Preface
Since ancient times, the international political arena has been like a wonderful drama, and the role and destiny of each country are full of uncertainties.
And we can also see from the long river of history that many originally poor and backward countries have achieved amazing transformations with the support of big countries, both economically and militarily.
Singapore
Among them, there are many typical representatives, such as Singapore and Israel, which have risen rapidly with the strong assistance of the United States, and some countries have entered the fast lane of development with the strong assistance of the mainland.
However, not all recipient countries have been able to embark on a smooth path to development, and some countries remain mired in poverty after receiving long-term aid.
Among these many cases, Albania is a typical example, having lived a good life for 15 years with the aid of the Soviet Union, and then "raised" by the mainland for more than 20 years.
With the assistance of two countries in succession, the life of this country is still poor and backward.
In addition, this country is also an extremely typical white-eyed wolf country.
After selflessly providing assistance to the mainland for more than 20 years, instead of expressing the slightest gratitude to us, they turned against us and attacked us after we stopped providing assistance.
What kind of country is Albania, why can it receive assistance from two countries in a row, and why can't this country develop?
The USSR "raised" for 15 years
The Balkans were an important transportation artery connecting Europe and the Middle East, and for the Soviet Union, having Albania would provide a huge strategic benefit to its ability to secure more maritime exports and deter NATO.
Therefore, the Soviet Union strongly supported Albania's victory in the war and provided significant economic and military assistance after the war.
Most of the Soviet Union's aid was concentrated in the military aspect, and the Soviet Union sent a large number of modern weapons and equipment to Albania, including fighter planes, gunboats, and tanks.
The arrival of this equipment greatly boosted Albania's military strength, while also enhancing its strategic position in the Balkans.
And with the support of the Soviet Union, Albania immediately became a lot more angry in the international community, and even other countries were envious of Albania, after all, such "solid" assistance as the Soviet Union was rare.
In addition to military assistance, the Soviet Union also gave Albania important assistance in the development of infrastructure.
Under the guidance of Soviet specialists, Albania began to build roads, railways and factories, and improved the city's drainage and power supply systems.
These measures provided the necessary basis for the development of Albania's socialist economy and improved the living conditions of the population, making it the fastest growing country in the Balkans.
However, as time went on, Albania's appetite was also nurtured by the Soviet Union, which repeatedly told the Soviet Union that "what you have, I will have it too", and Albania seems to have taken Soviet aid for granted.
But the USSR, as a great power, was not always able to meet Albania's demands and expectations when considering its own interests.
Therefore, when Albania made more and more demands and became more and more troublesome, the Soviet Union was also annoyed with it, so the relations between Albania and the Soviet Union began to be tense at that time.
At that time, the Soviet Union was caught in the power struggle between Khrushchev and later Brezhnev, and the focus of foreign aid and support also shifted.
The Soviet Union also clearly felt that the Albanian government put its own interests above the security and overall diplomatic interests of the Soviet Union, not to mention that the Soviet Union was unwilling, and that no major power would be willing to do so.
It is the countries that have tempers, and under Albania's repeated "begging", the impatient Soviet Union directly interrupted its economic and military assistance to Albania and withdrew all its advisers and experts in Albania.
Albania was thus left in a predicament of isolation, but it was clear that Albania did not want to develop the country on its own, but once again took a shortcut--- living on the aid of other countries, and it was clear that the mainland was its next target.
Mainland assistance to Albania for more than 20 years
In the 60s of the 20th century, Albania, which was in the midst of a difficult period of the Soviet Union's rupture, found China, a reliable friend.
In the face of Albania's request for help, although China's own economy is not rich, it still urgently provided 50,000 tons of food for emergency relief.
For more than 20 years, China became Albania's only major donor.
In the 60s and 70s, China provided Albania with a large amount of assistance for agricultural, light and heavy industry projects, helping it to establish a complete industrial system.
In the 60s alone, China provided more than 10 billion yuan in assistance to Albania, and sent more than 6,000 experts to the country for a long time to assist Albania in industrial development, infrastructure construction and improvement of people's livelihood.
At that time, this was an extremely difficult and valuable investment for China.
However, with the changes in the international environment, Sino-Arab relations have become increasingly tense, and in the late 70s, Albania began to make unreasonable demands on China.
In 1978, the mainland terminated its aid to Albania, and Albania was unwilling to do so, but so what, the initiative is ours.
Moreover, Albania has never been able to comprehend China's selfless assistance back then, but has chosen to betray at some critical moments.
However, even if the mainland and the Soviet Union cut off their aid to it, Albania should have fared better than before after 35 years of aid from both countries, but the result was clearly not the case.
Albania is still very poor
After 35 years of aid, Albania's economy has improved, but the gap between it and its neighbors is still wide.
In 2019, Albania's GDP per capita was only $5,448, far below the EU average two or three times.
What is even more regrettable is that Albanians have not made good use of aid resources, a large amount of food aid has been used for daily consumption rather than to increase production value, and much of the industrial equipment has been discarded.
At the same time, there is also a serious problem of pyramid schemes in Albanian society, which further drags down the economic development.
Albania's poverty is not only due to a lack of money, but also to a desire to change the status quo.
As a result of the long-term cycle of poverty, they gradually lose their motivation and only want to enjoy the comfort of their present life, and the struggle for a better future does not seem to be at their top priority.
Albania has also not put in place effective measures to motivate the population.
In 1991, after the fall of the communist regime in Albania, the economic situation deteriorated further.
The large number of Albanians who have chosen to leave the country and become illegal immigrants in European countries also reflects the seriousness of Albania's internal problems.
In the 21st century, with the process of joining the European Union, Albania's economy has finally improved.
There is a lot of foreign investment coming in, and the infrastructure is improving, but the natural laziness of Albanians needs to change in the long run.
Only by nurturing the spirit of self-empowerment of the Albanians, attaching importance to innovation and labor, and strengthening supervision, will it be possible for the country to truly get rid of poverty and narrow the gap with its neighbors.
Otherwise, it may take a long time for it to become a rich and powerful country.
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