50 years of the Prague Spring: A measure of the impact of history on contemporary relations between Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract

The 50^th anniversary of the Prague Spring is marked in 2018. Today, the events of 1968 retain their significance for relations between Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The subject of the research is the impact of the events of the Prague Spring in 1968 on current relations between Russia and the countries of the former Czechoslovakia. The author analyzes in detail the key causes and consequences of the Prague Spring, as well as the current state of Russian-Czech and Russian-Slovak relations in conditions of anti-Russian sanctions.

Analyzing the role of the attitudes of modern Czechs and Slovaks to the events of 1968, the author concluded that for the citizens of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, they are more historical. Condemning the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Prague, Russia closed this chapter in its relations with the countries of the former Czechoslovakia. At the same time, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, becoming separate countries, overcame the problems in their relations in the 20^th century.

The article demonstrates that the deterioration of bilateral relations between Russia and the Czech Republic and Russia and Slovakia is due not to unsatisfied historical claims, but to the general cooling in relations between Russia and the EU and the policy of sanctions. Today, Prague and Bratislava are forced to balance between Brussels and Moscow, seeking to ensure their national interests, which for the Czech Republic and Slovakia are inextricably linked with both the European Union and Russia.

The novelty of the research lies in the study of relations between Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia through the prism of the evolution of their cultural and historical determinants. Thus, the author used the case study method and content analysis in his research. The theoretical basis of the research was the works of both Russian and foreign authors. The practical basis of the study was data from sociological surveys conducted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in recent decades, as well as the evidence of eyewitnesses of the events of the Prague Spring.