Premier Rober Fico. (source: TASR)
Regimes inclined towards autocracy always rewrite history. They revive historical villains who evoke sympathy in their voters and find justifications for their heinous deeds. Myths are reinforced with half-truths, and thus the history of the nation shifts into the realm of fiction. Revolutions that undermine their ideology are labelled as coups or are simply ignored.
Therefore, it is important to look at which moments autocrats from the distant past celebrate and which historical figures inspire them. How they position these figures within contemporary historical moments and the role they attribute to them.
Vladimir Putin often mentions the conqueror, Tsar Peter the Great, his vision of a strong, centralised Russia, and the expansion westward. Although he does not directly celebrate Stalin, he admires him as the creator of the Soviet Union and easily forgives him for the murders and repressions.
