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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
SpecialA world full of seekers: Christmas before and after the fall of communism
Exactly 20 years ago, Czechs and Slovaks were celebrating their first
Christmas for four decades without a hint of official
disapproval. While
the communists tolerated the trappings of Christmas – with Christmas
trees and traditional Czech Christmas carp in abundance – their tolerance
of Christian traditions was never more than skin deep. In the 1950s,
priests and members of religious orders were often locked up for their
beliefs, and the brief reforms of the 1960s were followed by another wave
of persecution, following the Soviet-led invasion of 1968. For this
programme I’m going to be talking to two people, who remember only too
well what it meant to be a practising Christian in communist
Czechoslovakia. They are the Protestant pastor, former Dean of the
Protestant Theological Faculty of Prague’s Charles University and former
dissident, Jakub Trojan, and the British translator Gerry Turner, who has
lived in Prague for many years and has had close links with the churches
here since before the fall of communism.
More
Current AffairsPeople were surprised but not depressed, Czech PM Jan Fischer, then 17, recalls of Soviet-led invasion of 1968
A memorial ceremony was held at the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská
Street on Friday morning, marking the events of August 21, 1968. During
the
previous night, Soviet tanks had rolled into Czechoslovakia, crushing the
Prague Spring reform movement and the hopes of a generation. Czech Radio
became a rallying point for resistance to the
occupation; thousands of
people gathered in front of the building, and bloody fighting ensued. More
Current AffairsNew facts emerge about 1975 downing of Polish aircraft
New facts have emerged about the downing of a Polish plane by communist
Czechoslovakia’s air force in 1975, resulting in the death of a Polish
citizen trying to flee to the west. For three decades the circumstances
surrounding the incident have been veiled in secrecy, but now the veil has
been lifted. More
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