Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. Europe

607 Pages·2004·30.327 MB·English

by  Gale Group Staff

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WORLDMARK
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NATIONS
EUROPE
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ISSN 1531-1635
WORLDMARK
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NATIONS
Volume 5
EUROPE
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Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Eleventh Edition
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C O N T E N T S
For Conversion Tables, Abbreviations and Acronyms, Glossaries, World
Tables, Notes to the Tenth Edition, and other supplementary materials,
see Volume 1.
Guide to Country Articles..............................................vi Lithuania...................................................................317
Albania..........................................................................1 Luxembourg..............................................................326
Andorra.......................................................................15 Macedonia................................................................335
Armenia.......................................................................22 Malta.........................................................................345
Austria.........................................................................33 Moldova....................................................................352
Belarus.........................................................................48
Monaco.....................................................................360
Belgium.......................................................................57
Netherlands...............................................................366
Bosnia and Herzegovina...............................................71
Norway.....................................................................382
Bulgaria.......................................................................90
Poland.......................................................................398
Croatia.......................................................................104
Portugal....................................................................415
Czech Republic..........................................................121
Romania....................................................................428
Denmark....................................................................135
Russia........................................................................443
Estonia.......................................................................150
San Marino................................................................461
Finland.......................................................................159
Serbia and Montenegro.............................................466
France........................................................................173
Slovakia.....................................................................482
Georgia......................................................................196
Slovenia.....................................................................493
Germany....................................................................208
Spain.........................................................................508
Greece.......................................................................226
Sweden.....................................................................523
Hungary.....................................................................241
Iceland.......................................................................256 Switzerland................................................................539
Ireland.......................................................................268 Ukraine......................................................................552
Italy...........................................................................282 United Kingdom........................................................564
Latvia.........................................................................300 Vatican......................................................................590
Liechtenstein..............................................................310 Index to Countries.....................................................597
v
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G U I D E T O C O U N T R Y A R T I C L E S
All information contained within a country article is uniformly keyed by means of small superior
numerals to the left of the subject headings. A heading such as “Population,” for example, carries the
same key numeral (6) in every article. Thus, to find information about the population of Albania, consult
the table of contents for the page number where the Albania article begins and look for section 6
thereunder. Introductory matter for each nation includes coat of arms, capital, flag (descriptions given
from hoist to fly or from top to bottom), anthem, monetary unit, weights and measures, holidays, and
time zone.
SECTION HEADINGS IN NUMERICAL ORDER SECTION HEADINGS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
1 Location, size, and extent 27 Energy and power Agriculture 22 Income 20
2 Topography 28 Industry Animal husbandry 23 Industry 28
3 Climate 29 Science and technology Armed forces 17 Insurance 34
4 Flora and fauna 30 Domestic trade Balance of payments 32 International cooperation 18
5 Environment 31 Foreign trade Banking and securities 33 Judical system 16
6 Population 32 Balance of payments Bibliography 50 Labor 21
7 Migration 33 Banking and securities Climate 3 Languages 9
8 Ethnic groups 34 Insurance Customs and duties 37 Libraries and museums 44
9 Languages 35 Public finance Dependencies 49 Local government 15
10 Religions 36 Taxation Domestic trade 30 Location, size, and extent 1
11 Transportation 37 Customs and duties Economic development 39 Media 45
12 History 38 Foreign investment Economy 19 Migration 7
13 Government 39 Economic development Education 43 Mining 26
14 Political parties 40 Social development Energy and power 27 Organizations 46
15 Local government 41 Health Environment 5 Political parties 14
16 Judicial system 42 Housing Ethnic groups 8 Population 6
17 Armed forces 43 Education Famous persons 48 Public finance 35
18 International cooperation 44 Libraries and museums Fishing 24 Religions 10
19 Economy 45 Media Flora and fauna 4 Science and technology 29
20 Income 46 Organizations Foreign investment 38 Social development 40
21 Labor 47 Tourism, travel, and Foreign trade 31 Taxation 36
22 Agriculture recreation Forestry 25 Topography 2
23 Animal husbandry 48 Famous persons Government 13 Tourism, travel, and
24 Fishing 49 Dependencies Health 41 recreation 47
25 Forestry 50 Bibliography History 12 Transportation 11
26 Mining Housing 42
FREQUENTLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ad—Anno Domini etc.—et cetera (and so on) kw—kilowatt(s) pm—after noon
am—before noon f—Fahrenheit kwh—kilowatt-hour(s) r.—reigned
b.—born fl.—flourished lb—pound(s) rev. ed.—revised edition
bc—Before Christ FRG—Federal Republic of m—meter(s); morning s—south
c—Celsius Germany m3—cubic meter(s) sq—square
c.—circa (about) ft—foot, feet mi—mile(s) St.—saint
cm—centimeter(s) ft3—cubic foot, feet Mt.—mount UK—United Kingdom
Co.—company GATT—General Agreement on Mw—megawatt(s) UN—United Nations
Corp.—corporation Tariffs and Trade n—north US—United States
cu ft—cubic foot, feet GDP—gross domestic products n.d.—no date USSR—Union of Soviet
cu m—cubic meter(s) gm—gram NA—not available Socialist Republics
d.—died GMT—Greenwich Mean Time oz—ounce(s) w—west
e—east GNP—gross national product
e—evening GRT—gross registered tons A fiscal split year is indicated by a stroke (e.g. 1998/99).
e.g.—exempli gratia ha—hectares For acronyms of UN agencies and their intergovernmental organiza-
(for example) i.e.—id est (that is) tions, as well as other abbreviations used in text, see the United Nations
ed.—edition, editor in—inch(es) volume.
est.—estimated kg—kilogram(s) A dollar sign ($) stands for us$ unless otherwise indicated.
et al.—et alii (and others) km—kilometer(s) Note that 1 billion = 1,000 million = 109.
vi
30° 20° 10° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40°
Hammerfest
Greenland
Sea Murmansk
Narvik
Kiruna
ICELAND ArcticCircle
Reykjavik
Arkhangel'sk
Norwegian
Oulu
Sea a
i
n
h
Umeä ot
B
SWEDEN
f
60° Tórshavn F(DarEoNeM IsAlaRnKd)s Trondheim lfo FINLAND
u
G
Tampere
NORWAY
Shetland Helsinki
Islands Bergen Gävle St. Petersburg
Åland
Tallinn
Orkney Oslo Islands R U S S I A
Outer Islands Stockholm ESTONIA
Hebrides
North Gotland
a
UNITED e Moscow
Göteborg S Riga
Sea c LATVIA
KINGDOM ti
Öland al
DENMARK København B LITHUANIA Vitsyebsk
Belfast Newcastle (Copenhagen)
IRELAND Isle upon Tyne Bornholm RUSSIA Vilnius
of Man (DENMARK)
Dublin (UK) Kaliningrad Minsk
Gdan´sk
Liverpool Rostock BELARUS
Irish Hamburg
Sea POLAND Homyel'
NETHERLANDS
50° Amsterdam Berlin
Cardiff Thames London GERHMannoAverNY Poznan´ Warsaw Kiev Kharkiv
English Channel BBEruLssGelsIUM RheBinonn Leipzig Wroc–law Rivne Dnipro
ATLANTIC Guernsey (UK) Le Havre Frankfurt Prague Kraków U K R A I N E
Jersey (UK) Seine LUXEMBOURG CZECH
Paris SLOVAKIA
OCEAN Stuttgart
Strasbourg MOLDOVA
Bratislava
Nantes Munich Vienna Chis¸inau˘
AUSTRIA Budapest Cluj-Napoca Odesa
Bay F R A N C E Zürich LIECHTENSTEIN HUNGARY
Bern Graz
of SWITZERLAND SLOVENIA ROMANIA
Geneva Ljubljana Pécs
Zagreb
Biscay Bordeaux Lyon Milan Venice CROATIA Danube Bucharest Constant¸a Black
Genoa MASARINNO HERZEBGOOSVNINIAA- Belgrade Sea
Varna
Bilbao MONACO A SERBIA &
Florence d BULGARIA
Oporto Marseille ITALYriatic Sarajevo MONPriTstEinNa˘ EGRO Sofia
ANDORRA Se
a Skopje
40° Barcelona Corsica Rome ALBANIA MACEDONIA
PORTUGAL Madrid
VATICAN Tirana
CITY Salonika
Naples
Lisbon S P A I N
GREECE
Sardinia Tyrrhenian
Sea Corfu Ioánnina Aegean
Balearic Islands
Sea
Sevilla
Patras Athens
Málaga Mediterranean Sea Palermo Ionian
Gibraltar (UK) Sicily Sea Peloponnesus Rhodes
Crete
MALTA 20° 30°
Bering Strait
10° 60° 70° 80° 80° Chukchi 60° 170°
Sea
KIUNNGITDEODM ArcticC ARCTIC OCEAN East AnaZdaylirvskiy BeSreiang
0° ircle SibSeeraian Anadyr' 180°
NORWAY New
Siberian Is.
DENMARK PACIFIC
SWEDEN Barents Sea Severnaya Laptev OCEAN
Murmansk Zemiya Sea
FINLAND
Novaya Kara Sea
RUSSIA Zemiya Tiksi
ESTONIA Verkhoyansk
POLALNITDHUANIALATVIA St. Arkhangel'sk Magadan 160°
Petersburg
BELARUS Smolensk Vorkuta Noril'sk Lena
b' RUSSIA Yakutsk Sea of Okhotsk
UKRAINE Moscow Kirov OKhanty Mirnyy Aldan
MOLDOVA Manisysk
BlacDkonetsk oDn Volga YekaKtaemrinaburg Irtysh Ob'Tomsk Yenisey ABnrgaatrsak LenaOBazeyrkoal KoKmhasobmaroolv'sskk TatarPrSoliavkhalin
Sea Tuapse Krasnoyarsk
GEORGIA Novokuznetsk Chita
T'bilisi Caspian Nakhodka
Sea
ARMENIA
Yerevan
WEN11th.book Page 1 Friday, September 19, 2003 2:57 PM
A L B A N I A
Republic of Albania
Republika é Shqipërisë
CAPITAL: Tiranë
FLAG: The flag consists of a red background at the center of which is a black double-headed eagle.
ANTHEM: Hymni i Flamúrit (Anthem of the Flag) begins “Rreth flamúrit të për bashkuar” (“The flag
that united us in the struggle”).
MONETARY UNIT: The lek (L) of 100 qindarka is a convertible paper currency. There are coins of 5, 10,
20, 50 qindarka, and 1 lek, and notes of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 leks. L1 = $0.0079 (or $1 =
L126.53) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS: New Year’s Day, 1 January; Small Bayram, end of Ramadan, 16 December 2001*;
International Women’s Day, 8 March; Catholic Easter, April**; Orthodox Easter, April**; Great
Bayram, Feast of the Sacrifice, 6 March 2001*; Independence Day, 28 November; Christmas Day, 25
December.
*Dependent on the Islamic lunar calendar and will vary from the dates given.
** Dependent on religious calendar, and also will vary.
TIME: 1 PM = noon GMT.
1LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT 100 cm (40 in) on the coast to more than 250 cm (100 in) in the
mountains.
Albania is situated on the west coast of the Balkan Peninsula
opposite the “heel” of the Italian “boot,” from which it is 4FLORA AND FAUNA
separated on the SW and W by the Strait of Otranto and the
Adriatic Sea. It is bordered on the N and E by Serbia and The mountainous topography produces a zonation of flora and
Montenegro and Macedonia, and on the SE by Greece, with a fauna. The dry lowlands are occupied by a bush-shrub
total boundary length of 720 km (447 mi). Comparatively, association known as maquis, in which hairy, leathery leaves
Albania is slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, with a total reduce transpiration to a minimum. There are some woods in the
area of 28,748 sq km (11,100 sq mi) and extends 340 km (211 low-lying regions, but larger forests of oak, beech, and other
mi) N-S and 148 km (92 mi) E-W. Albania’s capital city, Tiranë, is deciduous species begin at 910 m (2,986 ft). Black pines and
located in the west central part of the country. other conifers are found at higher elevations in the northern part
of the country. There are few wild animals, even in the
2TOPOGRAPHY mountains, but wild birds still abound in the lowland forests.
Albania is predominantly mountainous, with 70% of the 5ENVIRONMENT
territory at elevations of more than 300 m (1,000 ft). The rest of
the country consists of a coastal lowland and the lower reaches of Deforestation remains Albania’s principal environmental
river valleys opening onto the coastal plain. The Albanian problem, despite government afforestation programs. Forest and
mountains, representing a southern continuation of the Dinaric woodland account for 38% of the country’s land use. Soil erosion
system, rise abruptly from the plains and are especially rugged is also a cause for concern, as is pollution of the water by
along the country’s borders. The highest peak, Mt. Korabit industrial and domestic affluents. While Albania has a
(2,751 m/9,026 ft) lies in eastern Albania on the Macedonian comparatively small amount of renewable water resources at
border. The most important rivers—the Drin, the Buna, the Mat, 26.7 cu km, 99% of its urban population and 95% of its rural
the Shkumbin, the Seman, and the Vijosë—empty into the population have access to pure water.
Adriatic. Albania shares Lake Scutari (Skadarsko Jezero) with Albania produced 1,942 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
Serbia and Montenegro, Lake Ohrid (Ohridsko Jezero) with emissions from industrial sources in 1996.
Macedonia, and Lake Prespë (Prespansko Jezero) with A total of 2.9% of Albania’s lands amounting to 84 ha is
Macedonia and Greece. protected by environmental laws. As of 2001, 17 of the 3,000-
plus plant species in Albania were endangered. Two mammal
3CLIMATE species and seven bird species were also threatened. Endangered
Albania has a variety of climatic conditions, being situated in the species include the Atlantic sturgeon, Mediterranean monk seal,
transition zone between the typical Mediterranean climate in the and the hawksbill turtle.
west and the moderate continental in the east. The average
6POPULATION
annual temperature is 15°C (59°F). Rainy winters (with frequent
cyclones) and dry, hot summers are typical of the coastal plain. The population of Albania in 2003 was estimated by the United
Summer rainfall is more frequent and winters colder in the Nations at 3,166,000, which placed it as number 128 in
mountainous interior. Annual precipitation ranges from about population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year
1
WEN11th.book Page 2 Friday, September 19, 2003 2:57 PM
2 Albania
approximately 6% of the population was over 65 years of age, Greek, and Turkish influences. It was not until 1908 that a
with another 32% of the population under 15 years of age. There common Latin alphabet was established for Albanian. In addition
were 104 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. to letters of the English alphabet, Albanian uses the diacritics ç
According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for (representing the sound of ch in church) and ë (the sound of i in
2000–2005 is 0.68%, with the projected population for the year dirt). Other unusual letter values are c (the sound of ts in gets), x
2015 at 3,440,000. The population density in 2002 was 109 per (the sound of ds in woods), xh (the sound of j in jaw), j (the
sq km (282 per sq mi). sound of y in yet), q (the sound of ky in stockyard), and y (the
It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 42% sound of the German ü). There are two distinct dialects—Gheg,
of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, spoken in the north, and Tosk, spoken in the south. During the
Tiranë, had a population of 279,000 in that year. Other period between World Wars I and II, Gheg was officially favored
important towns include Durrës, 72,400; Shkodër, 71,200; as standard Albanian; after World War II, because the principal
Elbasan, 69,900; and Vlorë, 61,100. According to the United leaders of the regime were southerners, Tosk became the
Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was standard. Greek is spoken by a minority in the southeast border
2.0%. area.
The population increase in Albania has been exceptionally
rapid by European standards. The birthrate, despite a decline 10RELIGIONS
from over 40 births per 1,000 of population in the 1950s to 19 in Historically, Islam has been the majority religion of Albania,
2000, remains among the highest in Europe. The high birthrate is despite Communist efforts to enforce an atheistic, secular state. In
partially attributed to the ban on birth control during the 1967, the government closed more than 2,100 mosques,
communist era. Another contributing factor to the population churches, monasteries, and other places of worship and declared
growth is the increase in life expectancy to an average of 74 years the country an atheist state. Subsequent complaints in the official
of age. press about the survival of religious customs (refusal to eat pork
7MIGRATION on the part of Muslims, failure to work at Easter on the part of
Christians) suggest that the official abolition of public religion
In the 19th century, Albanians emigrated to other Balkan had by no means ended private observance. In 1990 and 1991,
countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece), and to Egypt and official opposition to religious activities came to an end, and
Russia. During the first decades of the 20th century, emigration— churches and mosques were selectively allowed to reopen.
for economic reasons—was primarily to the US (largely to Albania is now a self-proclaimed secular state that allows
Massachusetts), Argentina, Australia, and France. Emigration freedom of religion. In the total population, the percentage of
following World War II has occurred on a very limited scale, Muslims remains stable at roughly 65% to 70%, including Sunni
mainly for political reasons. Between 1945 and 1990, Albania Islam and members of the Bektashi school (Shi’a Sufism). Since
has remained virtually isolated from the rest of Europe. In the 1925, Albania has been considered the world center of the
early 1990s, about 2 million Albanians lived in Serbia and Bektashi school. About 20% of the population are members of
Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia). Many ethnic Albanians live the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania (Albanian
in Greece, Italy, and Macedonia. Orthodox) and about 10% are Roman Catholic. There are a few
By the beginning of June 1997, rebel factions controlled most small Protestant groups.
southern towns in the country. In 1997, there was an Italian-led
Geographically, most Muslims are found in the center of the
multinational force of 6,000 foreign peacekeeping troops ready
country, with a few groups to the south. Citizens in the south are
to aid in preventing thousands of Albanians from fleeing into
mainly Orthodox while northerners are generally Catholic. The
Greece or Italy. As of 2001, Albania had a net migration rate of -
Greek minority in the south is Orthodox.
19 migrants per 1,000 population. This amounted to a loss of
The 1998 constitution calls for freedom of religion; however,
60,000 people. The government continues to view the migration
the four main groups of Sunnis, Bektashis, Orthodox, and
levels as satisfactory.
Catholics have maintained a heightened degree of social
During the NATO air strikes in the spring of 1999, Albania
recognition and status due to their historical presence within the
hosted 465,000 refugees from Kosovo. Two-thirds were hosted
country.
by more than 29,000 families, aided by UNHCR; 20% lived in
tented camps; and 13% stayed in collective centers. Adoption of 11TRANSPORTATION
the Kosovo Peace Plan on 10 June 1999 prompted the return of
tens of thousands of refugees. Estimates suggest that some Many roads are unsuitable for motor transport; bicycles and
432,500 refugees have returned to Kosovo from Albania. At the donkeys are common. There had been virtually no private cars in
end of 2000, there were only about 500 refugees remaining in the country, but they have become more common since the
Albania. opening of the borders. In 2001, there were 18,000 km (11,185
Remittances from Albanians working abroad amounted to mi) of roads, of which 5,400 km (3,356 mi) were paved. One of
$531 million in 2000, which was approximately 14.1% of GDP. the many recent infrastructural projects was the construction of a
241 km (150 mi) four-lane highway linking Durrës with Greece,
8ETHNIC GROUPS via Pogradec and Kapshtica.
Generally regarded as descendants of the ancient Illyrians, the Railroad construction began in 1947, and lines in 2001 had a
Albanians make up about 95% of the population. Ethnic Greeks total length of 447 km (228 mi) of standard gauge track. Narrow
comprise as much as 3% of the populace. Other groups, gauge rail includes the Durrës-Tiranë, Durrës-Elbasan, Ballsh
including Gypsies, Vlachs, Bulgarians, and Serbs, make up the Rrogozhinë, Vorë-Shkodër, and Selenicë-Vlorë lines. In 1979,
remaining 2%. The Albanians themselves fall into two major Albania signed an agreement with the former Yugoslavia to
groups: the Ghegs in the north and the Tosks in the south, divided construct a rail link between Shkodër and Titograd; the link was
by the Shkumbin River. opened to international freight traffic in September 1986.
Albania’s rivers are not navigable, but there is some local
9LANGUAGES shipping on lakes Shkodër, Ohrid, and Prespë. Coastwise vessels
Albanian (Shqip), an independent member of the Indo-European link the ports of Durrës, Vlorë, Sarandë, and Shëngjin. Durrës is
family of languages derived from both ancient Illyrian and the principal port for foreign trade. The merchant fleet of Albania
ancient Thracian, has been greatly modified by Latin, Slavonic, in 2001 consisted of 7 vessels of 1,000 GRT or over, all cargo
WEN11th.book Page 3 Friday, September 19, 2003 2:57 PM
Albania 3
ships, totaling about 13,423 GRT. A freight ferry service between
Durrës and Trieste was inaugurated in 1983.
In 2001, there were eleven airports, three of which had paved O ALBANIA
runways. Flights from Tiranë’s international airport connect the R
G 0 25 50 75 Miles
Albanian capital with Athens, Belgrade, and Switzerland (the E
N
latter route opened in June 1986). In 2001, 146,300 passengers E
were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline N T 0 25 50 75 Kilometers
O
flights. M
12HISTORY NORTH ALBANIAN ALPS S E R B I A
Origins and the Middle Ages Skadarsko
Prizren
Jezero
The Albanians are considered descendants of ancient Illyrian or
Bar Drin
Thracian tribes of Indo-European origin that may have come to Shkodër Kukës
the Balkan Peninsula even before the Greeks. Although several ne Pukë
Greek colonies were established along the coast, the hinterland Bu N
remained independent. An Illyrian kingdom was formed in the Shëngjin Mt. Korabit
9026 ft.
3rd century BC, and even after it was conquered by Rome in 167 2751 m. W E
BC, some mountain tribes were never subdued. Among them were Laç 7,36D9e fjta. Peshkopi
the Albani or Albanoi, whose city Albanopolis was mentioned in 2246 m. S
the 2nd century BC by Ptolemy in his Geography. Later, while Krujë
nominally under Byzantine rule, Albania was raided by Slav
Durrës Tiranë M A C E D O N I A
invaders in the 6th century and was annexed to Bulgaria in the a
9th century. Temporary inroads were made by Venice, which e
S Kavajë Ohridsko
established coastal colonies, and by the Normans, who seized Elbasan Jezero
Durrës in 1082–85. Albanian expansion took place under the c Shkumbin
Angevin kings of Naples in the 13th century, and again under the ti Cërrik PJerzeesrpoansko
Sfleorubrsi sihne dth deu 1ri4ntgh tcheen steucroyn. dS hhoarltf- olifv ethde i n1d4ethp ecnednetunrt yp.rincipalities dria Seman Lushnjë Devoll Pogradec
A Berat Flórina
Fier
From the Ottomans to Independence
Korçë
Turkish advances, which began in 1388, were resisted from 1443 Ballësh Osu
to 1468 by Gjerj Kastrioti, better known as Scanderbeg, the m
Albanian national hero, but by 1479 the Turks attained complete Vlorë Vjosë
control of the area. Over the succeeding centuries, Islam spread Dukat Borovë
throughout most of the country. Turkish rule continued through G R E E C E
the 19th century, which saw an intensification of nationalistic
feeling, often erupting into open rebellion. In November 1912, Gjirokastër Kónitsa
Strait of
during the First Balkan War, the National Assembly convened in
Vlorë under the chairmanship of Ismail Kemali and proclaimed Otranto Erikoússa Sarandë Kalpáki
Albania’s independence. The proclamation was supported by Othonoí
Austria-Hungary but opposed by Russia, Serbia, Greece, and Mathrákion CORFU
Turkey. At a conference in London in 1913, Albania’s national
boundaries were established—they have remained virtually
unchanged since that time—and the nation was placed under the
tutelage of the great powers. Albania then became a principal
battleground during World War I. By the time the war ended,
Ionian
portions of Albania were under Italian, French, and Yugoslav Albania
control.
Sea
Albania again asserted its independence in 1920, and a
provisional government was established, as the Italians and
French withdrew. Following a period of unstable parliamentary
government (1921–24), Ahmet Zogu, the chief of the Mat
district, seized power with Yugoslav support. He proclaimed LOCATION: 39°38′ to 42°39′N; 19°16′ to 21°4′ E. BOUNDARY LENGTHS: Serbia
Albania a republic in 1925, with himself as president, and a and Montenegro, 287 kilometers (178 miles); Macedonia, 151 kilometers (94
kingdom in 1928, with himself as King Zog I. A series of miles); Greece, 282 kilometers (175 miles); coastline, 362 kilometers (225 miles).
concessions to Italy made Albania a virtual Italian protectorate, TERRITORIAL SEA LIMIT: 15 miles.
and after Zog was forced into exile in April 1939, Italy occupied
Albania, uniting it with the Italian crown. During World War II,
Under Communist Rule
Communist-led guerrillas under Enver Hoxha resisted Italian and
German forces. The Congress of Permeti (24 May 1944) formed The constitution of 1946 declared Albania a people’s republic.
Albania’s provisional government, naming Hoxha as premier; the Early close relations with Yugoslavia were abruptly severed when
congress banned the return of former King Zog, and called for a the Soviet-Yugoslav break occurred in 1948. Partly because of
constituent assembly to meet after the complete liberation of the fundamental differences with Yugoslavia, whose borders included
country. In November 1944, the Hoxha government was about 1.7 million Albanians, and partly because of ideological
established in Tiranë. divergences, Albanian-Soviet relations worsened at the 22nd