History
- Main articles: History of Czechoslovakia, History of Czechoslovakia 1948–1989 and 1989–1992
With the exception of the Prague Spring in the late 1960s, Czechoslovakia was characterized by the absence of democracy and competitiveness with the Western European nations as part of the Cold War. In the religious sphere, atheism was officially promoted and taught. In 1969, the country became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic.
Under the federation, social and economic inequities between the Czech and Slovak halves of the state were largely eliminated. A number of ministries, such as Education, were formally transferred to the two republics. However, the centralized political control by the Communist Party severely limited the effects of federalization.
The 1970s saw the rise of the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia, represented (among others) by Václav Havel. The movement sought greater political participation and expression in the face of official disapproval, making itself felt by limits on work activities (up to a ban on any professional employment and refusal of higher education to the dissident's children), police harassment and even prison time.
In late 1989, the country became a democratic country again through the Velvet Revolution. In 1992, the federal parliament decided to dissolve the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as of 1 January 1993.
Read more about this topic: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“The basic idea which runs right through modern history and modern liberalism is that the public has got to be marginalized. The general public are viewed as no more than ignorant and meddlesome outsiders, a bewildered herd.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)