[3] The encounter became a symbol of the resistance of the people of Prague against Warsaw Pact forces during the invasion of Czechoslovakia.

The leadership of the Soviet Union initially attempted to stop or limit the changes in the Czechoslovakia through a series of warnings.

One of the first targets was Czechoslovak radio, which broadcast uncensored information about the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops and called for Passive resistance to the occupiers.

Vladimír Fišer, Eva Kopecká, Věra Šťovíčková, Jiří Dienstbier, Ondřej Neff and others spoke to the audience from the radio.

[4] A crowd of about five hundred people gathered in front of the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic, but it was still occupied by Soviet soldiers, who opened fire on the demonstrators.

In the afternoon, gunfire could be heard from the Vinohradská třída and houses near Hajnovka were on fire, with the radio under control of Soviet forces.