When Khrushchev rose to power in the Soviet Union and promoted de-Stalinization and “peaceful co-existence,” the socialist world began to split. Traditional hardliners in the Eastern Bloc opposed what they perceived as heretic “revisionism”.

Albania, in particular, resisted Khrushchev’s agenda; it feared that a détente with Yugoslavia could revive Yugoslavian influence in Albania.

Furthermore, Khrushchev’s attack on the personality cult personally offended Enver Hoxha—the hardline leader of Albania—who was greatly helped by Stalin in winning independence from Yugoslavia and continued to follow his ideological line.

Lastly, the Albanians believed that “peaceful co-existence” was nothing more than a naïve illusion.