The Velvet Divorce is a journalistic term for the dissolution of the former country of Czechoslovakia into the nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, effective January 1, 1993. // Historical settings to 1918 Main Article: Origins of Czechoslovakia 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. ... 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. ... This article is part of the article History of Czechoslovakia The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague. ... == On the same day, Hitler met with Chamberlain at Berchtesgaden and demanded the swift return of the Sudetenland to the Third Reich under threat of war. ... 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). ...

The term is used to liken this event to the Velvet Revolution of 1989 which led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the formation of a new, non-Communist government. The term itself did not catch on either in the Czech Republic, nor in Slovakia, but it is used by the international media. The Velvet Revolution (Czech: samatová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 - December 29, 1989) refers to a bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa (KSČ) was a political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. ...

History of the separation

In economic terms, the Czech Republic's GDP was some 20% percent higher than Slovakia's, but its long-run GDP growth was lower. Money transfers from the Czech budget to Slovakia, which had been the rule in the past, were stopped in January 1991. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Many Czechs and Slovaks desired the continued existence of a federal Czechoslovakia. A slight majority of Slovaks, however, advocated a looser form of co-existence or complete independence and sovereignty. In November 1992, for example, a poll found that 49% of Slovaks and 50% Czechs were against the move, while 40% of Slovaks favored it. The poll also found that 41% of Czechs and 49% of Slovaks said the question should have been put to a referendum. The word federal in a general sense refers to the nature of an agreement between or among two or more states, nations, or other groups to merge into a union in which control of common affairs is held by a central authority created by and with the consent of the... ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

Ultimately, the country's fate was decided by politicians. In 1992, the Czech public elected Václav Klaus and others who demanded either an even tighter federation ("viable federation") or two independent states. Vladimír Mečiar and other leading Slovak politicians of the day wanted a kind of confederation. The two sides opened frequent and intense negotiations in June. On July 17, the Slovak parliament adopted Declaration of independence of the Slovak nation. Six days later, politicians decided to dissolve Czechoslovakia at a meeting in Bratislava. Václav Klaus (born 19 June 1941) is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. ... Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text here:This article is about the legislative institution. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The goal of negotiations switched to achieving a peaceful division. On November 25, the federal parliament adopted the Constitutional law on the end of existence of Czechoslovakia, which stated that with the expiry of December 31, 1992, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic shall cease to exist and provided for the necessary technical details. November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

The separation occurred without violence, and was thus said to be "velvet", much like the "Velvet revolution" which preceded it, which was accomplished through massive peaceful demonstrations and actions. This contrasts with the often-violent breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Velvet URKA DUREK is a type of tufted fabric in which the cut threads are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it its distinct feel. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Macedonian and Serbian Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ...

Both countries were admitted to the European Union in 2004. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Division of national property

Most of federal assets were divided in the ratio 2 : 1 (the approximate ratio between the Czech and Slovak population within Czechoslovakia), including army equipment, rail and airliner infrastructure. Some minor disputes (e.g. about gold reserves stored in Prague, federal know-how valuation) lasted for a few years after dissolution. The public in both countries was fairly uninterested in these disputes and their outcome.

Currency division

Initially the old Czechoslovak currency was still used in both countries (monetary union). Fears of economic loss on Czech side caused the two states to adopt two national currencies as early as 8 February 1993. At the beginning the currencies had an equal exchange rate, but later on, for most of the time, the value of the Slovak koruna was lower than that of the Czech koruna (up to cca 30%, in 2004 around 25%-27%). In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency among them, for example, the East Caribbean Dollar. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 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). ... This article deals with the currency of modern Slovakia. ... The Koruna (English translation Crown) is the currency used in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Consequences

Citizenship

Dual citizenship was originally not allowed; only years later did courts make it possible. Only a handful of people have exercised this right. Since both countries are EU members now, this issue has become superfluous.

People of both countries were allowed to cross the border without a passport and were allowed to work anywhere without the need to obtain an official permit (this was used mainly by Slovaks working in the Czech Republic).

Economy

The dissolution had some negative impact on the two economies, especially in 1993, as traditional links needed to accommodate the bureaucracy of international trade were severed, but the impact was considerably lower than expected by many people. 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). ...

The hopes that dissolution would quickly start an era of high economic growth in the Czech Republic (without the need to "sponsor the less developed Slovakia") proved plainly wrong or highly exaggerated. Also, the hope of a stand-alone, unexploited Slovakia becoming a new "economic tiger" was partially unfounded. The Slovak GDP level is still lower than that of the Czech Republic; the growth of the Slovak GDP, however, has been consistently higher than the Czech one since 1994 and Slovakia may enter a period of economic boom. 1994 (MCMXCIV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Language contacts

In the former Czechoslovakia, the first television channel (see Mass media in Communist Czechoslovakia) was a federal one and the Czech and Slovak language was used in equal ratios in the TV news there, although foreign films and TV series were almost exclusively synchronized in Czech, for example. This made almost all people of both nations naturally bilingual, without problems in understanding the other language (the two languages being very close anyway). After the divorce the new TV channels in the Czech Republic practically stopped using Slovak, so that young Czech people now have a much lower understanding of the Slovak language. The Czech TV news, however, recently started to reintroduce Slovak-language coverage from Slovakia. Also, the number of Slovak-language books and newspapers sold in the Czech Republic dropped drastically. In Slovakia, however, most cable TV providers offer Czech TV channels, and for economic reasons, many TV programmes on Slovak TV channels are still synchronized in Czech, some films in cinemas are subtitled in Czech and there are far more Czech-language books and periodicals on the market than before the divorce. Young Slovak people still have the same knowledge (if not a better one) of the Czech language as their predecessors. This article is part of the article Czechoslovakia. ...

Roma (Gypsies)

One of the problems not solved during dissolution was the question of a large number of Roma living in the Czech Republic, who were born and officially registered in today's Slovakia. Most of them didn't re-register their official place of stay during the months before dissolution and the question of their citizenship was left open. The Czech law allowed a grant of automatic citizenship only to those without a felony record and this reportedly excluded a rather large percentage of Roma. Slovakia quite naturally did not want to grant citizenship to people not living there and seen as problematic. The issue dragged on for years and in the end the existing state was codified. This is the current Article Improvement Drive collaboration! CAST YOUR VOTE for next weeks article Tzigane redirects here; for the composition by Maurice Ravel, see Tzigane (Ravel). ...

Conclusion

After a transition period of roughly four years, during which the relations between the states could be characterised as a "post-divorce trauma", the present relations between Czechs and Slovaks, as many people point out, are probably better than they have ever been.

No movement to re-unite Czechoslovakia has appeared and no political party advocates it in its programme. Political influences between the countries are minimal. Trade relationships were re-established and stabilized. After a short interruption, Slovakia's mountains are again the target of a growing number of Czech tourists.