Russian Missionaries masked like Imams and teachers exploited naive and illiterate Albanians in Kosovo, Ibrahim Kadriu says

Russian Mission (Alb: Misioni Rus)

 Russian missionaries serving in Kosovo were masked as imams, teachers, military men, and people belonging to employment agencies.

The Kosovar writer Ibrahim Kadriu through his novel "Russian Mission", breaks down the historical facts adding also some dose of fiction. In the work that received the award for the best Albanian novel, "Rexhai Surroi", Kadriu goes back to the time when Albanians received services from people aiming to spread the ideologies.

In an interview with Koha Ditore, after receiving the award, Kadriu said he has always been drawn on historical themes and many of his novels have this basis. He has shown that the issue of Russian missionaries has preoccupied him since an old man told him that a Russian imam had served for 20 years at the Sinan Pasha Mosque in Prizren.

Kazimir Olenko posed as Mulla Adnan. And with the arrival of Serbian forces in Prizren in 1912, Olenko had left the Mosque to serve elsewhere. Kadriu has said that the Russians have used Albanian naiveté to spread their ideology. According to the author of about 70 literary works, the consequences of such missions are still observed today.

Ibrahim Kadriu

He said that there were already Serb villages since the way they live was understood to be Albanians, adding that the purpose of such missionaries was to approach the Muslim Albanians with Serbs and drive them away from Catholic Albanians. He also mentions the fact that there are no Orthodox Albanians in Kosovo, although the territories of this area belonged to Byzantium.

All Russian characters in the book have at least one Albanian name. Ruslan Nikolai used the name Zef Kristi in the Catholic environment and in the Muslim one, Faruk Myrta. Tatyana Volovna introduced herself as a teacher, introducing herself as Emine Brajari. Kadriu points out that during his research has encountered Russians everywhere.

He says that they are still present in Kosovo today, especially in North Mitrovica.

He describes of how Russia has been historically lined up against the Albanians. This is evidenced by the lack of support during the League of Prizren. Kadriu also tells about the murder of two Russian consuls, where in the case of Mitrovica the Doras is named Ibrahim as the author himself and comes from the same village...