Moscow’s Historic Position Shapes Slovak Attitudes Towards Russia and Ukraine At present

One of many attendees, David Selyem, was sporting an “I coronary heart NATO” T-shirt wrapped round his stocky body and waving a big blue and yellow flag. An older lady approached and requested to take his image. “Ukraine,” she mentioned with a smile and a double thumbs-up. Selyem, who beforehand performed skilled poker, delivered support in Ukraine, and has now devoted himself to the widespread protests towards Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

“The Russian propaganda right here is actually working,” Selyem advised me. “I see it in our prime minister.” The group concurred, chanting “disgrace” at any time when Fico’s identify was talked about.

Since coming again to energy in 2023, Fico has been shifting Slovakia nearer to Russia, back-pedaling his predecessors’ staunch assist for Ukraine and undermining European cohesion. When he boarded a flight to Moscow final December, it was a last straw for tens of 1000’s of Slovakians, who took to the streets. Frustration was exacerbated when Fico turned the one European Union chief to attend an annual Victory Day celebration in Moscow final spring. Then, in early September, he met Russia’s president in Beijing.

Many youthful Slovakians are staunch supporters of Ukraine and its European allies. However amongst Fico’s base, typically older and rural voters, assist for Russia stays robust. The contested position of the Purple Military—as liberator in 1945 and invader in 1968—lies on the coronary heart of Slovakia’s debate over historical past and politics.

At present, Fico’s supporters contemplate the Soviet Union—and by extension Russia—as a liberator from fascism. A survey performed in Slovakia in February by the suppose tank Globsec discovered that 54 p.c of respondents agreed that Russia was the principle actor accountable for defeating fascism in World Conflict II and continues to play a number one position within the combat towards fascism immediately. (The info has not been revealed but however was shared with International Coverage.)

Critics additionally acknowledge that the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact invested closely in industrializing Slovakia. In keeping with Alexander Duleba, a senior fellow on the Analysis Middle of the Slovak International Coverage Affiliation who served as an advisor to pro-Ukrainian prime minister Eduard Heger, Moscow’s causes have been cynical—to extend navy manufacturing and higher shield their entrance line with the West. However the outcomes nonetheless linger in folks’s reminiscence. At present, many older Slovakians imagine that they had higher jobs, salaries, training, and providers throughout the Soviet interval. “Not so many former communist international locations can say that they have been modernized throughout the Soviet period; Slovakia is one in all them,” mentioned Duleba.

Spying a possibility, Moscow has performed on-line and offline campaigns to advertise a constructive picture inside Slovakia. “Russia builds on the narratives which have been shared extensively as propaganda throughout the Soviet regime when Slovakia was a part of the japanese bloc below the affect of the Soviet Union,” mentioned Dominika Hajdu, director of coverage and planning at Globsec. “So again then there was this robust narrative that Russia has liberated Slovakia from fascism, and it is just because of Russia.”

The Russian Embassy’s Fb account, which has over 70,000 followers, typically posts concerning the heroism of Soviet Union troops in World Conflict II. The Russian authorities has hosted wreath-laying ceremonies for Soviet troops who died throughout the battle, whereas pro-Russian biker gangs like Brat za Brata (Brother for Brother) and the Night time Wolves have additionally held ceremonies all around the nation.

A celebration for Bratislava’s liberation in April was attended by Fico alongside the Russian ambassador, the Belarusian ambassador, and members of Brat za Brata. EU ambassadors refused to attend. Fico has been insistent: “Liberty got here from the East. Nothing can change this fact.”

It’s not simply bikers. Many members of Fico’s base have been desirous to domesticate a nostalgic view of Slovakia’s relationship with Russia. I met Vladimir Mikunda in his high-ceilinged workplace in central Bratislava. Mikunda is a number one determine within the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters, a bunch that maintains dozens of World Conflict II memorial websites throughout Slovakia. The union has break up over the battle in Ukraine; some members are appalled by Russia’s invasion of an impartial nation, whereas others, like Mikunda, take a extra sympathetic view.

Mikunda was 12 throughout the 1968 invasion, one thing he condemns however says Russia has apologized twice for. Life below Soviet occupation for him meant safer streets, higher meals safety, and peace. As an grownup, he served within the military below the communist Czechoslovakian authorities after which in post-communist Slovakia.

From his armchair, Mikunda fingers me a replica of the union’s journal, Bojovnik. Flicking via it feels a bit like studying a watered-down model of Russian state media, its pages decrying Western hypocrisy and dangerous intentions. Mikunda, the editor, tells me he consumes Russian media on daily basis.

“We understand politics via what it has to do with fascism and towards fascism. Ukraine just isn’t a Nazi state, however it’s a Nazi regime,” Mikunda advised me.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (proper) shakes fingers with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico throughout a information convention in Moscow on Nov. 16, 2009. Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

“If Ukraine fails, Slovakia is subsequent. They must win,” he advised a discussion board in Davos that Might.

A yr and a half later, Fico was again in energy for the primary time since 2018, and subordinated international coverage to home coverage in an try to enchantment to his citizens. “Fico’s voters count on him to be anti-EU and anti-Ukraine as a result of Ukraine is at battle with Russia. It’s about his political survival,” based on Duleba.

Appearing on a marketing campaign promise, Fico introduced he would cease offering navy support to Kyiv. This was hardly a major blow to Kyiv in navy phrases, as Slovakia was a small donor in comparison with different allies. Furthermore, personal corporations in Slovakia have continued to promote arms and the nation’s arms exports have grown tenfold since 2022. However the determination was damaging. Laurynas Kasciunas, then-chairman of the nationwide safety and protection committee within the Lithuanian Parliament, advised the New York Instances in October 2023 that Fico’s motion “poisons the unity of the Western nations striving to assist Ukraine.”

On EU sanctions and different non-military insurance policies towards Ukraine, Fico has walked a advantageous line. Symbolically, his rhetoric and actions have felt more and more pro-Russian, however he typically reluctantly toes Brussels’ line on main points. In February, talking on the Conservative Political Motion Convention in america, Fico accused the EU of utilizing the battle in Ukraine to politically and economically weaken Russia. “[N]o one is disputing that Russia’s use of navy power in Ukraine was a violation of worldwide legislation. Nevertheless, Russia had critical safety causes for doing so as a result of it has lengthy been misled on the problem of NATO enlargement,” he mentioned.

In July, the EU signed a collection of recent sanctions towards Russia. For weeks, Fico refused to signal onto the plan, utilizing it as a possibility to oppose a separate EU deal to section out Russian gasoline and oil. He finally budged, however the delay gave Russia extra time and created friction inside Europe. In the long run, all Slovakia obtained was a three-page letter from European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen offering obscure reassurances about compensating households and trade for phasing out Russian oil and gasoline. Fico delivered one other blow in September when he met Putin in Beijing: Whereas the EU is searching for to cut back power imports from Russia, Fico advised the Russian president he needed to extend Slovakia’s imports of Russian gasoline. Then, final week Fico once more dragged his feed earlier than finally lifting his veto on a brand new set of sanctions.

“You may really feel the frustration in Brussels, you possibly can really feel it in all places,” Jozef Hrabina, a geopolitical danger advisor, advised me. Some EU officers have even thought of altering the voting guidelines to restrict Slovakia’s potential to veto main coverage proposals, he mentioned.

Protesters participate in an anti-government demonstration at Freedom Sq. in Bratislava on Feb. 7.Tomas Benedikovic/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

A delegation from the European Parliament civil liberties committee just lately visited the nation and concluded that Slovakia was experiencing a weakening of judicial independence, freedom of the press, parliamentary oversight, and particular person liberties. Like Selyem, the committee questioned whether or not Slovakia is on a path to changing into one other Hungary, the place prime minister Viktor Orban has a good grip on impartial establishments.

Parts of Fico’s management have certainly come to resemble Orban’s. Fico pushed via an modification to the legal code that removed the particular prosecution workplace, which handled corruption circumstances, together with towards members of his personal occasion. A legislation that got here into impact in June requires nongovernmental organizations to reveal their funding sources. Whereas the legislation was watered down after stress from the European Fee, critics worry it echoes a Russian international brokers legislation that has been used to silence dissent. The state has introduced the general public broadcaster STVR nearer below its management. And Fico’s minister of tradition, Martina Simkovicova, whose Slovak Nationwide Get together is a part of the governing coalition, has been accused of purging cultural establishments of opposition as a part of her battle on “LGBT+ ideology.”

However for Duleba, the comparability to Orban is weak. Hungary’s chief has lengthy held a big majority in parliament, whereas Fico’s coalition has a slim majority of 79 out of 150 seats, making constitutional adjustments exhausting to enact. The following parliamentary elections shall be held by 2027. Polls point out that if the election was held tomorrow, a liberal democratic coalition led by the Progressive Slovakia occasion would win.

“Fico is main the nation in Hungary’s path, however after all he faces resistance,” mentioned Grigorij Meseznikov, a political analyst who heads Slovakia’s Institute for Public Affairs. “For Orban it took greater than 12 to 14 years to determine this regime, to consolidate, and the resistance wasn’t very environment friendly. In Slovakia, Fico is actually confronted with resistance. So the prospectives are good.”

Following the summer time hiatus, some protesters are again on the streets. 1000’s gathered in Bratislava on Sept. 11 in response to Fico’s latest assembly with Putin. David Selyem is determined for a break. However, as Slovakia’s opposition prepares for the following elections, he’s gearing up for extra protests. “We’d like a relaxation for a while, we made 11 huge protests in a half yr. It takes numerous power,” he mentioned.