Why the Soviet Union Did Not Invade Albania During the Cold War: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Battle for Vlora’s Pashaliman Base

Why the Soviet Union Did Not Invade Albania During the Cold War: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Battle for Vlora’s Pashaliman Base

TIRANA, Albania – During one of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union came closer than ever to a nuclear confrontation over Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba, the consequences of this global standoff were also felt thousands of kilometers away in Albania. At the center of Moscow’s strategic calculations was a small but highly valuable communist ally on the Adriatic coast: Albania. The country’s m…