Albanian partisans kissing on the lips is an old picture. Pretty old. The photo was taken in 1944, the day of the liberation of Tirana and the victory of the partisans. Therefore, when published by the State Archives, it is titled "1944 / Men's Kiss." Both photos taken at that moment, one with a kiss and one without, seem to have been the subject of discussion for 75 years.

This photo has been discussed several times. First, those in charge of the party at the time decided that these photos would not be preserved, which explains the signs of the crosses. However, they survived the time, explains Kastriot Dervishi, the former archive director at the Interior Ministry.

Second, it was discussed in online media in 2016, when the kissing photo gained popularity. Then there was the confluence of public opinion: Are they gay or just Soviet brothers?

The same discussion was held on Tumblr:

And on Instagram, a few months ago:

There are two schools of thought. Half of the commentators say it is a Soviet fraternal kiss. This kiss is a special form of greeting between the leaders of the Marxist-Leninist states and the act itself represents the strong bond between these states. The Soviet fraternal kiss consists of a hug combined with three kisses on each cheek. When the two leaders considered each other as close friends, they kissed on the lips and not on the cheeks.

The fraternal kiss was made famous by Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev, who were photographed during the ritual. The photo became very popular and was later painted as a mural on the Berlin Wall with the signature "Oh my God, help me survive this murderous love."

There are many instances where the Soviet kiss is demonstrated. Here, dictator Josef Stalin stands stoic as pilot Valery Chkalov attempts to kiss him (1936).

In 1937, Stalin kissed and kissed without restraining another pilot, Vasily Molokov.

The third character from the left is Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev who kisses the returning cosmonauts to Earth safely.

Here two Red Army soldiers appear as Albanian partisans celebrate with a kiss victory over Nazi Germany.

For more photos of sexist men kissing other sexist men, click here.

The idea is, then, to kiss friends on the lips was not uncommon. A special moment definitely, but not strange.

However, the other half of commentators say that it was precisely because of the spread of fraternal kisses that these two gay partisans found the opportunity to embrace passion without feeling at risk in a state where homosexuality was outlawed. We have no proof to the contrary, so why not read this famous photo. After all, statistically there could be no gay partisans, because if you saved, gay always has been, they are not inventions of the new century.

To end this inevitable debate, we leave you with these words: It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if they were gay and used the Soviet kiss to express something to each other. It does not matter if they were not gay and followed the example of the heads of state. but if you are worried about money first, you should have a long conversation with yourself. How can you be homophobic in 2019?