Hundreds in Prague mark 1968 invasion with protest outside Russian Embassy

Several hundred people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Prague on Thursday evening for a memorial event marking the anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia and expressing support for Ukraine.

The hour-long event, titled “Go Home, Ivan!”, took place at Boris Nemtsov Square and was organized by four nonprofit organizations, including People in Need and Memory of Nations.

Many participants carried Czech and Ukrainian flags, while banners included “Yesterday Prague, Today Kyiv,” “Ukraine Is Fighting for Us Too,” and “Putin's Wasteland.”

The event opened with the song “Go Home, Ivan!”, a reference to the appeal made to Soviet soldiers during the 1968 invasion.

A tank installation dominated the gathering, with the heads of Czech political figures including Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Culture Minister Oto Klempíř, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura emerging from it.

Among those speaking was former dissident Věra Roubalová Kostlánová, who urged those attending not to weaken their support for Ukraine, saying aid from the European Union and United States remains insufficient.

Ukrainian activist Anna Abramchuk, who fled Ukraine at age 15 at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, also addressed the crowd. She described conditions in Russian-occupied territories, saying residents are being pressured to accept Russian citizenship and can face difficulties accessing healthcare and medication without it.

Karel Kovařovic, who was in Prague during the 1968 invasion, recalled being shot by Red Army soldiers in the Vinohrady district on Aug. 21 while trying to give first aid to a young man who had also been shot.

The protest came ahead of today's 58th anniversary of the invasion, which began during the night of Aug. 20–21, 1968, when Warsaw Pact troops led by the Soviet army entered Czechoslovakia to suppress the reform movement known as the Prague Spring.

The occupation killed 58 people on its first day, with the death toll reaching 108 by the end of 1968. Further victims died during the regime's suppression of anti-occupation demonstrations in 1969.

The invasion ushered in the period known as “normalization,” characterized by political purges, censorship and restrictions on civil liberties.

In Prague, the main memorial ceremony will take place from 11 a.m. outside the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská Street, where state representatives, politicians and witnesses will honor those killed during the invasion. President Petr Pavel, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) and Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) are expected to attend.

Vystrčil is also scheduled to appear later in the day at NeverMore 68, a cultural and social festival at Výstaviště, as well as at the Music Against Forgetting event in the lower part of Wenceslas Square.

Memorial events are also planned in Brno, Olomouc, Liberec, Žatec, Hradec Králové and other cities. In Hradec Králové, the Million Moments association will hold a gathering titled “Without Tanks – Freely Outside.”