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Current AffairsMuscovites faced with powerful 1968 invasion testimony
Czech born Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka’s unique collection of
photographs documenting the 1968 Russian-led invasion of Czechoslovakia
opened at the Lumiere Brothers Gallery in Moscow on Friday. At the
exhibition’s opening the photographer said he hoped the unique testimony
would help dispel the myth that the invasion of Czechoslovakia was an act
of solidarity with its people. More
From the ArchivesJiří Dienstbier remembers a fateful day
Because August 21 is the fortieth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the radio played such a central role in the
events of those dramatic days, in this edition of From the Archives we
shall be hearing the memories of one of the key journalists involved in
those dramatic events. Jiří Dienstbier was one of Czechoslovak Radio’s
star reporters at the time. Later he was to become one of the best-known
dissidents of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and after the Velvet Revolution he was
the country’s first post-communist foreign minister. On the morning of
August 21 1968, he was one of several radio journalists, playing a
cat-and-mouse game with the Soviet occupiers, as the Soviets tried to
silence the radio station. In some of the recordings that survive, you can
hear quite distinctly tanks and machine-gun fire in the background. More
Current AffairsFormer Czech TV correspondent’s book explores Russian perspective on August 21 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Ahead of the 43-year anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s invasion by the
Soviet Union and her main allies on August 21, a new book offers a hitherto
little explored perspective on this traumatic chapter of Czech history.
Titled “Invasion 1968. The Russian View”, it explores Russians’
attitudes towards the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and the trauma
that some of the Soviet soldiers involved in it experienced in its wake.
Sarah Borufka spoke to the editor, former Russian correspondent for Czech
TV Josef Pazderka, about the Russian experience of the historic event,
their view of the 1968 invasion today and what inspired him to put the book
together in the first place. More
Czech HistoryLithuanians share their memories and regrets from the 1968 Soviet invasion
The international Mene Tekel project against totalitarianism began its
fifth year on Monday. One of the focuses this year is on the Baltic state
of Lithuania and the memories of Lithuanians who served in the Soviet
occupation of Czechoslovakia. Christian Falvey has this week’s Czech
History. More
SpecialThe 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia through the eyes of Soviet troops
August 21 marks the anniversary of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by
the Soviet Union and other communist countries. The occupation crushed an
attempt to reform the communist regime, and drove the country into two
decades of hard-line rule. What that all meant to the people of
Czechoslovakia has been looked at many times. In our special programme
today, we look at August 1968 from another perspective: that of the
occupiers.
More
Current AffairsMonument unveiled to Polish 'human torch' protestor against Soviet invasion
A monument was unveiled in Prague on Friday morning to Ryszard Siwiec, the
Polish man who set himself alight in September 1968 in protest at his
country’s participation in the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Siwiec committed suicide in Warsaw just weeks after the invasion and six
months before the Czech student Jan Palach made his own terrible sacrifice
in Prague. The monument was unveiled on the eve of the 42nd anniversary of
the invasion.
More
Czech BooksHeresy and Rebellion in Prague
The Prague Writers’ Festival which begins on June 6 is all about the
encounter of ideas. Over the last twenty years this annual event has become
a lively forum for writers from many parts of the world, and the diversity
of their work and thought has been the festival’s greatest strength. This
year it revolves around the theme of Heresy and Rebellion, pointing to the
perennial tension between the writer and the society in which he or she
lives. A couple of days ago I met the festival director, Michael March, to
talk about this year’s event. We began by looking at the festival’s roots,
which go back more than 30 years. In the late 1970s Michael March started
organizing readings in London by writers from behind the Iron Curtain, and
in the process he found out just how little people knew about Central and
Eastern Europe.
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