The Republic of Albania is a small parliamentary democracy in the southern part of Eastern Europe. It is less than 45 miles from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.
Albania has historically been dominated by several empires, including the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and finally the Ottoman Empire, before officially gaining independence in 1912. However, it was once again dominated by a foreign power, Italy, in 1939. As World War II progressed, Germany also occupied Albania, until they were driven out by primarily Communist partisans.
For the early part of the Cold War, Albania was a close ally of the Soviet Union, until a schism turned Albania to the People's Republic of China. By 1978, Albania had turned away from China.
With the end of the Cold War, Albania saw a period of unrest until stable democratic reforms took hold in the early 21st century.
After the revelation of Divine presence in the world, Albania began to shut down its military incursions into Kosovo. Whether this state of affairs would be permanent or simply an aberration, was not immediately obvious.[1]
Nonetheless, Italy looked down its collective nose on its less sophisticated neighbors. The fact that Albania was the poorest country in Europe did not help. However, Italians were not publicly dismissive, as Albanians were quick to be insulted and generally liked to carry knives.[3]
Albania was a red-headed stepchild as far as the USSR was concerned. After Joseph Stalin's death, the USSR briefly turned its back on his legacy. Hoxha, a staunch Stalinist, turned his back on the USSR, and aligned himself with the People's Republic of China. After Hoxha's death, the USSR re-embraced Stalin. However, the relationship had been permanently damaged. For decades, the USSR provided no financial aid to Albania. While the two countries were officially allies by 2097, Albania suffered internal strife as pro-Chinese guerrillas fought against the government. Various countries, including Italy, had troops in Albania to help keep the guerrillas down, with limited success.[4]
Although Italy had designs on Albania before the outbreak of the Second World War in October 1938,[7] Italy did not use the war as an excuse to attack its neighbor, and Albania maintained its neutrality for the entirety of the war.[8]
*=denotes a character who was a POV for a single scene
1=denotes a character who was a POV for one volume
2=denotes a character who was a POV for two volumes
3=denotes a character who was a POV for three volumes
4=denotes a character who was a POV for four volumes
5=denotes a character who was a POV for five volumes
6=denotes a character who was a POV for six volumes
† denotes a deceased character.
