Ukrainian journalist: Russian aggression revives Enver Hoxha's bunker ideology

Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Dubynyansky has published an essay drawing parallels between current debates on total militarization of Ukraine and the policies pursued by Albania's 20th-century communist dictator Enver Hoxha.

The article recalls that Hoxha, who ruled communist Albania, built more than 170,000 concrete bunkers across the country, spending up to 20% of national GDP on military expenditures in some years. He introduced universal military service for both men and women aged 18 to 56 and protected the capital with 50 concentric rings of defensive positions.

Historical background

The author notes that Albania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, immediately facing territorial claims and occupation by neighboring states' troops. During World War I, armies from seven different countries passed through Albanian territory, and the secret 1915 Treaty of London even called for eliminating Albania's independence altogether. In 1939, fascist Italy occupied and annexed Albania, followed by Germany in 1943, until Hoxha's communist partisans achieved final liberation.

Modern parallels

According to the author, before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Hoxha's policies were universally regarded as paranoid and economically ruinous. However, Russian aggression has shifted this perception — more people now view total societal militarization not as an evil but as a means of survival. The essay warns that this model gaining popularity among advocates of Ukrainian militarization could signal a return to totalitarian thinking, where economic welfare is sacrificed in the name of national security.