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Czechs honour Russians who protested 1968 Soviet invasion

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Surviving members of the group known as the "Magnificent Eight" Pavel Litvinov, right, Tatiana Bayeva, left, and Viktor Fainberg, center, wait to be awarded with the Gratias Agit award for promoting the good name of the country abroad at the foreign ministry in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, June 8, 2018. The group known gathered on Moscow\'s Red Square on Aug 25, 1968 to protest the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in a show of a rare dissent and solidarity with the occupied country. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – The Czech Republic has honoured eight Russians who protested the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The group known as the “Magnificent Eight” gathered on Moscow’s Red Square on Aug 25, 1968 in a show of a rare dissent and solidarity with the country. They unveiled banners condemning the occupation before being arrested.

Acting Foreign Minister Martin Stropnicky said Friday their act required an “immense bravery.”

Stropnicky thanked the last three surviving members of the group, Pavel Litvinov, Tatiana Bayeva and Viktor Fainberg. They received the Gratias Agit award for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic abroad.

Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on Aug 20, 1968 to crush liberal reforms enacted in the brief era known as the Prague Spring.

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