Ronald Reagan is not forgotten in Eastern Europe. The two-term American president who served from 1981 to 1989 is being celebrated this week in several Eastern European capitals for his role in speaking out against communism and helping to hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union and its reign over much of the region during the Cold War.
Inspired by President Reagan, Zsolt Nemeth, Hungary’s deputy foreign minister, started in 1988 the Alliance of Young Democrats, an opposition movement that is now Hungary’s ruling party. Hungary freed itself from Soviet control in 1989.
Mr. Nemeth told USA Today: “This opposition was fueled by the fact that in the West, there was truth, political leaders who don’t compromise and turn upside down what was true. Reagan was that type of politician.”
Hungary is one of the nations observing Mr. Reagan’s 100th birthday this year (Feb. 6, 2011). Today in Budapest, the parliament will honor Mr. Reagan.
On Monday, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was an aide to Pope John Paul II, said a Mass of thanksgiving in Krakow, Poland. On Wednesday in Budapest, a statue of Mr. Reagan will be unveiled near the U.S. Embassy.
On Thursday, Prague, the Czech Republic, will name a street in front of the U.S. ambassador’s residence “Ronalda Reagana,” which translates “Ronald Reagan Street.” Condoleezza Rice, representing Nancy Reagan, will speak at the event. Other events are planned; in London on July 4, a statue of Mr. Reagan will be unveiled on Grosvenor Square near the U.S. Embassy.
Petr Gandalovic, Czech ambassador to the United States who was part of the Velvet Revolution as a young person, told USA Today: “Reagan showed that America was going to stand up to the Soviet military expansion and it was not going to withdraw from its firm positions. That was sort of inspiring to us.”
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