From Budaj to Fico: Celebrating the Slovak transition

Background

Czechoslovakia, which was invaded by Warsaw Pact tanks in 1968 after a brief period of liberalisation, became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic in 1969.

The end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia during the peaceful 'Velvet Revolution' of 1989 was followed by the country's 'civilised divorce'. In July 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state. In November that year, the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country on 31 December, and on 1 January 1993 Slovakia and the Czech Republic officially separated.

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The 1970s saw the rise of dissident movements in Czechoslovakia. In 1977, the human rights manifesto 'Charter 77' brought international fame to Václav Havel, who later became the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic. 

At the centre of developments in Slovakia was Ján Budaj, one of the key figures of the November 1989 'tribunes' in Bratislava. Together with actor Milan Knažko, he moderated the very first rallies in the Slovak capital without knowing whether the communist regime would use force to disperse the crowd.

Budaj belonged to the generation which at a very young age experienced the invasion by Warsaw Pact armies of Czechoslovakia and the tough 'normalisation' period that followed.

A witness of the Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring, Budaj made an unsuccessful attempt to escape Czechoslovakia in 1971 via the green border, together with a friend. They managed to cross the German border and were about 100 metres behind the line, being followed by shooting guards, when his friend slipped and fell. They were caught and Budaj went to prison.

After imprisonment, Budaj found employment as a warehouse worker, a job which was often attributed to educated people who had fallen out of favour with the communist regime.

Green beginnings

Budaj was at the forefront of the resistance in Slovakia, through an initiative to save old historical cemeteries in Bratislava. The regime wanted the cemeteries removed as "symbols of bourgeoisie and aristocracy," together with other religious symbols. But the communists found it hard to fight such an 'internal enemy' pursuing a relatively harmless aim.

In this context, Budaj's initiative to preserve historical monuments gained a certain political dimension. The movement soon began to attract more people and new ideas, which focused on environmental protection. A 'protectionist' community started to develop. Around their 'Bratislava/Aloud' manifesto, which was similar to the famous 'Charter 77' in Czechoslovakia, a whole movement was formed.

The regime's response came in the form of negative media campaigns. But these only managed to win new allies for the movement, which attracted the attention of Greens in Hungary and Western Europe. 

The 1989 'tribunes'

As a dissident in November 1989, Budaj formed a partnership with actor Milan Knažko. Together, they prepared and moderated the very first November rallies in Bratislava, called 'tribunes'. It was during these rallies that demands on the communist elite were spelt out, but nobody knew how the regime would react. 

Budaj prepared scenarios for the first rallies. As he recalls, it was quite difficult as a half-page text was the longest that would maintain the crowd's attention. The famous woollen cap he wore during the November rallies is now known as a budajka.

When a general strike was proclaimed, intellectual elites joined the pro-democratic forces. They were even able to appear in the state-controlled media, demanding the abolition of the leading role of the Communist Party. Under popular pressure, the communists gave up power a few days before Prague.

Budaj became the first leader of the VPN (Verejnost Proti Nasiliu; 'Public against violence'), the democratic political grouping which won the first election. The process took 40 days - from the first demonstrations until Václav Havel's election as president of Czechoslovakia. 

Responding to conspiracy theories according to which the grand architects of the changes in the Eastern bloc were Western countries, he said in an interview with the SME daily: "The collapse of the Berlin Wall threw down the post-war winner's power architecture. They were the anchor for the stability of the West, Europe was still full of nuclear missiles, the West would not risk that. The change was made by people from here."

Budaj has in past years found himself confronted with data from the former communist secret services implying that he was an agent. His file is missing, however, and he himself claims he never collaborated with the secret services and disputes the relevance of secret service documents.

Fico celebrates Velvet Revolution in Moscow 

Commemorations of the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia started this week, with the 17 November desginated a state holiday in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whom the centre-right opposition accuses of "not noticing" the changes in November 1989, travels to Moscow on 16 November, triggering criticism from the opposition. Fico took part in the celebrations marking the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November. 

According to political scientist Michal Horský, Fico is ignoring the celebrations in Slovakia because he does not want to disappoint his centre-left electorate. 

Fico, who was born into a working-class family in 1964, joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1987 and worked for a communist think-tank until the Velvet Revolution. After that, he joined the Party of the Democratic Left, a successor of the Communist Party. In 1999, he left the party after its support had dropped below the threshold required to be represented in Parliament. 

He subsequently became one of the most popular critics of the centre-right government of Mikuláš Dzurinda. His populist rhetoric helped his newly-established party, SMER, to receive over 13% of the vote in 2002 and over 29% in 2006.

According to a recent poll, almost half of the population thinks life was easier before 1989.

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