Petruška Šustrová was a famous Czech dissident, journalist, translator and expert on Eastern Europe, who died in 2023. In the period between the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and the fall of communism on November 17, 1989, Šustrová was among the most prominent opponents of the regime. She was one of the first signatories of the declaration “Charter 77“, and later a spokesperson for the eponymous civic initiative led by Václav Havel. The document unleashed a wave of repression against its signatories.
Šustrová was also imprisoned, and in the 1980s, when she was one of the main figures of the dissidents, she was not allowed to work for 7 years. The rest of the time, she only did unskilled and low-paid work. Hundreds of dissidents have suffered the same fate as Shustrova and have found themselves with almost no pensions in their old age.
Low pensions for dissidents, high for communists
Until now, the Czech social security system automatically converted the income from the work experience of former dissidents into pensions. As a result, many of them live in poverty or continue to work after reaching retirement age to support themselves.
In contrast, the functionaries of the communist regime enjoy high pensions. In recent decades, the pensions of officers and employees of the communist State Security, as well as other people from the upper echelons of the former government, have been more than decent. Many of the former leading party cadres had also amassed huge fortunes during the 40 years of communist rule in the country – including properties worth millions of euros, which they kept after 1989.
This injustice is a consequence of the soft attitude of democratic governments after the end of communism towards former functionaries. This was part of the strategy of the anti-communist “Gentle Revolution“ of 1989, which ended with an agreement for a peaceful transfer of power and a rapid transition to democracy. In addition, many of the younger functionaries of the communists took advantage of the privatization after 1989 and became successful and wealthy entrepreneurs. Among them is the former Czech Prime Minister and oligarch Andrej Babis.
Justice after 35 years
This ongoing injustice was drawn to the attention of former dissidents Jiri Gruntorad and John Bock, who at the time signed “Charter 77“. In 2023, they went on a hunger strike in front of the Czech government building in Prague, demanding higher pensions for former dissidents who had been imprisoned by the regime or forced to emigrate. “It is absurd that these people today have to beg for money,” argues Gruntorád.
Only then did the government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala take action: some unfair social laws were changed. The incomes of 430 opponents of the former communist regime were raised to the level of the country’s average pension of around 800 euros, which was a significant improvement for them. For Petruška Šustrová, however, it came too late: she died last year at the age of 76.
The changes to the Czech Social Security Act adopted last year also reduced the disproportionately high pensions of leading officials of the former communist regime. The Ministry of Labor announced that the pensions of 177 people are being reduced so far - by an average of about 1,500 Czech crowns (60 euros). The largest reduction in one of the pensions received was 279 euros. However, even after the cuts, most of those affected continue to receive an average pension of almost 1,000 euros, which is still more than the old-age pension of former dissidents.
When assessing who is entitled to a higher pension as an opponent of the communist regime and whose pension should be reduced, the opinion of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes is taken into account. In the Czech Republic, he administers the archives of the communist State Security and access to them, as well as being responsible for scholarly publications about the totalitarian era.
There are also reactions “against“
The Communist Party, which is not represented in parliament, has spoken out against the pension adjustments. Its leader, Kateřina Konecna, told DW that she considers this “a pure show of force and yet another proof of the current government's unfair treatment of pensioners“.
Author: Lubos Palata