generally raise the cultural level of the people. Writers and artists
are supported by the state, and cultural institutions have been
established throughout the country to ensure maximum cultural exposure
of the masses. In 1967 there were 35 houses of culture in cities, 395 in
villages, and 1,266 cultural circles throughout the country. In
addition, there were 24 national museums and 25 local museums.

The various cultural institutions sponsor plays, concerts, and literary
readings; subscribe to libraries; arrange trips to museums; and direct
other such activities. Often courses in the arts, such as music lessons,
are conducted. The activities of the houses of culture and the cultural
circles are not restricted to cultural recreation, however. They also
have been assigned the general task of educating the masses.

Special cadres of culture are trained to direct the cultural
institutions. Their preparation extends beyond the realm of culture to
Marxism-Leninism, however, and they are generally trained to enable them
to become involved in all aspects of the life of the community. The
various cultural institutions, while genuinely serving to expose the
masses to culture, are also important instruments of political and
social indoctrination.

In practice, the principles of socialist realism require that literary
and artistic works actively promote the goals of the Party and reflect
Communist ideology. Besides generally being "a weapon for the education
of the new man with the ideals of socialism and the principles of
Communist morality," literature, drama, music, and art must inspire
nationalism and allegiance to the Party and stimulate the people to work
toward fulfillment of Party plans, whether they are in the economic or
the social spheres. The criterion used to evaluate cultural works is the
degree to which they further the goals of the Party and socialist
development.

In conjunction with the initiation of the Cultural Revolution, Enver
Hoxha expounded upon the vital role of the various aspects of culture in
a speech to the Fifth Congress of the Albanian Workers' Party in
November 1966. The task set by the Party is that "literature and art
should become a powerful weapon in the hands of the Party for the
education of the working people in the spirit of socialism and
communism; that literature and art should stand at the vanguard of the
struggle for the education of a new generation ideologically and morally
pure