The year 1949 marks a turning point in the history of the Albanian repressive apparatus. After the political and physical elimination of Koço Xoxe and the end of the “Yugoslav era” of the Sigurimi, built according to the OZNA model, the power protection organs entered a new phase. This phase was characterized by a complete orientation towards the Soviet model of state security, under the direct supervision of advisors from Moscow.
During this period, the Directorate of Security, which operated within the Ministry of Interior, came under the control of Mehmet Shehu as Minister of Interior and Kadri Hazbiu as First Deputy Minister. It was then that the process of institutionalizing the agency and building a secret service according to KGB standards began. The Security structure was no longer an ad-hoc apparatus of violence, oriented by the needs of the moment, but was re-conceived as a stable state mechanism, organized to strike “internal enemies” and to control any potential danger to the communist regime, both at home and abroad.
Soviet advisors played a crucial role in this transformation. They introduced new operational methods, organized the agency network, and pushed for reforms that made the Sigurimi an institution specialized in the repressive surveillance of Albanian society. In this context, the Ministry of the Interior also undertook the creation of Sigurimi brigades, or pursuit brigades, in every district of the country. These brigades were composed of volunteers, but essentially they were an instrument of violence, fear, and repression for the pursuit of fugitives and the terrorization of the population, and for securing the political backstop of the communist regime.
An archival document from September 1949, signed by Tuk Jakova in his capacity as the cadre secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, clearly illustrates this reform. It required the district party committees to cooperate closely with the Internal Affairs branches to supplement the Sigurimi brigades with volunteer soldiers. The document emphasizes the importance of these formations for the “internal situation” and for the pursuit of “fugitive criminals.”
ALBANIAN LABOR PARTY
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
No. 1463
Tirana, 23/9/1949.
TO THE ALP COMMITTEE.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent a letter to all branches of the Internal Affairs sections (Security agencies), on the creation of the security brigade, after also specifying the number of soldiers that will be assigned to each district.
The creation of this brigade is of great importance for the internal situation and at the same time for the pursuit of fugitive criminals who are in our country.
The Party committees should take this issue seriously and, in close cooperation with the branches and sections of the Internal Party, make every effort to recruit soldiers in the number and on the specified date.
Detailed instructions have been issued to the branches and sections of the Internal Military Police of the districts regarding the candidates that the soldiers who will participate in this brigade must meet, as well as their material treatment.
P.CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE PLA.
Secretary (to the Staff)
(Tuk Jakova)
