Albania's exit from the Warsaw Pact marked a pivotal moment in Cold War dynamics. As a founding member of the alliance formed in 1955, Albania's decision to withdraw demonstrated a significant ideological and political shift in Eastern European relations, particularly in the context of the Soviet Union's increasing assertiveness. Enver Hoxha, Albania's communist leader, had grown disillusioned with the Soviet approach following events such as the Prague Spring. This Czech reform movement, aimed at liberalizing socialism, was crushed when Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Albania's leadership viewed this as a betrayal of the socialist principles.In the wake of the invasion, Albania’s leadership publicly denounced the Soviet actions and reaffirmed their allegiance to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, as interpreted by Maoist China. The Albanian government regarded the Soviet Union's use of military force to suppress a socialist government as an unacceptable breach of the sovereignty of socialist states. As a result, Albania distanced itself from the increasingly liberalizing policies basking in the shadow of Soviet influence.Albania's withdrawal not only reflected internal dissonance within the Eastern Bloc but also contributed to deeper fissures between countries aligned with the Soviet Union and those that supported varying degrees of independence from Soviet oversight. Consequently, this led to Albania turning toward China for economic and military support, which was significant given the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, further illustrating the shifting alliances and ideological battles of the Cold War.