The evening was hosted by Jiří Hanuš, Vice-Rector for Personnel Policy, Academic and Cultural Affairs, together with Marie Lukášová, a history student at the Faculty of Arts. In the Mendel Greenhouse of the Augustinian Abbey in Old Brno, Jiří Hanuš opened the event by reminding the audience how fragile freedom is and why it must be continuously defended. Marie Lukášová then placed the events of 17 November into their historical context. Drawing on the book From the Past to the Present by Jan Rychlík and Vladimír Penčev, she described “Jakeš’s Czechoslovakia as a strange island of the past”. She also reflected on the start of the Velvet Revolution as a student-driven movement and a symbolic return of universities as “places that challenge the taken-for-granted and where social responsibility is shaped”.
“The ten days following 17 November 1989 are deeply etched in my memory. I was then a third-year medical student, and we travelled through small villages delivering leaflets. We also supported the election of Václav Havel as president. Experiences like that inevitably shape one’s outlook on life,” said MU Rector Martin Bareš. He described the medals, approved by the Scientific Council of Masaryk University, as a way for the university to thank individuals for what they have done – personally and professionally – to protect freedom.
Awarded personalities: courage, samizdat and education
The Silver Medal for civic courage and dedication in the defence of human rights and dignity was awarded to Kamila Bendová, a prominent dissident and contributor to Charter 77; Libor Dvořák, writer, journalist and translator from Czech Radio; Petra Procházková, journalist, reporter and humanitarian worker; and Andrey Shary, journalist, author and director of Radio Svoboda (within Radio Free Europe).
In her speech, Bendová highlighted the crucial role women played in organising private seminars and their importance in family life. “Everything took place in apartments – signatories had somewhere to go and someone to talk to. And even when the men were imprisoned, the women kept these spaces alive, enduring house searches without knowing how things would end, and at the same time running normal households – preparing breakfast, packing lunches, caring for children,” she recalled. She emphasised that the most important task of families is to teach children what is true and false, what is right and wrong. “These apartments were vital, and the idea remains relevant for families today,” she added.
Roger Scruton Medal: connection to the philosopher and underground education
The Roger Scruton Medal for contributions to the defence of human dignity and human rights was awarded to Pavel Bratinka and Barbara Day, both of whom worked closely with Scruton in the 1980s.
Bratinka, a well-known commentator on political and social affairs, was a prominent figure in the Czech dissident movement. After refusing to join socialist structures, he was forced to leave the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and worked in manual jobs until 1989. He belonged to a circle of dissidents with whom Scruton collaborated to support independent thinking and underground education.
Barbara Day, a theatre critic, writer and translator who helped introduce independent Czech art to British audiences, was directly involved in the activities of The Jan Hus Educational Foundation. The foundation brought foreign academics – including Scruton – to Czechoslovakia to lecture at the so-called underground university. She personally accompanied Scruton to private seminars, helped organise them, and prepared samizdat materials. In her recollections, she described Scruton as a wonderful and inspiring colleague – serious, inventive and charming – and also spoke about their meeting in London.
Debate on values: Europe in the shadow of Russian aggression
After the medal ceremony, the evening continued with a debate on the topic “European Values in the Shadow of Russian Aggression”, featuring Pavel Bratinka, Petra Procházková, Libor Dvořák and Andrey Shary. The panel addressed questions that resonate across Europe today: What does Russian aggression do to Europeans – both as nations and individuals? How does it test democratic values? And what, exactly, are we defending? The discussion also touched on where Russia should channel its energy to avoid destructive outcomes and what the coming years and possible scenarios for Europe might look like.
Pavel Bratinka argued that Europe’s greatest value is the possibility of peaceful human coexistence, which requires restraint from negative emotions. At the same time, he noted the absence of any effective international “policeman” to enforce international law. Dvořák added that Europe underestimated the Russian threat, visible already in the 2008 war in Georgia, the start of the Ukrainian crisis, and Russia’s growing involvement in the Middle East. “Is evil stronger than truth? Russia has strength, Europe has moral values – and we still have a long way ahead,” Shary remarked.
The discussion also revealed the importance of differing perceptions at the level of states and differing concepts of the value of individual human life. “The individual means nothing in Russia,” Bratinka noted, “but the nation is strong.” Dvořák added that Russian literature offers a remarkably clear picture of Russian thinking – often more telling than sociological studies. Shary agreed: “In Russia, the state comes first, not the individual. Russia is a civilisation enclosed within itself, speaking a different language – and that has led it to war.”
The immediate future of Europe: the crisis of democracy and new threats
Petra Procházková described the path Russia should take: “Putin says Russia has no borders, but the solution is for it to have borders and to look inward – whether under democracy or monarchy. The key is to stop expansionist thinking.” Dvořák likewise stated that the age of colonial empires is over – and if Russia cannot accept that, problems will continue. “The rule of law and the constitution must come first – and they don’t in Russia,” added Bratinka.
In the final part of the debate, the speakers reflected on what the near future of Europe might hold. Libor Dvořák warned of a deepening crisis of liberal democracy, affecting not only Europe but also the United States. Bratinka noted that much will depend on how citizens and political leaders behave – whether they strengthen what is best in society, or instead mobilise fear and hatred. Procházková pointed out that the conflict with Russia is unlikely to end quickly; it may freeze and flare up repeatedly, because changes in the world order can take centuries. Shary added that although the war will eventually end, the danger will not disappear – it will change shape, become fragmented and amplified by technology and a chaotic information environment. “We must continue defending the values we believe in – and continue building them for ourselves and for our children,” he concluded.
The evening closed with a musical performance by singer Luboš Pospíšil, introduced by Jiří Hanuš through the titles of his albums. During the concert, Pospíšil also spoke about the lyricists behind his songs.
