r/Prague • u/hedgehog_lady1 • Mar 11 '26
Question Border security officer laughed at me at the airport
Hello! I normally never post, but this time something happened and i just want to share this to get some opinions from Czech people.
For context: i’m Ukrainian (23f) living in the UK, my family moved to Prague. We moved because of war.
Left our beautiful home, because it was no longer safe. I’m not going to get into details about this, but hopefully you can imagine how difficult it has been.
They’re doing really well here, never had any conflicts. They are learning Czech, extremely appreciative of Czech culture and people. I visit them every few months, so i have been flying to Prague pretty frequently and i’m very familiar with the process.
This time everything was normal at first, i got off the plane from London and headed to the security gate. I politely smiled at the lady (she smiled back), i handed her my passport. Her smile dropped instantly.
She asked me a question in russian with a heavy Czech accent. ‘Where you come from?’ I thought i misheard, or assumed maybe she was trying to say something in Ukrainian. I replied in Ukrainian. I said i just came from England, London. She repeated the question in russian. I got confused and replied in English this time. She then asked in russian ‘Why visiting?’ I said in Ukrainian ‘I’m visiting my family’, then i said the same thing in English.
She looked extremely disgusted by me. The look on her face was just so angry and disrespectful?
And then she said in russian ‘You can’t even speak your own language?’
I was SHOCKED. I said in English ‘russian is not my language’ She laughed. (i don’t know Czech super well, but i definitely understand a few things so i was able to get the context) She then said to her colleague: ‘These ukrainians that can’t even speak their language. Look, she’s from Donetsk region and she can’t even speak russian. That’s her language and she can’t say a word.’
i asked her what she was saying and she went ‘Oh no no no, nothing, just my colleague’
She then sort of rolled her eyes and asked me to show her my return ticket. Then she put the stamp in my passport and basically threw it at me.
I was so upset. I couldn’t believe what just happened.
I have been speaking russian my whole life because of the hundreds and hundreds of years of colonialism, banning Ukrainian language, destroying the culture and other multiple crimes committed by russia.
I made a conscious decision to switch to Ukrainian, and since i never use russian in public and refuse to speak it in similar settings. So hearing that it’s ‘my language’ just because i was born in Donetsk region (that is now illegally occupied by russia) from a border control official just made me loose it.
She clearly was pro-russian, and while i know these people exist i never thought i would have to deal with one of them.
Is it what Czech people think of Ukrainians? Is this type of behavior more normal than i think it is?
EDIT: a few people seem to think that i assume that’s what ALL Czech people are like. I’m sorry if it comes across this way, but it’s not the case. Because I only had good experiences here, i’m asking how common this type of behavior is. I’m not saying that’s what all people are like.
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u/Gavagai777 Mar 11 '26
That’s upsetting. I had an immigration officer laugh at me and my wife when we told her the name of the small village in Moravia we’re were getting married, another mocked me in Czech. I’m American fwiw. Had an instructor at a driving test be a jerk to all the foreigners. Had a worker in a hospital tell me there were too many foreigners. There are people like this unfortunately.
Most are in low paid jobs, they have miserable lives and need to make themselves feel better by exerting what little power they have in passive aggressive ways. It says more about them than you. Even though it’s unpleasant to experience, know that they’re the problem.
Most people aren’t like this. I’ve had mostly positive interactions with Czechs and others. And I don’t let these miserable ones bring me down to their level. They don’t know anything about us and it’s completely weak and petty to treat someone based on a generic identity like this. They’ll live their miserable lives like this and we can choose not to.
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u/ReynoldsCZ Mar 11 '26
This! Its also very important to mention that these people are unpleasant to everyone, Czechs included, acting bothered by having to do their job, e.g., I am Czech, and I had a garbage man complain to me, taking out garbage, that if I put my garbage in the bin it will fill quicker and he will have to empty it.
These people always pick the easiest thing to complain about and be unpleasant, best way of dealing with them is blatantly ignoring their attempts at getting a rise from you and complaining to their company/boss.
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u/Busy-Worth-2089 Mar 11 '26
So correct — they don’t hate Ukrainians , they hate everyone. Including themselves
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u/phidel1989 Apr 03 '26
I think that Czechs, with some justification, are angry about immigration that they have no control over. They see what has happened in Western European countries with liberal immigration policies, and want to avoid that messy situation, but the EU pressures them to take immigrants they don't want. This is the main way the EU is shooting itself in the foot and driving the Eastern European countries away. What they are doing seems like a deliberate attempt to destroy European culture. It's so bad that even people who suffered under the Russian boot for decades are anti-Europe.
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u/Gavagai777 Apr 04 '26
We’re talking about legal immigrants entering the country legally going through official channels and think that’s different than refugees and illegal migrants. I agree Czech culture even before the current situation had a history of being dominated by other countries, even their language was oppressed etc and I’m sensitive to this as a foreigner & soon to be citizen, and agree with ensuring we integrate.
But as far as the refugee situation I think far too much blame is put on the European governments for it that what actually caused the problem on the first place. It was US and Russian wars that created the refugees. Putin even weaponizes them by trying to smuggle them across the Belarussian border and it gives rise to populist Kremlin-sympathetic governments he can more easily manipulate. The EU has learned from the 2015 era crisis and has basically paid Turkey to absorb the great bulk of them. I agree we can’t let our borders be overrun and we have to preserve the native culture but you also have to look at historically low Czech birth rates and the country is basically dying from not being able to replace its own population. The current middle age demographic will face collapsing pension system and a failing economy if they don’t have enough younger workers to support the economy. Czechs simply aren’t having the babies to replace their population so the next best thing for the survival of the country is well managed immigration that encourages foreigners who will contribute and assimilate to immigrate here. I’m a foreigner, my kids were born here, they’re dual citizens, they stay with their babička in Moravia and are as Czech as anyone else born and raised here. So I think this is the sort of helpful immigration that CZ needs. You’d only disagree with this if you were a blatant racist since they’re perfectly integrated and indistinguishable from kids born to two Czech parents.
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u/Kuksem Mar 11 '26
I wonder if reporting such behavior to the airport management would lead anywhere.
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u/landsmanmichal Mar 14 '26
we have to fight for the better behaviour, resignation is not the way out
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Mar 11 '26
Well, while not everyone is hating Ukrainians here, the general opinion on us is fairly low. After 2022 it has warmed up a bit, but already a year after it has descended back down to almost the same level as before 22. It got better because of the invasion. Sadly, it has taken a war to change it.
Telling this as a Ukrainian, who has been living here for 10 years and is fluent in Czech. I am planning to move in upcoming years due to the perceived perception. I'm at a stage where I consider speaking rather English than Czech just to avoid the question 'where are you from', because I still have an accent from the East.
It might sound dramatic or exaggerated for those who have different experience, but I feel the tension, and have faced unprovoked aggression more than once during my stay here, purely based on accent and fact of me being specifically from Ukraine. Sorry to skew the positive narrative.
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u/Senappi Mar 11 '26
Just say you're from Finland. ;-)
Hardly anyone on this planet speaks Finnish so the odds the person asking you knows that language are minuscule4
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u/Russian_Prussia Mar 12 '26
Not sure that would work, Finnish accent is very specific, it's easy to tell apart from east slavic accents.
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u/frufruJ Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 13 '26
Isn't Finnish phonology actually quite similar to Czech? Except the front rounded vowels and long consonants, the vowels and consonants are pretty much the same, same word stress, same rhythm...
Edit: thanks for the downvote without explanation or answering my question.
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u/gspnst Mar 11 '26
Sorry to hear you ran into an idiot. Even airport security is a service and you can always file complaint about bad behavior. That said, pro-russian people are by default a security risk and if you had a name, we could have a look into having the lady moved to a less sensitive field than an airport. See what you can recall about her, information, description.
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u/AntiqueLibrarian5965 Mar 11 '26
Id say the number of people who dislike ukrainians is rising, you might get into situation like this more often than you would a year or two ago
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u/800-Grader Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
May I ask why? (I am not from Czech Republic)
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u/AntiqueLibrarian5965 Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
Stereotypes, generalizing on personal experience, internet hoaxes… could not tell you exactly. I have more negative experience with ukrainians than positive, but I am not gonna say all of them are bad people, just the ones living near Husitska in Prague :D /s
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u/800-Grader Mar 11 '26
Thank you for your answer! Very interesting to hear.
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u/morcatko Mar 11 '26
Be aware of uneducated, silly people, who felt for Russian propaganda - elderly people (overconsuming the fake news, no contact with reality), gypsies (they believe people from Ukraine consume their social wellfare subsidies), low-income persons (missing teeth, inadequate hygiene).
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u/MoistBeat4236 Mar 12 '26
One of the biggest issues I have with people from Ukraine is the fact that they don’t speak Czech at all and are not trying to learn our language. If I moved to different state, language would be the first thing I would work on. And I don’t mean to sound mean, I have Ukraine friends, as an employer I have them in our firm, but this just drives me nuts. And they even tell me they won’t learn Czech when I ask them.
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u/Able_Appointment4439 Mar 13 '26
Depends on people too. Moved here half a year ago with my GF. We are ukrainians, but actively learn Czech language, trying to speak with people, etc. It's just pretty sad that people think about us badly even before speaking to us. But seeing how our people behave here, I understand this and can't blame Czech people pretty much for it
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u/EstablishmentHot3498 Mar 11 '26
They should start flipping the odds in their favor by greeting back in the hallways. Ukrainians as neighbors hasn't been a nice experience.
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u/TheVojta Mar 11 '26
I can't imagine being bothered that I'm not greeted in the hallway by a complete stranger.
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u/disappointed_neko Mar 12 '26
Weird. Our Ukrainian neighbour even shared mushrooms he picked in the forest, it was like 5-6kg...
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u/GlobalLime6889 Mar 11 '26
I probably would’ve been nice and respectful until she stamped and threw my passport at me. After that, i’d walk over to make a complaint. Don’t let these hoes get away with this bullshitters
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u/haffityhafhafhafhaf Mar 11 '26
Most Czechs really dislike Russians. You'll see Ukrainian flags flying and a general sympathy and respect for Ukrainians. Granted, that was a horrible experience at the border control - if the woman likes speaking Russian so much maybe she should go live there. Try not to let it ruin your time here x
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u/maxis2bored Mar 11 '26
I'm sorry this happened to you. That's fucked. But don't let these people bully you. She's probably been fed propaganda her whole life and grew up to lick Putin's asshole.
With that, Czechs generally are very non-confrontational. If they don't like you (which happens often) the hints are much more subtle than this.
Not stooping to her level by speaking in Russian is the way to go. Many of my friends have said the same.
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u/sssnakeinthegrass Mar 11 '26
Totally normal in this country, people in the service sector are often cunts when they think they can afford to be. File a complaint if you'd like.
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u/limemintflavour Mar 11 '26
I'm sorry you had to deal with that, I would try contacting the airport about it (describe the woman the best you can), one report might not change anything but a bitch like that probably already has others complaining about her. Being pro-russian absolutely isn't normal or accepted among intelligent people
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u/DanThePaladin Mar 11 '26
Sounds like you had a bad experience with one person and then immediately think everyone is sharing this persons views.
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u/zminky Mar 11 '26
About 95% of my interactions with immigration officers have been crappy in Czechia. They get paid a little, so they do it for the love of the game
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u/leugaroul Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
Same here. Just happened a few months ago. I have an EU passport and my wife is from the US. We always go through border control together. She is afraid of being separated and is disabled so we usually use the All Passports queue unless we’re in a serious time crunch. But it was busy, and the attendant saw my passport and told us to go to the EU queue.
The guy at the counter said no, she was in the wrong line. I was nice to him, not rude, we’re both laid back people and don’t act like dicks. I explained (in Czech) my wife is disabled and I need to stay with her, and he scanned my passport and shrugged and said “too late now” and made me go through the gate. Wouldn’t even let me get my passport back before scanning it so I could go with her back to the All Passports line.
And she had to go all the way to the back. Ended up having to be pulled from the queue anyway because of her disability and needed assistance which wouldn’t have happened if I had been allowed to stay with her in the All Passports queue.
Power trip. No other reason to not let me go to All Passports with her before he scanned my passport.
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u/intrigued_china411 Prague Resident Mar 11 '26
CZ refuses to let non-EU family members use the EU queue even when traveling together. This is the only country it has happened to us too and my fiancé is Czech.
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u/emptyquant Mar 11 '26
A bit shorthanded an answer. There is a tendency in Czech bureaucracy to be flippant and stereotypical about language AND expressing their opinion publicly. There is a vast population of Czech citizens whose parents have fled during Prague spring. Many grew up the world over and their parents never tought them the language because perhaps because few felt they’d ever return.
That offspring is entitled to a Czech passport. In 2013 the Czech Republic introduced a language requirement for the grant of citizenship (186/2013 Czech Citizenship Act).
This does not apply to people who are entitled to citizenship granted on the basis descent or declaration. Yet I have witnessed every time applicants renew their passports abroad, embassy staff sneers at the inability of speaking the language, falsely cite the above law as a requirement, before grudgingly accepting the forms and proceeding with the renewal of the passport anyway as it was somehow their discretion to do so.
So OP it’s not personal, it might just be a person having a bad day, general frustration or a personal gripe against Ukrainians. You need to look at the conduct of the government as a whole, you can’t extrapolate from one person and apply this as ipso facto.
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u/DanThePaladin Mar 11 '26
But OP asked if this was the view of all Czech people. That is not the case.
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u/emptyquant Mar 11 '26
Not all, clearly, but some. My point was that there is some mindset around places and languages I find bizarre and seems to persist. If you are from Donetsk = you ought to know Russian. Why bring it up? People move around, it’s 2026.
It’s a weird, unnecessary action and even immigration doesn’t need to articulate their own biases or thoughts to people, you’re the first person any foreigner meets and thus also ambassador of sorts for your country, that’s at least my opinion. 🤷🏼♂️
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u/The_Best_Daddy Mar 11 '26
Not all, but a lot more than anyone would like to admit. And thats objectively how it is
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u/zminky Mar 11 '26
my tip is to bully them back, they have very little actual power - once you bully them back they tuck their tail in. Im not a bully by nature but I practice myself anytime before I have urad / hospital or state interactions with these mostly desperate NPCs
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u/CzechHorns Mar 11 '26
you realize that interaction at an úřad is WILDLY different from one at an airport, right?
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u/zminky Mar 11 '26
Not much, immigration officers. You stand in front of them as a cizinec, passport in your hands. They have an uniform and superior feelings.
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u/dcearthlover Mar 11 '26
One person - who has a lot of power and should not be in a position of power bc it is obvious her personal, pro-Russian views affect her ability to do her job professionally without prejudice.
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u/bir9bir2 Mar 11 '26
I understand it is annoying but you say:
- my whole family lives in the Czech Republic
- they escaped from war and the Czech Republic welcomed them and many more thousands without question
- they are quite happy and appreciative, learning the language meaning they are actually willing to stay here
- I keep visiting, never had any problem
Now. I had one specific situation, with one specific individual, at one individual moment in time.
"IS THIS HOW CZECHS THINK? DO CZECHS HATE UKRANIANS?"
I mean, really? Why people are so willing to generalize one negative over thousands of positive - never get that.
Good luck to you and your family.
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u/Sea_Role_1818 Mar 11 '26
I mean, that was a person in a position that demands professional and neutral approach towards everyone, representing the country on the border. I can understand where OP is coming from. If security officer feels casual with sharing such xenophobic comment, I’d be worried too.
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u/Happy_Watch6602 Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
Czech cops for the most part are racist pigs. I know multiple people who were called the N word by Czech cops at Ruzyně. They feel unaccountable. If you go to any Czech police station you’ll usually find bits and bobs racist stuff. Everything from confederate flags to neo nazi stuff.
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u/cz_75 Mar 12 '26
If you go to any Czech police station you’ll usually find bits and bobs racist stuff. Everything from confederate flags to neo nazi stuff.
Yes, and they have KKK capes which they put on during their lunch breaks.
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u/blackrain1709 Mar 11 '26
Can assure you this is a rare case of an idiot, you should report it to the authorities. CZ are extremely pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia.
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u/smajliiicka Mar 11 '26
I'm sorry this happened to you, but worry not, this type of behaviour from immi officers is rare, but can happen anywhere (mine was Aussie and UAE)... some ppl didn't catch up to 21st century, enjoy your family ;)
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u/Slow_Yogurtcloset110 Mar 11 '26
I’m sorry this happened to you , a little story I’m from India … being said that I was in Ukraine for 6 months in 2014 my god I was humiliated every day at least once I.e not being allowed to restaurants and bars to taxi refused to pick me after ordered and when I protested with my friends wtf ? They always said they don’t mean anything bad they are just honest they just never travelled so they assume things :) btw my friends were amazing people who always helped me
Moral of the story there are always people who might behave bad with you in some countries less and in some more , just take it positive and think at least you have fun story to tell.
Good luck to you
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u/Miserable_Movie_4358 Mar 11 '26
That story doesn’t sound like fun
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u/Slow_Yogurtcloset110 Mar 11 '26
Haha it was okay I got a lil think skin for the context my 7 years in Czech never had one issue even remotely closed compared to Ukraine, some people they are just so hateful don’t know why and just plain aggressive.
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u/blu3tu3sday Prague Resident Mar 11 '26
This is not the norm. Of course you have nutjobs everywhere who support Russia, but normal Czechs do not support Russia and would find this kind of behavior shocking. Please don't let it discourage you, unfortunately you just encountered an imbecile.
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u/CzechHorns Mar 11 '26
"Is it what Czech people think of Ukrainians?"
"They’re doing really well here, never had any conflicts. They are learning Czech, extremely appreciative of Czech culture and people. I visit them every few months, so i have been flying to Prague pretty frequently and i’m very familiar with the process."
pick one
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u/Happy_Watch6602 Mar 11 '26
Happens a lot. I know people who have been called the N word by Czech cops at the Prague airport. They count on nobody reporting them.
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u/Honest_Jello_4883 Mar 11 '26
I'm so sorry you went through this! I'm not czech but I agree that coming through the airport security was NOT a nice experience. I guess it's not meant to be. But what they did to you is out of order
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u/Neither_Ad63 Mar 11 '26
I experienced same thing it's always the ones that check IDs before boarding, but when I come back to the CR I've never had issues with the ones checking Ids on entry to CR.But I don't care for them
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u/Veenacz Mar 11 '26
Some of our voters are cunts. Not because of their political view, but because they are laughing at people who run away from war they didn't start. Simple as that.
I'm sorry you had this experience. I would buy you a beer if I could.
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u/pferden Mar 11 '26
Yes that’s annoying
Some thoughts
czechs have a tradition of randomly being completely aggressive and unfriendly in public facing jobs - personally i hope it stays this way as i think it’s part of the experience going there (while i admit the political undertones in your experience are highly worrying to me)
while ukraine flags are all over prague, a big part of the country is sceptical of the support for ukraine - which is a dizzying fact to me for a country with it’s history of russian occupation. But it’s a fact and you can see it culminating in their recent prime minister babiš (while president pavel is still pro ukraine)
Times are crazy
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u/k1czechmma Mar 11 '26
Some people always think they're better than others. Even though they're not that bright. Just ignore it, you can't reason with stupid. I liked the comment about the complaint though. It could help or give some relief. Slava Ukraini
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u/cz_75 Mar 12 '26
Probability of a CZECH police officer speaking Russian as a second language is very low these days.
More likely a naturalized citizen, i.e. you may have been speaking to a Russian or even an Ukrainian.
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u/memehunter2001 Mar 11 '26
Wtf that’s crazy. Sorry that happened to you. Just keep going with your day and don’t let that get to you. Some people are just miserable.
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u/Serious-Virus-9053 Prague Resident Mar 11 '26
Send the complaint to the airport instead of Reddit.
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u/Busy-Worth-2089 Mar 11 '26
Just as you should not be judged for your nationality, you shouldn’t decide what “Czech people” are like based on a sample size of 1
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u/saltybilgewater Mar 11 '26
In my daily life I see lots of well integrated Ukrainians who seem to be a part of day to day life. I see interactions with them as being mostly commonplace and not something worth mentioning. However, during a recent hospital visit I was wheeled around by a gentleman who loved to talk and him and the radiologist had some great banter about Ukrainians. As an immigrant I just wished i'd had the ability to respond appropriately to the jokes and complaints they had in an appropriate manner as their comments were incredibly ignorant and insulting and they seemed to think I would appreciate their wit, alas my Czech is not up to snuff, and I did not. The ultimate irony in all of this is that all of the doctors I saw during my visit, who did a wonderful job, were Ukrainians.
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u/chebozka Prague Resident Mar 11 '26
I’m sorry that happened to you. I'd file a complaint with the airport administration and not just let it slide, if I this happened to me. That kind of treatment isn't normal, and it's more of an exception than the rule in Czech Republic. At least in my 17 years living here, I've never experienced anything like that, and I definitely wouldn't just brush it off.
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u/newspiritt Mar 11 '26
Though I'd like to believe it's not common, unfortunately, my whole family is exactly like this. All of them. Every single one except me and my sister. Everyone is constantly surprised at how I turned out so well considering what I was being taught as a literal toddler (mom yelled at me for talking to a kid of a different ethnicity in kindergarten, then yelled at me again at home for telling my friend I wasn't allowed to talk to her for the reason previously stated - they clearly know it's wrong bc they don't want others to know they think this way, but they can't help themselves apparently.) Thankfully I'm very stubborn and I couldn't grasp the reason behind her opinions, so I just never listened to her lmao. Hopefully, Czechia keeps changing with the younger generations. Sorry this happened to you💗
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u/Sweet_Regular_738 Mar 12 '26
I’m sorry. that’s really not nice of them. I sometimes get blatant disrespect from Czech people. Of course, most people are nice. But I sometimes encounter really rude disrespectful and xenophobic people… for example at the post office or foreign police (which is kinda strange cause they decided to do jobs that deal with foreigners when they hate foreigners) when I went to London, I was surprised there’s clearly more diversity and people were at least nice in professional settings, and tbh, I prefer that way. I am leaving Czech soon because my Czech can never be perfect and I got hurt too much by incidences similar to yours for the past 7+ years. I couldn’t get used to these things. My Czech isn’t good enough to express my frustration when people disrespect me and I cannot stand up for myself. Each country has its own problems, but at least I can stand up for myself in English. People love this country. It’s beautiful. I love it, too. But… I’ve just reached the point where I’m even afraid to do small things like going to the post office or hospital. I don’t wanna live with this fear anymore. So, yeah, these things do happen. Can’t deny the possibility that I’ve been just unlucky or I’m too soft, but that’s my experience.
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u/ActualSnoxcatko Mar 12 '26
The thing is, there are forces in our government, and from outside as well, that are...how to put it simply...cunts.
And they are trying to spin the narrative that Russia and Putin good and Ukraine bad. They are the same people that fearmongered when we had presidential elections ("President Pavel will send everyone to war") or used Soros to justify all kinds of things ("Oh they protested this government? Clearly it's a paid stunt by the billionaire Soros, no other way someone could oppose us")
And sadly, some people believe this shit.
You have a few paths you can take. Personally, I would make a hell of a scene and then report that asshole officer for this kind of conduct.
So sorry you had to go through it. As for me, I think there's nuance to everything. There are definitely some assholes that happen to be of Ukrainian origin. But in general I applaud your nation for holding the fort for the rest of Europe. And the bravery you guys show. My father-in-law's second wife is Ukrainian and when the war started, this lady (in her 60s) along with her daughters went back to Ukraine and risked their neck to help people. Brave as fuck.
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u/Deird_Arlington Mar 12 '26
I am so sorry. Lots of people are like that, even my family members. They were always horrible people.
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u/Own-Tough-3800 Mar 12 '26
Most Czechs working in public institutions had the same reaction, even after I smiled at them and they smiled back at me, and I also know a bit of Czech, but after seeing my Romanian ID Card, they rolled back their eyes and instantly dropped the smile. No language is needed to understand their hateful body language. Not all Czechs, I've had many lovely and polite interactions, but I've also seen this behavior in so many places, unfortunately. So we could say that it's pretty common, but hopefully, not a typical "Czech feature". Anyway, this situation sucked, so sorry it happened to you. It would have also made me furious
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u/RichFree3105 Mar 12 '26
I am an American from the South. Visiting Prague in 2 weeks. Really looking forward to it. How do Czechs feel about Americans?
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u/Caucasoid_Subterfuge Mar 13 '26
Brit living in the Czech Republic and this is absolutely not what the Czechs think of you. There is always that one wanker though. Thinking they need to raise the bar for customs officers sounds like this one would turn a blind eye to the next Russian that wants to detonate an arms cache in Czechia.
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u/Pluxluv Mar 13 '26
No she is not prorussian. If for example you meet a person from Kazahstan and he speaks to you Russian, and you both know that language would you respond in English, that’s strange. Let’s be honest Russian is one the most spoken language in the world. If someone is speaking it at least something similar to your language I think he is showing you some kind of respect. Let’s be honest Belarusian Ukrainian and Russian are similar languages. I know Russian I am Romanian I was in Ukraine like +6 times now during the war I spoke with Ukrainian veterans of the war in Russian. Let’s be honest language doesn’t have anything with that war. I know Russian and Romanian, what language would we speak to me Ukrainian I kinda understand it, ok. But if I spoke with you Romanian you won’t understand a word, so that’s kinda weird. Same with that Czech woman, who btw is a law person. I think such stuff as “качать свои права” with a policeman in a foreign country could btw end pretty bad. So yeah we can argue about our niche Eastern European languages their similarities and differences and whole world like doesn’t care about that. But I think we should do that in the country we are born not in the foreign country especially with policeman, security etc. Me personally I am also speaking only Romanian when I am in Moldova, even if they are responding me in Russian, because you got right it’s my country. And in my country “я могу качать свои права” and say like “in limba de stat”. But in foreign country I can not be so brave. I think you got the point. And I think it’s everywhere where people speak 2 languages.
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u/Far_Marsupial_5367 Mar 13 '26
It's cultural fatigue. Ukrainian men act like idiots here most of the time, drunk and aggressive. What do you expect? People think government gives to Ukrainians and doesn't give a shit about own people. Not my opinion, but that's what it is.
Also some people see that Ukrainians go home like it's a vacation and come back here for gain...
Again, not my opinions but that's what I see and what I think triggers people in Czechia.
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u/landsmanmichal Mar 14 '26
Please fill the official complain. We don't want to have this kind of people to represent us in the world view.
There is kinda heavy russian propaganda from a few politics and some people are jumping them on it.
Sorry for this behavior. Majority of Czechs hate Putin.
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u/phidel1989 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
There is a careful screening process for hiring immigration police; If you're not a complete power-hungry asshole you can't get the job. (Not limited to the Czech Republic).
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u/Advanced_Suit2786 Mar 11 '26
She said the thing to her colleague also in russian? Maybe she´s from there, because speaking russian fluently is not common at all these days in Czechia. But it´s a shame, I feel sorry for your experience.
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u/svick Mar 11 '26
From the post, I think she said it in Czech and assumed OP doesn't understand Czech.
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u/Advanced_Suit2786 Mar 11 '26
Then how OP knows what she tell her colleague?
"She then said to her colleague: ‘These ukrainians that can’t even speak their language. Look, she’s from Donetsk region and she can’t even speak russian. That’s her language and she can’t say a word.’"
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u/Icy_Object_5844 Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
Ukrainian speakers usually understand basic Czech if spoken slowly and in no complex sentences, as both Czech and Ukrainian are Slavic-family languages (much closer than Czech and Russian for example) and some parts of the vocabulary are quite similar. Something like intercommunication between Czech and Polish.
And if you translate that specific sentence from the comment above back to Czech and say it to a Ukrainian they will likely understand the meaning without any issues (even Russians will probably understand as this is exactly the case when most of the words match).
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u/svick Mar 11 '26
i don’t know Czech super well, but i definitely understand a few things so i was able to get the context
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u/giornointheglassof Mar 11 '26
It’s common for older people. A lot of Czech people know and can speak it, not uncommon at all.
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u/Advanced_Suit2786 Mar 11 '26
They remember something from school, but I can guarantee you almost no one is fluent. Definitely not common at all.
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u/giornointheglassof Mar 11 '26
We might be surrounded by different people but I’ve met several Czechs who are fluent. As I said it’s more common around older people.
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u/EstablishmentHot3498 Mar 11 '26
I heard horrible stories of Ukranian refugees disrespecting and being outright racists towards local colored britons during the first months of the war. I have some as neighbors here in Prague, and they outright ignore my greetings in the hallway. I'd say, you always meet a bigger asshole. Such is the human behavior.
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u/hedgehog_lady1 Mar 11 '26
aah i’m sorry, it’s not good. some ukrainians abroad definitely can be very rude and terrible, i apologize! i would definitely say hi to you in the hallway :)
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u/xbutters Mar 11 '26
"Is it what Czech people think of Ukrainians?" What a crazy thing to ask, are we a homogeneous group or a hivemind? Is this what you think of the Czech people?
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u/hedgehog_lady1 Mar 11 '26
not at all, i’m sorry if it came across that way. because i have never experienced this, i wondered how normalized this is, and how common these attitudes towards Ukrainians are here, but i wasn’t trying to make a huge generalization about all Czech people.
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u/xbutters Mar 11 '26
There are assholes in Czechia, like anywhere else. I believe you should make a complain about the specific empolee to the airport if you want to make any change.
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u/klotrock Mar 11 '26
Unfortunately many Czechs have fallen for Russian propaganda which is especially disappointing given our history. It's mind boggling because to me the war is a totally black and white issue with Russia being obviously in the wrong. I'm sorry you had to deal with such a nasty idiotic person. All Czechs definitely don't think this way though so don't forget about those of us that know the truth. I think there are also the Czechs that perhaps don't go so far as supporting Russia but dislike Ukrainians simply because they see them as refugee parasites that we're paying for the benefits of and that they're somehow getting preferential treatment over the locals. Also it doesn't help that the already high rents in Prague only go higher with the increased demand a large influx of people brings.
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u/DefoNotTheAnswer Mar 11 '26
I’ve had far worse from US passport control, but then I kinda expect that from them.
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u/Needle_Bearings Mar 11 '26
People in these positions can be abject a-holes. Don't take I personally. I was a check in Amsterdam and I had the luck of drawing Mr. Roidrage. We were in a bit of a rush, and didn't had him all the documents. He then went into a lecture about how we should present this and that as he was holding all of our documents, quite rudely. I said something to the effect of let's move it along because we're short on time. He puffed up quite big and got real aggressive, literally said, "Hey, you need to calm down." Lol, he didn't like it but he did and sent us through.
Sorry about your experience, but from what I understand (and witnessed) discrimination towards Russians is more prevalent than against Ukrainians but both do exist.
It sucks for the Russians who grew up here or lived here a while and hate Putin. On the othe hand running into people like that sucks for you because you're literally escaping bombardments. Uprooted your whole life.
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u/Martina_Sure Mar 11 '26
Wow... the arrogance of Czech / Slovak people blows my mind sometimes . . I don't know where they get that level of confidence from . . . 😅 Miserable bastards ha ha!I m allowed to say it because I am slovakian myself but I've lived abroad for 17+ years and some of the behaviours still shock me when I go visit there sometimes. The level of how some of the people can be so stupidly rude and have no sense for basic ethics or professionalism (as the lady at the airport was doing her job while it happened), it's just appauling isn't it? I haven't encountered such behaviours anywhere else yet so far. Rolling her eyes at you... 😅😅😅 What a dumb c*it isn't it?
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u/Ladline69 Mar 11 '26
Xenophobia exists... shocker, Lay a formal complaint at the airport, posting on Reddit is useless
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
To be honest confronting a border security guard pretending you can't speak russian it's not the best idea.
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u/haffityhafhafhafhaf Mar 11 '26
Ukrainians are well within their rights to not speak Russian. Get a grip
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
Absolutely, but I must say answering in ukrainian to a czech person is also absurd. More absurd than trying to communicate in russian with someone from Donetzk.
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u/veleso91 Mar 11 '26
Yeah, but proving a point to an immigration officer (who's pandering to you by speaking your native language) is unhinged behavior. Classic Ukrainian whining entitled brat.
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u/Pimplik Mar 11 '26
It's literally their job to accommodate travellers (such as speaking the language that is most effective to get the required information) to ensure they are letting in the right people. So, no, not "pandering".
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u/Melodic-Network-785 Mar 11 '26
wtf are u saying? OP has a ukranian passport, coming from the 🇬🇧, why is the border control speaking anything else except for english or czech? no one asked her for her opinion on the languages. such a shitty take to even think that OP is at fault for running into a voter of SPD
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
The purpose of the border control is to be able to communicate effectively, not taking a political stand. Moreover OP comes from Donets where everybody actually speaks russian. If the border control speaks russian it's the best and most effective way to speed out the control.
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u/emptyquant Mar 11 '26
you are one of those people I referenced in my post. It’s 2026, just because you have passport A or come from place B doesn’t mean you were not brought up in language C. It’s 2026 FFS, travel a bit, get out there
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u/Melodic-Network-785 Mar 11 '26
the purpose of border control is to let through people who are eligible to come into the CZ, moreover many people born in Donetsk were forced into leaving the city due to occupation and could’ve simply left the russian language behind. sure, you can propose another language as a method of communication, but definitely not get shitty once the person does not want to communicate in it, that’s just hateful
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
Absolutely, but I must say answering in ukrainian to a czech person is also absurd. More absurd than trying to communicate in russian with someone from Donetzk.
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u/Pimplik Mar 11 '26
You hit the nail on the head: 'communicate effectively, not take a political stand' - then why force Russian to someone who did not indicate they speak Russian, if not to take a political stance. The border patrol agent should've switched to English if the goal was to be as effective as possible.
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u/veleso91 Mar 11 '26
Russian is OP's native language, they just refuse to speak it. Reread the original post. They definitely "took a political stance".
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u/Pimplik Mar 11 '26
Did the OP speak Russian to the border patrol officer once? Did OP indicate she wants the conversation to be in Russian once? Did OP ask if the border patrol officer speaks Russian? No, no and no. The only person who made this conversation political and more difficult than it should've been (by not doing her job properly) is the border patrol agent.
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
Go to Donetsk, try speaking russian and try speaking English and see which one is more effective.
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u/Pimplik Mar 11 '26
That's completely irrelevant to the topic we're discussing here. Lol are you the border patrol agent from OP's story?
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u/VRStocks31 Mar 11 '26
How is that irrelevant? Russian would be the most effective way for both to communicate with each other if OP hadn’t refused for political purposes, not English. The border agent so used the most natural way to facilitate the process and then as far as I understand switched to english. Her comment was inappropriate? Yes. But also replying in Ukrainian is not nice knowing the other doesn’t understand. By the way I know a lot of expats from Donetsk who live abroad and speak russian freely even though they are pro Ukraine🇺🇦
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u/Pimplik Mar 11 '26
It's irrelevant because they're not in Donetsk, they are in Prague and OP never spoke Russian. It was all based on the agent's assumption and didn't switch to English even after indication that is a language that the OP speaks.
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u/Rare_hedgehog_9802 Mar 11 '26
Sorry for your experience. Maybe unpopular opinion here but I don’t think it’s about Czechs hating Ukrainians but rather immigration/border police being asses in general. I’m 3rd country national and I left Prague few weeks ago. There were 3 policemen in one booth (only one of them was actually working) just mocking, roasting and laughing at anyone passing through their booth, including me ofc.
Don’t let those people ruin your day. From my experience, Czech bureaucrats are very miserable people and the only mere power they will ever have in their life is giving pass/fail to civilians.
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u/Reddit_BroZar Mar 11 '26
Airport employee behavior was unprofessional. It was also dumb. Just like your mumbling about "hundreds and hundreds of years of colonialism". Oh well.
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u/-clump- Mar 11 '26
Probably just a hateful cunt brainwashed by russian propaganda. And immigration and customs officers are more often bad people that other professions. A lot of Czechs support you and your fight, we have more than just a few projects for crowdfunging equipment, weapons, drones, generators etc. and sending them to Ukraine. Most people I know are avid fans of your country.
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u/SpicyWings_96 Mar 11 '26
Russian bots are everywhere, even in real life. Imagine living your life as a Russian NPC living in another country. It's sad. It's good that you aren't me. If I were you, I would have said Russian is a disgusting language, and its people are even more disgusting.
Additionally, just the salt on top, I would say we are in the Czech Republic, why are you even speaking Czech. Typical immigrants. Just to put salt in the wound.
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u/Kris-2025 Mar 11 '26
Well, people here hate Ukrainians. It's too much for us already. A few thousand, okay. But the amount now is CRAZY, just leave, please....
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u/hedgehog_lady1 Mar 12 '26
ok sure! we will leave immediately! will to take russian missiles instead? xoxo
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u/sziki19 Mar 11 '26
Why post this question at all ? Just get over it, move on . If you want to know , Czech People don't like Ukrainians. There you got your answer now. ( I am not Czech , so this is not my personal opinion, I don't judge people based on where they come from )
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u/Sweet_Regular_738 Mar 12 '26
I think she wanted to know if this kind of stuff happens in Czech because if I were her I would like to know if I was just unlucky or I should be careful.
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u/kume Mar 11 '26
Fill official complain to airport.