The statue of Ľudovít Štúr in Liptovský Mikuláš holds a freshly released title from the pro-Russian publisher Nitrava. (source: Facebook Slavica)
"The main reason for the Slavs' attachment to Russia lies in the creative strength of the Russian nation… The spirit of Slavdom is best preserved in the Russian character, where strength is combined with modesty and good-naturedness… The Russian language belongs to the largest Slavic tribe; moreover, it is the richest and most resonant language, marked by power… When the Slavic tribes that currently stand outside the Russian state unite with it into a single whole, Russia will richly compensate them for their foreign allies. So be patient, Slavs, our day will come."
These sentences do not belong to a Russian propagandist from today's Putin-run disinformation factories bombarding Europe.
Their author is Ľudovít Štúr, a 19th-century public figure, and they come from a little-known work, "Slavdom and the World of the Future". It was only published in Slovak long after his death, and in it, Štúr advises Slovaks to submit to Russian rule, even to adopt the Orthodox faith and use the Russian language and Cyrillic script.
How could a freedom-loving intellectual praise the despotic, serf-based, and in every way backward Tsarist regime? And is this truly Štúr's legacy, as the Slovak disinformation scene and pro-Russian bikers claim today?
An excellent and timeless work
"Slovanstvo a svet budúcnosti (Slavdom and the World of the Future) is one of Ľudovít Štúr's greatest works. It is a straightforward, clear, and comprehensible piece… excellent and timeless..."
