StB boss Alojz Lorenc says “all dissident groups were significantly infiltrated by the StB; the secret police knew absolutely everything”: like ANO 2011 in fact.


If Babis is the new Havel and ANO the new OF, then who gets to play the part of General Alojz Lorenc? Perhaps he is playing himself?

ANO 2011 is the Czech Republic’s new Civic Forum –at least in its own estimation (see here). This makes Andrej Babis the new Vaclav Havel and his ‘Babis-ists’ the new dissidents, today’s heroes in the struggle to overturn two decades of callous misrule by ODS, CSSD and Miroslav Kalousek.

This is true, in one sense: like the dissidents under Communism, ANO 2011 has indeed been ‘significantly infiltrated by the StB’.

Here is a list of individuals instrumental in re-inventing Andrej Babis as the new Vaclav Havel. All have links to the state security services, either pre- or post-1989. The list is from public records and the Czech media. It is unlikely to be comprehensive. My sincere apologies to those whose names I have overlooked!

Alexander Babis (Andrej Babis’s brother), recruited as an agent just before the Communists were removed in November 1989. His code-name was ‘Mik’.

Jaroslav Cech, leader of ANO 2011 in Harrachov. After completing his post-graduate studies at the faculty of military counter-intelligence, he worked at the Czech State Security College, training spies. After 1989, he worked in counter-intelligence and the military police.

Pavel Elias, regional chairman of ANO 2011 in Usti nad Labem. Elias sold his meat processing business to Agrofert in 2013. He is listed as a ‘confidant’ of the Communist state security service. He denies it.

Jan Hermansky, ANO 2011 candidate for the municipal council in Svitavy. He was an StB agent code-name ‘Novak’, tasked with informing on suspicious persons in the textile industry in Svitavy. He denies it.

Petr Jetmar, sometime chairman of ANO 2011 in a district of Prague. In 2013, he ran for the Czech parliament. He ran a rock band called STEP under Communism and was supplying information to the authorities about his fellow musicians and groupies. He denies it.

Roman Karlubik, sometime CEO and chairman of the board of Duslo after it was acquired by Agrofert in 2005. He later became vice chairman of Agrofert Holding. Today, he is president of the Slovak chemical and pharmaceutical industries association. He is listed as a Communist state security agent.

Radmila Kleslova, head of ANO 2011 in Prague. From 1988 to 1990, she was a Communist counter-intelligence officer tasked with recruiting and training spies in the West. She does not deny it.

Joseph Kubu, sometime senior manager at Agrofert. Before 1989, he served as a Communist secret agent in Vienna and Berlin, all the time reporting to the KGB.

Mikulas Rakovsky served as a counter-intelligence agent in Petrimex from 1979. He is on record as saying in a meeting with an officer of Communist state security in 1982 that Babis was a "young and ambitious worker who has some practical experience with commercial work." Never was a truer word uttered by a trained liar.

Karel Randak is the former head of the Czech foreign intelligence service. He has played an essential role in legitimising Andrej Babis’ entry into politics and in burnishing Babis’ credentials as a crusader against corruption. He does not deny it.

Zdenek Ricar was an ANO 2011 candidate in municipal elections for Prague 1. He is a sponsor of the political movement. He is listed as ‘confidant’ of the Communist state security service. He denies it.

John Schneider is a journalist at Ceska pozice, a news server owned by Andrej Babis. From 1990, he has worked in the intelligence services, the police force and as a government official.

Libor Siroky is chairman of the supervisory board of Agrofert. He is a former senior Communist counter-intelligence officer who worked with the KGB to suppress internal dissent. He is the lawyer and he does not deny it –being an expert in repression, I mean, not the lawyer bit.

Ales Sladek was the ANO 2011 candidate for mayor in Prague-Dablice. The record in the Communist security services archive shows that he was recruited while working as a customs officer for the Communist customs administration where he worked from 1984.

Bohumil J. Studynka drew attention to himself by writing a sweet article on Babis’ birthday in September 2014 entitled "Andrej Babis – Man of the Present?" Studynka was a collaborator of the Communist state security. He task was to spread disinformation, under KGB instruction, specialising in financial and monetary policy and international economic relations.


General Lorenc (a professional liar) said yesterday that Vaclav Havel himself was 'under the strong influence of the secret police before November 1989'. Exactly the same, it seems, can said of Andrej Babis today.