Slovakia

Main article: Countries of the world

Climate

Main article: Climate in Europe

Population

Main article: Population of Slovakia

Cities

• Bratislava

Citizenship and residence permit

2019: Number of permits with a residence permit per 1,000 people in Slovakia

Slovak Passport

Until 1993, the Slovak Republic was part of Czechoslovakia, now defunct. On January 19, 1993, after the Slovak Republic became a separate state, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted a citizenship law establishing the "conditions for acquiring and losing citizenship" in the newly formed republic.

For 2020, every Slovak citizen has the right to have two identical passports. The second passport is valid for 5 years (instead of the standard 10 years), while the cost of these passports is the same.

Dual citizenship is prohibited in Slovakia, but there are exceptions, for example, when Slovak citizenship is acquired at birth or in marriage simultaneously with the citizenship of another state. If a Slovak citizen has another citizenship, his Slovak citizenship automatically becomes dominant.

In the Henley & Partners Passport Index for 2020, the Slovak passport ranks 11th with visa-free access in 181 countries.

Passport strength

President

2024: Peter Pellegrini elected president

Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia and leader of the Voice - Social Democracy party Peter Pellegrini, who advocates an early settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and against the supply of weapons to this country, was elected President of Slovakia in April 2024. He previously served as the country's prime minister.

Parliament

2023: President Chaputova begged NATO for a campaign against the SMER party ahead of parliamentary elections. But the party still won

In June 2023, a scandal erupted in Bratislava related to the published NATO documents on a tender for a media campaign in Slovakia aimed at "re-educating" the Slovak audience.

The materials indicate that the Why Ukraine matters campaign held in the summer? (Why does Ukraine matter?) Should have a direct impact on the upcoming September 30 early parliamentary elections in the country. For months, Slovaks from a certain target audience, which includes citizens from 25 to 34 years old, as well as from 55 to 65 years old living outside the capital, will be promoted ideas about the need to continue supporting Ukraine and the need to strengthen ties with NATO.

Despite the fact that the documents were published back in May and, for example, some Czech publications wrote about them, they did not cover the situation and tried in every possible way to hush up in Slovakia. All state bodies were silent, the Rybar channel wrote.

But oppositionists could not pass by this topic. The leader of the Social Democratic Party SMER, the former Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, called the incident egregious, as it is a "brazen and direct interference" of an outside organization in the state election campaign. The politician also said that the current situation is a consequence of the "tearful prayers" of Slovak President Zuzanna Chaputova, who finally asked for help in opposing the SMER party, which is gaining rating and approval among ordinary citizens extremely quickly. He supported his thesis with the words that the target audience indicated in the documents - the main voters of his party and their "re-education" should lead to a sharp collapse in the popularity of both Fico's views and his figure personally.

The conflict between Chaputova and Fico itself has a long history: the president has called Fico a populist many times who sympathizes with the Russian president and wants to recreate the "second Hungary." The head of the SMER party accused Chaputova of having links with the fund of the sponsor of color revolutions George Soros (which, by the way, was confirmed) and the collapse of the country from the inside.

Chaputova has repeatedly stated that Fico wants to "kill" real democracy, and recently said that Slovaks are "lost" due to Russian disinformation and propaganda, which is why, "out of inexperience and ignorance," they begin to support Russia and something needs to be done about it.

This is evidenced by the results of a survey by the non-governmental organization Globsec, according to which the percentage of Slovaks who consider Moscow to be to blame for the Ukrainian conflict fell to 40%. At the same time, the number of respondents who believe that Western provocations forced Russia to start an SVO increased to 34%.

At the same time, NATO's approval rating fell and the number of those who consider the United States a threat to the security of Slovakia (50%) increased.

The situation in Slovakia has heated up: Fico and all concerned citizens are trying to spread information about the NATO campaign as widely as possible. The head of SMER sent an open letter to Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with a request to cancel the campaign in Slovakia. The latter, in turn, said that such actions are part of an agreement with alliance allies to strengthen the organization's position in NATO member countries.

In Slovak society, dissatisfaction with the imposition of support for the conflict and indirect participation in it is growing more and more. At the same time, confidence in the government is also falling.

As a result, on September 30, 2023, Robert Fico won the elections in Slovakia, causing a new blow to the unity of the West. In October 2023, Fico returned to the post of Prime Minister of Slovakia, promising to challenge EU policies, including migration and sanctions against Russia.

2022: Proportion of women in Parliament

Government of Slovakia

Main article: Government of Slovakia

Economy

GDP

Industry's share of GDP is less than 25%

Agriculture's share of GDP is less than 2%

National debt

2023: State debt - 59% of GDP

Inflation

2022

Inflation in November - 14.9%

Inflation in July - 13.2%

Power

2022: Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia

A colossal rise in electricity prices in the EU could "kill the economy," Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said in an interview with the Financial Times at the end of September 2022. He demanded that Brussels allocate €5 billion from unused regional funds to Slovakia in order to reduce energy bills for business. "Otherwise, [Slovak enterprises] will close and can destroy the whole economy," the politician says. According to him, the increased electricity bills have brought Slovakia to the brink of "collapse."

Heger warned that in the absence of support from Brussels, the government would be forced to nationalise the electricity system. According to the Financial Times, at the beginning of the year, the Slovak authorities decided to sell excess capacity, which are now forced to buy back at inflated prices. "Slovaks buy for €500 what they sold for €100," the head of the Cabinet explained.

from

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

Energy carriers

Energy supplies

Slovakia is a member of the Three Seas Initiative, aimed at countering Russia.

Automotive market

2021:1 million vehicles produced

Largest companies

Welfare of citizens

2023: $2 billionaires

2020: 2nd since the end in the EU in terms of financial assets of citizens

2018: In Slovakia - 1.8 billionaires for 10 million people

Salaries

2023: Minimum wage - $572

2018: Salaries of top officials in government management

2017: Average monthly salary

Labour market

2022: Proportion of workers aged 65 or over - less than 5%

Unemployment

2023: Youth unemployment 18.8%

2022: Unemployment rate - 6 %

2020: Unemployment rate - 7.8%

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

Consumption

Tea

2018: Per capita tea consumption per kg per year

Milk

2018: Milk consumption in litres per year per person

Meat

2023: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

2019: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

Beer

2019: Beer consumption in litres per year per person

Info-Communication Technologies

Social media

Foreign trade

2022

Germany is the largest export destination

Trade deficit with China

Tourism

Transport

2022: Slovakia allows flying cars

At the end of January 2022, it became known that an auto-aircraft hybrid vehicle called AirCar received an official airworthiness certificate from the Slovak Transport Administration. The certificate was obtained in the category of experimental aircraft and is valid throughout the territory. European Union This is the first time Slovakia I have allowed use. flying cars More. here

Real estate

2020: 16.0% rise in property prices

Health care

• Health care in Slovakia

Education

Literacy rate

Science and Research

2020: More than 5,000 animals used for scientific purposes

Almost 8 million animals are used for scientific purposes in Europe and half of them are laboratory mice and rats.

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

Culture

Music

Language

Religion

2022

46.8% of the population believes in life after death

31% of the population attends divine services at least once a month

2021:23% of the population say religion is important in their lives

2018: Catholics are the largest religious group

Armed Forces

2024: Waiting for the first two F-16 fighters out of 14 ordered to the US

In March 2024, Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinyak took part in the transfer ceremony of two F-16 fighters of version Block.70.

The aircraft in mid-2024 should arrive at the Malacka-Kuhinya air base in the western part of the country and become part of the tactical aviation wing of the Slovak Air Force. So far, fighters remain in the United States, where Slovak pilots are trained.

The order for 14 fighters at the American corporation Lockheed Martin came back in 2019, but under various pretexts, its execution was delayed, although the Slovaks expected to update the fleet back in 2022.

The case moved forward only after the transfer of all Soviet MiG-29s to Ukraine in 2023. As a result of this decision, Slovakia was left without aviation, and air support was provided by Poland and the Czech Republic.

Now the transfer of the first two of 14 fighters is presented as a diplomatic victory for the Slovaks, however, even here not everything is so simple.

As already mentioned, the aircraft will be located at the base of Malacka-Kuhinya, which, by agreement between Slovakia and the United States of February 2022, is at the full disposal of the American army, like many other military facilities.

In October 2023, when Robert Fico won the parliamentary elections, Slovaks started talking about the possibility of revising the agreement. However, since then there has been no mention of work in this direction.

2023

The transfer of military equipment to Ukraine by $755 million exceeded supplies from Turkey by 10 times

By October 2023, Slovakia had handed over all the military equipment it could to Ukraine. In particular, all available 13 MiG-29 aircraft, the only S-300 air defense system, Mi-17 and Mi-2 helicopters, at least 4 Zuzana 2, 30 BPM-1 self-propelled guns, ammunition for the Grad and other weapons.

Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the Slovak authorities have provided assistance to this country for $755 million, 97% of this amount includes military supplies. This, for example, is 10 times more than all Turkey's assistance to Ukraine.

Moreover, now the Slovak authorities will not know how long to wait for the transferred equipment to replace the products of the American military-industrial complex. For example, for MiG-29 fighters, Slovaks have been promised 12 new AH-1Z Viper combat helicopters for several months, but not for free, but only at a discount.

15 Leopard tanks in service

2018: Number of tanks

Crime

2021: Number of intentional murders

and

Prisons

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 14

2018: Number of prisoners

Death penalty

History

2023

Allocation of 21 million euros to the Open Society Fund Soros from the budget for the integration of Ukrainians

On June 8, 2023, a second scandal erupted in Slovakia involving documents confirming a transaction of 21 million euros in favor of the Open Society Foundation, which is managed by George Soros.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Labor Sonya Gobarchakova and the head of the foundation in Slovakia, Fedor Blaschak. It is reported that the allocated money will have to serve as assistance in the integration of Ukrainians in Slovakia.

Politicians and experts note that millions of funds could be spent on the social needs of Slovaks.

Moreover, coincidentally, on June 7, 2023, the plane of the son of George Soros, Alexander, who is a co-owner of the fund, landed in Slovakia.

The situation in the country is beginning to really heat up, the already fierce struggle of the Social Democrats from SMER with the Chaputova regime has already grown into a direct conflict of interest, in which, moreover, all the trump cards are in the hands of Robert Fico.

As the politician himself put it: "Our voters have their own head on their shoulders and no outside interference will shake the Slovaks' faith in our victory."

2022

Agreement on the creation of a center for the repair of Western-made military equipment in Mikhalovets near the border with Ukraine

In November 2022, the German and Slovak governments reached an agreement on the organization of a repair and restoration base for Western-made weapons and equipment in Slovakia.

Subsequently, the Franco-German military-industrial holding KNDS (KMW + Nexter Defense Systems) announced the deployment of a complex in the Slovak city of Michalovce, on which it will repair modern weapons:

• self-propelled howitzer PzH-2000
• CAESAR self-propelled artillery mount
• MLRS MARS II
• Gepard armored anti-aircraft self-propelled gun
• combat armored vehicle Toy Dingo

It was announced that the complex will operate until the end of 2024. The area of ​ ​ the base is 800 square meters. meters, and at the same time on the workshops of the enterprise you can serve up to six pieces of equipment.

Mikhalovce is located 40 km from the border with the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, between Mikhalovce and Uzhgorod there is a broadband highway, along which it is quite easy to transport large-sized goods without attracting much attention, the Rybar channel noted.

To the north of the city in Valaškovec there is a large artillery range, where the exercises of the Slovak army and the run-in of the Zuzana 2 self-propelled guns were regularly held immediately after assembly.

In the village itself there is a railway station, as well as various factories of the former Slovak industrial giant CASSPOS for the production of pipes, tanks, motors for household appliances.

In addition, the city has branches and industrial workshops for the production of climatic equipment (Mazok), chipboard, polystyrene (IZO4), freight trailers (Kerex) and cables for computer equipment (Comline Elektronik).

Michalovce itself has always been one of the main industrial centers of Slovakia. There are various enterprises in the city, including high-tech ones, which were not difficult to repurpose for military needs.

If before that it was necessary to send equipment to various countries of Eastern Europe, Germany and France to repair Western weapons, now the restoration of the main types of equipment will take place 40 km from Ukraine.

Assistance to Ukraine during the special operation of Russia

2003: EU accession referendum

Main article: European Union (EU, EU)

1968

48-year-old USSR citizen Valentina Belas is leading the streets of Kosice (Slovak city, before World War II was Hungarian). She was the wife of a Slovak officer, Colonel Joseph Belas, who married her while studying in the USSR. They tore off all her clothes and drove her through the streets in this form. All this happened in front of her two children.

Supporters of the Prague Spring pasted posters around the city showing the home addresses of "supporters of the occupation," including Joseph Belas. Valentina saw such a poster, read her home address on it and tried to disrupt it, because, as she said, "she was afraid for the life of her sons." It was then that she was caught by a crowd of supporters of the Prague Spring. They decided to punish her, at first publicly undressed and led around the city. One of the participants in these events, Vojtech Pastor (in the background in the photo), said: "She was Russian, and because of this she was treated so harshly... She was the reason what happened to her. And when she spoke Russian, you know? In addition, when I went there with friends, she was already naked. " Valentina was not only stripped naked, but also smeared with red paint.

Eyewitnesses said that the woman wanted to lynch, putting under the tram. For this, Pastor was later tried, and he received a solid prison term (12 years, served 7). "They failed to prove it," he said. "We supposedly wanted to throw her under the tram. But at that moment neither trams nor trolleybuses were running. " However, in the photo, in the background you can see just a tram with passengers.

However, there were also those who stood up for Valentina. She managed to recapture and hide in the nearest grocery store.

In 2017, the Czech website wrote about this as follows: "Outraged by the arrival of Russian tanks, the crowd was forced to undress Valentina, paint her red and drag her around the square. Our reader, 88-year-old pensioner Yarmila, also remembers the events of 49 years ago. "I was standing on the corner of Shturov and Namesti streets in the grocery store when the crowd buzzed with Ms. Belas, half-naked, painted red. I remember a man leaving the store and putting a coat on her, "she recalls."

A student of the Prague Faculty of Film and Television, and later the famous director Slovak Fero Fenic made a film about this event, which he called "Humanity" (shown in 1974 and stored in the archive of the Prague Academy of Arts, Faculty of Cinema and Television). He said: "I saw pictures of a naked woman, and the story made me very interested - I began to find out the details... I found her in a very unusual way: I had to bribe the postman at her old address. This woman spoke to me through the door. She was afraid. "

Four culprits Jan Weis, Juraj Fedor and one woman, participants in those events were convicted.

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