than anything else, to cement Chinese-Soviet relations, and to demonstrate the superiority of socialist relationships between countries, over capitalist enterprises. It is a pity this run has been so sharply curtailed. This will hurt both China and the USSR as well.
Militant communists throughout the world cannot but unswervingly support the Chinese position as against Khrushchev. What will count here is not the symbol under which the CCP wages its struggle, but the class content of that struggle, and the political policies which flow from it.
Last updated: 11 May 2026