StB incorporated
Written by: René Jakl
The recent release of the official list of StB collaborators revealed the names of quite a few members of today’s Czech economic elite. Where does the current distribution of power have its roots?
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TO PETR CIBULKA, a perseverent anti-communist and the publisher of the first StB collaborators lists, it is clear: big business is still under the control of people who were associated with the communist secret police. Conversely, orthodox liberals are of the opinion that the Czech economic elite was born through natural selection, favoring the better-educated, more flexible, more clever people who were able to offer the goods or services that were in demand. This was typically either a question of experience with foreign markets, or having capital – that is, having contacts in the right places. However, this “liberal” theory applies in full only if conditions are equal at the onset, something the “non-chosen” and uninvited could only dream about. Today’s economic elite is, of course, a mixture of the two extremes, which means capable managers and entrepreneurs, as well as people merely capable of doing anything for money. The fact remains that the number of important economic players in the interior ministry’s files is surprisingly high.
Ever since Cibulka’s lists were released eleven years ago doubt and ridicule have been cast upon them, and they have even been branded as targeted disinformation. Although the ministry of interior in fact verified their credibility, uninformed laypersons are still skeptical as to their conclusiveness as evidence. A large majority of those in the ministry files worked with the StB with full awareness, as Vladimír Zeman, the deputy interior minister in charge of archives, stated in an interview for Lidové noviny this March. However, when persons affected sue the ministry of interior, claiming that they were not conscious collaborators, they usually win their suits. Alena Vitásková, the former general director of Transgas won such a lawsuit. How can this be? The ministry of interior is often unable to submit original documentation, which had in the interim either been stored on microfilm or intentionally destroyed.
Besides discovering the names on the lists of collaborators, it’s also important to know who will never turn up there. For example, people who were active agents during the revolutionary period of 1989 came out with shining facades. The then-minister of interior ordered their files destroyed. Also, the names of agents in the civilian and military intelligence services, Czech agents of the Soviet KGB and the military intelligence unit, the GRU, remain unpublished. Civilian intelligence employees who had worked abroad, such as representatives of Czech foreign-trade firms like Strojexport, or workers at Czech embassies under diplomatic cover, were very successful in the post-November economy. They were almost the only people who had any chance to learn how market economies function. But the government never decided to make their names public. Also, many people feared the possible publication and looked for ways to avoid it. “People that did not want to appear protected themselves before the lists were out,” confirms Jiří Hájek from the press department of the ministry of interior. “Either in the form of a preliminary court decision or a lawsuit. We registered about 25 cases during the last six months. Some people avoided the publication by changing their nationality,” he adds.
Past links to the StB don’t seem to pose a great problem in the Czech business environment. This is clear from large companies’ requirements for potential managers. During her twelve years of work in the top executive search field, Hana Navarová, the managing partner at Neumann & Partners, has never known a client to require a clean lustration. “At the most they wanted clean criminal registry records. Of course it entered my mind a few times that if someone had been able to work seven years abroad under the ‘normalization’, there was probably something amiss,” she says. “But to whom can you prove it?”
Another representative of a large top executive search firm, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested that sometimes former contacts with the StB needn’t be bad: “Clients are mainly interested in current qualifications and what candidates can bring to the company. This also includes contacts that could be useful.” So even 14 years after the fall of communism, a past as an agent isn’t seen as an onus, but sometimes, paradoxically, as a positive qualification.
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Inside the list
Michal Donath Curriculum vitae How did you react to the recent publication of your name in the list of former StB collaborators published by the ministry of interior? Do you think the appearance of your name in the list may harm the reputation of the company you are heading? Do you intend to appeal against the publication of this information? In your opinion, what does the publication of this list mean for the Czech society 14 years after the end of the communist regime? |
Vratislav Kulhánek Curriculum vitae What he has to say about his name appearing in the files: |
Aleš Hušák Curriculum vitae What he has to say about his name appearing in the files: |
Alena Vitásková Curriculum vitae What she has to say about her name appearing in the files: |
Jiří Šimáně Curriculum vitae What he has to say about his name appearing in the files: |
Simply the bestIT IS NOW a tradition. Every year they meet in the Spanish hall of the Prague Castle. They all stand together, close to the Prime Minister for a souvenir photo, so self-assured that they have reached the pinnacle of fame. They are the “Czech 100 Best”. Their name is stylishly handwritten in a little frame that they will proudly display in the reception area of their headquarters, or in their own office. God only knows how one becomes part of the happy few, as the requirements seem well within the reach of an average company manager: to run a firm registered in the Czech Republic; to have at least 20 employees; and to have a turnover of at least CZK 30 million. The final selection then lies in the secrets held by the organizer, the Comenius “non-governmental organization”, and its very well-connected representative Karel Muzikář. The Prague Tribune cross-checked the list of names and companies represented in the first “100 Best” contest (circa 1996) with the list of names of former StB agents published by the ministry of interior, as well as Cibulka’s lists. By looking at the commercial registry at www.justice.cz, which shows all board members of those companies, we have identified no less than 25 names (according to birth dates) which ranked in Cibulka’s lists, but only 11 that ranked in the ministry of interior’s files. The cross-reference revealed former or current representatives in the statutory bodies of the following companies: ABB, Čechofracht, ČEZ, Chemapol, ČSPL, Deza, Economia group, Eurotel Praha, Karlovarská Becherovka, Královopolská, Plzeňský Prazdroj, Škoda a. s., Škoda auto, Škoda Export, Středočeská energetika, Severočeské doly, Technoexport, Transgas, Vítkovice, Železárny Veselí and ZPS. We couldn’t identify some people with 100% accuracy, as their birth date wasn’t available, and therefore did not include their company in this list.
Philippe Riboton with the assistance of Pavlína Prášková |
Outsider’s view
Ron van Oijen, chairman, ING CR/SR How did you react to the recent publication of the list of former StB collaborators published by the ministry of interior? What do you think of the fact that names of several high-ranking busi-ness people are included in this list? How would you have reacted if the name of one of your senior executives would have been published in this list? Did you check the list for names of your employees? In your opinion, what does the publication of this list mean for the Czech society today, 14 years after the end of the communist regime?
Alexis Juan, chairman of the board and general director, Komerční banka How did you react to the recent publication of the list of former StB collaborators published by the ministry of interior? What do you think of the fact that names of several high-ranking business people are included in this list? In your opinion, what does the publication of this list mean for the Czech society today, 14 years after the end of the communist regime? |
Marco Pařík: “A warning for all of us” Marco Pařík is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic. He runs a large number of companies, which include Delta Pekárny, the largest baked goods producer in the country. He’s also a free-spirited man unafraid of voicing his own opinion. In an exclusive interview with The Prague Tribune, he expressed his views on the ministry of interior recent release of the list of former StB agents. What was your first impression when you heard about the upcoming release of the list of former StB agents? What has been your first reaction when you saw it? What would have been your reaction if you had discovered the name of one your managers in there? How did you perceive the reaction of Czech society overall to that release? Why do you think it happened that way? What did you learn from that episode? Interview by Philippe Riboton |