Image File history File links Czechoslovakia_COA_small_2. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 was the culmination of the long struggle of the Czechs against their Austrian rulers and of the Slovaks against Hungarisation and their Hungarian rulers. ... Czechoslovakia in 1928 The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague. ... The Munich Agreement and the first Vienna Award After the Austrian Anschluss, Czechoslovakia was to become Hitlers next target. ... During World War II, Czechoslovakia disappeared from the map of Europe. ... // In February 1948, when the Communists definitively took power in Czechoslovakia, the country was declared a peoples republic — a preliminary step toward socialism and, ultimately, communism. ... The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia is a general term for the dissolution of the former country of Czechoslovakia into the nations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, effective January 1, 1993. ...

Velvet Revolution

Main article: Velvet Revolution

Non-violent protesters face armoured policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: , Slovak: ) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ...

Background

Although in March 1987 Gustáv Husák nominally committed Czechoslovakia to follow the program of perestroika, he nevertheless cautioned the party in October 1987 not to "hasten solutions too quickly" so as to "minimize the risks that could occur." (December 1, 1987) Gustáv Husák (January 10, 1913 Dúbravka (today part of Bratislava) - November 18, 1991 Bratislava) was a Slovak politician, a long-term Communist leader of Czechoslovakia and of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

On December 17, 1987, Husák, who was one month away from his seventieth birthday, had resigned as head of the KSC. He retained, however, his post of president of Czechoslovakia and his full membership on the Presidium of the KSC. Husák's resignation was caused by failing health and by increasing ambitions of the party members Miloš Jakeš, Ladislav Adamec and Vasil Biľak, which became apparent since the spring of 1987. Miloš Jakeš, who replaced Husák as first secretary of the KSC, was sixty-five years of age at the time of his assumption of the most powerful post in the country. Other than the age difference and the fact that Jakeš is a Czech whereas Husák is a Slovak, there was little to distinguish the new leader from his predecessor. In his first pronouncements as the head of the KSC, Jakes assured the KSC's Central Committee that he would continue the cautious and moderate path of reform set forth by Husák. He called for a large-scale introduction of new technology as the means to "fundamentally increase the efficiency of the Czechoslovak economy." But he also warned that there would be no "retreat from the fundamental principles of socialism," adding that the party had learned well the "lesson from 1968-69 and know[s] where such a retreat leads." At the same time, Jakeš acknowledged Soviet pressure for reform by pledging to pursue economic restructuring, stating that "just as Soviet Communists, we too must observe the principle that more democracy means more socialism." The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana ÄŒeskoslovenska (KSÄŒ) was a political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. ... MiloÅ¡ JakeÅ¡ on communist party on May 1st, 2006 MiloÅ¡ JakeÅ¡ (born August 12, 1922 in ÄŒeské Chalupy near ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice) was General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1987 until 1989. ... Ladislav Adamec was a Czechoslovakian Communist political figure. ...

The Czechoslovak version of perestroika, which had slowly taken shape during the last months of Husák's rule under the guidance of the reformist and pro-Gorbachev Czechoslovak leader Premier Lubomir Strougal, called for a modest decentralization of state economic administration but postponed any concrete action until the end of the decade. The slow pace of the Czechoslovak reform movement was an irritant to the Soviet leadership. Economically, however, it was surely partly due to the fact that on the one hand there were no serious economic problems at the standard-of-living level in Czechoslovakia as opposed to e. g. Poland, the Soviet Union and Hungary, and on the other hand the catastrophic initial effects of the reforms in the Soviet Union and Hungary could already be seen in the late 1980s. A corroboration of this might be the fact that Gustáv Husák, before his resignation in 1989 (see Velvet Revolution), told to the newly appointed anti-Communist government they can expect very difficult years to come. The dissatisfaction of many ordinary Czechs and Slovaks was increasing, due to the rigid political situation, lack of freedom, but mainly because they could see on foreign TV channels in some regions (German in frontier Bohemia, Austrian in southwestern Slovakia (incl. the capital Bratislava)), and in the late 1980s in all regions due to a gradual spread of videorecorders, the way of living in Western Europe and in the USA. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ; Pronunciation: mih-kha-ILL ser-GHE-ye-vich gor-bah-CHOFF) (born March 2, 1931), was leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. ... Non-violent protesters face armoured policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: , Slovak: ) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Nickname: Location of Bratislava within Slovakia Coordinates: Country Slovakia Region Bratislava Region Districts Bratislava I-V City parts 17 city boroughs Cadastral areas 20 cadastral areas First mentioned 907[1] Government  - Type City Council  - Mayor (Primátor) Andrej ÄŽurkovský[2] Area  - City 367. ...

In December 1987, some 500,000 Catholics of Czechoslovakia have signed a petition for religious freedom. It was the biggest petition of the opposition forces in central Europe.

The first anti-Communist demonstration took place on March 25, 1988 – the Candle demonstration. An unauthorized peaceful gathering of some 2,000 (other sources 10,000) Catholics in the Slovak capital Bratislava, organized by the Slovak Catholic dissent and demanding religious freedom and civic rights, was violently dispersed by the police force. Some 100 participants were arrested. Leading Communist functionaries (e. g. the Slovak prime minister, minister of the interior, minister of culture) were observing the whole operation from the windows of a nearby hotel (Carlton). The Candle Demonstration (in Slovak sviečková demonštrácia) on 25 March 1988 in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia was the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against communist regime in Czechoslovakia. ...

Demonstrations also occurred on October 28 1988 (the anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918) in Prague, Bratislava and some other towns. Interestingly, the establishment of the "capitalist" Czechoslovakia on October 28 only became a public holiday in September 1988 in the Communist Czechoslovakia. Further demonstrations followed in January 1989 (death of Jan Palach on January 16 1969), on August 21 1989 (Soviet intervention in 1968) and on October 28 1989 (see above). Nickname: Motto: Praga Caput Rei publicae Location within the Czech Republic Coordinates: Country Czech Republic Region Capital City of Prague Founded 9th century Government  - Mayor Pavel Bém Area  - City 496 km²  (191. ... The memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc in front of the National Museum Jan Palach (August 11, 1948 – January 19, 1969) was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. ...

The Revolution

The anti-Communist revolution started on November 16 1989 in Bratislava, with a demonstration of Slovak university students for democracy, and continued with the well-known similar demonstration of Czech students in Prague on November 17. November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ...

Following the Velvet Revolution

Following the Velvet revolution, Czechoslovakia's parliament (the Federal Assembly) on November 25, 1992 voted to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia starting on January 1, 1993. Non-violent protesters face armoured policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: , Slovak: ) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

From creation to dissolution – Overview