Literatur als Soft Power? Literarische Russlandbilder in Albanien
Literature as Soft Power? The Literary Image of Russia in Albania

Summary/Abstract: The article applies the concept of soft power as indirect influence on Albanian foreign policy through cultural attractivity. In the cultural memory of the multireligious Albanian nation Russia, Slavdom and Orthodox brotherhood do not play the major role as in Bulgaria or Serbia.The split between Enver Hoxha’s Albania and the Soviet Union in 1961/62 shows cultural and literary results in lab-quality triggered by ideological conflicts within the communist world. The novels written during the 1970s and 1980s by Ismael Kadare as the most impor-tant Albanian author have made these events internationally visible world literature. Ka-dare’s negative ascriptions of Russians and Russia stand in contrast to the emotionally positive reception of Russian literature throughout the whole 20th century. Partly, this can be explained by prominent intellectuals translating into Albanian (from Fan Noli to Agron Tufa). Nevertheless, the young generation today lacks cultural brokers between Russian and Albanian culture.

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