Monday, November 17, 2014

November 17:25th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution

25 years ago today, a peaceful uprising against the Communist regime took place in Czechoslovakia. Demonstrators met against the government, and the result was the collapse after 41 years of Communist rule. The largest of the demonstrations was in Prague, the Czech Republic's current capital, on November 17, 1989. This was the first of many protests, which spanned from November 16/17 through December 29.
On the 28th of November, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia claimed that it would relinquish power, thereby dismantling the single-party state. Czechoslovakia held it's first democratic election in June of 1990, it's first since 1946. Today, the president of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, met and stood with presidents of Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia in celebration of the anniversary. He was surprised by eggs, which were thrown at him throughout a speech he made to commemorate the day. Many protestors today chant "Resign, Resign!" and carry banners that read "We don't want to be a Russian colony."

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