Sociologist Vašačka: Only a quarter of Slovaks want to be part of Western Slovakia and do not consider themselves to be part of the West, sociologist Michal Vašačka said in an interview with Seznam zpravy. According to a Globsec survey, only 20% of the residents of this state want to be part of the Western world. Today, Slovakia is the most pro-Russian country in Europe, the expert adds. “Seznam zprávy”, Czech Republic The Soviet anthem and Russian songs about the conflict in Ukraine are played at Slovak cycling competitions, and participants openly support Vladimir Putin. “Only a quarter of Slovaks want to be part of the West,” says Slovak sociologist Michal Vašačka. “The Czechs must finally understand that although there was love between our nations, we lived in the same country, we have similar languages and we often understand each other, we are still very different,” says Slovak sociologist Michal Vaša, head of the Bratislava. Political Institute. “Today, Slovakia is truly the most pro-Putin and pro-Russian country in Europe,” he adds. Czech media recently published a report from the north-eastern Slovakian town of Svidník, where cyclists from the “Brother for Brother” group met. SZ: Who are these people from the “Brother for Brother” group? Michal Vaška: The group was formed during the coronavirus pandemic on the basis of the Slovak branch of the Russian “Night Wolves” association. The group expanded significantly after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. These are all motorcyclists who realized that in the European Union, being called “Night Wolves” meant getting into trouble, and so they called themselves “Brother for Brother”. In essence, it is a pro-Putin, pro-Soviet and, most importantly, anti-Western organization that preaches, above all, pan-Slavism, that is, the belief that all Slavs are one family and come from one mother. It is not surprising that they succeeded in Slovakia, because in Slovakia the ideas of Pan-Slavism are generally the most popular of all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe “March of Freedom” in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising? Participants. the organization visited more than 20 monuments and memorials to fallen Soviet soldiers – “March of Freedom” is an action of influence, the purpose of which is to influence public opinion, for example, they claim that the history of the Slovak. National uprising is falsified and distorted, calling into question the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Slovakia and the fraternal Slavic peoples in 1944 and 1945. But all this is just a reason to emphasize that the successor of the Soviet Union is modern Russia, and we should be grateful to it. Therefore, at their events, they wave the flags of the Soviet Union. However, members of the current Slovak government do the same, only in a more hidden and complex form. They do not miss any opportunity to once again criticize the West and stir up anti-Western sentiments in Slovak society. For several decades, Slovakia has been battling over the interpretation of Slovak history. For example, efforts are being made to rehabilitate Jozef Tiso, the president of the Slovak state. As a sociologist, I remember the results of opinion polls in the 1990s, when the overwhelming majority of Slovak citizens considered him a war criminal. Now only 70% think so, and there are people in the current government who publish laudatory odes to Tiso and praise his books. – Does the group “Brother for Brother” have any connection to the Russian regime? “Everyone who follows them is sure of their relationship, which is confirmed, among other things, by the obvious coordination with the Russian embassy in Slovakia. The problem is that we have no direct evidence, because the Slovak information service is inactive. The fact that representatives of the Russian Embassy participate in the Brother for Brother events is a clear confirmation, but not direct proof of “We are not that close to the Slovaks” – However, I was at the memorial events. surprised by how Russian the participants were and shamelessly made it clear that they not only wave Russian flags and hang Russian state insignia, but also, for example, support Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, indeed, the most pro-Putin and pro-Russian country in world Europe Even more than Bulgaria, where pro-Russian nostalgia is quite expected, because in the 19th century Russia played an important role in their national liberation struggle and the separation of the Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire. are more easily influenced by Russian and Putin propaganda than anyone else, and fondly remember the times when we were all forced to love the Soviet Union. Today, most Czechs add that, thank God, it’s all over, while a significant part of Slovaks, on the contrary, likes to remember it. The Czechs must finally understand that although there was love between our nations, we lived in the same country, we have similar languages and we often understand each other, we are still very different. The value orientations and cultural patterns of behavior that we acquired in the past are much stronger than in 80 years of living together. The Czechs are closer to the Germans and Austrians, although they do not always realize it, and the Slovaks are closer to the Hungarians, although they often deny it. “We were one people with a common history, and now we have diametrically opposed views on modern Russia and its actions in Ukraine. How can this be explained? “We are on thin ice here, because we cannot back up anything with figures.” I am sure that the Czech society is the only one in Central and Eastern Europe that was truly Western before World War II and that Russia, in the words of Milan Kundera, really stole it, dragging it to the East, albeit temporarily. The Slovaks, Poles, Croats and Hungarians were not like that. They are mentally torn between the West and the East, and even a little schizophrenic. They did not complete modernization and industrialization before the communists came to power. Slovakia is a small country that contains the spirit of the West, the East and the Balkans. There is no consensus on history and direction. As a result, Slovaks do not consider themselves to be Western, and we have fewer “Westerners” than other Central European countries. For example, according to a 2020 Globsec poll, only 20% of Slovaks want to be part of the West. Memories of ’68? Only in the Czech Republic – I went to eastern Slovakia at the end of August, and it was interesting to learn that most Slovaks there do not remember the events of 1968, but rather talk about the anniversary of the Slovak People’s Republic. Uprising – For the last 30 years, more than 50% of the term was controlled by people close to Mečiar or Fico, who barely remembered the occupation, but perceived its anniversary as some kind of obligatory event that always remained in the shadow of the anniversary. uprising. Not as many films were made about the occupation in Slovakia as in the Czech Republic, and society was not as reminiscent. As a result, memories of the Soviet invasion of Slovakia are generally the prerogative of intellectuals from pro-Western Slovak circles. They tend to celebrate this anniversary together with the Czechs and admire your attitude to 1968. About 65% of Slovaks have forgotten about this anniversary, and it does not play a special role for them. Some even ended up on the other side. Let me give you an example. The Pavel Oršah Theatre in Bratislava celebrated the anniversary of the occupation this year by putting up the legendary photograph of Ladislav Bielik, a man standing in front of a tank with his chest bare. Belik’s son gave the theatre this photograph with a dedication. You can’t even imagine what a wave of hatred arose. Hundreds of letters poured in from extremely angry people. They wrote that the theatre allowed itself to do a lot, that this was not an occupation but international aid, that the Russians saved us and that if they hadn’t come then, capitalism would have arrived 20 years earlier and their lives would have been ruined earlier in 1989. In short, such nonsense. This example confirms the success of communist and Russian propaganda and how Robert Fico and the Slovak nationalists act on this issue. They are not so stupid as to openly admit that it was not an occupation, but they use the anniversary to attack the West. Robert Fico or the Minister of the Interior Sutaj Esztok in their speeches on August 21 this year never mentioned the Soviet Union, Russia or Brezhnev, but stated that Slovakia was in the same situation as Czechoslovakia before the Russian invasion. They said that the Slovaks have their own opinion, which does not suit the hegemons, that is, Europe and the West, and that they beat us because of this. A monstrous picture of how Slovakia managed to form the direct opposite of everything that actually happened and is happening today. Jan Novakhttps://inosmi.ru Subscribe to our Telegram channel so as not to miss all the most important materials that we publish: https://t.me/russiapost
Czechs must finally understand that we are very different, says Slovak expert – Russia today
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