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The latest wave of rallies was fuelled by Fico’s recent trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare visit to the Kremlin by an EU leader since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Slovakia to voice their opposition to the policies of Prime Minister Robert Rico who they accuse of being pro-Russia.The latest wave of anti-government rallies was fuelled by Fico’s trip to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare visit to the Kremlin by a European Union leader since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.”Slovakia belongs to Europe, we want to belong to Europe in terms of values. We do not belong to Russia, we do not actually want to collaborate with Russia in any way, and this is our position, which we must express politely but responsibly,” said Marián Kulich, the Managing Director of the Peace for Ukraine organisation, speaking at a rally in the capital, Bratislava.Fico’s recent remarks that that it was a possibility to change Slovakia’s foreign policy orientation and leave the European Union and NATO were among other recent steps by the prime minister that has sparked anger among protesters.Friday’s protests took place in 28 locations, more than double that compared to two weeks ago amid heightened tensions after Fico accused organisers and the opposition earlier this week of being in contact with an unspecified group of foreigners who he says are working toward engineering a coup in Slovakia.Fico linked his accusations to a secret report by the country’s spy service (SIS) that he presented in parliament on Tuesday.The details aren’t known but Fico publicly said that the opposition plans to occupy government buildings, block roads, organise a nationwide strike and provoke clashes with police forces as parts of the alleged plan to overthrow his government.”We see a structure that wants to exploit these meetings, these rallies, primarily for a possible clash with the security forces of the state, to escalate tensions even further. To further aggression and then to fulfil the plan that is being disseminated today by the organisers of these protests,” Fico said on Friday.Slovak leaders said that the situation was serious but the opposition dismissed the report and accused SIS of being misused for political purposes.The organisers of most of the rallies from the Peace for Ukraine organisation dismissed Fico’s claims and said that he is trying to frighten the Slovak population.All of the public anti-government protests since Fico’s cabinet was sworn in on 25 October, 2023, have been peaceful.Organisers say their protest in Bratislava was attended by around 60,000 people and that rallies will continue on 7 February.Ficos’s views on Russia have sharply differed from the European mainstream.He returned to power last year after his leftist party Smer (Direction) won the parliamentary election on a pro-Russia and anti-America platform.Since then, he has ended Slovakian military aid for Ukraine, lashed out at EU sanctions on Russia and vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO.Fico is a polarising figure in Slovakia and survived an assassination attempt in May 2024.
