The 40th anniversary of the Soviet invasion

Yes. The armies of our great friend in the East and allied countries came to fight our counter-revolution which demonstrated itself in free speech and passports given to anyone who asked. Politically, there was this idea of combining democracy and socialism and the Soviet leaders didn't like, obviously, the idea of people saying what they want without the possibility to lock them up so they sent some people (and tanks) to help fighting the stupid renegade Czechoslovaks.

Read something historical on Wikipedia or somewhere. I'm a historian but as for that one, I got stuck in the Middle Ages. This is emotional. My history, part of me. I don't remember the actual invasion, sure. My parents do but for whatever the reason, they don't talk too much about it. I expect there's not much to talk about. When my grandparents still lived in the countryside, we drove to them once and mom was showing where 'they were lying in the ditches'. In my hometown, there was a huge garrison of the Soviet armies (although East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria took part in the invasion, their armies withdrew within days) seated in my hometown. There were whole neighbourhoods inhabited by Russians (generic term for the citizens of the Soviet Union, just to be clear). The Orthodox church was in one of them, accidentally, but it had been built before, in the 1920's (it was a fashion to convert to Orthodox church after the fall of Austro-Hungarian empire which supposedly oppressed the Czechs with Catholicism as the state religion and between the wars, there was this Panslavic idea of the big brother in the East who will take care of all the smaller Slavic nations. Go figure) and the priests say that some of the Russians would go there but it was rather the officers' wives - the soldiers would have troubles and the officers themselves even more.
Two streets away from our house, there was another Russian area. The garrison houses and a heliport where the fighter helicopters nested. (Should there be some army freak, an advice on what type of fighter helicopters it could be is welcome, I may add a link, then.) We lived on a little hill in the third floor and the pilots happily ignored all regulations for aviation, such as the limit of 200m above ground in residential areas and flew at the eye level of ours. I was a kid and I was scared of them so I would hide under the sofa or kitchen table.
Another Russian area was close to where my grandma's garden was. It looked like slums, the Russians had a tendency to use newspapers instead of everything - toilet tissue, sanitary pads (a family friend of ours studied Russian. In Russia. She was told to bring half a year's supply of those and it was needed), curtains.... and the houses looked like slums. (It needs to be admitted that many other places inhabited by the natives looked like slums, too, since all the houses were owned by the state which wasn't always too good with maintenance. Did I already say that all this communism thing is a total crap?)

The invasion is rooted in people's minds. It's a part of us although some do not want to admit it. The time that came after, of no freedom of speech or freedom of anything but to shut up and march in the line is a part of us, too - sadly enough. When Russia started messing things up in Georgia a few days ago, the people here felt Hey, that's like here in '68. People still dislike Russians here, for many they are the occupants, invaders, enemies. Sure, it doesn't prevent the natives from selling them souvenirs or property.

Some time ago, in Cyprus, we were in a restaurant and at the next table, some Russian people were sitting. Young people, around 30. They heard us speaking Czech and came to apologize for the invasion although it happened before they were even born. The whole thing was painful for them, too,

Freedom day

My notebook says that the official name of this is Day of fighting for freedom and democracy. However you might want to call it, it was yesterday and I found neither the time to write something nor the time to go and light the candle in the portico where the poor demonstrating guys got beaten.. which started the anti-commie coup in this country in 1989.
Our (not so) dear President said in one of his speeches that it was not the opponents of the regime who were the main people to cause its collapse but those who did nothing, waved their flags when asked for it, went to shout some 'Long live [whoever]' when asked to, denunciated their neighbours when asked to - but the bravery of those people was that they didn't do things like that when not asked to. In moments like that I wonder whether the guy is not an idiot.
On not protesting could be a long essay... next time, though. Back to November 17 and its consequences. The socialism, communism, pretended communism, however one might call that, collapsed and despite the Czech nature of constant complaining, in this context that life was better under the commies anyway because people had jobs and bread was cheaper... well, you can pick your bag and go wherever you want. You can quit your job and go breed goats, if you want. You can be unemployed or start your own business if youwant. You can study three universities at the same time and no-one asks whether your granfather's cousin's neighbour hangs the flags on state holidays as it should be.
I should write something pathetic (like Beethoven's Pathetic Symphony, not pathetic = silly) but I'm somehow short of ideas. I remember the first time when I sent for holidays by myself. By train to Amsterdam. I went to buy a ticket. I didn't need a letter from the street committee and from the employer that I'm a good girl and deserve a permit to leave the country, I didn't need a letter that I'm allowed to apply for visa and another permit to go to the bank to exchange the money. I simply went and bought the ticket. (Note: In 1989 I was 10. In sumer 1989, my parents, after years of trying to get the proper papers, got them and we were travelling around Sweden and Norway and places like that and I had had some idea how difficult it was to get all the bureaucracy done. Summer holidays abroad started with making a schedule of the paperwork to do - in January. It could happily happen that some idiot with a rubber stamp decided that you simply don't deserve the paper no. 25 because you have better hairdo than her and you could save money by staying at home...) And I sat on the train and went. When I was crossing the (West) German borders, I was moved. Simply because I could, because they checked that the pic in my passport looks like me and didn't search every bit of my luggage for something illegal like a letter to someone's exiled aunt.
We here can do whatever we want. Isn't that cool enough?