Riza Cerova (1896—1935) was an Albanian political figure of the early 20th century. He is mostly known for his role during June Revolution of 1924 and Fier uprising of 1935.

Early life and migration

Riza Cerova was born in the village of Cerovë in

Skrapar Skrapar ( sq-definite, Skrapari) is a municipality in Berat County, southern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Bogovë, Çepan, Çorovodë, Gjerbës, Leshnjë, Potom, Qendër Skrapar, Vendreshë and Zhepë ...

region, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In his early youth he attended school first in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

and then in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. He returned in the area that is today Albania (these travels had not at the time taken him outside the Ottoman Empire) in 1911. During 1913-1914 he participated in fights against Greek troops in southern Albania. He was enlisted in the Albanian army, and participated in the skirmish against the rebels of Elez Isufi in 1922. Riza Cerova was one of the leading figures of June Revolution of 1924, which overthrew the regime of

Iliaz Vrioni Ilias Bey, bej Vrioni (1 January 1882 – 12 March 1932) was an Albanians, Albanian politician and landowner. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence and served as Prime Minister of Albania three times. Biograp ...

and installed an authoritarian government under Fan Noli. Following the defeat of June Revolution he migrated and joined the German Communist party in 1930. During that period he wrote many articles against

King Zog I Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...

.A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History Editor Robert Elsie Publisher I.B.Tauris, 2012 , 9781780764313 p.80 Cerova's articles were published in media like ''Liria Kombëtare'', a journal published by

KONARE Konare may refer to: People * Alpha Oumar Konaré Alpha Oumar Konaré (born 2 February 1946) is a Malian politician, who served as President of Mali for two five-year terms from 1992 to 2002 and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission ...

(''Komiteti Nacional Revolucionar'', National Revolutionary Committee), an organization founded by Fan Noli in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with other participants of the 1924 revolution.

1935 Uprising

In March 1935 he returned to Albania from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and was one of the main leaders of Fier uprising. Cerova in the following months enrolled many peasants of the Mallakastra and Skrapar regions in the anti-Zogist movement. He was killed in a clash against government forces in the

Mokra Mokra may refer to the following places: * Mokra, Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * Mokra, Silesian Voivodeship (south Poland) * Mokra, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) * Mokra, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland ...

region in August 1935.

Legacy

After World War II and the establishment of Communism in Albania he became a hero figure. Several institutions are named after him and a documentary about his life was produced in 1978Riza Cerova (1978) at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351665/ He was rewarded

People's Hero of Albania People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...

title.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerova, Riza 1896 births 1935 deaths 20th-century Albanian people Albanian communists People from Skrapar Albanian military personnel Heroes of Albania Albanian expatriates in Germany Albanian expatriates in the Soviet Union

Early life and migration

1935 Uprising

Legacy

See also

References