movement that started in new york continues to engulf a growing number of us to choose. to stay with us here and now it's time to spotlight. hello again and welcome to spotlight the entry on r.t. i'll bring our friend to be my guest on the show is. more than four decades ago in czechoslovakia the so-called prague spring character it was a period of political liberalization which ended up with a nassif invasion of the warsaw pact armies into the country besides being important in history the prague spring was also a breakthrough for one of the most renowned photographer of the twentieth century he was

a good photograph of the invasion and the resistance and today he's here to share his experience. as a who is considered one of the most photographers of modern times started his career by turning his lands on the gypsies in slovakia and romania later for his strong landscape photography but his best known work is on the song that invasion of czechoslovakia nine hundred sixty eight it was published in the british army times magazine under the pen name peepee making these alex regular popular an award winning photographer. how does the codell kind of welcome to the show a good reminder and i should be with. that's out for now. but there's a tell all that in france they say. in english so you can call whatever. it's very hard for me being a russian to talk to a check national about the events ninety sixty it's even after all these years well

what about you are you alright with the russian. after forty years of you know it's very hard for me. in fact. before going to moscow it's not my first time was going. before going to moscow but they him me here for eight years so before going to moscow i was the thing which i was most afraid not to get emotional . because still. it is a very close to my heart. because because the first sure of the fish the word was that this invasion in prague in czechoslovakia was over but by the socialist countries by the countries of the of the war so probably but actually it was led by the soviet army and most of the soldiers were russians of course there's a holiday reason i would like you to excuse me because in the past we all of time

were saying russians russian so i would like to apologize to all the viewers that if i say russian what they really mean soviet union soldiers who were though it was a different country and yours was a different country and ours was a different country well as a matter of fact today well the face of europe has changed and there's no more socialist countries on the face of you could we say that actually your country czechoslovakia was and your people were the first to spark this change to start the process is a true. i can't talk about that you know i was never interested in the politics. and i was living in czechoslovakia and it was similar in their show. before sixty eight nothing was possible and suddenly in sixty eight everything's that will be possible i mean even even

people who are not interesting politics certainly involve so i can talk about this is what was really happening it doesn't interest me much but i was so happy to bring happen because suddenly i could say what they wanted to say it was the perestroika in russia years later thirty years later with garbage yes i can tell you. i in one thousand eight hundred nineteen i couldn't go back to czechoslovakia but i was innovative to come to russia to photograph but history. so every day when i was in front the law. they're selling a lot of people are saying i was walking around moscow quite a few being arrested because a photograph something what they didn't supposed to photograph but exactly i would say it was probably something similar so so you did find things things in common even even being just a photographer. well actually more than forty years ago russian tanks and tanks of

other socialist countries rolled into czechoslovakia to put an end to the country's reforms this is what. you need a vast sea about. spring nineteen sixty eight was exceptional in the history of what was known as czechoslovakia the country was dominated by this soviet union a period of liberalization was taking place the czechs under slovaks were anticipating a milder more democratic version of the soviet regime the reformist alexander do puke i just come to power huge the communist party's grip on the country granting citizens agree to freedom of expression the reforms however were not received well by this. of it you know and a series of negotiations followed but the you were ceasars leader their new direction if wasn't satisfied with the results eventually on the twenty first of

all the troops from five warsaw pact countries and to khosla very care soviet tanks were deployed in the streets of the capital prague during the uprising seventy two czech and slovak civilians were killed later on a group of moscow citizens held a protest on red square against the invasion demonstrators were arrested then lead upon ish to the soviet invasion put an end to this short period of liberalization in czechoslovakia which had to wait a further twenty years to be read of this soviet regime. yourself and you graduated from university back in one thousand nine hundred sixty one and you got a diploma of an engineer yes the same year when you graduated you you actually organized your first exhibit of your photographic works doesn't mean that then when you were a young graduate you already wanted to be

a professional photographer or it was never like a hobby i still don't consider myself to be a professional killer. is you know i think i'm a much of it that you make money. yes i mean even from the front of you know that that makes you professional. i think it depends on how you look at it ok so let's say i live from the photography but i still consider myself i have the same life all these feet and i started. for thirty or so so would you consider yourself making money by photography but but still i can still see an amateur like for example agatha christie's poor role miss marple they weren't professional detectives they were amateurs. you know what in fact what they wanted to say that. none of us engine in a study or in engineering i started to make for us. to make for two thousand

because something was interesting and it developed great love to the photography which is luckily enough lastings there today so that's what i wanted to say that in fact i'm still the same man who started for the love in fifty years ago wasn't he you were and they were mature for governor for ok in the sixty's and when when these reforms when this paris troika in czechoslovakia started what were you interested in photographing the events you said you were not political i was not i was not. really interested in the politics of course but i can tell you hold it happens i know a photograph as a photographer before any news and i never photographed any newspaper. i never photo you have any story but it happened something that one day

i came back from a woman in every photo you have gypsy and next night my girlfriend called me and they said russians are here. she called me three times because i thought i didn't believe she was drunk that was at four o'clock in the morning you know and finally when she said open the window and listen i opened the window i could hear the plane flying very i don't know five minutes so i realized something was happening and any hesitation these are thinking about politic result i think i just pick my camera pick my films and i get on the streets. and i started to photograph . and i thought that it was important. because i was czech it was my country. and it concerned me directly. and

suddenly because what was happening you know there were photographs everywhere there were so many things happening it was so is it before. you turn around and picture was there i have two pictures i'm not sure if these pictures are here there's one picture of the known picture which is a man against the tank opening and the second picture which is very good picture two young men it is the flame which is what every thirty seconds. after one after second. so it was incredible and i think you know for me for me the biggest the most interesting thing is that i was not the man who fought to get out of the news but suddenly this what i did become classic example of the reporter or it is considered. one of the a lot of people with cameras on the streets. there are not to many people is the

commerce they have. and of course the russian soldiers they have the order to prevent they quit early rounds. were destroyed or come at us or take some of our survey and the shooter after the fight over they probably didn't shoot him but if you're here shooting behind you you don't bother much beach anywhere anyway so there are but. you know i think. like you my pick chess might be better than the some other ones and definitely more complete. different that the pictures of all this professional football you know. that you know. i think because i was it was my problem it was my country and i got out through it says photographer. spotlight will be back shortly after the break so stay with us or go.

wealthy british scientists are. not on the. market why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike stronger for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into a report. of nature and discoveries. communicate with the wild and. test yourself and become free.

see what nature can give you. permission to free accreditation free transport charges free. range minsk free risk free. free. download free. broadcast plug in video for your media projects and free media dog r t v dot com. hello again and welcome to spotlight i am al green of and here in the studio with me today i have photographer just so i could help. you said that your

pictures the pictures that you took during the crank spring in the back nine hundred sixty eight probably were better than pictures taken by professionals from from the agencies with a lot of people the courage to get into czechoslovakia for a from a professional agency yes but they probably they didn't have it like like me because i was the first on the spot. and in fact the first day was the most interesting. i had a certain picture in fact my picture was. published in. book on my getting. a real russian soldiers look on what was going on in the streets because i was standing just next to the soldiers was it he said that the russian soldiers even

could shoot in the direction of people taking pictures so it could have been very dangerous was that it would. lessen. people being killed but i know that russian soldiers they. think. you know they could of course when when your tank is burning and you are there is the gun you can start to short it is clear and there are decisions and there were not child shooting but of course people are shot you you are talking about bringing soviet tanks world does that mean that the resistance against invasion world was very strong and i mean the czechs and slovaks were very serious about fighting back . you know. they didn't have a chance that there they understood that they didn't have any chance of course yes you know i can talk to you on the about but out. there really i wouldn't and of

course the product is not. is not my skull and i can tall tell you and my pictures are showing i published this book in eleven countries and my book. is published also in the russian and it show what was happening in the center of the broken seven days. how did you manage to smuggle your pictures abroad because after going after the invasion the regime was were was a very strict regime no war period troika no one liberals so so it probably was hard for you to to to to get your pictures out look at home. you know. all these events in sixty eight as there was really like it. that i wake up early there was the first with all these pictures that. nobody take my films but i really i didn't did this picture is that it is the aim

to publish and. i develop my films only one month or two months later and then i started to make those little prince i was showing them my friends and i left some of them as my friend then came czechoslovakia came somebody one curator of the photography from washington smithsonian institute. and he saw them. he asked if he can take six with them so my friend called me as to give it to him the big day. and then he was front of it who in that time was president of the long for target of. and he saw these pictures he was very interested then in these beaches so he sent a message to. ask if the photographer has more of these pictures and if i would be willing to send then i got i said no no i don't. want to have them

i don't want to take that risk so len finally they convinced me that magnum is the it was from michael. agency sirus organisation. that i don't need to be afraid. so that somebody else came for some different these individuals don't know exactly i think he was the doctor for medical con congress and he took in they got this old smuggling anyway yeah but what was the reaction in prague your reaction of friends when your photographs your pictures started to be published all around the world the or all the world publications know in the track but i know what he saw that really if you can do about it now in fact the only thing the whole way you. and all my pictures never use it to us on the free europe of voice of america somebody here then use an anonymous check for. receive the

call and mail and dig up our prize for his picture. and by chance therefore first anniversary in august. i was in this group my theatre group which i photographed they play many chuckles and they came to play call and. what happened one sunday i get the aunt and everybody are still looking in the magazine so i look to the magazine was full of my photographs but of course i couldn't tell them they were my photo so so so so so all the time when your pictures were published anonymous check for the organ only not only or look time. i my pictures of are not published was on my name for sixteen years mainly for the reason that i still have got family in czechoslovakia and of course they could have problems when when you decided to immigrate to to leave chicks like you was for

political reasons or did you get a good job one for mine. i didn't know anything about my example that i knew that they they got the negatives so that's not not at all of my go it was not for political reasons the pilot the main reason or us and probably you can understand it because you are younger than me but i was afraid i was afraid they're going to learn who is this proud of her who would take all these pictures from praxis. and if they knew i went to jail really. good to jail but the people voted. for much simpler things. and the charge would have been smuggling pictures yes i thinks no no you go for

drug of you know a charge would be. saying something bad about you because i don't control the house well in fact very happy that for sixteen years i didn't say in the speech or by my name and the arguments that had become i became known by some different sort of each of which are mainly gypsy pictures and not by these pictures was that a difficult decision for you and it was a difficult actually to get out from czechoslovakia it was a very difficult but the difference what you said how did you manage what you said the regime didn't change s. quickly as they wanted you know one day russian came and but all these people in the ministry. in the gypsy group which you needed to get their recommendation they stay there. so the story is a little longer but maybe we don't have a time to tell it. but you left your family back on trips like younger for the

first couple of years later they joined us no no no. my thought my my parents. and i was not able to see to them. no when you come to prague these days do you see it from a different angle. of what i mean the city the people the country i after after so many years you spent abroad you know. exile it gives you. exile is. can be bad for some people i have written the book which is called exile us. which is not a boat people who are in the exam but people it'll outside of the society. and just of militia. who is the nobel prize or writer polish. exile to

a he said exile and kill but if doesn't kill you make you stronger and exile gives you one possibility to start your life from the scratch you live in the moscow you come every day here they know who you are influence you can change from one day to where the day you suddenly you are you get in some and nobody knows anything you have your house burned on i have to start your life you ask about the proud going the route the others other present which gives you it gives you possibility if you are lucky enough i was lucky enough that after twenty years could go back that you got back. and you are able to look on everything what you knew. different and different mine and i get too proud every day i took three four

five streets alone walk alone and i was looking like for the first on the contrary rich a new perfect. do you have a home in front. of an apartment in prague i have two apartments you know when the one in the old factor in the communist. in parents we have still have study on when they got in and then. i can say that i love liking place both are beautiful and very different and then space that i look on this beautiful church. very different so i can't i can't tell you i have these two places but if i come there if i open the doors in the proc i think it's fantastic but if a leaf i'm not sorry to leave at all i'm quite happy to anyway when you come you

know it's a visitor you coming home when you come to prague is a true yes i would correct your. what is the home for me a whole nother. you have i thank you thank you very much for being with us and i hope muska will be your home for the next couple of days later mike thanks just a reminder that my guest today was young codell couple photographs of the soviet invasion into czech and slovak to get back to ninety six teams and that's it for now from all of us here if you want to have your sales force might have some of them aren't you i mean interview next time just drop me a line of calgary not party t.v. dot are you let's keep the spotlight interactive will be back with more personal comment on what's going on in town for pressure until then stay and our team can take thank you thank you very much for the.

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breaking news this hour here on the. prime minister is sentenced to seven years in jail for abusing power contracts with russia the clashes between supporters and opponents. going east moscow and beijing cooperation china becomes the first country of lot of putin visits office stating that he will run for the presidency next year. corporate protests in boston meet a fierce response from police who reportedly. taking part in a peaceful rally. just after six pm here in moscow this is on scene.