The Rudolf Medek Prize

The Rudolf Medek Prize was established by Committed Non-Party Members Foundation and the Slavonic Library and awarded for the first time in 2008. Its goal is to reward scholars, writers, publishers, filmmakers, journalists and other specialists in Czech-Russian (Czechoslovak-Soviet) relations in the 20^th century, in historical tendencies and key moments of East and Central Europe and in promoting and strengthening of democracy.

The prize is named after Rudolf Medek (1890–1940) – a Czech poet, prose-writer and playwright, the leading representative of the Czechoslovak resistance in the WWI. Since 1916, he fought in the Czechoslovak legions in Russia where he sourced for his poetic work (”Zborov”, ”Lví srdce”), 5-book prose collection ”Anabase” (Ohnivý drak, Veliké dny, Ostrov v bouři, Mohutný sen, Anabase) and the play ”Plukovník Švec” as well. In 1920–1939, he served as the director of the Resistance Monument (later called National Liberation Memorial). The Rudolf Medek Prize was established under the patronage of Rudolf Medek’s son Ivan Medek.

The main topics for nomination include:   - Czechoslovak resistance abroad during the WWI and Czechoslovak legions in Russia - Czechoslovak exile centers in the USSR - Russian anti-Bolshevik inter-war emigration - Resistance against the Nazis - Modern History of the Carpathian Ruthenia - Persecution of Czechoslovak citizens in the USSR - Czech-Russian relations in 1945–1948 and 1948–1968 and the Soviet occupation - The Prague Spring phenomenon - Relations in the 1990s - support and development of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

Lukáš Babka