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Short History Of Czech Republic and Culture
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The Czech Republic is one of Europe's youngest states, having come into existence only in 1993. Before that, it had formed the western part of Czechoslovakia, a country which itself had only been created in 1918, following the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire after WWI.
By 1948, the Communists had become the dominant political force in Czechoslovakia. Soviet-style political and economic systems were put in place and Czechoslovakia became a firm Soviet ally.
The Government adhered closely to Soviet policy in all respects, until the emergence of a new leadership group under Alexander Dubcek in the late 1960s. In what became known as the 'Prague Spring', the Dubcek governments introduced a series of liberalising reforms.
After several months, the Soviets decided that the reforms had gone too far and, after failing to persuade the Czechoslovaks to desist from their chosen course, sent the tanks in. Dubcek and his allies were deposed in favour of a hard-line leadership led by Gustav Husak.
For the next two decades, Czechoslovakia barely deviated from the Soviet line.
Czechoslovakia threw out its communist regime in the Velvet Revolution of 1989 - so called because it took place without any violence.
The dissident playwright Václav Havel became president and served until 2003, but he was unable to hold the country together. Disagreements with politicians in Bratislava led to the Velvet Divorce in 1993, when Czechoslovakia split into two independent republics: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek's multi-party, centre-right coalition scraped through in a parliamentary vote of confidence in January 2007.
This was not his first attempt to form an administration: tricky coalition negotiations also had to take place after the 2006 general elections. Parliament also narrowly re-elected President Václav Klaus - who succeeded Havel in 2003 - in February 2008.
