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NewsBeginning of 1989 Velvet Revolution commemorated in Prague

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SpecialA brief look at 'protest' music plus the underground scene in Czechoslovakia from 1968 - 1989

Fifteen years ago to the day student protestors took to the streets of Prague demanding an end to one-party rule, kicking off a process that would quickly - far more quickly than anyone expected - lead to the unravelling of Czechoslovakia's Communist regime. Music, too, played an important role: with the outcome of those turbulent days far from certain, tens of thousands demonstrated on Wenceslas Square, singing the civil rights anthem, 'We Shall Overcome'.  More

One on OneNo nostalgia among children of former Communist leaders

Wednesday is the 17th November - 15 years after the huge demonstrations in Prague that marked the beginning of the end for the communist system in Czechoslovakia. So today we bring you a special programme instead of our usual One on One. In yesterday's broadcast you had a chance to hear the children of former dissidents talk about their lives then and now. Today we talk to two different women who used to be on the other side of the fence - their parents were prominent Communist officials before 1989.  More

Talking PointChildren of the Underground

To mark the 15th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Nikola Brabenec set out to speak with the now full grown children of dissidents involved in Charter 77, the human rights declaration which brought together the dissident movement.  More

NewsStudents to stage march in remembrance of November 17, 1989

Press ReviewPress Review

The devastation wrought by the terrorist attacks in Istanbul, the fourteenth anniversary of the student protests which led to the fall of communism in the former Czechoslovakia and possible changes in the Czech government - those are the lead stories on today's front pages.  More

Current AffairsWho is to take credit for Velvet Revolution?

Monday was a holiday here in the Czech Republic, marking the fourteenth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that put an unexpected end to forty years of Communist rule. Although the country's historians and politicians are still arguing over who should be credited for the Communists' downfall, the major role of the dissident movement has never really been questioned. But in an article for last Saturday's daily Mlada Fronta Dnes, Czech President Vaclav Klaus played down the role of the dissident elite, saying it was ordinary people, leading their everyday lives who should really be thanked for bringing down communism.  More

NewsCzech Republic commemorates fourteenth anniversary of Velvet Revolution