Ukraine crisis evokes bad memories of Soviet invasion for some in Europe

Russia's seizure of Crimea reminds some of when Soviet tanks rolled into Prague and Budapest

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An armed man in military uniform, believed to be Russian, blocks the entrance of the Ukrainian naval headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol yesterday. Similar forces have sealed off several military posts in the region. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:30pm, 4 Mar 2014Updated: 12:23am, 5 Mar 2014

Alzbeta Ehrnhofer was just a 13-year-old Slovak schoolgirl when the Soviet Army marched into Czechoslovakia to "restore order" in 1968.

The unfolding crisis in Crimea took her back to the day almost 46 years ago when tanks rumbled past her house in the southern Slovak town of Filakovo as neighbours hid from the Russian-led invaders.

"It's just like it was here in 1968," she said about the upheaval in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic struggling with what may be a second revolution as an independent nation.

"Nothing's changed. Even the tanks look the same."

Soviet tanks roll into the Czech capital Prague in 1968. Photo: SCMP Pictures

As Ukrainians steel themselves against a full invasion by Russian troops into Crimea, and political leaders across the globe continue trying to reason with President Vladimir Putin so that he quells soldiers and sailors already there, citizens of central and eastern Europe say their mistrust of Russia is as strong as ever.

Czechs and Slovaks, who split peacefully in 1993, "still remember the Russian invasion of 1968", Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said.

"We all believed that Russia had joined the ranks of civilised countries, so this is a very rude awakening to see that even now, in the 21st century, a country with clearly defined borders can have its territory violated."