In Bratislava on Friday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the central square, expressing opposition to Prime Minister Robert Fico's pivot towards Russia amid escalating tensions with the opposition.
Reports indicate that an estimated 60,000 individuals participated in the demonstration in Freedom Square, a significant increase from the previous protest two weeks prior.
The demonstrations approached the scale witnessed in 2018 following the murder of an investigative journalist, triggering mass protests that led to Fico's resignation as prime minister in 2023.
Protesters chanted "Enough of Fico" and "We are Europe," and at one point illuminated the square with their mobile phones during a brief power outage.
Additional rallies took place in 20 other cities, with an estimated 100,000 people protesting across Slovakia, according to news website Dennik N.
Tensions heightened after Fico's government accused progressive opponents of attempting to instigate chaos and hinted at plans to deal with alleged attempts to illegally overthrow the government, potentially by occupying state buildings.
Allegations were made by Fico, based on information from intelligence services, claiming the involvement of unidentified experts in protests against pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine in 2014 and Georgia the previous year.
Opposition parties and organizers of the protests have refuted these claims, asserting that they are distractions from policy issues unaddressed by the fragile government coalition.
Despite efforts by opposition parties to challenge Fico's government, he seems poised to survive any upcoming vote due to a slender majority maintained thus far.
Critics express concerns about Fico's government compromising democratic principles and moving foreign policy orientation away from European Union and NATO allies towards Russia.
Protester Frantisek Valach in Bratislava emphasized, "We do not want to be with Russia... We want to be in the European Union, we want to be in NATO."
The recent developments followed Fico's private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December, a rare encounter for an EU leader post the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Organizers of the protests, such as Marian Kulich from civic group Mier Ukrajine (Peace to Ukraine), aim to "pressure the government to redirect its focus towards EU and NATO partners, away from Moscow."
Fico's administration has faced criticism for its anti-liberal stance, intensified by an incident where he was shot by a lone gunman protesting against his policies in May of last year, leading to heightened attacks against the opposition.
The government's relations with Ukraine have also strained after Kyiv stopped Russian gas supplies transiting to Slovakia on January 1, prompting Fico to threaten to halt humanitarian aid in response.
Fico's government terminated state military aid to Kyiv after assuming office while making domestic changes including restructuring the public broadcaster and relaxing prosecutions for financial crimes, sparking protests.
Fico defends his government's foreign policy direction, maintaining it remains multifaceted and that despite criticisms of EU policies, decision-making is anchored in EU and NATO membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy showed solidarity with Slovak protesters, sharing an image of the protest with a caption in Slovak that read, "Bratislava is not Moscow. Slovakia is Europe."