In recent days, (almost) all prominent politicians have been abhorring and condemning Putin’s actions in Eastern Ukraine, especially after his recognition of the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. But in the past, we saw some golden times when Slovenian leftists gladly made pilgrimages to Moscow with their heads held high. Namely, Russia’s capital is considered to be the Mecca of the transitional left. The true leftist shows his persistence and belonging by visiting Dražgoše and Red Square. It is no wonder that we are considered to be the most pro-Russian country in the European Union all across Europe, as well as the world. After all, this was also confirmed by Putin’s visit to Slovenia at a time of a severely aggravated political situation in 2016. And here are some other prominent leftists who have already made their pilgrimage to the Russian capital: Milan Kučan, Zoran Janković, and Anja Kopač Mrak. Other prominent Russophiles are also Aleksander Čeferin, Drago Šketa, Karel Erjavec, and Marjan Šarec.
According to the Slovenian Press Agency, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, recognised the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Lugansk and Donetsk, which lie in the east part of Ukraine, as independent. He also signed a decree to confirm their recognition and also sent the army to their territory. Diplomatic relations have also been established with the two entities. However, according to international law, their territory still belongs to Ukraine. What followed was an avalanche of criticism aimed at Putin and Russia from Europe and the World. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced that Germany is temporarily suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, and Britain has also responded to Putin’s recognition with economic measures aimed at five Russian-owned banks and three oligarchs.
The behaviour of the largest country in the world was also condemned by Slovenian MEPs and most parties in the Slovenian parliament. However, the Left party (Levica) has a problem with this – namely, Matej T. Vatovec used this situation to attack the purchase of the much-needed military equipment for the Slovenian army and NATO, while he spared Putin and Russia in his criticism. Then the extreme leftist Miha Kordiš from the same party also responded to what has been going on, writing on Facebook: “No war with Russia, peace to the people! Russian forces are entering Donbass. Years ago, I already drew attention to violations of the Minsk agreement directed by NATO puppets in Ukraine. The pact of that same NATO that has been surrounding the Russian Federation for three decades now, rattling with weapons, directing proxies of war on its borders, and which is being helped by Slovenian politics with a contingent in Latvia on an intimidation mission. Then today, I heard on the show Odmevi how Russia is the one that violated the peace agreement, and then I also heard the ravens of Slovenian politics, who want to partake in the wars of the NATO pact…
Not a single Slovenian life should be given for war incitement! Not a single euro to support imperialism! No wars – peace!”
Secretary-General of the Slovenian Democratic Youth (the youth wing of the Slovenian Democratic Party), Nejc Brence, responded to his controversial statement by writing: “The entire democratic world condemns Russian aggression and the attack on Ukraine, while the Slovenian Constitutional Art Coalition’s Left party strongly supports Putin. This is their promise of a foreign policy – Slovenia’s compass will turn towards Russia again. Now, all we have to do is wait for the delegation that will be sent there to show support.” Well, due to all that has been going on, there is certainly some unease on the left-wing part of the political spectrum because of the past moves of its prominent political representatives.
The apparent external condemnation does not hide the fact that for years, the successors of the League of Communists of Slovenia nurtured the image of Slovenia as (supposedly) the most pro-Russian country within the EU for the whole of Europe and the world to see. Similar views were (mostly) also held by Slovenian democracy, at least until the appearance of the third government of Janez Janša, which made sure that Slovenia once again became more open to the world. Let us just remind you that a few years ago, Putin awarded the Ljubljana Mayor/Sherriff, Zoran Janković, and then-Minister of Labour, Anja Kopač Mrak, with the Order of Friendship. The Russian President commended them for their contribution to strengthening the relations between the two nations and for preserving the memory of the soldiers of the Russian and Soviet armies who died in Slovenia during the two world wars. The award was presented to them by Putin at a solemn reception in the Kremlin.
More recently, the visit of the State Prosecutor-General, Drago Šketa, to Moscow also caused quite a stir in public. He caused a real scandal when he travelled there to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Russian prosecutor’s office, at a time when Russia was already on the brink of starting a war, and new EU and NATO sanctions against it were already on the horizon.
Russia recently disbanded the Memorial Human Rights Centre
On this important, unique occasion, a rich programme was promised to be held at the Bolshoi Theatre, and the main celebration was to take place in the Kremlin, where the guests would be greeted by the President of the Russian Federation, Putin. At this point, we should also remind you that the Russian prosecutor’s office is an extended term of power, which is actively persecuting the opponents and critics of this government, which is why any democratic prosecutor’s office should boycott such invitations to celebrations. As we have also learned, this entire matter, related to Šketa, is very serious and could turn into an international scandal, which could damage the reputation of the Republic of Slovenia. Namely, the Slovenian government is striving for closer relations with countries from the democratic circle of countries, where respect for human rights and other democratic principles are at the top of the list of values. Meanwhile, Russia has recently disbanded the Memorial Human Rights Centre, does not respect the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, has banned peaceful protests, and according to Amnesty International, its authorities are also persecuting journalists and LGBT representatives.
In 2017, the last leader of the League of Communists of Slovenia, Milan Kučan, also visited Moscow. For him, the visit at the time was so important that he even missed the “Party orgy” on the Day of Ljubljana – the 9th of May – which he usually spends with his friend Zoran Janković. Namely, on the day of the victory over fascism (the 10th of May), the Murgle boss was in Moscow, visiting the Russian President Vladimir Putin, as evidenced by photos posted by the Kremlin on its official website. Kučan travelled to Moscow as the “head of the delegation of Slovenian veterans of the Second World War,” which was also reported by the pro-Russian web portal RBHT Slovenija. For Kučan and his company, the trip to Russia was paid for by the Russian President’s office. Namely, Požareport reported that Putin sent a plane to the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport.
We have also previously reported on the close ties between Moscow and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. Namely, the Norwegian newspaper Josimar revealed some time ago that, among other things, Russia installed Aleksander Čeferin as the candidate for the position of President of the UEFA.
So far, the only parties that have publicly distanced themselves from the Russian aggression are the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS), New Slovenia (Nova Slovenija – NSi) and the Social Democrats (Socialni demokrati – SD). The other parties have stayed quiet on the topic so far, while the radical member of the Left party even publicly accused NATO of being to blame for the aggression.
The failed politician Erjavec is also one of the greatest Russophiles
And last but not least, we also need to mention the great Russophile Karl Erjavec, one of the worst ministers of all time, who failed miserably last year, both in his political and general career plans, as well as in more private areas of his life. Some time ago, the Croatian newspaper Globus called Karl Erjavec “the most primitive European foreign minister.” But his remarkable relations with Russia and Putin did not seem to be spoiled by this. The former foreign minister is said to have an especially great relationship with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Some time ago, Erjavec was even called a Russophile with an agenda.
Both Erjavec and Kučan are said to be considered informal Russian “ambassadors” to Slovenia. Meanwhile, Former Prime Minister Miro Cerar turned Slovenia into the most pro-Russian enclave within the European Union. Let us remind you that there is no doubt that Slovenia’s foreign policy of the time, led by the transitional left, was pro-Russian.
This remained true during the rule of Marjan Šarec as well, as the former Prime Minister Cerar served as the Foreign Minister during Šarec’s term, while his predecessor, Karl Erjavec, moved to where he also began his ministerial career – to the Ministry of Defence. As is well known, Cerar’s government also made two ceremonial visits to the Russian Chapel in Vršič for its annual ceremony – both the former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin have also attended the ceremony before, which means that Slovenia, despite being a member of NATO, got labelled as the most pro-Russian European country.
SD party’s youth wing, the Youth Forum, is finding it difficult to hide its sympathy for the autocratic regime
The Social Democrats are also big Russophiles, as is their youth wing – the Young Forum. While they have not yet managed to protest in front of the Russian embassy for human rights violations, especially in the case of the poisoning of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, they are otherwise quite loud when it comes to protecting human rights. At the same time, they also never miss the opportunity to socialise with those who symbolise the authoritarian Russian rule in Slovenia. Let us also remind you that the Youth Forum of the Social Democrats’ party also did not miss the opportunity to visit the Russian Embassy in Ljubljana.
Domen Mezeg
