Starting May 23, 1997, Slovaks voted in a two-day referendum on whether the country should join NATO and possibly whether the president should be chosen via direct election. The referendum came at a time when Slovakia's populist-nationalist leadership appeared to be leading the country closer to Russia and further away from NATO, to the frustration of the democratic opposition.
In this five-part series, RFE/RL senior correspondent Jolyon Naegele examines the issues surrounding the referendum, the country's growing ties with Russia, its recent natural gas agreement with the giant Russian energy monopoly, Gazprom, and the activities of Slovakia's intelligence service. |
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