Petruska Sustrova was a famous Czech journalist, translator and expert on Eastern Europe. But even after reaching retirement age, she had no choice but to continue working.

“I’m going to have to keep working all my life,” she once said, “because I just can’t make ends meet on my pension.”

In the 21 years between the Soviet occupation of the former Czechoslovakia in August 1968, which ended the period of reform known as the Prague Spring, and the collapse of communism in the country in November 1989, Sustrova was part of a group of senior leaders. -profile dissidents and critics of the communist regime.

She was also an early signatory and later spokesperson for Charter 77, a civil rights document and initiative that criticized the Czechoslovak government’s failure to respect human rights as set forth in in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). in 1975.

The charter was published across Europe on January 1, 1977 and gave rise to a campaign of repression against those who had signed it.

Low pensions for dissidents

Soustrova spent several years in prison for her involvement in this initiative and was not allowed to work for seven years in the 1980s. The rest of the time she was only allowed to work in menial and very poor jobs. paid. She was not alone: ​​hundreds of other dissidents shared her fate and were left with tiny pensions.

Until recently, Czech pension authorities calculated the pensions of former dissidents based on the number of years they worked and the salaries they earned.

However, because regime critics like Sustrova had little or no regular income for long periods, the pensions they received were minimal. Many lived in poverty or had to continue working well beyond retirement age.

Lasting impact of communist repression

“The repression committed by the communist regime had a major influence on the pensions of Czech dissidents, as they were not allowed to practice their profession. Additionally, the time they spent in prison was not taken into account taken into account when calculating their pensions,” said Kamil Nedvedicky, MP. director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (USTR), told DW.

One of the main tasks of the USTR is to manage and provide access to the archives of the communist state security apparatus and to publish academic articles on the totalitarian era of Czechoslovakia, which ended by the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. This led to the election of dissident and playwright Vaclav Havel as President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989 and free elections the following year.

In 1993, Czechoslovakia was dissolved, creating the independent and democratic countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

High pensions for loyal communists

Unlike the situation of dissidents, supporters of the former communist regime and party officials enjoyed high pensions.

Additionally, some former leaders amassed considerable private fortunes during 40 years of communist rule. These fortunes included villas that they were allowed to keep even after the collapse of the communist regime and which are now worth millions.

This injustice was the result of an intentionally soft approach towards former communist officials adopted by successive democratic governments after the collapse of communism.

This was part of the strategy of the anti-communist Velvet Revolution of 1989 which ended in a peaceful transfer of power and a rapid transition to democracy.

There were also a number of high-ranking young communists who took advantage of the wave of privatization that followed the end of communism and became wealthy, successful entrepreneurs. One of them is Czech oligarch and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

Justice after 35 years

Last year, Charter 77 signatories Jiri Gruntrad and John Bok decided that something needed to be done to draw attention to the plight of elderly former dissidents.

They began a hunger strike in front of government buildings in Prague, demanding higher pensions for themselves and their fellow communist-era dissidents.

“Many of these people have been imprisoned or driven out of the country. It is absurd that they now have to beg for money,” Gruntrad said at the time.

It was only through this dramatic protest that change occurred. Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government changed relevant laws and increased the pensions of several hundred opponents of the communist regime, bringing them to the average Czech pension of around 800 euros ($840) per month. This was a considerable improvement.

But for Petruska Sustrova, change came too late. She died in 2023 at the age of 76.

Increase in pensions of former dissidents

Speaking on the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution last week, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurecka said the pension increase currently benefits 430 former dissidents who were imprisoned or exiled by the communist regime and have therefore until now only been entitled to small allowances. pensions.

Former dissidents’ pensions were increased by an average of 4,400 Czech crowns (about 175 euros or $185) per month.

“After 35 years,” Jurecka said, “we can today draw a symbolic line on this issue. It is a symbolic assessment of the past and several injustices that were committed.”

Reduction of pensions of former communist officials

The amendment to the relevant law, adopted last year, also led to a reduction in the very high pensions paid to senior officials of the former communist regime.

The USTR played an important role in deciding who was entitled to a higher pension and whose pensions should be reduced.

The Czech Labor Ministry confirmed that the pensions of 177 people had been reduced, with the largest reduction amounting to 7,775 crowns (approximately €307 or $325).

The average reduction in pensions for former senior communist officials amounted to almost 1,500 crowns (about €59 or $62). Despite these cuts, most of this group enjoys an average pension of almost €1,000 – which is still higher than what former dissidents received.

Communists oppose change

According to USTR’s Nedvedicky, the reasons why the pensions of top communist officials were cut are also understandable: “The pensions of these people were much higher than average, because they were rewarded for their role in oppression and their incomes were higher. than that of the average employee. »

The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) and its chairwoman Katerina Konecna, on the other hand, opposed the amended pension law.

“After 35 years, I consider this a pure show of force and another part of the unfair treatment of pensioners by the current government,” Konecna, an MEP, told DW.

The article was originally written in German and adapted by Aingeal Flanagan.