February 20, 1991, would go down in Albania’s history as the day of the demolition of the monument of the communist dictator Enver Hoxha. 

32 years ago, on February 20, 1991, tens of thousands of people filled the Student City.

Part of the protesters went to the center of the city, where they placed a stake on the monument of the dictator Enver Hoxha and at around 14:00 they took it down.

The images of those events, in “Skenderbej” square, went around the world and once again put Albania in the focus of international developments.

February 20 is designated as the day of national memory for the martyrs and victims of the communist regime. In fact, it also marked the end of the dictatorship in Albania. The fall of the statue of the dictator Enver Hoxha also marked the country’s parting with the past and the beginning of a new era, that of democracy.