Ilir Ikonomi, former journalist for the Voice of America, has promoted another volume about Fan Noli, this time portraying him as a \u201cRebel.\u201d This recently released work sheds light on Noli\u2019s life in the \u201chornet\u2019s nest\u201d of the 1920s and doesn\u2019t hesitate to state that he had Bolshevik inclinations. It goes even further, claiming that he attempted to establish relations with Russia in order to open a legation in Albania \u2014 something Russia wanted in order to subsequently spread Bolshevism.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an exclusive document I found, Noli was interested in the Bolshevik system in 1923, when he was a member of parliament. He went to the Soviet embassies in Vienna and Berlin to become a bishop and to obtain a Russian visa, and once he arrived, they noticed that he was interested in the Bolshevik system. As we know, during his government he established relations with the Soviet Union and made a serious blunder, because at that time it was considered sacrilege for Albania to enter into relations with the USSR. But there was a secret here that historians do not mention. Stalin received a telegram from his Foreign Minister Chicherin, who told him, \u2018We\u2019re eagerly awaiting the opportunity to open a Soviet legation in Albania,\u2019 and Noli had already begun working on that. Chicherin went further in telling Stalin that the legation was needed in order to spread Bolshevism in the Balkans \u2014 so it wasn\u2019t merely about establishing diplomatic ties. The Soviets rushed to establish those ties, but due to the intervention of the British and Italian ministers, Noli was not allowed to open the consulate. Later, in 1927, Noli even visited the Soviet Union, so clearly he had such leanings. When Enver Hoxha later came to power, Noli essentially became a kind of ambassador for him at the United Nations, advising him, acting as a sort of counselor \u2014 and those tendencies remained with him for a long time,\u201d said journalist Ilir Ikonomi.<\/p>\n
But Ikonomi doesn\u2019t stop there \u2014 he is currently working on the third volume of Noli\u2019s life, covering the period from his departure from Albania until his death in 1965.<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to complete one more volume about Noli, which will be the third and final one, where I will describe his life from 1925, when he left Albania, until 1965, when he died. That\u2019s a span of 40 years, and the problem is that there\u2019s so much material, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll be able to fit it all into one book \u2014 but I\u2019ll try,\u201d Ikonomi said.<\/p>\n
Ilir Ikonomi chose to promote \u201cThe Rebel\u201d in Pogradec due to a special connection with the city \u2014 he was born there, and the lakeside town continues to hold a special place in his life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ilir Ikonomi, former journalist for the Voice of America, has promoted another volume about Fan Noli, this time portraying him as a \u201cRebel.\u201d This recently released work sheds light on Noli\u2019s life in the \u201chornet\u2019s nest\u201d of the 1920s and doesn\u2019t hesitate to state that he had Bolshevik inclinations. It goes even further, claiming that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":77714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n