Miroslav Radačovský is a former judge. He worked in courts in Eastern Slovakia, in Prešov, Košice and Poprad. He graduated from law, was appointed as a judge in 1981 and served until the end of 2018. He became known to the public as a judge in a civil lawsuit over property (land) rights, a case receiving considerable media attention. Then-President Andrej Kiska played a role in the lawsuit. After delivering the judgment, Radačovský said that “If I were the president of this republic and any other judge found all the facts and connections that I did, I would resign from the post of the president, not run for any other political position and I would leave for a country where I would feel at home, such as the USA or Israel – and I don’t want to say that I do not highly respect the American or Jewish nations – but this is what I would do.” Shortly after the verdict, Radačovský announced that he was relinquishing his judicial office (officially due to age). Two months later it was published that he would stand as a candidate for ĽSNS, a far-right extremist party, in the European elections 2019. He was elected thanks to preferential votes. Radačovský is a non-attached and independent MEP. In November 2019 he announced that he did not anymore identify himself with the ĽSNS party.
In 2000, he was detained by the police after it found drugs and an illegally kept weapon in his car. In the nearly twelve-year-long trial, the District Court found Radačovský’s guilty three times, twice giving him a one-year prison sentence and once a one-year suspended sentence. However, in 2012, the Regional Court acquitted him.
Radačovský votes in accordance with his nationalistic and pan-Slavic convictions, which materialize in apologetic and conciliatory statements towards Russia. He writes in his credo’s headline on his personal website that "Emotionally-based pro-Slovak and pro-Slavic sentiment is manifested inside me, because it is given to me genetically, and by the education of my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents."
In September 2019, in a debate about the resolution on foreign electoral interference and disinformation in national and European democratic processes, MEP Radačovský stated that dividing Europe into East and West is unacceptable because the European house is one and common. During the plenary session, he felt as if “we are all supposed to dress in uniforms, get on planes and attack Moscow.”
In the debate on the situation in Ukraine, Radačovský supported the narrative claiming Russians and Ukrainians to be one Slavic nation when he said that his personal identity is Slavic and therefore he is a brother of both the Russian nation and the Ukrainian nation. These heroic big nations will solve their problems on their own, the EU should not interfere in the affairs of the Slavs.
Radačovský established direct contacts with the pro-Russian party Opposition Block in Ukraine and participated in events organized with the attendance of the representatives of this party (including Viktor Medvedčuk) in Brussels and Ukraine.
In December 2019, Miroslav Radačovský called the EP draft resolution on the Russian ‘Foreign Agents’ law a “biased fake.” “It is a biased fake that does not reflect the basic facts. … It is an internal affair of Russia. It is an answer to American restrictions, so let us objectively consider the matter, let us not be Russophobic, and also think that the world is no longer staying on one leg”. In April 2020, he supported the Russian motorbike gang Night Wolves’ efforts to carry out their rides through Central Europe: “Young Russian patriots on motorcycles, without swastikas and Nazi symbols, polite, not harming anyone, decided to place bouquets on the graves of their fathers and grandfathers, whose tombs are scattered throughout Europe. This is just a terrible threat! What about the marching SS-men [in Latvia]? But the Night Wolves should be banned … And why should we ban Russian patriots from laying wreaths on the graves of their ancestors? European ‘yes-men’ and anti-Slavs will quickly find a reason and justify it accordingly. Because these Russian patriots have a different opinion on Crimea joining the Russian Federation than the EU and the European ‘yes-men’ have”.
In April 2021 Radačovský took part in the plenary debate on Resolution on Russia, the case of Alexei Navalny, the military build-up on Ukraine’s border and the Russian attack in the Czech Republic. According to him "there was no evidence that Russian agents were at the site of the explosions in the Czech Republic" – he referred to the statements made by the Czech President Miloš Zeman. Radačovský added: "What is happening here today is ... lynch by Russophobes with the support of the United States of America without taking evidence."
In 2020 and early 2021 Radačovský took part in the formal process of establishment of a new political party "Real National Party – PATRIOT", later renamed to "Slovak PATRIOT". Commenting for media his involvement in establishment of the new political formation he emphasized the he was “only” a member of the party’s preparatory committee, however, the fact that Radačovský was elected as chairman and he is only wide-known person of the party confirms that his personal political ambitions are going further beyond the current cycles in the EP.
In the EP, Radačovský voted “against” the majority of critical resolutions on Russia’s policies.
(Updated: 13/7/2021)
Miroslav Radačovský said in the EP concerning the resolution on the Russian ‘Foreign Agents’ Law that the legislation discussed in the document poses no threat to the Russian opposition. According to him, the law in question was approved as an answer to American restrictions against Russia. The MEP stated that the future of Europe and all other countries depend on cooperation and bridge-building, not on interference with nations’ internal affairs.
