Why did Czechoslovakia break up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia? "Velvet Revolution" and the collapse of Czechoslovakia

November 25 will mark 20 years since the last nail was driven into the coffin of Czechoslovakia (or Czechoslovakia as it was called in 1992). The “divorce” of Czechs and Slovaks is still considered exemplary - both against the background of the USSR, and even more so against the background of Yugoslavia. However, the collapse of a single country in in this case might not have happened. Neither the Czech nor the Slovak people wanted this. But politicians ignored their opinion.

Negotiations on the division of Czechoslovakia began in the summer of 1992, their main actors There were prime ministers of two republics - Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar. They can be credited with the fact that the process of disintegration of a single state was peaceful and manageable. Before going their separate ways, the Czech Republic and Slovakia agreed on the border and division of property. There was no large Slovak minority in the Czech Republic or a Czech minority in Slovakia, so the politicians reached an agreement quite quickly.

As a result, on November 25, 1992, deputies of the Federal Assembly approved a law, according to which, from January 1, 1993, the federation ceased to exist. However, in democratic states for such cases a referendum is usually provided. And its results would certainly be unfavorable for politicians. Polls showed that more than 60 percent of the population of both the Czech Republic and Slovakia wanted to preserve the unity of the country. But the politicians, unable to reach an agreement, decided to compromise the will of the Czech and Slovak peoples.

20 years have passed since then. Today, polls show that Czechs and Slovaks have accepted their separate existence. However, to this day, politicians, political scientists, and historians are asking the question: was it even possible to do without the division of Czechoslovakia? Most often, the answer is in the affirmative, and Czechs and Slovaks tend to blame the other side for the demise of the unified state.

As with other multinational countries, there are factors that made its creation possible, and there are circumstances that ultimately contributed to its collapse. Let's start with the similarities. Unlike the USSR and Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, which emerged in 1918, became a union of two peoples whose languages ​​are mutually intelligible. Both among the Czechs and among the Slovaks the majority were Catholics, the minority were Protestants. Where are these two peoples? closer friend friend than the Serbs and Croats, not to mention the Russians, Uzbeks, Georgians, Latvians...

However, Czechs and Slovaks did not live together until 1918. The state of their common ancestors, Great Moravia, collapsed in the 10th century. The Czechs had their own kingdom for almost 700 years, while Slovakia was part of Hungary for a thousand years. The two peoples seemed to have united within the framework of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, however, even within it they were part of different administrative entities. So the Czech and Slovak nations, despite their proximity, were still formed independently of each other.

Their level was also different economic development. The Czech Republic was a developed industrial region 100 years ago, while Slovakia remained a territory with a predominant rural population until the mid-twentieth century. However, the difference was not as great as in former USSR, where Tajikistan and Estonia were, or like in Yugoslavia, where the region of Kosovo and Slovenia were at different poles. And by 1989, when socialism fell in Czechoslovakia as a result of the Velvet Revolution, the difference in the level of development of the Czech Republic and Slovakia had decreased.

Both in “bourgeois” Czechoslovakia of 1918-1938 and 1945-1948, and in the socialist republic of 1948-1989, Czechs played a leading role in politics and economics. At the same time, there were enough Slovaks in the country’s leadership. This includes the prime minister of the mid-1930s, Milan Goggia, and the face of the Prague Spring, Alexander Dubcek, and Gustav Husak, who ruled Czechoslovakia from 1968 to 1989. So Czechoslovakia cannot be considered an exclusively Czech state, and even in Slovakia they do not argue with this.

But the Czechs and a significant part of the Slovak elite had different visions of how the country should be structured. Until the Prague Spring of 1968, at the instigation of the Czechs, the country was a unitary state, where all decisions were made in Prague. The majority of Slovak politicians were not happy with this state of affairs. They demanded federation and the creation of government bodies in Bratislava that were sufficiently independent from the center. Finally, they insisted that the name of the country should be written not in one word, but with a hyphen - Czechoslovakia.

Relation to the largest historical events The twentieth century also did not separate Czechs and Slovaks. Both the “Prague Spring” of 1968 and the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989 were welcomed by the majority of the population of both republics. It is more difficult during the years of World War II, when the Czech Republic was occupied by the Third Reich, and in Slovakia, at its instigation, a state allied to it was proclaimed. However, in fascist Slovakia there was an underground aimed at recreating Czechoslovakia, and the Slovaks are still not particularly proud of such independence.

As soon as socialism fell in 1989 and the country embarked on a democratic path, politicians who demanded greater powers gained strength in Slovakia. As a result, in the spring of 1990, they ensured that the name of the country was written as Czechoslovakia. During 1990-1992 the federation weakened. Gradually, Slovak politicians, who (by their own admission) felt that Prague was discriminating against them, began to insist on turning the country into a confederation. The Czechs objected - they did not want to subsidize poorer Slovakia without having political leverage over it.

At the same time, one should not shift all the blame solely to the Slovak elite, who dreamed of gaining more power. The Czechs also made their mistakes. The last president of Czechoslovakia and the future first president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, closed Slovak military factories, causing an increase in unemployment. And the Minister of Finance of Czechoslovakia, the current President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus refused to allocate the Slovaks additional funds that could cover the costs.

In general, poorer Slovakia experienced the economic reforms that began to transition from socialism to capitalism more difficult, which only strengthened separatism. In addition, as a historical ideal, Czech politicians proclaimed the first Czechoslovak Republic that existed in 1918–1938, where Slovaks had no autonomy. This approach was also grist to the mill of those politicians in Bratislava who wanted to secede.

As a result, different forces won the 1992 elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the Czech Republic it was the center-right Civic Democratic Party led by Klaus, which demanded the continuation of reforms and the preservation of the federation. In Slovakia, Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia gained the upper hand, insisting on confederation and course correction in the economy. So two politicians with diametrically opposed views became prime ministers of two republics.

Having found no common ground, Klaus and Meciar considered it best to proceed with the “divorce.” As the Slovak Prime Minister admitted, they were influenced by the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia that happened a little earlier. Gradually other politicians agreed with them. Slovakia began to adopt its future constitution, and the Czech Republic soon did the same. On November 25, 1992, Czechoslovakia was finally given the death sentence.

But polls showed that the population of the Czech Republic and Slovakia did not want to divide and did not authorize Klaus, Meciar or anyone else to negotiate the collapse of the country. However, supporters of preserving unity did not find a suitable leader who would focus on what unites the two peoples, and does not divide them. He could have become the symbol of the Prague Spring and the Chairman of Parliament Alexander Dubcek - but in the fall of 1992 he died. As a result, the conspiracy of the elites prevailed over the will of the people, and Czechoslovakia sank into oblivion.

Today, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are once again united within the EU and NATO, both of which are recognized as developed countries. There are practically no problems in relations between them; their politicians consider each other their closest allies and partners and emphasize their kinship. The cultural space actually remained common. And such awareness of their closeness in the new conditions once again makes us think about whether the Czechs and Slovaks should have separated at all. They had a much greater chance of maintaining unity than the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

WITHOUT IRON CURTAIN

"Without iron curtain" is a large project by SB's own correspondent in the EU, Inessa Pleskachevskaya. The first country of this project was the former GDR, materials about which can be read here:

Today we are starting to publish new project material dedicated to the former Czechoslovakia.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: A COUNTRY THAT NO LONGER EXISTS. Part 1.

In the revolutionary 1990s, not only Soviet Union disappeared from the map. The world in which many of us were born and grew up is long gone. A generation has been born that does not always know that we were one country with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (and were even happy together), and with Poland and Czechoslovakia we were in the same “camp.” Socialist. Czechoslovakia also no longer exists. Many in the Czech Republic and Slovakia regret this.

While preparing this material, I made sixteen big interviews, and many of those with whom I spoke were sure: behind the collapse of the federal state were the ambitions of two politicians - the then prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar, and the main victim of the “velvet divorce” (so called because of its bloodlessness ) became the President of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, who actively opposed division. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia disappeared, two countries appeared on the map: the Czech Republic (population 10.5 million people, GDP per capita almost 20 thousand US dollars) and the Slovak Republic (population 5.4 million people, GDP per capita slightly more than 18 thousand US dollars). “But if we were a single country, we would be more respected in the world!” both Czechs and Slovaks say dreamily today (but mostly Slovaks).

During meetings and interviews in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we talked about this and much more: about the wild nineties (yes, they had them too - with coupon privatization, overnight millionaires and oligarchs, dying industry) and how they compete whether the Czech Republic and Slovakia are in the world today.

An interesting observation: organizing an interview in Slovakia turned out to be much easier. People (politicians and businessmen included) were more willing to make contact, seemed more frank, and almost everyone confessed their love for Belarus.

History changes all the time

It is almost hopeless for a journalist to meet today with the first Prime Minister of independent Slovakia, Vladimir Meciar (one of those two who, in the opinion of many, “ruined” Czechoslovakia): he does not give interviews to the Slovak and Czech media. I already encountered this when I did an interview with the last Secretary General SED Central Committee Egon Krenz: he does not give interviews to German journalists, but we were still able to talk to him. Inspired by this, I decided to test the “five handshakes theory” in practice. It worked!

Vladimir Mečiar was Prime Minister of Slovakia three times and served as acting president twice. What Slovakia has become today is largely thanks to him. On parliamentary elections In 2010, the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, which he headed, did not enter parliament for the first time. Vladimir Meciar sang (literally) a farewell song to his colleagues and left, as he himself said, “to meditate in the forests.”

Today he lives in the small resort town of Trencianske Teplice. It was not immediately possible to find the house of the former prime minister: we got lost among the streets scattered across the picturesque hills. They stopped and asked passers-by: “How to get to Vladimir Meciar?” Everyone knew and was willing to explain. It seemed to us that the townspeople were proud of his neighborhood and loved him, despite the fact that the official attitude towards him was much more complex. However, the attitude towards a figure of such magnitude is never simple.

When the Velvet Revolution began in November 1989, did you think that in a few years Slovakia would become independent? What were your expectations and dreams then?

This revolution, which was later called the Velvet Revolution, had several stages. At first it was democratic socialism, democracy in socialism. Then things went differently. Some steps of the federation were directed against the Slovaks. For example, we had a very developed industry - the production of weapons. Vaclav Havel, without consulting anyone, went to the United States and said: “We’ll stop it.” But they stopped only in Slovakia. 100 thousand unemployed stood here from morning to evening, no one knew what to tell them. Unemployment rose to almost 20%. The Czechs thought that they were working for us, we thought that we were giving to them. Many of those reforms were not in favor of Slovakia. And in the Czech Republic the mood was like this: if the Slovaks are unhappy, they want more money for the social sphere, we will be better off without them. And we said: thank God, we will be alone. In Czechoslovakia, of course, there was some decentralization. We had some regional bodies, but without influence and power. Health care, schools, culture, small trade. But all the central authorities were in Prague, we never determined public policy.

Tell me what that feeling was - we will be on our own, we will succeed, we are building a new Slovakia. Was there such a rise?

Where there was no state for 900 years, there was a historical feeling: we want to be independent. Everyone had it. The question of state building is both complex and not. I have no experience, but I have great inspiration. We created everything in 10 months. There was no building, no employees, no currency, no experience, it was necessary to select people who were willing and able. How many times has this happened: you invite a person and say: if you are a minister, look for a building, people, in two months there should be results. And all this was done very, very quickly, the population grew convinced that we could live alone, that we should not be afraid of such a step. Before that, there was a lot of talk that there would be a war, we couldn’t survive it economically, the leadership had no experience - they scared people.

- Who?

We had, for example, great opposition in the person of the US Secretary of State, who was from Czechoslovakia...

- Madeleine Albright.

And she criticized us so much! (A grin appears on Vladimir Meciar’s face – I.P.’s note). The Council of Europe decided that in three years there would be no Slovakia. But, thank God, more than twenty years have passed, and we still exist. We need to cooperate with the people, and there will be results. Accept help from abroad, but above all do it yourself. And then everything went very quickly. Transition from federal to national currency – two weeks. Entering the international foreign exchange market – six months. But for another six months no one even wanted to talk to us. This was the most difficult moment: isolation through the financial sphere. But we survived. The whole world accepted us politically, we rejoiced. But there were no longer two centers in the world, there was only one left, which said: “I won!” And to the one who wins, everything belongs. You had to learn to live with this, and it wasn't easy. We received loans from the IMF, but it turned out that not only the money must be returned with interest, but there are also political conditions: they want to govern us. Was very important question ownership: almost all industries passed into private hands, primarily foreign ones. There was the issue of integration, crisis, inflation, insolvency - everything happened.

Vladimir Meciar falls silent, takes a sip of coffee and carefully places the cup on the saucer. I am silent, quiet, I can hear the porcelain clinking. It is clear that he has already thought about all this many times, but has not spoken too often.

When this all started, there were a few basic principles. The first is political: create a state, establish contacts abroad. The second is economic: there was a big crisis. The socialist system no longer existed; something new had to be built. Economic cooperation was very difficult: everything fell apart, there was nothing to pay, there were no goods, everything had to be rebuilt. True, everyone saw this restructuring in their own way: we saw how to make a profit, others saw how to get property. Also - perestroika social system. It had to move from a system of solidarity to the principle of personal responsibility. The question of how to develop in spiritual life was also very serious. How can a society, in which Christians are primarily, be kept on moral principles. We have met neoliberalism. It has some positive things, but not all: it greatly weakens the sense of social solidarity. The main thing in it is not the person, the main thing is the consumer. Which means: your value is in how much you buy. There is a lot of moral darkness in such relationships.

- The person behind this is not visible.

Can not see. People begin to be valued by the way they look, and this is very bad. National development, the economy has restructured to the point that we need to listen to what they say in Washington. And never be against it. They say in Brussels – don’t be against it. We had a case when we disagreed with something, sent a member of the government for clarification, and they told us: “It doesn’t matter what you think, it will be as we say.” (Smiles bitterly). The question is not that we want to be in solidarity, but that we must. There were steps that disgraced us. The Americans bombed Serbia through the territory of Slovakia - this was allowed by the government that came after me. We were in shameful wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, these were wars of “solidarity”. The same thing is happening now in Ukraine. This is not a question of truth, but of politics, power and influence.

- Tell me, can small countries like Slovakia influence decision-making in the European Union?

To the extent that the power of the state. But we no longer have such economic power. There is an internal difference between states, for example: we completely opened our labor market, but we had to wait several years for it to be opened for us. Regarding agriculture, we were told: you will wait ten years until you receive subsidies, like in other countries. This means that our agriculture has been uncompetitive for ten years. Partners from the European Union, where there is large production (and large subsidies), attacked our market with low prices and kept them for three years. And when our producers couldn’t stand it and left, they raised prices. There was great damage to agriculture due to this policy.

- What are the main problems in Slovakia today?

The main problem in the economy is unemployment. A lot of people work abroad. And the point is not that they can leave, they have to, because there is no work at home. Official data says 12-15%, but in fact every fourth person is unemployed. It happens that parents leave their children to the elderly and, one in one state, the other in another, meet once or twice a year during the holidays. The second problem is that all banks, all key industries - energy and others - have passed into the hands of foreign owners. We have no control. The capital that arises here is exported abroad, and we then receive part of it as EU assistance. But if he stayed here, our economy would be better off. At one time, we accepted those investment proposals that were tied to cheap labor. But then the price work force began to grow, investors move on - they look for where it’s cheaper. Investors are interested in profit, and let the state decide social issues. But it is weakening, losing some of its leadership tools when it accepted a monetary union with Europe. The further development of Slovakia depends not only on us. The unipolar world created by the USA is heading towards its crisis, there is a desire to create a multipolar world, there is a huge struggle in politics and economics. Whether she will become “hot” - I don’t know.

- But such a possibility cannot be excluded?

Depends on the approach of the United States. They don't want to give up power. The second is what Europe will be like: will the European Union endure the fact that there is a super-rich north and a poor south, and the south will continue to lag behind. All recipes boil down to one thing: I’m tightening my belts. But this is not development: money flows, but unemployment rises. But Europe ends not at the border of Slovakia, but at the Urals. There are many who lived well during cold war, they still need an enemy today.

It so happened that many politicians who came to power on the wave revolutionary movements in the early 1990s, quickly left. Is it a historical process that the politicians who led the country to independence are leaving?

Historical experience says that many pay for this not only politically, but also physically. I left politics in 1998.

- Was it a difficult decision?

It’s hard when you feel responsible for what you do, it’s like responsibility for a child. And it’s very hard inside. But then, when you see that you are losing influence, it is better to quit, accept negative role and leave.

- Now, looking back, do you think that something should have been done differently, acted differently?

I must say honestly: I wouldn’t do anything differently. Why. There was certain information that I received. I always wanted to do the right thing, honestly. There were many crisis situations. If you have time to analyze, that’s one thing, but what if you need to solve a problem within a few minutes and don’t have time to analyze? Call someone, ask questions? Others didn't really want it. The Communist Party was broken, Czechoslovakia was broken, new relations were created. Who where? Whose? So to say today that I would behave differently - no, under the same conditions I would accept the same right decisions and would make the same mistakes. You might think: I would be different. No, I'm mine. Was and is. You can say: it was bad, and it was unprofitable. But to give the correct answer, you have to be much further away from everything. Many steps will appear in 20, 30, 50 years, and then it will be clear whether it was right or not. It's hard to answer now. I think I worked conscientiously and for the benefit of the Slovaks. Historically, this was a time of great significance. We can like it or not. Let's see how the next generation evaluates us.

And, smiling slyly, he adds: “It’s only clear what will happen in the future, but history changes all the time.”

With communist greetings

The emblem of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is two red cherries on a branch. This symbol seems a little lightweight to me, or something, but Vojtěch Filip, leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and vice-speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, explains: “The cherry is a symbol of the Paris Commune.” Today the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia has more than 50 thousand members. In the last parliamentary elections, it received almost 15% of the vote and won 33 seats (out of 200) in the Chamber of Deputies. So the communists in the Czech Republic are a serious force.

Thanks to hard work and dedicated members. There were economic and political difficulties. They tried to ban us several times. The last time was in 2009. But I then told the Minister of Internal Affairs: try it. There is a decision of the European Court in connection with the Turkish Communist Party. The Turkish Communist Party, when it was banned, won in the European Court, and the state had to pay the party 3.5 million euros. Do you want to ban us? Try it, but it will cost you. So we exist, we accept 800-1000 new members every year.

- What has changed over the past 25 years in the independent Czech Republic? What worked and what didn’t?

What changed? Much. All. But 54% of Czechs and more than 70% of Slovaks believe that things are worse now than they were before 1989. These are official statistics. Why do they think this? They say a lot has not been accomplished. Especially in the social sphere. Healthcare is no longer healthcare, not care, but a service for money. Political parties work for themselves, not for the people. During socialism there was a leading role of the Communist Party, now the Constitution states that there is free competition of political parties. But in reality there is none. There are small groups that have money, television, radio and newspapers. I would talk about mediacracy, not democracy. And this is very dangerous, because it is manipulation of people. In addition, we have a lot of foreign money in the media. You know, we are the heart of Europe, a crossroads. This is both important and difficult. Everyone wants to be in this center, they buy what is good in the Czech Republic. Take privatization, for example. It’s not just factories and factories, foreigners also bought our water, and water is our gold. French, German, and English companies bought reservoirs, water distribution systems, and organizations related to industry and water. The main mistake of privatization was that all factories were sold. There were no people who would start anything new. They sold what they had.

- And they ate the money?

We ate it. And foreigners bought these factories and closed them. This is how the sugar industry was liquidated in the Czech Republic. Many people say that Skoda had a good privatization; it now belongs to Volkswagen. But did this plant really need to be sold? It was Czech, it became German, and the profits go to Germany. But we were once better than the GDR. In the manufacturing, chemical industry, mechanical engineering. And now the Germans have bought everything in the Czech Republic... So there cannot be much joy in the changes after 1989. And in general it was not a revolution at all, but a counter-revolution. And the division of Czechoslovakia was unnecessary; it could not have been done.

-Then why did they split up?

Some people needed the economy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to become such that factories and factories could be bought cheaper. And while we were building the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Europe already had Schengen agreements, it was uniting, and here we were losing money building the border.

- Between fraternal peoples.

Exactly. Then we saw what happened to Yugoslavia, in other countries, and we didn’t want there to be blood here, we wanted to cooperate as fraternal peoples. It was a very difficult time - from 1993 to 2004.

- Who benefited from the fact that Czechoslovakia was divided?

Global banks and international companies that bought our factories. Czechoslovakia would have been stronger as a unitary state. But thanks to the closeness of the Czechs and Slovaks, we separated peacefully and have excellent relations.

- What are the economic problems and difficulties in the Czech Republic now?

The main economic problems are that Europe does not operate as a sovereign. Many European politicians work in the American mainstream.

- Washington regional committee?

- (Laughs) Yes Yes. I call this a central committee session. Europe needs emancipation. Not only the European Union, but throughout Europe. These are the Balkan states, and Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. Without cooperation we lose. Now is the time for the emergence of a multipolar world. The bipolar world was good for the Americans: they only had to talk with the Soviet Union. And now we need to talk with China, and with India, Brazil, and the Arab states. Europe does what America wants. But this is against European interests, against the interests of the Czech Republic.

- Do you mean sanctions against Russia?

Our American friends want to see Europe without our main sponsor, without Russia, and this is scary. Europe without Russia is economically impossible. We won't be able to do anything energetically, because there is no energy here. Norway, by the way, is also not in the European Union, but there is oil and gas there. And Russia, and the Caspian states, and Arab world. Because of American interests, we are against Russia, and from whom will we buy? In terms of energy security, the situation in the Czech Republic is better than in other EU countries. We have up to 50% nuclear energy, coal. Americans want Europe to have problems so they can win economically.

During socialism, many countries did not like the fact that they did not feel completely independent. Now that the Czech Republic is a member of the EU, it is also not completely independent in its decisions; some powers have been transferred to EU bodies. What are the similarities and differences?

You know, the former CMEA was an intergovernmental organization, and the EU is a supragovernmental organization, where the sovereignty of the state is humiliated and in the main things sovereignty is transferred to Brussels. The EU stands above the nation, above the people. There is a huge democratic deficit in the European Union. The only democratic institution there is the European Parliament. All the rest are bureaucratic.

- And there are a lot of them.

And they were not elected. Who, for example, elected Tusk? We didn't choose. This complicated thing, the decrease in sovereignty in the process of globalization is, of course, an objective process. But we need the emancipation of Europe, so that European interests come first, and then everyone else. It is in our interests to cooperate with Russia, states in the east, China, Africa, and South America. We see that everything technological processes, Americans hold IT technology in their hands. But if there was cooperation between European technologies and Russian natural resources, we would be invincible.

Young veteran of big politics

If the leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Vojtěch Filip, can safely be classified as one of the “old guard,” then the 34-year-oldChairman of the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Slovakia Robert Madej is a representative of a new generation of politicians. What does not prevent him from being - you will be surprised - a veteran. As a third-year law student at the University of Bratislava, he took part in a competition organized by the SMER-Social Democracy party. “They wanted young people to get more involved in politics,” says Robert Madej. – They suggested: take part in our competition, and whoever wins it will be able to become a member of parliament. I won in 2002." He was then 21 years old and became the youngest member of parliament. But Robert Madej is proud not only of this, but also of the fact that, having become a deputy, he actively defended the preservation of free higher education. So the fact that today Slovaks study at their universities for free is also due to his merit. He has been in politics and parliament for 13 years (he took part in elections four times), he talks a lot, but for a lawyer he has enormous experience.

It wasn't easy at first – says Robert Madej, recalling the first years of Slovakia’s independence.“People had to change their views. Now the activity and responsibility of each individual person are of particular importance. Liberal economics means freedom entrepreneurial activity, and this is an excellent basis for small and medium-sized businesses. In most countries, this is what drives the economy and supports domestic demand and production. For my party, the most important is the social protective function of the state. We are tackling one of the most pressing problems - unemployment. It is influenced by the global economic situation, because Slovakia is an open economy. Since 2009, the euro has been introduced in our country, this has provided currency stability, which protects our small, sensitive economy, but the global economic crisis also negatively affects us.

- In Europe they sometimes talk about the “Slovak economic miracle”. What it is?

Slovaks are very hardworking and humble people. We carried out reforms in the financial sector, entrepreneurship, and eliminated many administrative barriers. We are now part of the pan-European market and we have to compete with developed Western economies. It wasn't easy at first, but I think we're in a pretty good position. In recent years, a lot of people have come to Slovakia foreign investment, we produce the most a large number of passenger cars per capita in the world. Today Slovakia is one of the EU countries with the highest annual economic growth. And we owe this to our hardworking people.

Was the division of Czechoslovakia an objective historical necessity or was it all a matter of someone’s subjective desires? Who benefited from this division and who lost?

During the division of Czechoslovakia I was still a schoolchild, it is difficult for me to express a personal opinion on this matter. However, I can say that Slovaks are very proud of their independent state, we are used to it, and there is no discussion about what should have been different. I appreciate that the separation took place in a peaceful and calm manner. Thanks to joining the European Union in 2004, Slovaks and Czechs found themselves together again; today we don’t even notice when we cross the border. People are very close to each other. It is impossible to say who won and who lost, today we are simply proud of our statehood.

Continuation of the material “Without the Iron Curtain. Czechoslovakia: a country that no longer exists” read on August 22. In it I will tell the story of the survival of Czechoslovak enterprises in the turbulent 1990s, and from an interview with the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) you will learn how Slovakia managed to become the first automotive power in the world.

An important event in the history of modern Europe was the collapse of Czechoslovakia. The reasons for this lie in the political, military and economic situation in the state. Decades separate the Czech Republic and Slovakia from the date of the split. But at present, this issue is the subject of close study by historians, political scientists and other experts.

1968: preconditions for collapse

The collapse of Czechoslovakia occurred in 1993. However, the prerequisites for this event were laid much earlier. On the night of August 20-21, 1968, formations Soviet army, East Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland, with a total of 650 thousand military personnel, invaded Czechoslovakia and occupied the state. An arrest was made management team countries (Dubcek, Chernik and Svoboda). The remaining leaders abandoned collaborationism. The civilian population tried to resist, approximately 25 citizens died at the height of anti-Soviet demonstrations. The leadership of the USSR sought to create a pro-Soviet government on the territory of Czechoslovakia. Under these conditions, the autonomy of Slovakia increased within the boundaries of the new federal state, which was proclaimed in 1969.

Revolution of 1989

By the end of the 1980s. In Czechoslovakia, the population's dissatisfaction with the autocracy of the Communist Party intensified. In 1989, many demonstrations were held in Prague from January to September, which were dispersed by the police. The main protesting force was the students. On September 17, 1989, a large number of them took to the streets, and many were beaten by the police; universities were closed at that time. This event became the impetus for decisive action. Representatives of the intelligentsia and students began a strike. The Union of All Opposition - "Civil Forum" - on November 20, under the leadership of Vaclav Havel, called for mass protest. At the end of the month, about 750 thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Prague and demanded the resignation of the government. The goal was achieved: unable to withstand the pressure, Gustav Husak left the presidency, and many officials resigned. The events of the peaceful change of leadership in Czechoslovakia subsequently became known as the “Velvet Revolution.” The events of 1989 predetermined the collapse of Czechoslovakia.

People's elections

The post-communist elites of the newly formed parts of the state chose a course towards independent existence. In 1989 at the end of December Federal Assembly elected Vaclav Havel as President of Czechoslovakia and Alexander Dubcek as Chairman. The Assembly became a representative body due to the resignation of a large number of co-opted and communist political movements "Civic Forum" and "Publicity Against Violence". Havel visited Moscow in February 1990 and received an apology from the Soviet government for the events of 1968, when Soviet troops carried out an armed invasion. In addition, he was assured that the military forces of the USSR would be withdrawn from Czechoslovakia at the end of July 1991. In the spring of 1990, the Federal Assembly adopted a number of legislative acts allowing the organization of private entrepreneurship, and generally agreed to privatization industrial enterprises state-owned. At the beginning of June, free elections were held, in which 96% of the total number of voters turned out. The candidates of the political movements “Civil Forum” and “Publicity Against Violence” won with a large advantage. They received more than 46% of the popular vote and a majority in the Federal Assembly. In second place in terms of the number of votes received were the Communists, who were chosen by 14% of citizens. Third place was taken by a coalition consisting of Christian Democratic groups. On July 5, 1990, the new Federal Assembly re-elected Havel and Dubcek as chairman for a two-year presidential term.

Split of the Society Against Violence movement

The disintegration of Czechoslovakia was confirmed in March 1991, when a split occurred in the political movement "Community Against Violence", as a result of which most of the separated groups formed the party "Movement for a Democratic Slovakia". Soon, a split arose in the ranks of the “Civil Forum” with the formation of three groups, one of which became the “Civil Democratic Party”. Negotiations between the heads of Slovakia and the Czech Republic were resumed in June 1991. By that time, the leadership of the “Civil Democratic Party” had come to the conclusion that the meeting would not yield positive results, so they turned to considering the “velvet divorce” scenario.

"Hyphen War"

The end of the communist regime in 1989 accelerated the events that triggered the collapse of Czechoslovakia. Leaders from the Czech Republic wanted the name of the state to be written together, while their opponents, the Slovaks, insisted on a hyphenated spelling. Paying tribute to the national feelings of the Slovak people, in April 1990 the Federal Assembly approved the new official name of Czechoslovakia: the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR). The parties managed to come to a compromise, since in Slovak the name of the state could be written with a hyphen, but in Czech it could be written together.

"Czechoslovak Forest"

The collapse of Czechoslovakia was also influenced by the results of negotiations between the prime ministers of the national governments of Slovakia and the Czech Republic - Vladimir Meciar and Vaclav Klaus. The meeting took place in the city of Brno at the Tugendhat villa in 1992. According to the recollections of its participant Miroslav Macek, Klaus took a chalk, a board and drew a vertical line, indicating that at the top there was a vertical state, and at the bottom - division. Between them ran a broad scale, including federation and confederation. The question arose: at what point on this scale was the meeting possible? And this place became the lowest point, which meant “divorce.” The discussion did not end until V. Klaus came to the conclusion that those conditions that were diplomatically favorable for the Slovaks were in no way considered acceptable for the Czechs. The collapse of Czechoslovakia was obvious. Villa Tugendhat became for this state a kind of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. There were no further negotiations to preserve the federation. As a result of the diplomatic meeting, a constitutional act was signed, which established the legal right to transfer the main governing powers to the republics.

"Velvet Divorce"

The year of the collapse of Czechoslovakia was approaching. General elections in the republic took place in June 1992. The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia won more votes in Slovakia, while the Civic Democratic Party won more votes in the Czech Republic. A proposal was made to create a confederation, but it did not find support from the Civic Democratic Party. The sovereignty of Slovakia was proclaimed on July 17, 1992 by the Slovak National Council. President Havel resigned. In the fall of 1992, most government powers were transferred to the republics. At the end of November 1992, the Federal Assembly, by a margin of only three votes, approved the Law, which proclaimed the cessation of the existence of the Czechoslovak Federation. Despite opposition from both the majority of the Slovaks and the Czechs, at midnight on December 31, 1992, both parties came to a decision to dissolve the federation. The collapse of Czechoslovakia occurred in a year that became the starting point in the history of two newly created states - the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.

After the split

The state was peacefully divided into two independent parts. The disintegration of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia had a contradictory impact on further development two states. In a short period, the Czech Republic was able to implement fundamental reforms in the economy and create effective market relations. This was the determining factor that allowed the new state to become a member of the European Union. In 1999, the Czech Republic joined the ranks of the North Atlantic military bloc. Economic transformations in Slovakia were more complex and slower, and the issue of its accession to the European Union was resolved with complications. And only in 2004 it joined it and became a member of NATO.

Plan:

Introduction

• 1. History
  • 1.1 First Republic
  • 1.2 German occupation
  • 1.3 Czechoslovak Republic after the war (1945-1948)
    • 1.3.1 Economic recovery in Czechoslovakia
  • 1.4 Socialist period (25.2.1948 - 31.12.1989)
  • 1.5 Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (CSSR) (1960-1990)
  • 1.6 Collapse of Czechoslovakia (1993)
• 2 Administrative structure
• 3 Political parties
  • 3.1 1918-1939, 1945-1948
  • 3.2 1948-1989
• 4 Demographics
• 5 Religion
• 6 Transport
  • 6.1 Freight transportation
  • 6.2 Ports
  • 6.3 Telecommunications
Notes

Introduction

Coordinates: 50°05′00″ n. w. 14°26′00″ E. d. /  50.083333° N. w. 14.433333° E. d.(G) (O)50.083333 , 14.433333

Nationalities in Czechoslovakia (1930)

Czechoslovakia(Czech Československo, Slovak. Česko-Slovensko (until 1990 - Československo)) is a state in Central Europe that existed from 1918 to 1993 (except for the period of occupation before and during the Second World War). After World War II, it bordered the GDR, West Germany, the Polish People's Republic, Austria, the Hungarian People's Republic and the USSR.

1. History

and History of Slovakia.

1.1. First Republic

Created in November 1918 during the collapse of Austria-Hungary with the active support of the Entente powers. The movement for the recognition of the “Czechoslovaks” as a separate nation and the separation of the Czech lands and Slovakia from Austria-Hungary was led by Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, who was in exile during the war, and elected president of the First Czechoslovak Republic. In 1935, Masaryk was replaced by long-serving Foreign Minister Edvard Benes. Having maintained a multi-party liberal-democratic system and not, unlike many European states, sliding into dictatorship in the 1930s, Czechoslovakia, however, was unable to cope with internal contradictions, primarily national (the issue of the Sudeten Germans and the Hungarians of Slovakia), as well as the aggression of German Nazism, which largely fueled these contradictions.

In the fall of 1938, after the Munich Agreements, Czechoslovakia lost the Sudetenland, which went to Hitler's Reich. The First Republic was replaced by the short-lived and Nazi-controlled Second Republic, led by Emil Hacha, within which Slovakia received broad autonomy (at the same time, on November 2, 1938, according to the first Vienna Arbitration, the southern regions of Slovakia with the city of Kosice and part of Subcarpathian Ruthenia were transferred to Hungary). The Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia was annexed by Poland until September 1939, which soon itself became a victim of Hitler's aggression.

1.2. German occupation

On March 14, 1939, Hitler summoned Czechoslovak President Emil Hacha to Berlin and invited him to accept the German occupation of the Czech Republic. Haha agreed to this and the German army invaded Czech territory with virtually no resistance (the only organized attempt at resistance in the city of Mistek (now Frydek-Mistek) was made by the company of Captain Karel Pawlik).

Column of German soldiers in Czechoslovakia

On March 15, 1939, by personal decree of Hitler, Bohemia and Moravia were declared a German protectorate. Head executive power protectorate was the Reichsprotector appointed by the Fuhrer (German). Reichsprotektor). Konstantin von Neurath was appointed the first Reich Protector on March 21, 1939. There was also a formal post of president of the protectorate, which was held by Emil Gaha throughout its existence. Personnel departments similar to ministries were staffed by officials from Germany. Jews were expelled from civil service. Political parties were banned, and many leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia moved to the Soviet Union.

In exile (London), with the outbreak of World War II, Benes created the Government of Czechoslovakia in exile, which enjoyed the support of the anti-Hitler coalition (since 1941, the USA and the USSR joined it). There is a theory of the continued existence of the Czechoslovak state, according to which all decisions taken on the territory of the country after Munich until 1945 were invalid, and Benes, who was forced to resign, retained presidential powers all this time.

The population of the Czech Republic was mobilized as a labor force that was supposed to work for the victory of Germany. Special departments were organized to manage industry. Czechs were required to work in coal mines, metallurgy and arms production; Some of the youth were sent to Germany. The production of consumer goods was reduced and largely aimed at supplying German armed forces. The population of the protectorate was subject to strict rationing.

Minister of Justice of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Jaroslav Krejciy gives a speech in Tábor, 1942

During the first months of the occupation, German rule was moderate. The Gestapo's actions were directed primarily against Czech politicians and intellectuals. However, on October 28, 1939, on the anniversary of the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia, the Czechs spoke out against the occupation. The death on 15 November 1939 of medical student Jan Opletal, who had been wounded in October, sparked student demonstrations followed by a reaction from the Reich. Mass arrests of politicians began, and 1,800 students and teachers were also arrested. On November 17, all universities and colleges in the protectorate were closed, nine student leaders were executed, and hundreds of people were sent to concentration camps.

In the fall of 1941, the Reich took a number of radical steps in the protectorate. The head of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security, Reinhard Heydrich, was appointed Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Prime Minister Alois Elias was arrested and then executed, the Czech government was reorganized, and all Czech cultural institutions were closed. The Gestapo began arrests and executions. The deportation of Jews to concentration camps was organized, and a ghetto was organized in the town of Terezin. On June 4, 1942, Heydrich died after being wounded during Operation Anthropoid. His successor, Colonel General Kurt Daluege, began mass arrests and executions. The villages of Lidice and Ležaki were destroyed. In 1943, approximately 350,000 Czech workers were deported to Germany. Within the protectorate, all non-military industry was prohibited. Most Czechs submitted and only joined the resistance movement in the last months of the war.

1.3. Czechoslovak Republic after the war (1945-1948)

1.3.1. Economic recovery in Czechoslovakia

Kosice government program of April 5, 1945 in the city of Kosice [ specify] . In the economic part of the program, the government of Czechoslovakia identified several key problems - to quickly restore the national economy devastated during the war, to lay the foundations of a new social policy“in the interests of all layers of the working people,” and promptly ensure the transfer of the property of traitors under the leadership of national assets (the document says “the property of Germans, Hungarians, traitors and traitors to the motherland,” with the exception of German and Hungarian anti-fascists), and implement land reform on the lost land. The government's demand for nationalization of the national economy was not specifically mentioned in the program, but was generally taken into account. Its scope was to be decided only after the liberation of the entire country. This demand was so popular among the population that no one openly opposed it. Reservations of non-socialist parties appeared in the discussion of nationalization of decrees concerning, in the main range of nationalization, speed, the role of cooperatives, as well as some organizational and procedural issues.

1.4. Socialist period (25.2.1948 - 31.12.1989)

The defeat of Nazism in 1945 led to the restoration of Czechoslovak statehood on the former territory (with the exception of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which in the same year was transferred along with part of the Slovak Kraljevokhlmec region (Chop and surrounding areas) to the Ukrainian SSR). Benes became president again. On July 4, 1947, the Czechoslovakian cabinet voted in favor of the Marshall Plan and participation in the Paris Summit. But already on July 7, Prime Minister Gottwald was summoned to Moscow for explanations. Immediately following this, the cabinet of ministers decided not to go to Paris. At the same time, a policy of deportations was carried out - Germans and Hungarians were deported from the country (see Benes Decrees). The economic situation of the country was deteriorating, and the majority of the population directly associated this with the abandonment of the Marshall Plan. With the support of the USSR, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia gained strength, coming to power in February 1948. In the summer of the same year, Benes, who resigned (he soon died), was replaced by the communist Klement Gottwald. The usual Eastern European communist regime was established in the country, which for the first five years was accompanied by repressions modeled on Stalin's. Some liberalization was associated with the almost simultaneous death of Stalin and Gottwald in March 1953 and then with Khrushchev’s reforms in the USSR. Sometimes it came to riots, so on June 1, 1953, in the Czech city of Pilsen, workers of the Skoda factories, dissatisfied with the monetary reform, refused to go to work, and instead took to the streets. Demonstrators seized the town hall and burned the city archives. After minor clashes with police, tanks were brought into the city and demonstrators were forced to disperse.

1.5. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (CSSR) (1960-1990)

Since 1960, the Czechoslovak Republic began to be called Czechoslovak Socialist Republic(Czechoslovakia). In this abbreviation, one word “Czechoslovak” corresponds to two letters - “ Emergency».

Since 1962, the country's economy was in a permanent crisis - five-year plan 1961-1965. was a failure on all counts. In the fall of 1967, protest demonstrations against the government's policies took place in Prague. In 1968, an attempt to reform political system(Prague Spring) was suppressed by Warsaw Pact troops (Operation Danube). On January 1, 1969, a federal division of the country into the Czech and Slovak socialist republics, (Czech Socialist Republic) and (Slovak Socialist Republic), was introduced in Czechoslovakia, by analogy with the republics of the USSR and the SFRY. The next twenty years, when the country was led by Gustav Husak, were marked by a policy of “normalization” (political stagnation with economic stimulation). In 1989, the communists lost power as a result of the Velvet Revolution, and the country was led by dissident writer Vaclav Havel from December 31, 1989 - the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic.

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic 1969-1989

1.6. Collapse of Czechoslovakia (1993)

The fall of the communist regime in 1989 led to increased tendencies of political separation between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The post-communist elites of both parts of the state set a course for independence.

In 1990, the so-called “hyphen war” broke out. Czech politicians insisted on maintaining the previous spelling of “Czechoslovakia” in one word, Slovaks demanded a hyphenated spelling: “Czecho-Slovakia”. As a result of a compromise, on March 29, 1990, the country became officially known as the “Czech and Slovak Federal Republic” (CSFR), the abbreviated name “Czechoslovakia” in Slovak could be written with a hyphen, in Czech - without a hyphen. In Russian, a variant with a hyphen was adopted.

On January 1, 1993, the country peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the so-called velvet divorce occurred (similar to the velvet revolution).

2. Administrative structure

map of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic 1969-1989

The capital is the city of Prague.

Until 1945, Czechoslovakia included the territory of the Transcarpathian region of modern Ukraine. Since 1928, the First Czechoslovak Republic was divided into four lands: the Czech Republic, Moravia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia (since 1938 it was called Carpathian Ukraine). In the Second Republic in 1938-1939, Slovakia and Carpathian Ukraine received the status of “autonomous lands”. In 1949, a reform was carried out and 19 regions were created (14 in the Czech Republic and 5 in Slovakia)

Since 1960, the country has consisted of Central, Western, Northern, Southern, Eastern Bohemia, Northern and Southern Moravia, Western, Eastern, Central Slovakia. Prague and Bratislava, and in 1968-1971 Brno, Ostrava and Pilsen also had equal status with the regions. Since January 1969, Czechoslovakia became a federal state of two socialist republics - the Czech and Slovak republics, each of which in turn was divided into regions. In 1990, the word “socialist” was removed from the names of both republics.

3. Political parties

3.1. 1918-1939, 1945-1948

• Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
• German Social Democratic Workers' Party in Czechoslovakia
• National Socialist Party of Sudeten Germans
• National Democratic Party of Czechoslovakia
• National Socialist Party of Czechoslovakia
• Social Democratic Party of Czechoslovakia
• Czechoslovak People's Party
• Republican Peasants' Party

3.2. 1948-1989

• National Front
  • Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
    • Communist Party of Slovakia
  • Czechoslovak People's Party
  • Czechoslovak Socialist Party
  • Slovak Revival Party
  • Freedom Party

4. Demographics

Population (1991): 15.6 million National composition: Czechs - 62.8%, Slovaks - 31%, Hungarians - 3.8%, Roma - 0.7%, Silesians - 0.3%. Also included were people of other nationalities - Rusyns, Ukrainians, Germans, Poles and Jews.

Natural increase - 2.7% in 1985, 1.7% in 1990. In 1989, life expectancy was 67.7 years for men and 75.3 years for women. 23.1% of the population was under 15 years of age, and 19% were over 60 years of age.

The population density in 1986 was approximately 121 people per square kilometer. The most populated geographical region is Moravia, with 154 people per square kilometer. The average for the Czech Republic was about 120 people, and for Slovakia - about 106 people. Largest cities as of January 1986 the following were:

• Prague (Czech Republic) - 1.2 million people
• Bratislava (Slovakia) - 417,103 people
• Brno (Czech Republic) - 385,684 people
• Ostrava (Czech Republic) - 327,791 people
• Kosice (Slovakia) - 222,175 people
• Pilsen (Czech Republic) - 175,244 people.

5. Religion

According to the 1991 census: Catholics - 46.4%, Evangelicals (Lutherans) - 5.3%, Orthodox - 0.34% (about 53 thousand people), Muslims, Buddhists, atheists 29.5%/16.7% (there are large differences between the republics (see Czech Republic and Slovakia)).

6. Transport

Czechoslovakia was a transit country.

• Railways - 13141 kilometers.
• Car roads
  • total - 74064 kilometers
  • with hard surface - 60765 km
  • without hard surface - 13299 kilometers.
• Waterways - about 475 kilometers.
• Pipelines
  • 1448 kilometers - for crude oil.
  • 1500 kilometers - petroleum products
  • 8000 km - for natural gas.

6.1. Freight transportation

In 1985, about 81% of long-distance transport was carried out by railway. Road transport accounted for 13%, inland waterways - 5%, civil Aviation- less than 1% of total freight traffic.

6.2. Ports

There are no seaports, trade by sea was carried out in neighboring countries, for example - Gdynia, Gdansk and Szczecin in Poland; Rijeka and Koper in Yugoslavia; Hamburg in the Federal Republic of Germany, to Rostock in the German Democratic Republic. The main river ports are Prague, Bratislava, Decin and Komárno.

6.3. Telecommunications

Telecommunications in Czechoslovakia were a modern, automatic system with direct connections. In January 1987 there were 54 AM and 14 FM radio stations, and forty-five television stations.

Czechoslovakia was formed on the territory of Austria-Hungary. Slavic peoples suffered for years from oppression by the Austro-Hungarian crown, which was the cause of frequent unrest and protests. After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, participants in the Slavic national liberation movements became especially active and began to establish ties with the Entente countries. One of these fighters was the Czech Tomas Masaryk, who created the project of a united independent state of Czechs and Slovaks. The project was supported not only by these peoples, but also by the Entente countries. Masaryk and his associates also managed to create armed forces— Czechoslovak legions, which received equipment from the Entente countries and fought against Austria-Hungary.

After the end of the war in September 1918, the Czechs and Slovaks formed their own independent state, of which Masaryk was appointed president.

The process of state collapse

In 1943, Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes, who fled the country after the arrival of the Nazis, signed a treaty of cooperation and friendship with the USSR. After the end of the Second World War, this agreement led to the fact that Czechoslovakia began to focus its policy mainly on the Soviet Union. In addition, the leadership of Czechoslovakia was grateful to the USSR for its assistance in restoring the territorial integrity of the country after the Munich Agreement. All this led to the establishment of a socialist regime in Czechoslovakia.

However, by the end of the 1980s, socialism in Czechoslovakia had outlived its usefulness, and society needed to eliminate this system. Simultaneously with the dismantling of socialist institutions, the central government also weakened. Increasingly, friction arose between the Czech and Slovak political elites, each of which decided to take a course towards self-determination.

On the night of December 31, 1992 to January 1, 1993, the law on the division of the country came into force and united Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.

The collapse of Czechoslovakia became a kind of phenomenon, since it took place peacefully, without bloodshed and clashes between supporters and opponents of the separation law. The events of late 1992 - early 1993 were even called the “velvet divorce,” emphasizing with this name the peaceful nature of the division of the country.