Pyramid Schemes Armed Albanian Streets

In 1997, the collapse of government-tolerated pyramid schemes devastated Albania after they had attracted nearly two-thirds of the population and accumulated liabilities worth almost half the country's GDP. Furious citizens protested their lost savings, while the army and police disintegrated and crowds looted military depots containing hundreds of thousands of weapons. Armed gangs seized control of several cities, raided naval bases, and even patrolled the coast in Albanian Navy ships. The breakdown killed about 2,000 people and plunged the country into nationwide unrest often described as a civil war.

Previous Fact Next Fact