|
Martin Šmíd
Martin Šmíd was a fictitious Czechoslovak university student who was supposedly killed in the police attack on 17 November 1989 student demonstration in Prague that launched Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution.Dan Bilefsky"Velvet Revolution’s Roots Obscure 20 Years Later,"''New York Times,'' 17 November 2009. The rumour of Šmíd's death was spread by Drahomíra Dražská, a porter at a student dormitory in the city's Troja district. The dissident Charter 77 activist Petr Uhl believed her story and passed it along to Radio Free Europe, the BBC and Voice of America, who broadcast it.Sebestyen (2010), ''Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire'', p. 370-371 The news of a student's death shocked many, and the rumour is thought to have contributed to the fall of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The Martin Šmíd in question was allegedly a student of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University. Two students with that name attended the school at the time, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi Germany, while the country lost further territories to First Vienna Award, Hungary and Trans-Olza, Poland (the territories of southern Slovakia with a predominantly Hungarian population to Hungary and Zaolzie with a predominantly Polish population to Poland). Between 1939 and 1945, the state ceased to exist, as Slovak state, Slovakia proclaimed its independence and Carpathian Ruthenia became part of Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary, while the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed in the remainder of the Czech Lands. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš formed Czechoslovak government-in-exile, a government-in-exile and sought recognition from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia included students and older dissidents. The result was the end of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the command economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic. On 17 November 1989 (International Students' Day), riot police suppressed a Student activism, student demonstration in Prague. The event marked the 50th anniversary of a violently suppressed demonstration against the Nazi storming of Prague University in 1939 where 1,200 students were arrested and 9 killed (see International Students' Day#Origin, Origin of International Students' Day). The 1989 event sparked a series of demonstrations from 17 November to late December and turned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Němec, Václav Benda, Ladislav Hejdánek, Václav Havel, Jan Patočka, Zdeněk Mlynář, Jiří Hájek, Martin Palouš, Pavel Kohout, and Ladislav Lis. Spreading the text of the document was considered a political crime by the Czechoslovak government. After the 1989 Velvet Revolution, many of the members of the initiative played important roles in Czech and Slovak politics. Founding and political aims Motivated in part by the arrest of members of the rock band the Plastic People of the Universe, the text of Charter 77 was prepared in 1976. The first preparatory meeting took place on 10 December 1976 in Jaroslav Kořán's apartment, and initial signatures were collected. The charter was published on 6 January ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petr Uhl
Petr Uhl (8 October 1941 – 1 December 2021) was a Czech journalist, activist, and politician. A member of the Civic Forum, he served in the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia from 1990 to 1992. He was also a signatory of Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members .... References External links ''Petr Uhl and the jailed Chartists in Czechoslovakia'' International Marxist Group, 1980. 1941 births 2021 deaths Charter 77 signatories Knights of the Legion of Honour Czech anti-communists Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Czechoslovak prisoners and detainees Czechoslovak democracy activists Czechoslovak dissidents Civic Forum politicians Journalists from Prague Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite People of the Velvet Revolution Recipien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL operates 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff, 1,300 freelancers, and 680 employees. Nicola Careem serves as the editor-in-chief. Founded during the Cold War, RFE began in 1949 targeting Soviet empire, Soviet satellite states, while RL, established in 1951, focused on the Soviet Union. Initially funded covertly by the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA until 1972, the two merged in 1976. RFE/RL was headquartered in Munich from 1949 to 1995, with additional broadcasts from Portugal's Glória do Ribatejo until 1996. Soviet authorities jammed their signals, and Second World, communist regimes often infiltrated their operations. Today, RFE/RL is a private 501(c)(3) corporation supervised by the United States Agency for Global Media, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voice Of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American international broadcasters, producing digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages for affiliate stations around the world.* * by * Its targeted and primary audience is non-Americans outside the American borders, especially those living in countries without press freedom or independent journalism. VOA was established in 1942, during World War II. Building on American use of shortwave radio during the war, it initially served as an anti-propaganda tool against Axis misinformation but expanded to include other forms of content like American music programs for cultural diplomacy. During the Cold War, its operations expanded in an effort to fight communism and played a role in the decline of communism in several countries. Throughout its operation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czechoslovakia, was the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state from 1948 until 1989, when the country was under Marxist-Leninist state, communist rule, and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet Union, Soviet sphere of interest. Following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, coup d'état of February 1948, when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power with the support of the Soviet Union, the country was declared a "people's democratic state" when the Ninth-of-May Constitution became effective. The traditional name (''Czechoslovak Republic''), along with several other state symbols, were changed on 11 July 1960 following the implementation of the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia as a symbol of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles University
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the Alps and east of University of Paris, Paris. Today, the university consists of 17 faculties located in Prague, Hradec Králové, and Plzeň. History Medieval university (1349–1419) The establishment of a medieval university in Prague was inspired by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. He requested his friend and ally, Pope Clement VI, to create the university. On 26 January 1347, the pope issued the bull establishing a university in Prague, modeled on the University of Paris, with all four faculty (division), faculties, including theology. On 7 April 1348 Charles, the king of Bohemia, gave to the established university privileges and immunities from the se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conspiracy Theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term generally has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians. Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other; they are generally designed to resist falsification either by evidence against them or a lack of evidence for them. They are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy ''and'' absenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miloš Jakeš
Miloš Jakeš (12 August 1922 – 10 July 2020) was a Czech communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1987 until 1989. He resigned from his position in late November 1989, amid the Velvet Revolution. Early life Jakeš was born in České Chalupy, now part of Nová Ves near České Budějovice. He grew up in a poor village family in the Bohemian Forest borderlands before working in Bata Shoes factory in Zlín between 1937 and 1950. He joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia soon after World War II, triggering his steady rise within the party ranks. In 1955 he began his studies at Moscow's Party's Higher College and, after obtaining his degree in 1958, his career continued without interruption, undisturbed even during the 1968 Prague Spring period. After the Soviet invasion, Jakeš became one of the main initiators of the political purges carried out in the name of "normalization". Party leader Following the ouster of Gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 and additionally as head of state beginning in 1988, as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1988 to 1989, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 1989 to 1990 and the president of the Soviet Union from 1990 to 1991. Ideologically, Gorbachev initially adhered to Marxism–Leninism but moved towards social democracy by the early 1990s. Gorbachev was born in Privolnoye, Stavropol Krai, Privolnoye, North Caucasus Krai, to a poor peasant family of Russian and Ukrainian heritage. Growing up under the rule of Joseph Stalin, in his youth he operated combine harvesters on a Collective farming, collective farm before joining the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square (Czech language, Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ; German language, German: ''Wenzelsplatz'') is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town, Prague, New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for Demonstration (people), demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings. It is also the place with the busiest pedestrian traffic in the whole country. The square is named after Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia, Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, a World Heritage Site. Formerly known as Koňský trh (''Horse Market''), for its periodic accommodation of horse markets during the Middle Ages, it was renamed Svatováclavské náměstí (English: ''Saint Wenceslas square'') in 1848 on the proposal of Karel Havlíček Borovský. Features Less a city square, square than a boulevard, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
