Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance. The Kosovo Liberation Army quickly escalated from sporadic attacks to open armed conflict.

Each "search operation" by Serbian police in Albanian villages sends a new batch of recruits to the Kosovo Liberation Army, as these searches are often accompanied by beatings, robberies, and sometimes rapes and murders. Young people in the searched villages have witnessed their relatives being beaten and their houses being ransacked; these hot-blooded youths are unlikely to participate in the nonviolent protests in Rugova.

They will go to the Kosovo Liberation Army.

In September 1992, the Kosovo Liberation Army's targets shifted from attacking police stations to raiding Serbian army convoys, ambushing patrols, and even launching attacks on Serbian settlements.

Serbia is on high alert. Milosevic claimed it was a rebellion and a secessionist movement, so he mobilized a large number of Serbian troops to search villages, arrest people, block roads, and set up checkpoints.

Ethnic tensions began to rise. Serbian special police and troops, having suffered defeats in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, returned with resentment and acted without restraint towards the Albanian civilians in Kosovo. They made no distinction between the Kosovo Liberation Army and ordinary villagers—in their eyes, every Albanian was a potential enemy.

As November arrived, news broke of numerous villages being burned down and Albanians being forcibly relocated to designated settlements. Gandhi's approach of nonviolence proved increasingly ineffective in the face of gunfire and flames.

If it were the former Yugoslav People's Army, they would naturally intervene in such a scene of fratricide. If they couldn't win, they could simply call in the Soviet Union to maintain order!

However, for the new People's Army, helping Kosovo would only trigger instability in the federal government.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Zagreb, People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, March 1993.

On the desk of Federal President Kadijevich lies a report on the situation in Kosovo.

Although Kosovo is within Serbia and not under federal jurisdiction, the chain reaction caused by the Kosovo conflict directly threatens the stability of the federation.

Unrest has already begun within Macedonia—a large Albanian population resides in western Macedonia. If Kosovo descends into chaos, the Albanian population in Macedonia will be ignited, and the specter of "Greater Albania," Serbia's greatest fear, will become a reality!

If Kosovo, Albania, and western Macedonia—these three Albanian-populated areas—were united under the same flag, a new nation spanning three or four existing countries would be established.

At that point, this specter will threaten not only Serbia, but also the Southern Federation!

Kadievich closed the report and picked up the phone: "Connect to Moscow."

Moscow Kremlin

Slava received a notification from Kadijevic.

If the situation in Kosovo is left unchecked, it could trigger a chain reaction of crises that spread from Kosovo to Macedonia and impact the entire federation. The federation does not want the Security Council to intervene—because Security Council intervention would mean internationalizing the issue, and internationalization would embolden Albania and show the Albanian community in Macedonia a precedent that "if things get out of hand, someone will intervene."

Kadijevich supports maintaining the unity and integrity of the federation, and only secondarily supports the self-determination of other nations. If supporting Kosovo's Albanians would increase the likelihood of a split in Macedonia, a member state of the federation, then he would not support Kosovo.

In the original history, after the outbreak of the Kosovo War, a large number of Albanians in Macedonia participated in the war. After the United Nations took over Kosovo, veterans of the former Kosovo Liberation Army poured into Macedonia and supported the independence of the Albanians in Macedonia. This group of armed men, known as the National Liberation Army, directly fought with the Macedonian security forces.

If it weren't for the United Nations' renewed intervention in mediation and the resulting peace talks, Macedonia would also have descended into civil war!

This is what makes the situation in Kosovo so special—the Soviet Union preferred to support the Yugoslav People's Federation, as supporting Kosovo's independence would have harmed Soviet interests, and the Soviet Union preferred to see a stable Balkans.

Kadijevich meant that this matter should not go through the United Nations, but should be handled internally by the socialist brother countries.

Slava thought about it and agreed that it made sense, so he put the report on the table and called over Director Nian and Chebrikov.

Over the next few days, the three repeatedly discussed solutions for Kosovo.

Director Nian first eliminated several options.

"Military intervention is definitely not an option. Kosovo is within Serbia's territory. If the Soviet Union were to attack Serbia, it would be an invasion of a sovereign state. We have just fought a war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to uphold international law, and we cannot turn around and violate the same principle ourselves."

Unless Serbia experiences a massacre like the one in Bosnia, the UN Security Council will lack sufficient pretext to intervene in this civil war. The Americans can be shameless; they could invade Iraq even if the Security Council vetoed their request—but we can't.

High moral standards are a disadvantage internationally; isn't the reason Europe has gradually leaned towards us in recent years precisely because we are more friendly than the United States?

“Supporting Kosovo’s independence is also not an option,” Slava added. “Every word we say in the Balkans is a word we speak to our own country. If we support Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, every minority group in the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and Central Asia will question our actions.”

Our current ethnic policy does not support ethnic self-determination; we only support the protection of culture and language. The central government can appoint local ethnic minority officials, but self-determination must never be allowed to occur!

Russia, which was part of the Soviet Union, had only half the population of Russia. The union was able to unite because of two factors: communist ideology and a high degree of economic integration. Slava must not set the precedent for national self-determination.

“So we can’t fight it, nor can we let it become independent. Should we revert to Tito’s approach?” Slava suggested.

Director Nian and Chebrkov exchanged a glance.

"I think Tito's methods for dealing with the national issues in Yugoslavia are somewhat adapted to the times. Only Tito himself could effectively use his methods. What's that saying?" Director Nian asked.

“Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die?” Slava said.

“Yes! History has proven that Tito’s successors couldn’t implement his plan at all after his death. But our Soviet experience can be applied to Yugoslavia—as long as we can prove to the Yugoslav People’s Federation that the Soviet national plan can also be applied to Yugoslavia, then Milosevic’s so-called ‘sacred self-determination of the nation’ will fall apart!” Director Nian pointed his finger.

"Now that they dare to advocate for national self-determination, will they go on to establish national socialism next?" Chebrikov was very wary of the Soviet Union's national question. Based on his experience, if Milosevic's dream of a Greater Serbia were to come true, he would inevitably move towards external expansion!

Because the fundamental problems of Serbian society have not been resolved, previously, discontent could be channeled through nationalist sentiments such as "It's all the fault of the minorities!", "It's the Albanians and Bosniaks who are persecuting the great Serbian nation!", and "The price of a loaf of bread has exceeded 50 dinars!" But now that most of the domestic minorities have been driven out, Milosevic has no choice but to turn his attention to his neighbors.

It's only a matter of time before Greater Serbia embarks on a path of militarism and national socialism.

PS: National Socialism in German is Nationalsozialismus, abbreviated as Nazismus, which means Nazi.

"The first shot fired in Sarajevo ignited World War I. If we allow Milosevic to continue promoting his Greater Serbian nationalism, the fuse for World War III may be lit again in the Balkans."

Chebrikov added, "Once the situation stabilizes, we must find a way to get rid of Milosevic and replace him with a moderate."

“I have no objection,” Slava agreed.

On March 12, the Kosovo Liberation Army successfully captured Presevo, a major city in southern Serbia. The city's population is over 95% ethnic Albanian. Just when all countries thought that the Serbian National Army would launch a strong counterattack, that Kosovo would be bloody, and that the UN Security Council would have to intervene again, Milosevic secretly contacted Moscow.

Having been beaten twice, he now understands that before doing anything, one must find a powerful backer. If he tries to isolate Wu Chang by himself, he will be unable to accomplish anything.

National sovereignty is actually a luxury.

We are still in the Cold War era, caught between two superpowers. It is easy for small countries to survive—they just need to cling to the powerful. At worst, they have to beg for food on their knees. Eating is not shameful.

But if a small country wants to both stand tall and make money, it must have sufficient strength. Yugoslavia was indeed powerful during Tito's rule, but times have changed; Serbia today is nothing special. In the Balkans, a region teeming with strange and powerful figures, engaging in chaotic infighting might seem like a way to dominate, but the US and the USSR standing guard at the ward entrance are not to be underestimated.

Even after experiencing an economic crisis, the United States could still easily crush Iran and Iraq. The Soviet Union suffered in Afghanistan, but the cost to Afghanistan was more than ten times that of the Soviet Union.

Milosevic then wrote to Moscow, hoping for a reconciliation and asking Moscow to mediate and provide a solution.

At this time, Serbia, under economic sanctions, had to rely on the Soviet Union. To its north were Romania and Bulgaria, to its east and west were Yugoslavia, an ally of the Soviet Union, and to its south was Albania, with whom it had a grudge. Its only way out was Moscow!

Serbia is too far from the lighthouse and too close to the big brother.

Militarism is impossible, absolutely impossible. Serbia, even if it were strengthened to +5, couldn't defeat the Warsaw Pact. It wouldn't dare build nuclear weapons. Iraq was brought down as soon as it started building nuclear weapons. It's better to just lie down and wait.

Milosevic then played his first card: evidence of Albanian involvement.

This was his most valuable diplomatic asset, and he couldn't disclose the evidence publicly, as that would give the West a pretext to claim that "cross-border conflicts require international mediation." He chose to first present the evidence to Moscow as leverage to demand diplomatic endorsement and the lifting of economic sanctions from the Soviet Union. Then he would hand it over to Greece; the Orthodox Christian brotherhood between Greece and Serbia was a good asset, and Greece, with its major conflict with Macedonia, was a natural ally of Serbia.

"As long as the Soviet Union can prevent Kosovo from becoming independent and avoid the emergence of another Republic of Kosovo on the world map that has been frequently changed in the past two years, Serbia is willing to 'cooperate' with the Soviet Union in foreign policy and economy."

Milosevic chose an excellent time. At that moment, the Republic of Macedonia in the Yugoslav Federation was disagreeing with the Yugoslav Federation's intervention in Kosovo because of the Albanian issue. He had to seize this good opportunity of his western neighbor's temporary neutrality!

Moscow's response was to restore Kosovo's autonomy, stating that "a multi-ethnic union can be governed rationally rather than through national independence."

Kosovo will have its own parliament, its own police force, its own courts, its own education system, and will regain its autonomous province status as it did in 1974.

In order to make Kosovo appear as if it were not independent, it also needs to have representation in the Serbian parliament.

In this way, Kosovo remains part of Serbia, albeit with a high degree of autonomy. Unlike mainland Chinese citizens who need passports to travel to Hong Kong, Serbians do not need passports to visit their sacred land.

Milosevic remained concerned: "Will the Albanians accept this? They're already calling for independence; is autonomy enough for them?"

Slava responded, "Whether it's enough or not depends on one thing—the guarantee from the Soviet Union."

The most fatal weakness of the autonomy granted in 1974 was that it depended entirely on Serbia's goodwill. No one guaranteed that it wouldn't be taken back, and the Albanians distrusted the word "autonomy" because of the lesson of 1989: it was given to them on a whim, and taken back just as easily.

This time, Kosovo's autonomy was externally guaranteed by the Soviet Union and the Yugoslav People's Federation. Serbia had no right to unilaterally revoke it, and if Serbia attempted another constitutional amendment, the Soviet Union would intervene.

After taking into account Serbia's dire economic situation, the dissatisfaction of hardliners and doves with him, and the pressure from the Soviet Union, Milosevic decided to agree to Soviet mediation.

In June 1993, under Soviet mediation, Kosovo regained its autonomy and remained within Serbia. The Kosovo Liberation Army was disbanded, with some soldiers going to Macedonia and others to Albania. A large quantity of arms that Serbia had purchased from Albania was returned—the impending war ended prematurely!

In February 1994, the Albanian government declared bankruptcy.

Chapter 125 In the end, it was the Big Brother who saved everything.

Albania's tragedy lies in the fact that it is a small country with only two million people, struggling to survive between large countries, and even Yugoslavia could pose a huge threat to its survival.

Albania’s greatness lies in the fact that this small country of eagles has a giant—Enver Hoxha.

Enver Hoxha was born in 1908 into a Tosk Muslim (Shia) family in Ginocaste, a small town in southern Albania then under Ottoman rule.

Several of his ancestors in recent generations had served as Islamic religious figures—Hoxha (imams), hence the family name Hoxha.

He was the founder of the Albanian Party of Labour, the Socialist People's Republic of Albania, and the Albanian People's Army. During World War II, he led the Albanian resistance against the fascist Italian occupation forces and the Nazi German occupation forces. Later, he led the Albanian people to establish a socialist system, bringing about tremendous socio-economic changes to this backward and poor Balkan country.

In 1946, Hoxha declared the establishment of the Albanian People's Republic, serving as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs, becoming the undisputed leader of Albania.

During his rule, he led Albania in a purge and land reform, and then launched a five-year plan to gradually collectivize agriculture and nationalize industry and commerce, thus establishing a socialist system.

Given the ideological context and the international situation, Albania under Hoxha's leadership naturally became a member of the Soviet-led socialist camp. After coming to power, Hoxha held five talks with Stalin, emulating Stalin's approach to promoting Stalinism within Albania.

In July 1947, during a meeting, Stalin suggested that Hoxha change the name of the Albanian Communist Party to the Albanian Labor Party, since peasants made up the majority of the Albanian population at the time. Hoxha accepted the suggestion.

Albania and Yugoslavia originally had a good relationship, and both Tito and he were people's leaders who fought against fascism on their own. However, Tito was not satisfied with the existing Yugoslavia and hoped to bring Albania in as the seventh constituent republic of Yugoslavia.

Since the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, established after World War I, had about 40 Albanians, and areas with large Albanian populations such as Kosovo were incorporated into its territory, it would be better to include Albania as well. This way, any ethnic conflicts could be resolved through internal discussions.

Tito then began promoting the concept of a "Balkan Federation," aiming for economic and social integration with Albania and controlling its economic lifeline through loans and aid. In January 1948, Tito, citing the "Greek threat," demanded the deployment of a division to southern Albania. Hoxha later accused this of being a prelude to the annexation of Albania.

Ultimately, the plan to annex Yugoslavia failed due to external pressure and internal resistance. Tito's plan seriously threatened Soviet interests in the Balkans, and after the outbreak of the Soviet-Yugoslav conflict in 1948, Stalin resolutely opposed the plan and instead supported Albania.

Albanian leader Hoxha had initially discussed the possibility of unification with Tito. However, realizing the danger of being annexed, Hoxha chose to stand firmly with the Soviet Union in the Yugoslav conflict, completely breaking with Yugoslavia and purging Tito supporters from within the country.

Thus, Hoxha maintained friendly relations with the Soviet Union for over a decade. The Soviet Union provided him with economic aid, military equipment, and industrial projects, and helped Albania develop collectivized agriculture.

However, in 1956, after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev completely repudiated Stalin, and Hoxha, as one of Stalinism's most loyal followers, naturally did not give Khrushchev a friendly reception. In 1961, the Soviet Union and Albania severed diplomatic relations, Albania withdrew from the Warsaw Pact, and the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact cut off all aid to Albania.

But Albania is just a small country with a population of two million and an area of ​​only 2.8 square kilometers. What resources does it have?

It was at odds with Yugoslavia, and Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north, and Macedonia to the east all severed diplomatic ties with it. Greece to the east was its enemy—Greece joined NATO after World War II, and Albania supported the Greek Communist Party during the Greek Civil War. After the failure of the Greek Communist revolution, Albania accepted about 1.4 Greek Communist fighters and their families for refuge, which exacerbated the hostility between the two sides.

At the same time, it has territorial disputes with Greece: Greece has never formally recognized Albania's borders and has always had territorial claims to the "Northern Epirus" region in southern Albania (a region with a large Greek population), which Albania views as a threat to its sovereignty.

It was blocked on three sides by hostile countries. Fortunately, Albania's southwest border is the Mediterranean Sea, which allows for trade. Otherwise, it would have been finished.

PS: So it's understandable why Hoxha wanted to build so many bunkers.

Hoxha then turned to China. Throughout the 1960s, China became Albania's primary patron. The two countries shared the banner of anti-imperialism and anti-revisionism—opposing both American imperialism and Soviet revisionism. China provided Albania with substantial economic and military aid, and in return, Albania spoke on China's behalf at the United Nations—the 1971 proposal to restore the People's Republic of China's seat at the UN was named after Albania.

In 1965, Hoxha launched the "Revolutionization Movement." Influenced by Mao, in 1967 Hoxha published "Eliminating Backward Customs and Feudal Superstitions," and launched a vigorous "ideological and cultural revolution" in Albania, banning all religious activities in the country.

More than two-thirds of Albania's population are Muslim, with many also practicing Orthodox Christianity. At the time of its founding, Albania was a feudal, clan-based, and underdeveloped society. To completely eradicate backward ideologies, improve people's livelihoods, and establish a healthy social atmosphere, these issues must be addressed!

Hoxha vigorously promoted literacy campaigns to increase adult literacy rates and established a relatively comprehensive education system. Albania's healthcare system also saw significant improvements, with a substantial decrease in the mortality rate and all citizens enjoying free medical care and social insurance.

The Hoxha regime also organized the masses to drain the coastal swamps, thereby eradicating the spread of malaria in Albania.

Hoxha's socialist transformation of industry and agriculture was very thorough. The Land Reform Law stipulated that anyone engaged in agriculture and using new machinery could retain 40 hectares of land; anyone personally engaged in agricultural labor could retain 20 hectares of land; and non-agricultural laborers could not retain more than 7 hectares of land. Land exceeding the limit, along with the associated farm implements, livestock, and buildings, was confiscated and distributed to landless or land-poor peasants.

Later, Hoxha supplemented and amended the land reform law, stipulating that all land, orchards, vegetable gardens, farm tools, and buildings not personally cultivated by the owner would be confiscated, and that the sale or mortgage of land under any name was prohibited.

He also announced the nationalization of industrial and mining enterprises and the construction industry, the implementation of a state monopoly on foreign trade, and the establishment of cooperatives in rural areas. By the end of the 1960s, the socialist transformation of agriculture and commerce was basically completed, laying the foundation for socialist economic construction.

After completing its two-year plan to restore the economy, Albania began implementing a five-year plan to develop the national economy, aiming to establish a socialist economic foundation and transform Albania from a backward agricultural country into an advanced industrial country, with the plan to be completed by 1955.

Compared to pre-war levels, Albania's industrial output has increased 11 times, with electricity, coal, timber, and cotton textiles increasing more than 20 times!

Industry accounted for 60% of its national economy, enabling this most backward agricultural country in Europe to initially establish an industrial base system.

By the early 1980s, Albania had completed seven five-year plans, with industrial output increasing 32-fold. The country had achieved basic electrification, and its agricultural products were not only self-sufficient but also exportable. There was no foreign debt, no trade deficit, no unemployment, and no inflation. Socialist economic components accounted for over 95% of industry, 82% of agriculture, and 90% of national income. Albania directly declared itself a "socialist industrial-agricultural state."

Before Hoxha came to power, various barbaric and backward customs had a great influence on Albanian society, the most representative of which was the customary law called "Qanu".

The "Kanu" originated in the 15th century and was created by a prince named Lek Dukatini. For hundreds of years, they have dominated the society in the desolate mountainous region of northern Albania. They have meticulous rules for family blood feuds, from the methods of revenge killings and the placement of corpses to mourning and funerals, as well as the blood tax that must be paid to the "Kanu" guardians afterward. Everything is under their strict control.

According to "Kanu," women can only play the role of taking care of children and managing household chores, and cannot engage in formal professions.

Hoxha spearheaded a series of radical social reforms, abolishing all reactionary old social ideologies, including but not limited to Kanu. He used harsh methods to crack down on the religious conservative forces that were once extremely powerful in Albania, eradicated the deep-rooted tradition of family feuds and honor killings in Albanian history, changed the low social status of women, and gave them the same rights to education and work as men.

Between 1971 and 1975, Albania built more than 75 bunkers to “prevent aggression from imperialist and revisionist countries.” This has been fiercely criticized by later generations, especially by the opposition after 1991, who see it as “a resistance by the dictatorship out of fear of being overthrown.” However, given the tense situation between Albania and all its neighbors at the time, Hoxha’s decision is understandable.

In 1972, Sino-American relations thawed, and Nixon visited China. Hoxha saw this as a betrayal—China was actually shaking hands with the head of American imperialism? What unsettled him even more was that he hadn't been informed in advance of the Sino-American friendly visit; he only learned about Albania, a good ally of China, through secondhand information!

The true position of small countries in the great power rivalry has never been clearer than at this moment.

From then on, Hoxha began to criticize Chairman Mao without naming him, believing that "the man who calls himself the red sun of the world's people has shamelessly betrayed the people of the world, which fully exposes his naked revisionist and reactionary nature in his attempt to become the so-called hegemon of the 'Third World'."

Mao's "Three Worlds" theory was a strategic concept put forward against the backdrop of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Hoxha strongly criticized it for its root cause being the irreconcilable ideological differences between the two sides on issues such as how to define "enemy" and how to view world revolution.

Chairman Mao believed that the First World consisted of two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, who were the main source of global unrest and turmoil, and who pursued hegemonism and power politics.

The Second World consisted of developed countries such as Japan, Europe, and Canada. While these countries were weaker than the US and the Soviet Union in terms of overall strength, they still wielded significant influence in international affairs.

The Third World comprises developing countries in Asia (excluding Japan), all of Africa, Latin America, and other regions. China belongs to the Third World and should support these countries' struggle against hegemonism.

Chairman Mao's original goal was to unite many Third World countries, including the United States, to jointly confront the Soviet Union's hegemony, which was considered more aggressive at the time. In the 70s, the Soviet Union was on the offensive and the United States was on the defensive.

Hoxha disagreed, viewing the theory as "anti-Marxist, counter-revolutionary," and even "counter-revolutionary chauvinistic." He accused China of harboring hegemonic ambitions, claiming that Mao proposed the theory to "become the leader of the Third World and take the top seat in the Non-Aligned Movement," attempting to establish its hegemony by dividing the world. He argued that the theory was based on a "racist and metaphysical worldview," a "rigid and conventional view" of the world that ignored the diversity and internal contradictions of different countries.

By 1976, the differences between Albania and China had become public. In January of that year, relations deteriorated further, and the Albanian government arrested thousands of pro-China officials. In September of the same year, relations between Albania and China became even more strained after the death of China's great leader.