On This Day in History: Enver Hoxha Dies
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On This Day in History: Enver Hoxha Dies
Enver Hoxha was an Albanian politician who led Albania as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1944 until his death on this day (11 April) in 1985. Hoxha is most well known for, following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, becoming the new face (after Mao) of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism across the communist world after criticising China for drifting to revisionism under Deng Xiaoping.
Even by anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninists, Hoxha is often viewed as a deeply flawed person. On one hand, Hoxha transformed Albania from an impoverished, deeply troubled nation occupied previously by fascist forces to a relatively modernized state which established excellent education, pretty decent healthcare, good women's rights, high electricity and power, ) good safety, and exceptionally low crime rates. On the other hand, Hoxha is remembered for his documented cult of personality, extreme paranoia which resulted in building thousands of bunkers across the country (an economic burden which was widely considered unjustified and extremely pointless even by leftists), brutal state atheism, and political oppression. This narrative isn't really \_as\_ exaggerated by Western media as well, unlike countries like DPRK or USSR which continue to face false slander.
Hoxha is most notable for his anti revisionism, as previously mentioned. Following Stalin's death, a leader which Hoxha deeply admired, Hoxha would withdraw Albania from the Warsaw Pact and side with China in the Sino-Soviet split, making him one of the only socialist leaders in the world to side with China and the only former Warsaw Pact member to do so. Albania continued to exist as a loyal ally to Mao Zedong and as an extreme opponent of revisionism and Khrushchev himself. From the Warsaw Pact withdraw in the late 1950s to the late 1970s, Hoxhaist Albania underwent many of the incredible, genuine achievements mentioned above but also undergoing state atheism and political oppression and a cult of personality which was increasingly intensifying. He is particularly condemned for state atheism, as he completely and somewhat violently persecuted religion in a Bolshevik-esque manner which is widely condemned today even by Hoxhaists.
In the 1970s, Hoxha's status as a Chinese ally transformed into opposition to the state his previously admired. As China drifted towards revisionism and turned westward, Hoxha realised that China was no longer a reliable anti revisionist ally, at least according to his eyes. Therefore, Albania also split from China in the late 1970s and became an isolated state which opposed and demonised every other country in the world. They were totally isolated and broken off from everyone, and all they had were themselves. Hoxha continued to lead Albania until his death in 1985, where Ramiz Alia then took over and then Albania fell with the rest of the Warsaw Pact, perhaps somewhat ironically.
So how's Hoxha remembered today? In Albania, especially by those who live under Hoxhaism, many do share a genuine fondness for the Hoxhaist era for providing security, safety and equality. However, especially in a significantly religious country, many genuinely have never forgiven state atheist policies and the isolation which occurred near the end of Hoxhas life. He's a deeply contradictory and polarising figure championed for showing the benefits of anti revisionist, "true" Marxism Leninism but also showing the dangers of dogmatic Marxism.
So let's turn the discussion to you. I write this as someone who is an anti revisionist socialist but I ultimately hold a complex view of Hoxha. What do you think of Enver Hoxha?