55th Anniversary of the Invasion

Today was the 55th anniversary of the Soviet led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. 

The invasion ended the reforms of the Prague Spring and ushered in the era known as "normalisation" which was the strict alignment of Soviet policy that didn't end until the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

In 2019, the Czech Senate declared 21 August as a Significant Day that's officially known as "The Day of Memory of the Victims of the 1968 Invasion and Subsequent Occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact Troops."

Different Time Same Occupation

There were memorials across Czechland today and there are clear parallels between the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

1. The aggressor fabricated internal threats to justify invading an independent country.

• In 1968, it was framed not as an invasion but as "fraternal assistance" to protect communism from alleged Western interference and counter-revolution.
• Today, Russia's narrative is that it's not a war but a "special military operation" to "protect Russian speakers" from alleged Nazism and NATO control.

2. Both the Soviet Union and Russia deny the sovereignty of smaller countries. 

• The Soviets asserted that communist countries had "limited sovereignty" that later became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.
• Vladimir Putin claims that Ukraine is a historical part of Russia so therefore doesn't believe it is a real state.

3. Use of propaganda.

• In 1968, the Soviet media claimed that the military was invited.  They suppressed independent media and forced agreements signed under duress.
• Today, the Russian media, which is under state control, claims that they were asked to come help by Russian-speaking Ukrainians.  There are heavy disinformation campaigns and staged referenda in occupied territories like when Russian annexed Crimea.  

Many people here in Czechland see Ukraine living out 1968.  A common phrase I hear is My už toile jednou zažili which means "We've lived through this once already."  The difference I see though is that Ukraine is fighting back where as Czechoslovakia never had the chance to.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

2023 Global Peace Index

The 17th edition of the Global Peace Index was released.  The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators across three different domains: Societal Safety and Security, Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict, and Militarisation.

For the 17th year in a row, Iceland maintains the top spot.  Here are the top 15 countries and the variance from last year's results.

1. Iceland
2. Denmark +1
3. Ireland -1
4. New Zealand +2
5. Austria -1
6. Singapore +4
7. Portugal +1
8. Slovenia -4
9. Japan
10. Switzerland +1
11. Candada +2
12. Czechia -5
13. Finland +3
14. Croatia +1
15. Germany +2

Europe continues to be the most peaceful region, with 7 of top 10 countries.  Although Europe did go down in all three domains over the past year.  Mainly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Europe is now less peaceful than it was 15 years ago.

I'm not sure what happened here in Czechland, with the five spot drop and falling out of the top 10.  But even in 12th place I feel much safer living in Euroland than anywhere else.

The USA remains at 131st place.  Behind Haiti and South Africa, but ahead of Brazil, Eritrea, and Palestine.

The USA recorded the 4th largest overall increase in its homicide rate, which is more than 6 per 100.000 people.  This is more than six times higher than most Western European countries.

The Middle East and North Africa is the world's least peaceful region.  

Ukraine dropped 14 places to 157, just ahead of Russia at 158.  Followed by the five least peaceful countries, with no change from last year.

159. Democratic Republic of the Congo

160. South Sudan

161. Syria

162. Yemen

163. Afghanistan

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

2023 Eurovision Finals

Last night were the 2023 Eurovision finals and what a show!  I think that this was my favourite one so far.  This was the first year that there were no phone numbers for people to call and vote.  Everyone used the Eurovision app.  This was also the first worldwide voting.  Between the first and second semi-finals, plus the Big Five, there were 26 countries battling it out for the win.

Sweden placed 1st with 583 points and won the jury vote.  While Finland won the televote, the combined score was 526 points which was enough for 2nd place.  Israel placed 3rd with 362 points, followed by Italy, Norway, Ukraine, Belgium, Estonia, and Australia.  With 129 points, Czechland placed 10th, just 2 points ahead of Lithuania.

Loreen won with "Tattoo".  This was her second win after having won back in 2012.

©Eurovision Song Contest

Käärijä from Finland sang "Cha Cha Cha".

©Eurovision Song Contest

Noa Karel from Israel sang "Unicorn".

©Eurovision Song Contest

This was the first time that Czechland competed as Czechia, and not Czech Republic.  Vesna sang "My Sister's Crown".  Still pretty cool that Czechland finished in the top 10.

©Eurovision Song Contest

With only 18 points, Germany came in last.  Lord of the Lost performed "Blood & Glitter."  It's a good thing that Germany automatically qualifies to the finals due to being part of the Big Five, because otherwise I don't see how this song would have made it past the semi-final round at all.

©Eurovision Song Contest

Here's a short U.S. news clip explaining this year's Eurovision contest to Americans, prior to the final.  

©CBS

2023 Eurovision Semi-Final 1

It's Eurovision time!!  It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since Ukraine won last year.  Since Ukraine won last year they should host this year's competition but they can't due to Russia's invasion.  Therefore, the UK, last year's runner-up is hosting in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine.

This is the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and there are 37 countries competing this year.  Russia and Belarus are banned due to the invasion while Bulgaria, Montenegro, and North Macedonia opted not to participate due to cost reasons.

Last night, 15 countries participated in the first semi-final with 10 advancing to Saturday's final.  Finland came in first followed by Sweden and Israel.  

Czechland came in 4th place.  Way to go Vesna!!

©Eurovision Song Contest

Rounding out the top 10 were Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, Portugal, and Serbia.  

Latvia, Ireland, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, and Malta failed to qualify and are out.

Aside from Czechland, my favourites last night were Sweden, Moldova, and Switzerland.  Plus France who automatically qualifies to the finals as one of the Big 5 countries.  Here are their performances from YouTube.  Let's see you makes it to the finals from tomorrow night's second semi-final.

©Eurovision Song Contest

©Eurovision Song Contest

©Eurovision Song Contest

©Eurovision Song Contest

2023 World Happiness Report

This year's World Happiness Report is in and just like last year Europe continues to be the happiest place to be with Israel and New Zealand being the only non-European countries to crack the top 10.

Finland came in first place for the sixth year in row.  This year's top ten countries are the same as last year.

The five Nordic / Scandinavian countries all placed in the top seven with Finland #1, Denmark #2, Iceland #3, Sweden #6, and Norway #7.

The BeNeLux countries did well again too.  The Netherlands came in at #5, Luxembourg was #9, and Belgium was #17.

Czechland again was the highest ranked of the Visegrád countries.  Half of Central Europe placed in the top 20.

Switzerland #8, Austria #11, Germany #16, Czechland #18, Slovenia #22, Slovakia #29, Poland #39, and Hungary #51.

Czechland kept its #18 place from last year.  The USA moved up to #15 from #16.

This year Lithuania #20 cracked the top 20; bumping France from #20 to #21.

Here's a short CBS News video I found out on YouTube.

©CBS News

Given Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's no wonder that neither country ranks as happy.  Russia came in at #70 and Ukraine ranked #92.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

The Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was founded in 1721 by Czar Peter I, also known as Peter the Great.  It lasted until 1917, almost two hundred years, and stretched from Central/Eastern Europe to Siberia, Central Asia and even Alaska.  It was the third largest empire in history, only behind the the Mongol Empire and British Empire.

Peter the Great, a member of the Romanov dynasty, wanted to transform Russia into a modern European state.  Here's a ten minute video I found on YouTube on Peter the Great and the Russian Empire with a bit of background on Russia prior to the Russian Empire.

©History Matters

Following Peter the Great's death, there came a number of Romanov czars and czarinas but the next great ruler wasn't until 1762, with Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great became empress.  

Following defeats of the the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in a number of wars, the Russian Empire's borders expanded into Crimea, Belarus, Central Ukraine, and Lithuania.  Catherine the Great ensured the empire's status as one of the great European powers.

Catherine the Great ruled from 1762 to 1796.  Here's a short video about her.

©Biography

Alexander II was czar from 1855 to 1881.  Almost half of the people living in the empire were serfs, peasant labourers tied to particular parcels of land they worked or to the Russian nobleman who owned it.  In 1861 he emancipated all 23 million serfs.  The newly freed serfs received 2/3rds of the land they had worked but in return had to pay annual compensation to the state.  

In 1867, he sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States for $7.2 million.

Nicholas II took the throne in 1894 and was the last Romanov czar.  In 1917 the Russian Revolution took place which overthrew the czarist government and the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin took control in the October Revolution. 

During the 19th century, the empire was multilingual and multireligious with only about half of the population native Russian speakers and Russian Orthodox.  Russia had fought on the side of the allies in WWI.  In 1918 they exited WWI and gave up Finland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine.  Later that same year, Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks and the Russian civil war broke out.  

Here's a short video about why Nicholas II wasn't able to flee Russia after his abdication and his eventual execution.

©History Matters

The civil war ended in 1922 and the Soviet Union was established which was one of the world's superpowers almost until the end of the twentieth century.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has lamented that the breakup of the Soviet Union was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century".  Putin has compared the invasion of Ukraine to the conquests of Peter the Great.  I think that it is safe to say that things have not gone to plan.

Putin expected to take over Ukraine in a few days.  He got that one way wrong.  But this also has an impact on his goal of either creating a new Russian Empire or just returning to the days of the Soviet Union as more former Soviet republics distance themselves from Russia.

• Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops in Ukraine.  The blow to the prestige of the Russian military can not be underestimated.
• Russia has been a peacekeeper between Armenia and Azerbaijan by maintaining a large military presence in Armenia.  Due to the war in Ukraine, Russia isn't able to maintain the peace and Armenia is reconsidering its relations with Russia.
• Since the invasion, Kazakhstan is strengthening its ties with China, Turkey, the EU and the USA.  The country is also questioning its membership in the CSTO.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Update 2025: Here's a short, interesting video I found that's worth a look at.

©History Matters

World AIDS Day 2022

Today is World AIDS Day.  Since 1988, the day has been dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV.

The United Nations is working towards its goal of ending AIDS as a global health threat by 2030.  There's a long way to go to meet this goal in the next eight years.  

Álisson Becker, a footballer who plays for Liverpool and the Brazilian national team is a World Health Organisation Goodwill Ambassador and here's his public service announcement.  

©World Health Organisation (WHO)

Czech State Health Institute

The National Reference Laboratory for HIV/AIDS of the State Health Institute has released the current statistics about HIV/AIDS here in Czechland.

Czech Republic has a relatively low level of HIV/AIDS infection in Europe.  This year the number of cases have been significantly affected by migration due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

For the first ten months of the year, there were 249 new cases registered in the country.

• 201 were men and 48 were women
• 110 were Czech citizens and 139 were foreigners residing here
• Of the foreigners, 89 come from Ukraine, 8 from Slovakia, 8 from Russia, 4 from Moldova, 4 from Poland and 22 from other countries
• Most new cases are reported in Prague (32,9%), South Moravia (10,8%) and Central Bohemia (8.8%)

From the start of the Russian invasion to the end of October 2022, the Czech Ministry of the Interior took in 422.125 refugees from Ukraine of which 537 HIV-positive Ukrainian refugees were registered.

Differences in HIV Incidence between Czechia and Ukraine

In 2021, Czechland had 2,2 cases per 100.000 people and Ukraine had 37,1 cases per 100.000 people.

2022 Global Peace Index

The Global Peace Index ranks the level of peacefulness and this year was the 16th edition.  Iceland continues to come in first place which it has been since 2008.  New Zealand came in second place again.   

1. Iceland 
2. New Zealand
3. Ireland +3
4. Denmark -1
5. Austria +2
6. Portugal -1
7. Slovenia -3
8. Czechland +1
9. Singapore +1
10. Japan +1

Europe continues to be the most peaceful area with seven of the top ten spots and 14 of the top 20.

No surprise that Russia and Ukraine are two of the five countries with the biggest drop in peacefulness.

The USA dropped one spot to #129, behind Azerbaijan and ahead of Brazil.

The Middle East and North Africa are the least peaceful regions.

For the fifth year in a row, Afghanistan came in last place, ahead of Yemen, Syria, Russia, and South Sudan.

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Tomáš the Tank

Czechland has provided Ukraine with about 4 billion Kč ($186.5 million) in military arms and equipment.  There's also the satirical annexation of Královec. 

Now Czechia is the first country in the world to crowdfund a tank.  The Czech project, Derek pro Putina (A Gift for Putin), collects donations to purchase weapons and supplies for the Ukrainian army.  Donations of 33 million Kč (+$1.5 million) from 11.288 people purchased a T-72 tank and sent it to Ukraine.  Ukrainian soldiers are familiar with the T-72.

While Tomáš the Tank was funded, now there's a need for ammunition.  There are also other open projects like such as providing drones or medical supplies.  The website to donate is https://www.zbraneproukrajinu.cz/ and it's available in both Czech and English.

I even found a short commercial on YouTube demonstrating how easy it is to donate.

©Česká tisková kancelář

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Czechs Annex Královec

I had a trip planned to visit Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania, as part of my "20 countries in 2020" but the trip was cancelled due to Covid-19 shutting down the world.

It used to be called Königsberg.  The city was founded in 1255 and it was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia.  Königsberg was a part of Germany but after WWII it was taken by the Soviet Union, renamed Kaliningrad, and today is home to Russia's Baltic fleet. 

Here's a short 4-minute video of how Kaliningrad an exclave of Russia.

©History Matters

On 30 September, Russia declared that following a referendum that it annexed four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.  Aside from North Korea and Syria, no other country in the world recognises the illegal annexation of about 15% of Ukraine.  This is now the largest of land in Europe since WWII.

Well aside from the 4 billion Kč ($186.5 million) of military arms and equipment that the Czech government has given Ukraine, the Czechs have unleashed one of its more powerful weapons - the Czech sense of humour.

There's now a whole satirical campaign on social media that Czechland has now annexed Kaliningrad and renamed it Královec.  There are all kinds of memes out now about "Královec is Czechia" and "Make Královec Czech Again".

There's a satrical tourist website for visiting Královec and there's a twitter account. 

A few days ago some 200 people staged a mock referendum in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague.  This is even better now that thanks to Prague's mayor, Zdeněk Hřib, the square in front of the embassy is now Boris Nemcov Square which commemorates the outspoken Putin critic that was assassinated in 2015.

You've just got to love the Czech sense of humour.  One of my favourite memes shows the critical infrastructure work going on as Czechland supplies beer to Královec via "Beer Stream 1".

#Kralovec #KralovecIsCzechia #MakeKaliningradKralovecAgain

If only Czechland would take over Královec.  Then at least the country would no longer be landlocked.  Sitting on the Baltic Sea, there would now be water and beaches and the Czech military could now even have a navy.   

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine.