On March 7, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Slovakia for the third time this year to protest the pro-Russian policies of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government. They voiced concerns that Slovakia is drifting away from the European Union and its transatlantic allies.
Their fears are well-founded. Since autumn 2023, a coalition of nationalist, EU-skeptic, and pro-Russian parties has held power in Bratislava. While Fico’s left-wing Smer party pushes pro-Russian rh