One of the Nine Satellitte Nations History of the Czechoslovakia Socialist Republic

1. Czechoslovakia
Socialist Republic
Československá
socialistická republika

2. Official Names
1918 - 1920: Republic of
Czechoslovakia (abbreviated RČS)/Czecho-
Slovak State or Czecho-
Slovakia/Czechoslovakia.
1920 - 1938: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), or
Czechoslovakia.
1938 - 1939: Czecho-Slovak Republic, or
Czecho-Slovakia.
1945 - 1960: Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), or
Czechoslovakia.

3. Official Names
1960 - 1990: Czechoslovak Socialist
Republic (ČSSR), or Czechoslovakia.
April 1990: Czechoslovak Federal
Republic (Czech version) and Czecho-
Slovak Federative Republic (Slovak version).
The country subsequently became the Czech
and Slovak Federal Republic ČSFR, or
Československo (Czech version) and Česko-
Slovensko (Slovak version).

4. Information
Motto
"Pravda vítězí" (Czech)
"Truth prevails―.
Constitution= 9 May 1948
Czech and Slovak Federal Republic
established= March 1989
Capital: Prague
Language: Czech and Slovak
Government: Single-party Marxist-Leninist
federal republic
Currency :Czechoslovak koruna

5. Information
The Czechoslovak Socialist
Republic (Czech/Slovak: Československá
socialistická republika) was the official name
of Czechoslovakia from 1960 until shortly after
the Velvet Revolution in 1989. It was
a Soviet satellite state of theEastern Bloc.
Following the coup d'état of February 1948,
when the Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia seized power with the backing
of the Soviet Union, the country was declared
a people's republic after the Ninth-of-May
Constitution became effective.

6. The traditional name Československá
republika (Czechoslovak Republic) was
changed on 11 July 1960 following
implementation of the 1960 Constitution of
Czechoslovakia as a symbol of the "final victory
of socialism" in the country, and remained so
until the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.
It is a sovereign state in Central
Europe which existed from October 1918, when
it declared its independence from the Austro-
Hungarian Empire, until 1992.
Information

7. From 1939 to 1945, the state did not de
facto exist because of its forced division and
partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, but
theCzechoslovak government-in-
exile operated independently during this
period.
1 January 1993,
Czechoslovakia peacefully split into
the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Information

8. Basic Characteristics
Form of state:
1918 - 1938: A democratic republic.
1938 - 1939: After annexation of Sudetenland
by Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned
into a state with loosened connections among the
Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts
1939 - 1945: The region split into
the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and
the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile
continued to exist in London, supported by the
United Kingdom, United States and its Allies;
after German invasion of Russia, it was also
recognised by the USSR.

9. Basic Characteristics
1946 - 1948: The country was governed
by a coalition government
withCommunist ministers, with the prime
minister and the minister of
interior.Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded
to the USSR.
1948 - 1989: The country became
a communist state with a
centrally planned economy. In 1960, the
country officially became asocialist
republic.

10. Basic Characteristics
1969 - 1990: The federal republic
consisted of the Czech Socialist
Republic and the Slovak Socialist
Republic.
1990 - 1992: The federal democratic
republic consisted of the Czech
Republic and the Slovak Republic.

12. Topography
The country was of generally irregular terrain. The
western area was part of north-central European
uplands. The eastern region was composed of
northern reaches of Carpathian
Mountains and Danube River basin lands.
Climate
The weather was predominantly continental, but
varied from the moderate temperature of Western
Europe in the west, to more severe weather
of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union
in the east.

13. Formation
Before the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, in
1943, Czechoslovakian leader in exile Edvard
Beneš agreed to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's
demands for unconditional agreement with Soviet
foreign policy and the Beneš decrees.
While Beneš was not a Moscow cadre and
several domestic reforms of other Eastern Bloc
countries were not part Beneš' plan,
Stalin did not object because the plan included
property expropriation and he was satisfied with
the relative strength of communists in
Czechoslovakia compared to other Eastern Bloc
countries.

14. In April 1945, the Third Republic was formed,
led by a National Front of six parties. Because
of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's
strength (they held 114 of 300 seats) and
Beneš' loyalty, the Kremlin did not require
Bloc politics or "reliable" cadres in
Czechoslovakian power positions, and the
executive and legislative branches retained
their traditional structures.
The Communists were the big winners in
the 1946 elections--one of only two free
elections ever held in the Soviet bloc.

15. Klement Gottwald, leader of the KSČ,
became Prime Minister of
Czechoslovakia.
the Soviet Union was disappointed
that the government failed to eliminate
"bourgeois" influence in the army,
expropriate industrialists and large
landowners and eliminate parties
outside of the "National Front―.

16. in September 1947, Rudolf
Slánský returned to Prague with a plan for
the final seizure of power,
including the StB's elimination of party
enemies and purging of dissidents
On 25 February 1948, Beneš, fearful of civil
war and Soviet intervention, capitulated and
appointed a Communist-dominated
government who was sworn in two days
later.

17. Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk, the
only prominent minister still left who
wasn't either a Communist or fellow
traveler, was found dead two weeks
later.
On 30 May, a single list of candidates
from the National Front—now an
organization dominated by the
Communists—was elected to the
National Assembly.

18. After passage of the Ninth-of-May
Constitution on 9 June 1948, the
country became a People's Republic
until 1960.
On 11 July 1960, the 1960
Constitution of Czechoslovakia was
promulgated, changing the name of
the country from the "Czechoslovak
Republic" to the "Czechoslovak
Socialist Republic".

19. Eastern Bloc
 refers to the former communist states of Central
and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and
the countries of the Warsaw Pact.
 States of the Eastern Bloc
 People's Republic of Hungary
 People's Republic of Poland
 Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
 Romanian People's Republic /
Socialist Republic of Romania
 German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
 People's Republic of Albania (to 1961)
 People's Republic of Bulgaria
 Federal People's Republic of
Yugoslavia (to 1948)

20. History
Czechoslovakia was characterized by the
absence of democracy and
competitiveness with the Western
European nations as part of the Cold War.
In the religious sphere, atheism was
officially promoted and taught. In 1969, the
country became a federation of the Czech
Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist
Republic.

21. Under the federation, social and economic
inequities between the Czech and Slovak
halves of the state were largely eliminated.
the centralized political control by the
Communist Party severely limited the effects
of federalization.
1970s saw the rise of
the dissident movement in Czechoslovakia,
represented (among others) by Václav Havel.
The movement sought greater political
participation and expression in the face of
official disapproval.

22. In late 1989, the country became a
democratic country again through
the Velvet Revolution.
In 1992, the federal parliament
decided to dissolve the country into
the Czech Republic and Slovakia as of
1 January 1993.

23. Velvet Revolution or
Gentle Revolution
was a non-violent
revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place
from November 17 to December 29, 1989.
Dominated by student and other popular
demonstrations against the one-party
government of the Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia, it saw to the collapse of the
party's control of the country, and the
subsequent conversion from
Czech socialism to parliamentary republic.

24. Geography
Neighbour states
were: West
Germany and East
Germany, People's
Republic of
Poland, Soviet
Union, People's
Republic of
Hungary,
and Austria.

25. Administrative divisions
1960–1992: 10 regions
[kraje], Prague, and (since
1970) Bratislava; divided in 109–114
districts [okresy]; the kraje were
abolished temporarily in Slovakia in
1969–1970 and for many functions
since 1991 in Czechoslovakia;
two republics Czech Socialist
Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic
were established in 1969.

26. Politics
The Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia (KSČ) led initially by First
Secretary Klement Gottwald, held a
monopoly on politics.
Following the 1948 Tito-Stalin split and
the Berlin Blockade, increased party purges
occurred throughout the Eastern Bloc,
including a purge of 550,000 party members
of the KSČ, which comprised 30% of its
members .Approximately 130,000 people
were sent to prisons, labor camps and mines.

27. Antonín Novotny served
as First Secretary of the KSČ
from 1953 to 1968
Gustáv Husák was elected first
secretary of KSČ in 1969
(changed to general secretary
in 1971) and president of
Czechoslovakia in 1975

28. Other parties and organizations
existed but functioned in subordinate
roles to KSČ. All political parties, as
well as numerous mass organizations,
were grouped under the umbrella of
National Front of the Czechoslovak
Socialist Republic.
Human rights activists and religious
activists were severely repressed.

29. Economy
a centrally planned command economy with
links controlled by the communist party,
similar to theSoviet Union.
Large metallurgical industry, but was
dependent on imports for iron and
nonferrous ores.
Like the rest of the Eastern Bloc, producer
goods were favored over consumer goods,
causing consumer goods to be lacking in
quantity and quality.

30. Investments made in industry did not
yield the results expected, and
consumption of energy and raw
materials was excessive.
Czechoslovak leaders themselves
decried the economy's failure to
modernize with sufficient speed.

31. Industry: Extractive and manufacturing
industries dominated sector. Major
branches included machinery, chemicals,
food processing, metallurgy, and textiles.
Industry was wasteful of energy, materials,
and labor and slow to upgrade technology,
but was a source of high-quality machinery
and arms for other communist countries.
Agriculture: Minor sector but
supplied bulk of food needs.
Dependent on large imports of
grains (mainly for livestock feed)
in years of adverse weather.
Meat production constrained by
shortage of feed, but high per
capita consumption of meat.

32. 55% was machinery,
14% fuels and materials, and
16% manufactured consumer
goods.
Imports at estimated
US$17.9 billion in 1985, of which
41% was fuels and materials, 33%
machinery, and 12% agricultural
and forestry products. In 1986,
about 80% of foreign trade was
with communist countries.
The exchange rate on
the black market was
around Kcs 30 per
US$1, and this rate
became the official
one once the
currency became
convertible in the
early 1990s.

33. Fiscal Year: Calendar year.
Fiscal Policy: State almost exclusive
owner of means of production.
Revenues from state enterprises
primary source of revenues followed
by turnover tax.
Large budget expenditures on social
programs, subsidies, and investments.
Budget usually balanced or small
surplus.

34. Resource Base
After World War II, the country was
short on energy, relying on imported
crude oil and natural gas from the
Soviet Union, domestic brown coal,
and nuclear and hydroelectric energy.
Energy constraints were a major
factor in 1980s.

35. Religion
In 1991:
Roman Catholics 46.4%,
Evangelic Lutheran 5.3%,
Atheist 29.5%, n/a 16.7%,
but there were huge differences
between the 2 constituent republics.

36. Health, social welfare and housing
After World War II:
free health care was available to all citizens
National health planning emphasized
preventive medicine
factory and local health-care centers
supplemented hospitals and other inpatient
institutions
Substantial improvement in rural health care
in 1960s and 1970s.

37. Mass media
The mass media in Czechoslovakia was controlled by
the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). Private
ownership of any publication or agency of the mass media
was generally forbidden.

38. International agreements and
membership
Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (Comecon)
Warsaw Pact,
United Nation
its specialized agencies
Non-Aligned Movement; signatory
of conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe.

39. Warsaw Pact
APRIL 1985, the general secretaries of the
communist and workers' parties of the Soviet
Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary,
Poland, and Romania gathered in Warsaw to sign
a protocol extending the effective term of the
1955 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and
Mutual Assistance, which originally established
the Soviet-led political-military alliance in
Eastern Europe.
Their action ensured will remain part of the
international political and military landscape
well into the future.

40. PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia—Warsaw Pact
invasion Prague, Aug. 21, 1968.

41. Historical Sites
 From Napoleonic battlefields to
medieval castles, grand monuments
to touching memorials, the Historic
Sites in Czech Republic tell the story
of a land with a diverse history.

42. Prague, Czechoslovakia

43. The Prague Castle
is the largest
medieval castle
complex.
Today, it is listed in
the Guinness Book
of World Records
for being one of the
world’s biggest
castles.

44. Austerlitz
Battlefield was the
site of the Battle of
Austerlitz, also
known as the
Battle of the Three
Emperors, which
took place on 2
December 1805
and saw Napoleon
Bonaparte’s army
decisively defeat
the combined
forces of the
Russian and
Austrian empires.

45. Lobkowicz Palace
(Lobkowiczky
palac) is one of the
museums of
Prague Castle and
almost certainly
one of its most
popular sites.
It is named after
the affluent and
influential
Lobkowicz family,
to whom
Lobkowicz Palace
passed not long
after it was built in
the mid-sixteenth
century.

46. Charles Bridge (Karluv
Most) is an iconic
bridge in Prague that
crosses the river
Vltava.
Bridge began during
the reign of Charles IV
in 1357 to replace the
Judita Bridge which
had been damaged by a
flood in 1342. known as
―Stone Bridge‖ was the
only means the of
crossing the river, a
vital connection
between Prague Castle
and the Old Town and a
trade route.

47. The Communism
Museum (Muzeum
Komunismu) of Prague
showcases the history
of what was
Czechoslovakia - and
particularly Prague -
under the communist
regime from 1948 to
1989.

48. Koniggratz Battlefield
and the Chlum Museum
commemorate the 1866
Battle of Königgrätz
between Prussia and
Austria.
The decisive encounter
of the war, the Battle of
Königgrätz, or battle of
Hradec Králové, saw
Prussian forces defeat
those of the Austrian
Empire, inflicting
significant casualties
on the Austrian army.
This momentous
Prussian victory helped
pave the way for future
German unification.

49. The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague is
the final resting place of many leading
figures of the city’s Jewish community.

50. The Astronomical
Clock at Prague
Old Town Hall
was made by
Mikuláš of Kadaň
and Professor
Jan Šindel in
1410, with the
calendar dial and
gothic
decorations
presumed to
have been added
near the end of
the century.

51. Prague’s Old
Town Square
(Staromestske
Namesti) was
established in
the twelfth
century and
originally
served as the
city’s main
marketplace

52. St George’s Basilica is a tenth century church rich
with Baroque, Romanesque and Bohemian
architectural elements located in the Prague Castle
complex. Toriginally built in 920 AD by Prince Vratislav
I, St George’s Basilica only retains the foundations
from this period.

53. St Nicholas
Church in
Prague was a
Jesuit church
built between
1673 and 1752
to replace the
thirteenth
century Parish
of St Nicholas.

54. Theresienstadt
Concentration Camp in
Terezin in the Czech
Republic was a Nazi
concentration camp
during the
Holocaust.Originally
known as Terezin
Fortress built in the
eighteenth century to
protect Prague from the
possibility of invasion by
Prussia. It then became a
prison in the 1880’s
before being taken over
during the Nazi
occupation of the then
Czechoslovakia in World
War Two.

55. Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti) is a shopping
boulevard in the centre of Prague which has
witnessed centuries of historical events.
Established as a horse market and in fact named
―Horse Market‖ or ―Koňský trh‖ in the fourteenth
century during the reign of King Charles IV

56. The Old-New
Synagogue in
Prague is
Europe’s oldest
synagogue to still
hold services
today.
Built in
approximately
1270, it was
initially called the
―New Shul‖ (shul
meaning
synagogue), to
distinguish it from
others in the city

57. Thank You so Much for
listening!
Reporter: Tipan, Gerome
Mikhail C. BSED III