The Soviet–Albanian Friendship Society (

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

: ''Shoqëria e miqësisë Shqipëri-Bashkimi Sovjetik'',

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: ''Общество советско-албанской дружбы'') was an organization established in 1945 to facilitate cultural cooperation between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. From its founding until the Soviet-Yugoslav split in 1948 it had only limited influence in the country due to

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

's control over Albania's foreign policy. After the split the Society played an important role in promoting Soviet culture and norms in Albania through establishing courses for teaching Albanians the Russian language, introducing Soviet methods of work in industry and other fields, providing lectures, artistic performances and the distribution of Soviet materials and books in the Albanian language. In August 1950 it had a membership of 50,000, which was raised to 154,000 by the next year.

Tuk Jakova Tuk Jakova (20 February 1914 – 26 August 1959) was an Albanian politician in the People's Republic of Albania. He served as Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Minister of Finance, Minister of Interior, and twice as Vice-Prime Minist ...

was President of the Society, succeeded by

Bedri Spahiu Bedri Spahiu (July 13, 1908 – 11 January 1998) was an Albanian politician and Lieutenant-General and one of the most prominent figures of the Albanian Labour Party up to 1956. Life Born into a Muslim family in Gjirokastër, Spahiu completed ...

in June 1951 who was in turn succeeded by

Hysni Kapo Hysni Kapo (1915–1979) was an Albanian military commander and leading member of the Party of Labour of Albania. A member of the Communist Youth group, Kapo was first distinguished as an artillery commander in the Battle of Drashovica. In 1941 ...

on August 15, 1955. The Society became inactive on the Albanian side as a result of the Soviet–Albanian split, but in the Soviet Union itself it was gradually made more active in the 1980s as the Soviet Government sought to reestablish diplomatic relations with Albania, which was achieved in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet-Albanian Friendship Society Albania friendship associations Soviet state institutions Soviet Union friendship associations Albania–Soviet Union relations