Public recognition of the protesters had to wait 40 years. During the conflict in South Ossetia, August 2008, the former president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel, expressed his sympathies for the protesters of 1968.[6] Czech Premier Mirek Topolánek recognized the heroism of the protesters with awards.[7] Yet, no similar recognition is reported from the side of the Russian government. Instead, 24 August 2008, the similar demonstration with the slogan For your freedom and ours happened at the same place.[8]