Tens of thousands of people gathered in dozens cities and towns across Slovakia as vocal protests against pro-Russian policies of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico intensified

Tens of thousands of Slovaks protested against Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government in more than 40 cities Friday, seeking to defend the country’s pro-European alignment.

Robert Fico has said that Slovakia’s foreign policy orientation could involve leaving the European Union and Nato.

Protests against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government have resumed on Friday, 7 February, in dozens of cities across Slovakia and abroad. Source: Slovak newspaper Aktuality, as reported by European Pravda Details: Demonstrations are taking place in more than 50 cities.

"Smer has lost a lot of moderate support, so Fico is using extremist rhetoric and a pro-Russian stance to try to attract more radical voters, of which there are a fair number in Slovakia," Radoslav Stefancik, a political scientist at the University of Economics in Bratislava, told DW.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected protesters' calls for his resignation on Saturday after tens of thousands demonstrated against his government's policy shift closer to Russia.

There will be more and more of us. Those who want to live in our little Slovakia, but in a civilized Europe,” said Eva Kulová, 84, who helped topple Communism.