Thousands of people across the Czech Republic and Slovakia marked the anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution with large protests defending democratic values. Demonstrators in Bratislava rallied against what they view as democratic backsliding and pro-Russian policies under Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Crowds warned that political pressure on media, weakened anti-corruption oversight, and shifts in foreign policy risk undermining the democratic principles the Velvet Revolution stood for.

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