Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: protest

This protestors from the World Carfree Network (really and truely worldwide, but based in Strasnice) were participating in Den bez Aut, or the day without cars, the largest Critical Mass-style bike ride every year in Prague (unless the organizers, Auto*Mat and Cyklojizda, have to substitute something else, which they occassionally have to do). The ride attracts thousands of people from around the world, even if this photo makes the even look small, and even the conservative mayor, Pavel Bem, has supported this event, actually.

Here are some more of the repro posters.

There were also adbuster-style road signs among the posters.

The Czechs are rarely vicious in their criticism of even their most hated enemies, however. Most of the posters were either imploring the Russians to better serve the cause of socialism by going home, while others, like the one on the far left here, simply joked around, saying in this case "We don't give beer to occupiers."

Although grafitti was much rarer in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic than in the modern Czech Republic (for that matter, it was rarer everywhere in Europe in the 1960's than it is today), during the brief protests of 1968 the Czechs used it aggressively to insult the Russians or to voice their grievances. Many posters were also put up, in spite of Communist efforts to restrict access to printing presses and copiers.