1158 Ch. 28 • The Cold War and the End of European Empires

unwillingness of the Soviets under Khrushchev, who had abandoned that
particular tenet of Communist thought, to share their military secrets. In
1964, Mao accused the Soviet Union of itself being an “imperialist” power
because it dominated the smaller states of Eastern Europe.
Chinese and Russian diplomats and advisers now competed as rivals for
the ears of Third World leaders. The Chinese Communists received support
from an unlikely place. Albania, the small, isolated, largely Muslim state
squeezed between Yugoslavia and the Adriatic Sea, broke with the Soviet
Union. The Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with Albania in

1961. This represented an embarrassing rejection of Soviet authority, partic­
      ularly when put into the context of the ongoing Sino-Soviet split. However,
      Albanian Communist leader Enver Hoxha (1908-1985) then broke with the
      Chinese Communist leadership in 1978, criticizing China’s improved rela­
      tions with the United States.

The Brezhnev Era

Soviet economic stagnation and the humiliation of the Cuban Missile Cri­

sis contributed to Khrushchev’s sudden fall from power. Some military

leaders had opposed Khrushchev’s support of economic planning that

emphasized consumer goods over heavy industry, although severe shortages

still alienated many Soviet citizens. Old Stalinists surfaced again, resistant

Medium-range Soviet strategic missiles displayed in a military parade in Moscow

on November 7, 1963, in a Soviet show of strength.