Nearly half of Russians ignorant invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 - poll [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Nearly half of Russians ignorant invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 poll
Experts say survey on Warsaw Pact intervention anniversary reflects resurgence of Brezhnev-era propaganda
Andrew Roth in Moscow
Sun 19 Aug 2018 12.18 BST
More than a third of Russians say the Soviet Union was correct to intervene in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and nearly half of the population says it knows nothing about the invasion at all, according to new polling data obtained by the Guardian before its release on the 50th anniversary of the crushing of the Prague spring.
The polling data reflects the resurgence of Brezhnev-era propaganda, stereotypes of the Soviet period, said Lev Gudkov of Russias Levada Center, which will release the results on Monday.
More than a fifth of Russians blamed a subversive action by western countries to split the communist bloc for a Czechoslovak programme of liberalisation that ended in a Soviet-led invasion of the communist country.
The Warsaw Pact intervention was seen as a turning point for the Soviet legacy in Europe, but its anniversary on Monday will largely pass unnoticed in Russia, where politicians and television stations have tended to stay quiet on the topic.
Generally speaking, the authorities dont want to pay any attention to the anniversary, said Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/19/russia-warsaw-pact-1968-invasion-czechoslovakia