IN PICTURES: 1968 Soviet Invasion in Brno

Přehled fotografií
  • A Russian tank and a van with a message for the invaders written in Russian by Czech citizens: "No vodka here, go home!" Humor and irony were common among Czechoslovaks to deal with the unexpected and unwanted "visitors".
  • The first Soviet tank in front of the Central railway station in Brno. This time unwelcomed and with no flowers handing over to the Soviet soldiers like during the liberation in 1945.
  • A face to face encounter. A powerless human being facing the heavy machinery.
  • Soviet troops on an army truck. Photographer Miloš Gregor says: "They looked exactly as I had remembered them from school text books and films about 1945 liberation of Czechoslovakia except that they were smaller than I thought."
  • The army truck full of Soviet soldiers was probably stolen from the Czechoslovak army.
  • The army truck laden with a crowd of Czechoslovaks in front of the Brno railway station. "Knowing Russian came handy and yet, the Soviets could not grasp what we were trying to tell them," says photographer Miloš Gregor.
  • Anything that has to do with the Soviets must go! A brave young man is taking down a banner saying "Soviet Book" on Brno's square, today called Freedom Square.
  • Speaker's Corner on every corner! A crowd of Brno inhabitants listening to an anonymous speaker...
  • Many people relied on radio broadcasting to learn what was really going on. Like the man in the picture.
  • As a Czech soldier tried to block the way of Soviet army vehicles with his military car, the Soviets hesitated for a while, not knowing what to do. "Then they accelerated the speed and just pushed the Czech soldier´s car aside. I believe a few shots were fired. But at that moment, I wasted no time and ran away as everyone else did," photographer Gregor remembers.
  • Protest tour. On 21 August 1968 two men were shot dead in Brno - Josef Žemlička and Viliam Debnár. A year later, the day of August 21,1969 saw two more casualties, shot by Czechoslovak police.
  • Some of the Soviet soldiers were not even told what country they invaded.