A Czech-Ukrainian rally will take place outside the Russian Embassy in Prague on August 20 to mark the 58th anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.
The event, titled “Ivan, Go Home!”, is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 20, at Boris Němcova Square in Prague 6.
The rally comes one day before the anniversary of the night of August 20-21, 1968, when troops from five Warsaw Pact countries entered Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring reform movement.
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The invasion brought an end to the country’s attempt to pursue a more liberal form of socialism and was followed by two decades of political repression and Soviet military presence.
The event is being organized jointly by People in Need (Člověk v tísni), Memory of the People (Paměť národa), Million Moments for Democracy (Milion chvilek pro demokracii), and the European Congress of Ukrainians.
Organizers say the rally will connect the historical experience of the Soviet occupation with Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Participants will gather to remember those killed or persecuted following the 1968 invasion and the people who lived under the communist regime that followed. The organizers also plan to express support for Ukraine and draw attention to what they describe as the continuing use of imperial violence by Russia.
The choice of the rally’s name refers to one of the best-known slogans associated with the 1968 invasion. “Ivan, go home!” appeared on posters, walls, buildings and military vehicles as Czechoslovaks protested against the foreign troops occupying the country.
The invasion halted those reforms. Soviet troops remained in Czechoslovakia until the end of the communist era, while the subsequent period of “normalization” brought censorship, political purges and restrictions on civil liberties.
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