Section Archive Czechs Today
Pavel Kohout: unconventional economist and government advisor
Pavel Kohout is an economist who seems seldom out of the media. He recently
created a stir when he announced he was leaving the government’s advisory
committee, NERV, and criticised government willingness to tackle
multi-billion crown corruption in public tenders. That furore appears to
have blown over and Mr. Kohout seems on course to give further advice to
the government and the new political party, Public Affairs. I asked him how
he got involved in economics in the first place. More
A Czech corsair sets sail
A replica of a 17th century brig known as La Grace which belonged to the
first Czech naval captain, Augustine Heřman, set sail for the first time
earlier this month from Suez, Egypt. The wooden vessel, which captures all
the atmosphere and charm of the historic original, was the dream of a group
of Czech sailing enthusiasts. Built in an Egyptian shipyard, the new La
Grace remarkably took relatively little time to complete: just two years.
Now it will spend the winter on the Red Sea before moving on to other
destinations in the spring. More
Jan Rovenský: the evergreen environment campaigner
For most of the last 17 years Jan Rovenský has been in the thick of most
big environmental campaigns, apart from a short but enjoyable spell as a
nature protection official at a state park. His latest high profile
position is as Greenpeace’s campaigner on climate change and energy
policy. That often puts him at odds with local coal companies, power giant
ČEZ, the Czech government and President Václav Klaus. We met up with the
35-year-old and asked him what had stimulated his initial interest in the
environment.
More
Marie Ranzenhoferová – a survivor of the 1945 Brno Death March
In May 1945, millions of Czechs could breath freely again after six years
of Nazi occupation. The German defeat brought about the end of the Nazi
rule of terror, and the re-establishment of Czechoslovakia. But for
thousands of ethnic Germans, the end of the war meant the beginning of a
new ordeal. They were expelled from the country, and many of them were
killed during the first day of peace. In this edition of Czech Today, Radio
Prague talks to Marie Ranzenhoferová, who survived one of the violent
expulsions, known today as the Brno death march.
More
Czech archaeologists uncover Stone Age tools in Arbil, Iraq
Czech archaeologists are best-known for their work in Egypt, spanning five
decades, but some specialists have begun making headlines for excavation
work in a different part of the world: Mesopotamia – the cradle of
ancient civilisation that is now present-day Iraq. Recently an eight-member
team headed by Karel Nováček of the University of West Bohemia, returned
from northern Iraq after having uncovered Stone Age tools that were used by
either our ancestors or our distant relatives (Homo neanderthalensis). The
tools date back some 150,000 years, to the Middle Palaeolithic, the oldest
find of its kind in the city of Arbil in Kurdistan.
More
Rudolf Zeman, dissident, journalist and co-founder of the samizdat paper Lidové Noviny
Lidové noviny, or People’s Newspaper, is a leading Czech paper with a
tradition going back more than a century. The liberal daily was first
discontinued by the Nazis during the war, and then banned by the communist
authorities in the 1950s. But in 1987, a group of dissidents in Prague
decided to launch a samizdat version of the respected newspaper. In this
edition of Czechs Today, we talk to one of the founders of the samizdat
Lidové noviny, and its first post-communist editor-in-chief, Rudolf Zeman.
More
Travelling across Africa in a Trabant
The Soviet-era Trabant – a tiny plastic car built in former East Germany
that was left “by the roadside” following the collapse of the Berlin
Wall, may have been consigned to the dustbin of history, but it still has a
special place in many Czechs’ hearts. Among fans is a group of
travellers, including a journalist and filmmaker, who have made the tiny
vehicle central to their adventures. In late 2009 they conquered Africa in
a Trabant - travelling all the way from Tunisia to Cape Town.
More
Michal Ambrož, the man behind rock legends Jasná Páka and Hudba Praha
Few Czech rock bands have gained such notoriety as the Prague-based group
Jasná Páka. Founded at the beginning of the last decade of communism,
their music was a beacon for a generation that grew up in a
Soviet-occupied
country. After it was banned by the Communists in a crusade against rock
music, the band reformed as Hudba Praha. The man behind both bands, Michal
Ambrož, is one of the last pioneers of Czech new wave of rock still
around. More
Prayer for Marta singer Kubišová recalls dramatic comeback during 1989's Velvet Revolution
Modlitba pro Martu, A Prayer for Marta, is a song that for many people will
be forever associated with Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution of 1989.
Performed by the 1960s Czech pop star Marta Kubišová, it had
previously come to symbolise resistance to the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. More
Father and Son, 20 years after the Velvet Revolution
The fall of communism turned around the lives of millions of people. In a
special edition of Czechs Today we talk to a father and son of the same
name about how this dramatic change affected their lives. Petr Cibulka
senior was born in Opava and moved to Prague in August of 1989 –less than
three months before the Velvet Revolution broke out. He now owns a hotel in
Lednice, Moravia. His son Petr Cibulka junior belongs to the generation
which was barely touched by the communist regime. He moved to Prague at the
age of 15, later went for a study stay in the US and now works as a
researcher at the English-language newspaper The Prague Post.
More
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