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The Czechs in a Nutshell

Just look at the background: the communist regime didn’t receive their final blow on the 17th of November. Earlier that autumn, Hungary started to dismantle the Iron Curtain along its borders with Austria, and Prague was flooded with refugees from Eastern Germany on their way to the West. The air was virtually heavy with the scent of freedom. And then, one week before November the 17th, the Berlin wall — the most tangible symbol of Europe’s division — fell, and Big Brother in Moscow didn’t lift a finger (see: Russians).

Photo © Jaroslav Fišer

Many bad and ugly things can rightfully be said about the Czechoslovak “normalizors”, but when it came to power politics, they were realistic. Even the moronic Party boss Milouš Jakeš understood that this time, no Soviet tanks would come and save them. They also knew they were too weak, morally corrupt and despised to stay in power on their own. If the student demonstration hadn’t triggered the communist collapse, it’s fairly safe to assume that some other event would have done the job.

Therefore, it might seem most appropriate to describe the Velvet Revolution as the climax of a long-lasting process that started with the uprising in Poland in the beginning of the 1980s, and then hit its stride when the new Soviet leadership abandoned the Brezhnev doctrine of propping up ideologically and economically bankrupt dictatorships in Central and Eastern Europe.

But, of course, this doesn’t change the fact that for millions of pestered Czechs, the Velvet Revolution represents one of the brightest moments of their lives.

<p id="bookmark252">World</p>

After decades of isolation behind the Iron Curtain, it’s perhaps only natural that the common Czech perception of the world abroad is still influenced by certain outdated stereotypes. Africa is often referred to as “the black continent”, and television reporters don’t hesitate to speak about “typical Asian cruelty” or “Nordic emotional frigidity”.

What’s more interesting, though, is the way in which Czechs speak about their own country in relation to the rest of the world: while most other languages use the opposites at home — abroad, Czech use doma (at home) versus venku (outside).

One shouldn’t read too much into this peculiarity, but to some observers it substantiates the view that the Czechs historically have perceived their home country as something closed and insulating that protected them from all of the dangers threatening on the other side. Logically, everybody inside the shelter is one of us, while everybody outside is a potential intruder (see: Foreigners).

<p id="bookmark257">Appendix I. The Czech Republic in Figures</p>

National day:

October 28th

Head of State:

President, elected by the Parliament for a period of five years

Government:

Parliamentary republic, Constitution adopted December 1992.

Legislature:

Parliament with two chambers — Chamber of Deputies (200 members) and Senate (81 members)

Population (2002):

10.28 million (81.2 percent Czechs, 13.2 Moravians, 3.1 Slovaks,

2.5 percent Roma/Poles/Germans/Hungarians)