Political ploy? Czech Republic outlaws communist propaganda

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For staunch opponents of communism in the Czech Republic, it's the happy end to a very long story. After the country's so-called Velvet Revolution, which started in 1989 and led to end of the communist regime there, opponents of the ideology demanded that communists be treated the same as German Nazis had been. More than 30 years later, their demands have finally been met.

In late July, Czech President Petr Pavel signed an amendment to his country's criminal code that criminalizes the promotion of communist ideology, placing it on the same footing as Nazi propaganda. The amendment will enter into force on January 1, 2026.

The movement to amend the law was first initiated by Martin Mejstrik, formerly a leader of the student protests during the Velvet Revolution and later a Czech senator. Historians from the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, or the USTR, also joined the initiative and this spring, the amendment passed through the Czech political system, supported by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's pro-European coalition government. President Pavel's signature in July finalized the process.

Martin Mejstrik, a former student revolutionary and Czech senator.

The amendment of section 403 of the Czech criminal code now allots a jail sentence of one to five years for anyone who "establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist, or other movements which demonstrably aim to suppress human rights and freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, national, religious or class-based hatred."

'Criminal totalitarian ideologies'

"The aim of this draft was to eliminate an obviously unfair distinction between two criminal totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century," Kamil Nedvedicky, a deputy director at the USTR, had explained before the amendment was passed.

Both of those ideologies suppressed fundamental rights and freedoms, he said. "It is logical and just that Czech criminal law clearly reflects this. It's not about ideology, it's about protecting the democratic constitutional state," he said.

Somewhat ironically, the Czech Republic is also one of the few countries in the European Union that has a comparatively successful communist party. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, or KSCM, was formed in 1990 and until the last Czech parliamentary election four years ago, had members of parliament and even provided several Czech vice presidents.

The KSCM was the offspring of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a dictatorial regime with a Marxist-Leninist ideology that ruled the country until 1989. The KSCM has tens of thousands of members and entered the European Parliament after the 2024 EU elections as part of the left-wing Stacilo! (in English, "Enough!") coalition. Polling indicates the Stacilo! electoral alliance will likely get over the 5% hurdle in the Czech Republic's October parliamentary elections too. Its lead candidate is KSCM leader and member of the European Parliament, Katerina Konecna.

Possible ruling role for communists

And that may not be all. The current favorite in domestic elections is Andrej Babis, a former Czech prime minister, oligarch and the leader of the right-wing populist party, ANO (in English, "YES"). Babis has not ruled out working with Stacilo! to form a new coalition.

The new amendment to Czech law could potentially even lead to a ban on the KSCM. That happened to the Workers' Party, a Czech far-right, extremist and neo-Nazi party, in 2010.

KSCM leader Konecna told DW that the amendment is a political attack on her party by the current government.

"It's about the systematic attempt by the antisocial, corrupt government of Petr Fiala to silence its loudest critics," she argued. "That definitely has no place in a democratic society."

Konecna also said it was "amusing" that the amendment was signed into law by Pavel, who was previously a prominent member of the original Czech Communist Party.

Pavel, a former career soldier, was a member of the Communist Party until 1989. "In retrospect and with the knowledge I have today, it was a decision I am definitely not proud of," the Czech president has previously said.

"I think the last 30 years that I have dedicated to building a safer Czech Republic are a symbolic apology to society," he also previously said in an interview with Czech tabloid, Blesk. Pavel served as chief of staff of the Czech military between 2012 and 2015 and as chairman of the NATO military committee for more than three years, from 2015.

Communists: 'We won't be intimidated'

KSCM leader Konecna argues that the Czech government should be addressing issues ordinary citizens have to deal with, like high energy prices and unaffordable housing. Instead, she claims, they've spent their time passing a law to silence political critics.

"But we won't be intimidated," she said combatively. "Even if they threaten us a hundred times and imprison us."

Russian politicians have also spoken out about the new Czech rules. "When the state and system of that time are compared to fascist ideology and the fascist regime, it is quite obvious that this is being done to question, accuse, and condemn our country," Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Russian Federation's parliament, the Duma, said on July 25, according to Russia's state news agency Tass.

This story was originally written in German.

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