<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/29/in-slovakia-a-frenzy-of-cultural-repression-is-underway-as-we-turn-back-to-soviet-times>
"In his novel
The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes depicts the Russian composer
Dmitri Shostakovich as “a man standing by a lift, at his feet a small case
containing cigarettes, underwear and tooth powder; standing there and waiting
to be taken away”. He knows that it will soon be his turn to be arrested by
Stalin’s secret police and is prepared for it.
Power in the Soviet Union had been seized by many who were uneducated and
coarse, driven by a vindictiveness amplified by the sense that they were merely
taking what was rightfully theirs. Shostakovich, along with writers such as
Leonid Andreyev, Ivan Bunin, Alja Rachmanowa and others left strikingly similar
depictions of the upheaval caused by the Stalinist purges: society was divided
and riven by fear, anxiety, acts of revenge, lists of inconvenient people,
destruction. Brute force prevailed over talent, expertise and education. The
winner took all.
Slovakia is (for now) a member of the EU, it is (for now) a democratic country
and has not (so far) endured a bloody or violent coup. But the atmosphere today
feels to me in some ways quite similar to that described in Russia 100 years
ago.
Since the populist Robert Fico’s return for a fourth term as prime minister in
October 2023, Slovakia has pivoted from the west to the east and is drifting
away from liberal democracy to what looks like authoritarianism. A long-term
critic of the EU and Nato, Fico has questioned Russia’s role as the aggressor
in the war in Ukraine, threatening to stop electricity supplies to Kyiv.
In December Fico travelled to Moscow for a private meeting with Vladimir Putin,
only the third western leader to do so since the full-scale invasion of
Ukraine. In response, Slovaks have taken to the streets to voice their anger
about the country’s future, their support for Ukraine and for Slovakia’s
continued membership of the EU and Nato. The most recent protest, drew more
than 100,000 people, many calling for Fico to resign.
But how does one defend democracy if the state’s very representatives are
involved in systematically dismantling it? And how could the achievements of
the 35 years since the Velvet Revolution have been upended so quickly?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
