Such demands have been made of authors, artists, and musicians since the inception of the Albanian People's Republic. Since 1966, however, when the Cultural Revolution was initiated, the importance of culture has received greater emphasis and the demands for ideological purity of all creative works have increased. The Cultural Revolution was still in motion as of the early months of 1970.

The dominant themes of Albanian culture under communism have concerned the history of Albania, the struggle of the Communist-led partisans during the War of National Liberation, and the transformation of the backward, superstitious society into one that is modern and governed by progressive, socialist principles. In the mid-1960s, however, the Party called upon writers and artists to go beyond these themes and to portray the contemporary struggles for the creation of socialism. Party guidance stipulates that it is not enough to describe the past struggles and achievements. The ongoing hardships faced by the peasants and workers must be reflected in artistic works. The heroes are to be workers, peasants, and engineers, as well as the partisans.

Throughout the period of the Cultural Revolution, artists and writers have been going to the mountain villages, industrial centers, and agricultural cooperatives to live for varying lengths of time. Living and working with the people provides the writers and artists with insights into the life and problems that the various types of people must face. These experiences are designed to help them create themes that reflect the contemporary developments more accurately and to make cultural works more relevant to the masses.

Given the influential role of culture in society, it was imperative that the Party establish strict control over all creative activities. Authors, dramatists, musicians, and artists must belong to the Union of Artists and Writers. This organization is nominally independent of the Party, but in reality it is firmly under Party control. Another source of control is the Ministry of Education and Culture, which has close ties with the Directorate of Education and Culture under the Politburo of the Party. Furthermore, all individuals involved in cultural pursuits are dependent upon the state for their income as well as for the financing of their various projects.

The twofold task of the Party leaders in the cultural field—that of fostering cultural development while maintaining control over the content of the cultural works—was difficult in many respects and easy in others. The lack of a firmly established tradition in many cultural fields, as well as the lack of a substantial cultural community, facilitated the establishment of Party control. Writers and artists who received their training under the Party's tutelage know only the socialist realist approach. On the other hand, the lack of experience and personnel in many fields, such as drama, meant that the developments in these areas would be slow. Furthermore, the leaders were dependent first upon the Yugoslavs and, after 1948, on the Soviets to train people in the areas that were totally lacking in Albania's cultural heritage.

The paucity of artistic and intellectual achievements, compared with those of other nations throughout the world, was basically the result of Albania's long history of foreign domination and of the rugged topography of the country, which facilitated the isolation of many communities for centuries. During the several centuries of Turkish rule, the Albanians were forbidden to develop a written language. Furthermore, there were no schools that conducted classes in the Albanian language; there were only Turkish schools for the Muslim population and Greek schools for the Orthodox population. To compound these difficulties, there are two major dialects of Albanian—Geg, spoken in the north, and Tosk, in the south. Albania did not have a uniform alphabet until November 1908, when a congress of intellectuals agreed upon the use of the Latin alphabet. It was not until the Communist regime came to power that it was decided that Tosk would be the official literary dialect ([see ch. 2], Historical Setting; [ch. 3], Physical Environment; [ch. 4], The People).

An additional obstacle to the development of a substantial intellectual and artistic community and tradition was the fact that until 1957 there were no universities in the country. The State University of Tirana, Albania's only university, was not established until that year. Before World War II Albanian students went abroad, primarily to Western Europe, in the pursuit of higher education. After World War II students were usually sent to the Soviet Union or other Eastern European countries to attend universities and other institutions of higher learning ([see ch. 5], Social System).

In 1970 there was still evidence that the Communist leaders were not entirely satisfied with the cultural works produced in the past twenty-six years. There were also indications that many creative works were not ideologically pure. Few cultural works produced during the Communist period are known in the West owing to Albania's virtual isolation. Evaluation of literature, drama, music, and art can only be made on the basis of criticism and praise of such works that appear in the press.

Literature

Albania has a strong tradition of folklore, which had been transmitted orally for several centuries. At the end of the nineteenth century and in the early twentieth century, much of this lore was written down in anthologies and collections. The folklore consists of heroic songs, lyrics, tales, and proverbs. The predominant themes are the heroic feats of the mountain tribes in the north against the Slavs across the border, the important role of the Albanians in the Ottoman Empire, and the glorious resistance led by the country's national hero, Gjergi Skanderbeg, against the Turks in the fifteenth century. There are also a large number of love songs and wedding songs found in the folk tradition.