THE TRIAL OF SLOVAK «BOURGEOIS NATIONALISTS» IN 1954

Abstract

The article covers the preparation and conduct of the trial of Slovak «bourgeois nationalists» in 1954. The research methodology is based on the general scientific principles of historicism and objectivity. Implementing these principles made it possible to avoid inconsistencies, inconsistencies, isolation from the objective historical process during the research. It turned out to be the culmination of a campaign against Slovak «bourgeois nationalists» in Czechoslovakia, which killed thousands of people, mainly from the Slovak communist intelligentsia. G. Husak, L. Novomesky, D. Okali, I. Horvath, and L. Holdos appeared in the dock during the trial in 1954. They were accused and found guilty of uniting with the reactionary bourgeoisie as members of a bourgeois-nationalist group to preserve the independence of the Slovak authorities, hindered the construction of socialism in Czechoslovakia, and hampered the economic and cultural development of the state. They were also accused of anti-state activities aimed at achieving the disintegration of the Czechoslovak People's Democratic Republic and the transfer of power in Slovakia to the reactionary bourgeoisie in the interests of foreign imperialists. According to the author, the Slovak «bourgeois nationalists» trial was a consequence of the unresolved Slovak national question in the Czechoslovak Republic. The legitimate aspirations of the progressive Slovak communist intelligentsia, aimed at strengthening Slovakia's position in the unitary state, were interpreted by the Prague authorities as a manifestation of separatism aimed at impeding the integration processes in the state and the unity of the two fraternal peoples. The trial of the Slovak bourgeois nationalists was completely fabricated, and its consequences proved counterproductive.