Albania’s communist regime was orthodox and extreme. When other East European countries liberalized slightly after Stalin’s death in 1953, the Albanian ruler Enver Hoxha held firm, calling the Soviet Union “revisionist.”
Anonymous UN Official
Andrej Nosov. Photo by John Feffer.
In Albania, nearing the end of his six-nation tour of Europe, President George W. Bush hopped out of his limo to have his head rubbed and his cheeks kissed by an adoring crowd in what The New York Times called a “virtual mosh pit” of enthusiasm.
Surely, he was delighted and relieved to be warmly welcomed in the mostly Muslim nation. It was a tough week in Europe: the president endured long meetings, pointed criticisms, huge protests, and an upset stomach that took him out of some of the Group of Eight Summit meetings.