The Politics of Identity Transmission in and after Communism

This study examines the enduring effects of identity repression on ethnic identity transmission within the Greek minority in communist Albania (1945-1990) and post-communist Albania (1991-2004), using an ancestral name bank from the pre-communist era. The analysis employs a novel approach by exploring how a communist-era policy that recognized only a subset of an ethnic group influenced family-level decisions about their ethnic identity. The findings highlight the critical role of timing in determining whether repressed ethnic groups assimilate or revive their ancestral identities. Initially, repression led to assimilation; however, a resurgence of ethnic identity followed the collapse of the regime. The study broadens the scope of post-Soviet literature on Stalin’s ethnic policies---which has typically amplified the role of ethnic elites or pre-communist schooling---by revealing the significant impact of Stalinist-era policies on repressed populations in facilitating post-communist ethnic revival. It further amplifies the role of gender during repression and non-agricultural occupations prior to repression as predictors of using ancestral names.

A notable discovery is that the revival of ethnic identity among the repressed group began in the generation before the fall of Albania's communist regime, with a marked increase in females being given ancestral names during its period of intense repression---a departure from the male-dominated tradition as well as all other minority groups in the study. This shift and the mechanisms of identity transmission are further elucidated through ethnographic research and interviews with both recognized and repressed Greeks in Albania, detailing their experiences during and after communism. The research contributes to our understanding of how historical repression influences contemporary nationalist movements in post-communist settings and offers insights into the complex dynamics of identity transmission.