Prague Spring and Maidan 'Revolution' Have Nothing in Common – Slovak MP

In an interview for Sputnik ahead of the 47th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, marked on Friday, Blaha, an MP from the Slovak social-democratic party SMER-SD, explained the crucial differences between the two events.

"The Prague Spring was a process desired by most of Czechoslovakian society. 'Socialism with a human face' was not an invention of the Western powers. The Prague Spring was not about the hooliganism of the deranged fascists, as was the case in Maidan," Blaha noted. 

The politician explained that in contrast to the events of the Euromaidan 'revolution' of late 2013 to early 2014, the events of 1968 "were not a color revolution, organized and financed by the West as part of its expansion eastward. And the changes brought by the Prague Spring were not of the kind that would be resisted by nearly half the country, for example by those living in Slovakia or Moravia. In Ukraine, on the other hand, the eastern, Russian-speaking population stepped out against the events of Maidan."

Blaha noted that "furthermore, [Czechoslovak leader] Alexander Dubcek came to power in a lawful way, that is, completely legitimately. There was no coup, there was no violence, no one attributed any crimes to the 'old regime', chaos and hate were not sown, no one threatened the members of the former government with death, no minorities were insulted, and no one's language or any other rights were threatened."

Citing comparisons between the two events made by Slovak and by Western media, the political scientist argued that "such comparisons are purely ideological, and their goal is to show that Ukraine today is an innocent victim, like Czechoslovakia was in 1968, and that Russia has always been and remains the archenemy, constantly seeking to occupy someone. This is complete nonsense."

In Blaha's view, "it is obvious that since the days of the Cold War, Western propaganda has not changed much, and after a short pause, the Russophobia which extended up to 1989 has been resumed. They have resumed the Cold War, inventing stupid historical analogies, like comparing Putin to Hitler or Ukraine today to Czechoslovakia in 1968. These pathetic militaristic stories have absolutely nothing to do with reality."

The politician noted that "we all know that Kiev started a civil war against its own citizens, that it's unable to cope with the rise of home-grown fascism, and that it cannot find a solution which would unite the country. In Czechoslovakia in 1968, the people united for the sake of wonderful things. They wanted democratic socialism, and this yearning, unfortunately, was destroyed by the tanks of the Warsaw Pact." Nothing of the kind happened in Ukraine in 2014, according to Blaha.

Contemporary Russia Not to Blame for the Events of 1968

Asked by his interviewer whether contemporary Russia has any measure of responsibility for the events of 1968, Blaha answered by noting that "blaming Russia for what happened in 1968 would be dishonest. I'll ask a counter-question: Should we perceive contemporary Germany as our enemy, given that the Germans were Nazis during the Second World War? I think this would be absurd. Likewise, it is absurd to consider Russia responsible for the events of 1968. And another question: should we now hate the Poles, Hungarians and Bulgarians, because they too invaded our territory in 1968 as part of the Warsaw Pact invasion force? If you want to hate Russia for the events of 1968, you have to hate all the states that participated in the invasion."

The journalist noted that ultimately, "using history as an excuse to hate other nations is incredibly stupid. Russia has repeatedly apologized for the occupation, and as far as I'm concerned the question is closed. I try to find in history that which unites nations, rather than that which divides them. We need to forget about old grievances and to move on, to remember the good things and to build a friendship on this basis. This is the only way to preserve peace."

Blaha explained that Slovakia and Russia can build on the ever-lasting memory of Eastern Europe's liberation from fascism. "Russia is our friend and liberator. Fascism was the greatest evil in human history, and we were freed from that evil by the Soviet Union. Furthermore, for me the most powerful national tradition in Slovakia is anti-fascism, which goes back to the Slovak National Uprising of 1944. Remembering our struggle against fascism, no one can erase the memory of the Russian soldiers who fell in the Second World War. They died for us in their millions. It is for this reason that the Russophobia now being preached by our right-wing politicians and the media is so distasteful to me."