Velvet Revolution - Velvet Revolution The "Velvet Revolution" refers to a comparatively bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. It started on November 17, 1989 when a peaceful student demonstration in Prague was severely beaten back by the communist riot police. That event sparked a popular uprising that prompted people to take to the streets. By November 20 the number of peaceful protestors assembled in Prague swelled from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. Then with other communist regimes falling all around it, and with growing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 they would give up their monopoly on political power. Democratic elections held on December 29, 1989 brought the first non-communist government to Czechoslovakia in.
Revolution - Revolution Other uses of the term: Revolution, a movie; Revolution (The Beatles); Revolution (band); Revolution (geology); Revolution (physics); rpm (revolutions per minute); orbital revolution; Revolution (Multimedia software); Revolution Studios A revolution is a relatively "sudden and momentous change in situation"[1]. This may be a change in the social, economic and/or political institutions of a region over a relatively short period of time -- social and political revolutions -- or a major change in the economic structure of a society, such as the Industrial Revolution, sometimes called a technical revolution. Social and political revolutions can both be characterised by violence, and the vast changes in power structures that result can often result in further, institutionalised, violence, as in the Russian and French revolutions (with the "Purges" and.
Jiri Mucha - but was arrested the following year by the country's new Communist government because he had served in the British military. Released from prison in 1953, he devoted himself to his writing and to publicizing his father's art, spending most of his life overseas. Living in Paris at the time of the Velvet Revolution, which brought down the communist regime, he returned to Prague, where he died two years later, in 1991. Apart from his biographical works about his father, Mucha's works have received little attention in English. They include (in Czech): Spálená setba Studené slunce Podivné lásky.
History of Czechoslovakia - to the call for political reform. Democratic centralism was redefined, placing a stronger emphasis on democracy. The leading role of the KSC was reaffirmed but limited. Slovaks pressed for federalization.. On January 5, 1968, the Central Committee elected Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak reformer, to replace Novotny as first secretary of the KSC. On March 22, 1968, Novotny resigned from the presidency and was succeeded by General Ludvik Svoboda. Dubcek carried the reform movement a step further in the direction of liberalism. After Novotny's fall, censorship was lifted. The media--press, radio, and television--were mobilized for reformist propaganda purposes. The movement to democratize socialism in Czechoslovakia, formerly confined largely to the party intelligentsia, acquired a new, popular dynamism in the spring of 1968 (Prague Spring). Radical elements found expression: anti-Soviet polemics appeared in.
Gerald Bull - Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment (CARDE). In the post-war era CARDE was researching supersonic flight, and Bull suggested the use of a "sabot" type artillery gun to shoot models to supersonic speeds instead of using an expensive supersonic wind tunnel. The system was built and used for research on CARDE's Velvet Glove missile, but when this project was cancelled in 1956 the system fell out of use. Bull then moved on to hypersonics research in the field of ballistic missile defense (ABM's), primarily the study of IR and radar cross-sections for detection. Bull was very outspoken (and tactless) and generally detested by most people at CARDE. However his abilities were obvious, and he was eventually promoted to head of the Aerophysics department of CARDE in 1958. Here he continued to.
Economy of the Czech Republic - energy presently provides about 25% of total power needs, and its share is projected to increase to 40%. Norway (via pipelines through Germany) and Russia also supply the Czech Republic with liquid and natural gas. The principal industries are heavy and general machine-building, iron and steel production, metalworking, chemicals, electronics, transportation equipment, textiles, glass, brewing, china, ceramics, and pharmaceuticals. Its main agricultural products are sugarbeets, fodder roots, potatoes, wheat, and hops. The "Velvet Revolution" in 1989 offered a chance for profound and sustained economic reform. Signs of economic resurgence began to appear in the wake of the shock therapy that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) labeled the "big bang" of January 1991. Since then, astute economic management has led to the liberalization of 95% of all price controls, annual inflation in.
Eduard Shevardnadze - (non-voting) member of the Soviet Politburo. He remained fairly obscure for a number of years, although he consolidated a reputation for personal austerity, shunning the trappings of high office and travelling to work by public transport rather than using the limousines provided to Politburo members. His chance came in 1985 when the veteran Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko, resigned. Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to the post, thus consolidating Gorbachev's circle of relatively young reformers. He subsequently played a key role in the détente which marked the end of the cold war. He was credited with helping to devise the so-called "Sinatra Doctrine" of allowing the Soviet Union's eastern European satellites to "do it their way" rather than forcibly restraining any attempts to pursue a different course..
1980s - topples the country's Communist regime. Gorbachev introduces Glasnost and Perestroika in the Soviet Union Fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany, preparing the way to German reunification Velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia Revolution in Romania, execution of Ceausescu Assassination of John Lennon and Olof Palme, attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. Reaganomics Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism dominate British politics. Falklands War Britain fights off Argentine invasion of Falkland islands in 1982 Political correctness President Tito of Yugoslavia dies. In Europe, rise of right wing parties (Le Pen in France, Schönhuber/Republikaner in Germany, Haider in Austria), parallel to a rise of Green parties. Bulletin board system popularity Popularization of personal computers Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hits theaters Release of Americans held hostage in Iran Iran-Iraq war from 1980.
1989 - on a secret five-day military mission. August 18 - Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galan is assassinated near Bogota in Columbia. August 19 - Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be Prime Minister, thus becoming the first non-communist in Polish power in 42 years. August 20 - In Beverly Hills, California, Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their wealthy parents to death in their family's den. August 23 - Baltic Way, uninterrupted 600 kilometre human chain, in which two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, then still occupied by the Soviet Union, joined hands to demand freedom and independence. September 15 - The Sega Genesis is released in the rest of North America October 9 - An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the.
1967 in music - hearing the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. May 12 - Pink Floyd stages the first ever quadrophonic rock concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall, England March 27 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney are awarded the Ivor Novello award for the song "Michelle," the most performed song in Britain in 1966 March 31 - For the first time, Jimi Hendrix sets his guitar on fire during a concert in London. This later would become a trademark of Hendrix's performances. He is taken to hospital suffering burns to his hands. June 16-18 - The Monterey International Pop Festival, the first large scale outdoor rock music festival. June 25 - The Beatles perform "All You Need Is Love" for the Our World television special, which was the first worldwide television broadcast..
Alexander Dubcek - to resign, Dubcek became the new First Secretary on January 5, 1968. The period from March to August 1968 is termed the Prague Spring, Dubcek attempted to liberalise the government and allow "socialism with a human face". Dubček was careful enough to attempt to reassure the Soviets that he was still friendly to Moscow, arguing that the reforms were an internal matter. The Prague Spring ended on August 21, when Soviet forces entered Prague. Dubček urged the people not to resist before he and other key reformers were seized and taken to Moscow where they were forced to accede to Soviet demands. Dubček was returned to Prague on August 27 and retained his post as First Secretary for a while.In April 1969 Dubček lost the Secretaryship and was made ambassador to.
Alexandre Dumas, pčre - and his young son returned to Normandy, it was at a time when slavery still existed, and the boy suffered as a result of being half black. In 1786, Thomas-Alexandre joined the French army, but to protect the aristocratic family's reputation, he enlisted using his mother's maiden name. Following the Revolution in France, the Marquis lost his estates but his mulatto son, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, distinguished himself as a capable and daring soldier in Napoleon Bonaparte's army, rising through the ranks to become a General by the age of 31. General Dumas married Marie-Louise Elizabeth Labouret and in 1802 she gave birth to their son, Alexandre Dumas, who would become France's most commercially successful author. General Dumas died in 1806 when Alexandre was only four, leaving a nearly impoverished mother to raise.
The Panthéon - had a commanding view of the city. The overall design was that of a Greek cross with a massive portico of Corinthian columns. Its ambitious lines called for a vast buidling 110 metres long by 84 metres wide, and 83 metres high. No less vast was its crypt. The foundations were laid in 1758, but due to financial difficulties, it was only completed after Soufflot's death (1780) by his pupil, Rondelet, in 1789. Completed at the height of the French Revolution, the new Revolutionary government ordered it to be changed from a church to a mausoleum for the interment of great Frenchmen. Twice since then it has reverted to being a church, only to become again a temple to the great men of France. Among those buried in its necropolis are.
Ceský Krumlov - on the weekend of summer solstice in June. The whole downtown area is cleared of traffic and turned into a "medieval" town again, brimming with craftsmen, artists, musicians, and local people dressed in costumes ranging anywhere from peasants to members of the court and nobility. Various activities such as jousting, fencing, historical dance performances, and folk theatre plays take place all over the town including the castle, local park, and the river bank. The festival is concluded by a spectacular firework show above the castle. Krumlov is also a great place to try Czech food. Over 80 restaurants have been established in the area since the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Among the best known ones belong Don Julius, Papa's, the tavern Marketa in the Castle gardens, the pub Na louzi, and.
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia - denounced, and was named KSC first secretary in April 1969 and president of the republic in July 1975. Above all, Husak has been a survivor who learned to accommodate the powerful political forces surrounding him. Other prominent conservatives who remained in power in 1987 included: Lubomir Strougal, premier of Czechoslovakia; Peter Colotka, premier of the Slovak Socialist Republic; Jozef Lenart, first secretary of the KSS; and Josef Kempny, chairman of the Czech National Council. These leaders generally supported the reforms instituted under Dubcek during the late 1960s but successfully made the transition to orthodox party rule following the invasion and Dubcek's decline from power. Subsequently, they adopted a more flexible stance regarding economic reform and dissident activity. Opposed to the conservatives within the KSC leadership were the so-called hard-liners: Vasil Bilak.
Czechoslovakia - Hungary received southern Slovakia, and Slovakia and Ruthenia received an autonomous status for a while. Finally Czechoslovakia ceased to exist in March 1939, when Hitler occupied whole Czechia and (the remaining) Slovakia was forced to declare independence. After World War II, the pre-war Czechoslovakia was reestablished, the Germans were expelled from the country and Ruthenia was given to the Soviet Union. Three years later the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power (1948-1989) and the country got under the influence of the Soviet Union. Except for a short period in the late 1960’s (Prague Spring) the country was characterized by missing democracy, promotion of ateism, and relative economic backwardness compared to Western Europe. In 1969, Czechoslovakia was turned into a federation of Czechia and Slovakia. In 1989, the country became a democratic.
Czechoslovakia: 1987 - 1992 - we too must observe the principle that more democracy means more socialism." The Czechoslovak version of perestroika, which had slowly taken shape during the last months of Husak'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.
Czechia: 1918 - 1992 - Second Republic (1938 - 1939) and German Occupation (1939 - 1945) 3 The National Front (1945 - 1948) 4 The Communist Régime (1948 - 1989) 5 The Prague Spring 1968 6 The Velvet Revolution 1989 The First Republic (1918 - 1938) With the collapse of the Hapsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, the independent country of Czechoslovakia was formed, encouraged by, among others, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Despite cultural differences, the Slovaks shared with the Czechs similar aspirations for independence from the Hapsburg state and voluntarily united with the Czechs. The Slovaks were not at the same level of economic and technological development as the Czechs, but the freedom and opportunity found in an independent Czechoslovakia enabled them to make strides toward overcoming these inequalities. However, the gap.
Slovakia - part of Austria-Hungary prior to 1918. In that year Slovakia joined with the regions of Bohemia and neighbouring Moravia to form Czechoslovakia. Following the break-up of that country after the Munich Agreement of 1938, Slovakia became a separate republic that would be tightly controlled by Nazi Germany. Post World War II Czechoslovakia was reinstated and came under the influence of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact from 1945 onward. The end of communist Czechoslovakia in 1989 during the peaceful Velvet Revolution also meant the end for Czechoslovakia as a whole and a creation of two successor states; Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways after January 1, 1993. Slovakia is expected to become a member of the European Union in May 2004. See also: Bratislava - History, and.
Pravda - 1912 (other Pravdas existed before that however, the newspaper was shut down several times on the Pre-Revolution times), it was a publication of the Soviet Communist Party and, as such, it became a state-owned newspaper. In August 22th 1991, a decree by Boris Yeltsin shut down the Party and seized all of its property, including the Pravda. Its team of journalists did not struggle for their newspaper or for its history. Instead, they registered a new paper with the same title just weeks after that. The then-editor Gennady Seleznyov - nowadays a member of the Russian Parliament - , a few months after that, sold Pravda to a family of Greek entrepreneurs, the Yannikoses. The next editor-in-chief, Alexander Ilyin, handed Pravda's trademark - the Order of Lenin medals - and the.
