Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia (Czech: Rozdělení Československa, Slovak: Rozdelenie Československa), which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the self-determined secession of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both mirrored the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic, which had been created in 1969 as the constituent states of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic until the end of 1989.
Date
17 July 1992 – 31 December 1992
(5 months and 2 weeks)
- Breakup of Czechoslovakia into the independent Czech Republic and Slovak Republic
It is sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce, a reference to the bloodless Velvet Revolution of 1989, which had led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
Legal aspects[edit]
National symbols[edit]
Since the coat of arms of Czechoslovakia was a composition of those of the historic geographic areas forming the country, each republic simply kept its own symbol: the Czechs the lion and the Slovaks the double cross. The same principle was applied to the two-part bilingual Czechoslovak national anthem that comprised two separate pieces of music, the Czech stanza Kde domov můj and the Slovak stanza Nad Tatrou sa blýska. Disputes occurred only with respect to the Czechoslovak flag. During the 1992 negotiations on the details of dissolution of Czechoslovakia, as demanded by Vladimír Mečiar and Václav Klaus, a clause forbidding the use of the state symbols of Czechoslovakia by its successor states was inserted into the constitutional law on the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.[11]
From 1990 to 1992, the red and white flag of Bohemia (differing only slightly from the Polish flag by proportion and tone) officially served as the flag of the Czech Republic. Eventually, after a search for new symbols, the Czech Republic unilaterally decided to ignore the constitutional law on the dissolution of Czechoslovakia (Article 3 of Law 542/1992 stated that the "Czech Republic and Slovak Republic shall not use the national symbols of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic after its dissolution.") and to keep the Czechoslovak flag, with an altered meaning.[12] Slovakia, meanwhile, adopted its traditional flag; however, just before independence, on September 3, 1992, the coat of arms was added in order to prevent confusion with the similar flags of Russia and Slovenia.
Territory[edit]
The national territory was divided along the existing internal borders, but the border was not clearly defined at some points and, in some areas, the border cut across streets, access roads and communities that had coexisted for centuries. The most serious issues occurred around the following areas:
Legacy[edit]
Referendum controversy[edit]
Soon after the dissolution, public contentment was at relatively low levels with high shares of the population on both sides of the border protesting the fact that the dissolution of the common state was not put towards a vote, as described by politologist Lubomír Kopeček of Masaryk University. A March 1993 study conducted by Martin Bútora and his wife Zora indicated that in case of a referendum about 50% of the population would've voted against the dissolution of the state with only about 30% in favour of the dissolution.[47]
Former Slovak Minister of Culture Marek Maďarič, pointed out, in January 2023, that the dissolution without a referendum reflected the historic practice and a tradition of constitutional stately affairs decided without a referendum in Czechoslovak history. Namely, both the formation of the First Czechoslovak Republic from the rubbles of Austria-Hungary in 1918 as well as the reunion of the Protectorate and Slovak State to form a Third Republic in 1945 after the conclusion of the World War II were achieved without a referendum, solely through the pursuit of political representatives of the era.[48]
Public polling[edit]
Public perception of the dissolution has not changed much, with a December 2017 poll showing that just 42% of Czechs and 40% of Slovaks agree with what happened (compared to 36% and 37% in 1992, respectively). Surveys from 2010 showed that the majority of the population of Prague (Czechs) still considers the division of the country a mistake;[49] similarly, the general representative survey in Slovakia (from 2008)[50] showed that society is still divided in opinion on the dissolution, with 47% favouring the dissolution and 44% considering it a mistake.
Reactionary movements[edit]
In 2015, a Slovak movement called "Czechoslovakia 2018" was established to try to get a referendum by 2018. Its leader, Ladislav Zelinka, said that he had received thousands of emails and calls from supporters, but it was unable to reach the necessary 350,000 petition signatures. The younger generations of both countries are largely indifferent to the issue since they never experienced the previous period themselves, and older generations are more focused on present issues such as immigration and favour their own separate nationalism.[51]
Governmental cooperation[edit]
Political influences between the countries are minimal, but social democrats tend to cooperate very closely on regional and European topics in recent years. Furthermore, it has become customary that the elected presidents pay their first and last official foreign visits during their term to the other republic of the former Czechoslovakia. Appointed foreign ministers tend to follow that unwritten rule. On October 29, 2012, to commemorate Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence, which occurred on October 28, 1918, the Czech and the Slovak governments held, for the first time, a joint cabinet meeting in the communities of Trenčín and Uherské Hradiště, near the common border.[52]
Military cooperation[edit]
Also, peacekeeping troops stationed in the former Yugoslavia were put under joint command on several occasions. For example, from 2002 to July 2005, the Czech Armed Forces joined with the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic to form a joint Czech–Slovak KFOR battalion in Kosovo, which contributed to the Multinational Brigade CENTRE.[53]
Trade and tourism[edit]
Trade relations were re-established and stabilised, and the Czech Republic continues to be Slovakia's most important business partner. After a short interruption, Slovakia's resorts in the Carpathian mountains, especially High Tatras and Low Tatras are again the destination of a growing number of Czech tourists.
Commemorations[edit]
Following the death of the last Czechoslovak (and the first Czech) president, Václav Havel, on December 18, 2011, both the Czech Republic and Slovakia observed a day of national mourning. During the funeral mass in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral, prayers were recited in an equal ratio in Czech and Slovak.