Velvet Revolution - Political Situation Prior To The Revolution

Political Situation Prior To The Revolution

The Communist Party began its rule on February 25, 1948. No official opposition parties operated within the government during the party's rule. Dissidents (notably Charter 77) published home-made periodicals (samizdat), but they faced persecution by the secret police. Thus, the general public was afraid to openly support the dissidents for fear of dismissal from work or school. A writer or film maker could have his/her books or films banned for a "negative attitude towards the socialist regime." This blacklisting also included categories such as being a child of a former entrepreneur or non-Communist politician, having family members living in the West, having supported Alexander Dubček during the Prague Spring, opposing Soviet military occupation, promoting religion, boycotting rigged parliamentary elections or signing the Charter 77 or associating with those who did. These rules were easy to enforce, as all schools, media and businesses belonged to the state. They were under direct supervision and often were used as accusatory weapons against political and social rivals.

The nature of blacklisting changed gradually after the introduction of Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) in 1985. The Czechoslovak Communist leadership verbally supported Perestroika, but did little to institute real changes. Speaking about the Prague Spring of 1968 was still taboo. The first anti-government demonstrations occurred in 1988 (the Candle Demonstration, for example) and 1989, but these were dispersed and participants were repressed by the police.

By the late 1980s, discontent with living standards and economic inadequacy gave way to popular support for economic reform. Czech and Slovak citizens began to challenge the governmental system more openly. By 1989, citizens who had been complacent in their official or professional capacities were now willing to openly express their discontent with the regime. Numerous important figures as well as common workers signed petitions in support of Václav Havel during his 1989 imprisonment. Reform-minded attitudes were also reflected by the many individuals who signed a petition that circulated in the summer of 1989 calling for the end of censorship and the beginning of drastic political reform.

The actual impetus for the revolution came not only from the developments in neighbouring countries but also in the Czechoslovakian capital. Since August East German citizens had occupied the West German Embassy in Prague and demanded exile to West Germany. In the days following November 3, thousands of East Germans left Prague by a train to West Germany. On November 9, the Berlin Wall fell, removing the need for the detour.

By November 16, many of Czechoslovakia's neighbours were beginning to shed authoritarian rule. The citizens of Czechoslovakia watched these events daily on TV through both foreign and domestic signals. The Soviet Union also supported a change in the ruling elite of Czechoslovakia, although it did not anticipate the overthrow of the Communist regime.