August 1968 - When the Tanks Came Rolling In
Exactly 40 years ago to the day, on August 21, 1968, Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia in a concerted effort to put down Prague Spring – a period of political liberalization. When the tanks came into Bratislava Ladislav Bielik, a newspaper photographer was there taking pictures.
Mr. Bielik’s photos are extremely important because they serve as a stark reminder of the face of aggression, past and present. I had seen one of his photographs before. It’s probably his most famous from the series—the picture of the man baring his chest to a tank gun.
When I worked at the Technical University in Bratislava our offices were in the architecture building on Nam. slobody (Freedom Square). Our department director said the building was used as barracks for the Soviet soldiers while they occupied the city. I’ll never forget how she described the building after the soldiers left and university employees were allowed back inside their building. She said they were shocked at the horrendous mess and filth that had been left behind. Not only was there a great deal of destruction of property, but they also had to remove and clean away excrement from out of desk drawers and offices. Other physical scars remain. There are still bullet holes in the chemistry building across the street.
In looking for more photos from Ladislav Bielik I found a short article on the Sme website that included a picture I hadn’t seen before: a row of tanks lined up on Obchodná Street, a street I’ve walked up and down hundreds of times. It was a shocking picture to me. Seeing that image and thinking about the situation in Georgia reminded me that things can change quickly from one day to the next. A place that seems familiar one day can be the scene of a nightmare the next.
It’s strange how there is such a coincidence that this 40th anniversary of the Czechoslovak invasion coincides with Russia’s invasion of Georgia. Though Russia is not the Soviet Union, it seems they may be going back to their old ways. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico has been a strong supporter of Russia in the near past and is still reluctant to condemn Russia’s actions towards Georgia. I hope on this anniversary he will see Mr. Bielik’s photos and be reminded of what Slovaks have witnessed first hand. Lest we forget, Mr. Prime Minister. Lest we forget… .
2 Comments on “August 1968 - When the Tanks Came Rolling In”
Being aware of the history of Slovakkia and especially what happend in 1968 it is quite surprising for me to learn that in present Russian-Georgian conflict Robert Fico tends to stand rather on Russian side. I wonder what is the motivation behing his position? Is it just the sympathy to the other Slavic nation? Or attempt to keep good relations with big brother? Probably both together, as far as I can imagine. It would be intersting to know how many people in Slovakia share the views of their Prime Minister? When Georgian conflict began, I tried to check Slovak online newspaper to get some idea it, to understand if the articles clearly support one side (and which side?) or they just pass neutral information. But since I don't understand Slovak the only bit of information I got was that the topic was perhaps less ephasized, if compared with these dramatic headlines in the newspapers of my homeland Estonia.
August 24th, 2008 at 07:35 AM
Though after the first days of the Russia-Georgia conflict began Mr. Fico put the blame squarely in Georgia's court, he has avoided making any other kind of strong comments. More recently (Aug 27), the Slovak Foreign Ministry has stated that they oppose Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as sovereign provinces. Last week the Foreign Ministry also made a statement that they respect and support Georgia. Interestingly enough, Slovakia does not recognize Kosovo as independent from Serbia and the Foreign Ministry said in their recent statement, "As one of a few European Union countries Slovakia can insist on the territorial integrity of Georgia on the principle as it insisted in the case of Serbia and Kosovo,"
August 28th, 2008 at 03:55 PM