But Albania is merely a symptom of a real malaise between China and Russia.

* 1913 – Otto Witte, an acrobat, is purportedly crowned King of Albania.

An example is the cult status of British comedic actor Norman Wisdom's films in Albania.

The earliest event recorded in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba in Constantine's reign is an attack by Vikings and the plundering of Dunkeld " and all Albania " in his third year.

This is the first use of the word Albania, the Latin form of the Old Irish Alba, in the Chronicle which until then describes the lands ruled by the descendants of Cináed as Pictavia.

Recognize that the goal for the post-war era is an independent, democratic Albania where the people themselves will decide the form of government.

The Communist Party of Albania will unite with any group that used to have contacts with the fascist invaders, but has now terminated those contacts and is willing to now fight against the fascist invaders, provided those groups have not committed any crimes against the people.

Albanians celebrate their independence day on 28 November ( which is the date on which they declared their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 ), while in the former People's Socialist Republic of Albania the National Liberation festivity date was 29 November.

In order to solve the Gheg-Tosk divide, books were written in the Tosk dialect, and the majority of the Party's members came from southern Albania where the Tosk dialect is spoken.

* 1914 – The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus is proclaimed in Gjirokastër, by the Greeks living in southern Albania.

Furthermore, Greek is officially recognized as a minority language in parts of Italy and Albania, as well as in Armenia, Romania and Ukraine as a regional or minority language in the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The territory of what is now Albania was invaded by Serbia in the north and Greece in the south, restricting the country to only a patch of land around the southern coastal city of Vlora.

Including the Italian speakers in non-EU European countries ( such as Switzerland and Albania ) and on other continents, the total number of speakers is more than 85 million.

In central-east Europe Italian is first in Albania and Montenegro, second in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Ukraine after English, and third in Hungary, Romania and Russia after English and German.

The Italian language is well known and studied in Albania, another non-EU member, due to its historical and geographical proximity with Italy.

In some Muslim-majority nations, such as Albania, Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia or Mali, same-sex intercourse is not forbidden by law, and in Albania there has been discussions of legalizing same-sex marriage.

It is the official language of the Republic of Macedonia and holds the status of official minority language in parts of Albania, Romania and Serbia.

The Macedonian language has the status of official language only in the Republic of Macedonia, and is a recognised minority and official language in parts of Albania ( Municipality of Pustec ), Romania, and Serbia ( Municipalities of Jabuka and Plandište ).

* In Albania, a municipality is either part of a city ( bashki ) or a province ( komunë ).

Modern region of Macedonia is Macedonia ( terminology )# Subregions | divided by the national boundaries of Greece ( Macedonia ( Greece ) | Greek Macedonia ), the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria ( Blagoevgrad Province ), Albania ( Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo ), Serbia ( Prohor Pčinjski and Gora ( region ) | Gora ).

Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia ( including the Gora region in Kosovo ).

The Roman province of Macedonia consisted of what is today Northern and Central Greece, much of the geographical area of the present-day Republic of Macedonia and southeast Albania.

The Republic of Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west.

* 1944 – Albania is liberated by the Albanian partisans.

The parliament quickly adopted a new constitution, proclaimed Albania a republic, and granted Zogu dictatorial powers that allowed him to appoint and dismiss ministers, veto legislation, and name all major administrative personnel and a third of the Senate.

In an interview for the Albanian Writers League newspaper published also in the international press, Berisha demanded that the remaining barriers to freedom of thought and expression be ended, that Albanians be granted the right to travel freely within the country and abroad, and that Albania abandon its isolationist foreign policy.

In February 1949, Albania gained membership in the communist bloc's organization for coordinating economic planning, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance ( Comecon ).

In 1995, Albania had been accepted into the Council of Europe and requested membership in NATO.

Later he pursued a diplomatic-political career in Albania, successfully led the Albanian bid for membership in the League of Nations.

It was never a mass movement, with membership reported at 13, 500 in May 1940 ; however, during the PFSh's time in power, it did realize the vision of Greater Albania, expanding the borders of Albania into modern-day Epirus and Kosovo.

Albania is a member of more than 48 different international organizations including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation., the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and La Francophonie.

In order to fight international organised crime effectively, Europol cooperates with a number of third countries and organisations as follows ( in alphabetical order ): Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, CEPOL ( European Police College ), Colombia, Croatia, Eurojust, European Central Bank, European Commission, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Frontex, Iceland, Interpol, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, OLAF ( European Anti-Fraud Office ), Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland, SitCen ( EU Joint Situation Centre ), Turkey, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the USA, and the World Customs Organisation.

Today Albania is the only entirely European member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

On December 1992 Albania became full member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference ( now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ).

Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti *, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati *, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic *, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela ( Bolivarian Republic of ), Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In 1929, King Zog abolished Islamic law in Albania, adopting in its place a civil code based on the Swiss one, as Ataturk's Turkey had done in the same decade.

Albania or Arran in Islamic times was a triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of the Kura and Aras rivers, including the highland and lowland Karabakh ( Artsakh ), Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain, and in the pre-Islamic times, corresponded roughly to the territory of modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan.

Sassanid Albania fell to the Islamic conquest of Persia in the mid 7th century and was incorporated into the Rashidun Caliphate.

This tendency becomes extreme in Communist Albania after 1944, where it was the regime's declared doctrine to oust Christian or Islamic given names.

The site of the only institution in Albania which provides high-level education in Arabic and Islamic Studies, having produced well-known Muslim personalities as Shaykh Nasirudin Albani.

In Albania the Bektashi community declared its separation from the Sunni community and they were recognized ever after as a distinct Islamic sect rather than a branch of Sunni Islam, as are most other Sufi orders.

Contracting members include: Albania ; Algeria ; Andorra ; Angola ; Antigua and Barbuda ; Argentina ; Armenia ; Australia ; Austria ; Azerbaijan ; Bahamas ; Bahrain ; Bangladesh ; Barbados ; Belarus ; Belgium ; Belize ; Benin ; Bhutan ; Bolivia ; Bosnia and Herzegovina ; Botswana ; Brazil ; Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria ; Burkina Faso ; Burundi ; Cambodia ; Cameroon ; Canada ; Central African Republic ; Chad ; Chile ; China ; Colombia ; Comoros ; Congo ; Costa Rica ; Croatia ; Cuba ; Cyprus ; Czech Republic ; Côte d ' Ivoire ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Denmark ; Djibouti ; Dominica ; Dominican Republic ; Ecuador ; Egypt ; El Salvador ; Equatorial Guinea ; Estonia ; Finland ; France ; Gabon ; Gambia ; Georgia ; Germany ; Ghana ; Greece ; Grenada ; Guatemala ; Guinea ; Guinea-Bissau ; Guyana ; Haiti ; Holy See ; Honduras ; Hungary ; Iceland ; India ; Indonesia ; Iran ( Islamic Republic of ); Iraq ; Ireland ; Israel ; Italy ; Jamaica ; Japan ; Jordan ; Kazakhstan ; Kenya ; Kyrgyzstan ; Laos ; Latvia ; Lebanon ; Lesotho ; Liberia ; Libya ; Liechtenstein ; Lithuania ; Luxembourg ; Macedonia ; Madagascar ; Malawi ; Malaysia ; Mali ; Malta ; Mauritania ; Mauritius ; Mexico ; Moldova ; Monaco ; Mongolia ; Morocco ; Mozambique ; Namibia ; Nepal ; Netherlands ; New Zealand ; Nicaragua ; Niger ; Nigeria ; Norway ; Oman ; Pakistan ; Panama ; Papua New Guinea ; Paraguay ; Peru ; Philippines ; Poland ; Portugal ; Qatar ; Republic of Korea ; Romania ; Russian Federation ; Rwanda ; Saint Kitts and Nevis ; Saint Lucia ; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ; San Marino ; Sao Tome and Principe ; Saudi Arabia ; Senegal ; Serbia ; Seychelles ; Sierra Leone ; Singapore ; Slovakia ; Slovenia ; South Africa ; Spain ; Sri Lanka ; Sudan ; Suriname ; Swaziland ; Sweden ; Switzerland ; Syrian Arab Republic ; Tajikistan ; Thailand ; Togo ; Tonga ; Trinidad and Tobago ; Tunisia ; Turkey ; Turkmenistan ; Uganda ; Ukraine ; United Arab Emirates ; United Kingdom ; United Republic of Tanzania ; United States of America ; Uruguay ; Uzbekistan ; Venezuela ; Vietnam ; Yemen ; Zambia ; and Zimbabwe.

Caucasian Albania had existed in Southern Dagestan, but was overrun and converted to Islam-after the Arabs left, they left the new Muslim states of Lezghia ( centered in the Islamic learning center of Derbent ), Lakia ( centered in another, rival city of Islamic learning, Kumukh ) and their less important neighbors.

For four centuries, the Catholic Albanians defended their faith, aided by Franciscan missionaries, beginning in the middle of the 17th century, when persecution by Ottoman Turkish lords in Albania started to result in the conversion of many villages to the Islamic faith, particularly among the Orthodox population.

The Muslims of Albania during the Ottoman invasion were divided into two main communities: those associated with Sunni Islam and those associated with the Bektashi Shiism, a mystic Dervish order that came to Albania through the Albanian Janissaries that served in the Ottoman army and who practiced Albanian pagan rites under a nominal Islamic cover.