Czechs reflect on Russia’s growing influence at launch of new exhibition

Several of Josef Koudelka’s 1968 photos are being shown at the Mánes gallery, by the River Vltava, in a new exhibition entitled 1945 – Liberation, 1968 – Occupation. Two rooms of iconic black and white photographs show two very different sets of images: the Red Army greeted with smiles and flowers in May 1945, and Russian soldiers berated by angry crowds in August 1968. So how do the people looking at these images feel about today's Russia, especially in the light of the current situation in Georgia? Man1 - “Russia never changes. Never. They’re incapable of being free, so they don’t want anyone else to enjoy their freedom. And the tempo at which things are going, who knows, it could be us next.” Woman - “We won’t forget what we experienced here in ‘68. Russia’s a superpower, that’s the way we look at things over here. The... [read full story]