Velvet Revolution: Czechoslovakia's Peaceful Overthrow
Czech riot police beat hundreds of student demonstrators in Prague on November 17, 1989, at a march commemorating the 50th anniversary of a Nazi crackdown on Czech universities. The brutality backfired. Within days, hundreds of thousands filled Wenceslas Square demanding the end of communist rule. Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright who had spent years in prison, emerged as the opposition leader. The Civic Forum movement he led organized general strikes that paralyzed the country. The communist government resigned on November 24. Havel was elected president on December 29. The entire revolution took six weeks and not a single person was killed, earning it the name 'Velvet Revolution.' Czechoslovakia held free elections in June 1990, its first in over 40 years. The country peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993.
November 17, 1989
37 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Czechoslovakia
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Communism
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Prague
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Cold War
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Velvet Revolution
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Velvet Revolution
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Czechoslovakia
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Prague
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Police brutality
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29 de diciembre
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Geschichte der Tschechoslowakei
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Ladislav Adamec
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Cold War
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Communism
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