In the aftermath of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s shock visit to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin in December 2024, Slovaks poured onto the squares of large cities and small towns under the banner Slovakia is Europe. The protest movement continued into 2025 and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people.
Yet these protests were about far more than the country's membership in the EU. They were about values that people continue to hold dear and are not prepared to surrender without a fight: decency, solidarity, tolerance, and a commitment to telling the truth.
In this episode, we travel from Prague to Bratislava and finally to the borderland town of Čadca in northwest Slovakia to examine the power of the European idea, what it means to different people, and how it functions as a mobilizing force.
Episode breakdown:
- Intro: A surprise trip to Moscow and Europe as a mobilizing idea
- Segment 1: An outsider/insider perspective on the protest movement and Slovak society, with Adam Kollár in Prague
- Segment 2: The stakes of the fight over Slovakia's European future, with Samo Marec in Bratislava
- Segment 3 (Part I): Building community and standing up for justice and accountability, with Mirka Petríková, Ľuboš Žárský, and Jozef Šustek at the offices of the organization KERIC in Čadca
- Interlude: Brief visits to protests held in Čadca and Bratislava
- Outro: Modeling values on town squares, fighting resignation, and why a protest is not an end in itself, but a beginning
Episode soundtrack: Vyprchá by the Slovak indie artist
Samotay, a track whose title means "it evaporates" or "it fades away." A special thanks to Samotay for lending his music to this episode. Keep an eye out for him at the next anti-government protest.
As always, you can reach me with questions, comments or just to say "ahoj" by emailing
jeff@centraleuropematters.eu. If you send me a question related to the season by Thursday, October 1st, I will try to answer it in an upcoming bonus episode.
This episode was mastered and produced by Dávid Pál. It was written, hosted, and executive produced by me, Jeff Lugowe.
If you like what I'm doing, please subscribe and consider leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts.
What is Central Europe Matters?
Welcome to a brand-new, narrative podcast about society, politics and democracy in the heart of Europe. Meet local activists, experts, journalists, artists and others struggling to make sense of what's happening in their countries and of the turbulent times we live in. Between democratic backsliding, far-right populism, the ongoing legacy of 20th century experiments in totalitarianism, and a strategically vital location on the doorstep of Russia and Ukraine, Central Europe is ground zero for the battle over the future of Europe.
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Host Jeff Lugowe draws on his academic study of the region at Brown and Harvard and his knowledge of Polish and Czech as he takes listeners on a journey around the big cities and forgotten corners of Central Europe.
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Season 1: Slovakia — Democracy under Attack launched August 12th. New episodes every Wednesday.
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Central Europe Matters is an independent, DIY narrative podcast hosted and started by Jeff and produced by Dávid Pál. It is generously supported by the EEA Civil Society Fund Slovakia.