1969-1989







Czechoslovakia 1989-1992


Administration . Following the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel was acclaimed president of Czechoslovakia.

Foreign Policy . The collapse of communism in 1989-1991 had made COMECON and Warsaw Pact obsolete. Czechoslovakia pursued a policy of reorienting her foreign policy. In 1990, Czechoslovakia and Israel restored diplomatic relations, severed in 1967. In 1991 Czechoslovakia joined the coalition formed to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation (Operation Desert Storm).

Political History . Communist rule from 1969 to 1989 had been unpopular, and reforms turning the country into a pluralist open democracy were widely supported. However, drastic economic reforms produced hardship (inflation, unemployment), which caused many to suffer.
Many Slovaks perceived the reform policy as focussing too much on Czechia and neglecting Slovakia, a sentiment maverick politician Miroslav Meciar exploited. On January 1st 1993, the Czechoslovak Federation was declared dissolved (Velvet Divorce).

The Economy . In 1989 to 1992 Czechoslovakia adopted drastic economic reforms. The exchange rate of the Koruna, hitherto fixed, was allowed to float; most state subsidies were cut, economic businesses allowed to declare bankrupcy, or sold off. In 1991 Volkswagen bought Skoda.

Social History . The population in 1990 was 15.69 million (StYB 1992-1993 p.475).

Cultural History . Czechoslovak athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Barcelona 1992.
The Ice Hockey World Championship of 1992 was hosted in Czechoslovakia.






EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Articles : Vaclav Havel, Alexander Dubcek, Operation Desert Storm : Building a Coalition, Skoda, Ice Hockey World Championship, Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (Velvet Divorce), History of Czechoslovakia 1989-1992, from Wikipedia
History of Czechoslovakia, from Library of Congress, Country Studies
CASCON Case CZE : Czechoslovak Revolution 1989-1990, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
Bilateral Relations, from Embassy of the Czech Republic in Israel
DOCUMENTS November 24, 1989, Speech by Premier Ladislav Adamec at an extraordinary session of the CPCz CC, stating his preference for a political solution to the crisis (excerpts), from The Revolutions of 1989 new documents from Soviet/East Europe archives reveal why there was no crackdown, at GWU
Banknotes of Czechoslovakia, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money
REFERENCE


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on July 7th 2007

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