Fall Of Communism In The Czech Republic

popular support. It was very common for people to have to take an Anti-Communist oaths when

Communist had a long history during the 20th century, and communism was very influential. Almost all of Asia and East Europe became Communist. From the start of the theory then many civil wars in Russia affected the whole world. Communist defined the idea of itself in many different ways, it helps many nations came together formed a party fought wars, but it also made many countries became really poor, and the economy in most of the countries got pushed back about 10 years. Communism is an economic and political system that sought to create an egalitarian society; it collapsed because of personal interest and government’s corruption.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia were now able to own their own businesses. They could move freely for jobs and homes. The countries are now able to vote as they wish. They did however change their language. All countries in the Soviet Union used to speak German. Now Czech is spoken in the Czech Republic and Slovak is spoken in Slovakia. The national anthem changed, both countries now have their own. In the Soviet Union the religion was Atheism, and now Czechoslovakia is free to believe whatever they want. The soviet Ruble was the currency in the Soviet Union and then it changed to the Czechoslovak Koruna and finally, when Czechoslovakia split, it changed to Czech Koruna in the Czech Republic and the Euro in Slovakia. The government in the Soviet Union was dictatorship. Now, a Parliamentary Republic is the form of government in Slovakia and Czech Republic. Although life after the Soviet Union collapsed was free, some people say it was easier to live in the Soviet Union because everything was already set and organized for you. They were not making many of their own decisions. However, when Czechoslovakia became free, the people realized that they had more freedom. They had to make decisions on their

Communism is a “Political theory advocating class war and leading to a society which all property is publicly owned and each person works and paid according to their abilities” After world war 2 communism took over Czechoslovakia and people flocked to join the party. Not everyone was convinced that the party was what the country needed for them to gain peace. The party had lots of propaganda and were in control of peoples live therefore convincing people to join the party even if reluctant. In Under a Cruel Star, Kovaly recounts her time after the war and joining the communist party and then being shunned when her husband was convicted of a crime. She talks about how people put blind faith in a party that didn't have much scientific evidence to back up their claims. Kovaly said the most people went to the communist party because when coming back from the concentration camp they wanted to be in control of property again and they stayed because they felt helpless without the party providing services. They went from one type of totalitarian government to another kind of government that controlled everything they did. People of the time didn't realize that communism didn't benefit people who weren't in an elite class.

of other communist sympathizers, this led to sanctions. This fear of being accused led to the

Communism is a system of social organisation which formerly consumed almost a third of countries in the entire world, having originated in Russia. The first official communist state was founded during the Russian revolutions in 1917, due to the inaugural communist political party ‘Bolsheviks’ gaining primal power. Afterwards, the influence of communism spread to other countries with the likes of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany to name a few. These countries that were governed on communist principles were known as the ‘Eastern Bloc’. Even countries in Asia were persuaded into the theoretically human equality system such as China, Laos and Vietnam. Communism was gathering strength to strength every year in the mid 20th century, but eventually its impact was wiped off in the late 20th century when the Berlin War was knocked down in 1989, ending the barrier between the Eastern and Western blocs. Communism arguably was the most influential social experiment in history, but also the most flawed and its failure to change the world permanently will always remain significant in history.

If there was no threat from communism their wouldn’t have been no discussion of the mutually assured destruction, no arms race, and no need for bomb shelters. A lot of innocent people were being killed for being falsely accused of being a communist. Most of the people in the world were poor and communism appealed to them. The communists committed a lot of atrocities and brought up their own tyrannical governments

In How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, Drakulić describes a time she is in Prague and decides to go to one of the very few pizza places in the area. When ordering a drink she notices that the options are extremely limited; this is not uncommon in this part of Europe at the time (Pizza in Warsaw, Torte in Prague, 13). The lack of choice is a result of the communist political system. It is one of ways the party created an entirely equal society. Ideally, everyone is provided exactly what he or she needs to survive. However, when there is increased government control it leads to a lack of possible choices. While the communist party was trying to create a fair society with no socioeconomic classes, the citizens were stripped of individuality.

Communism played a major role shaping the 20th century, both for the East and the United States. Its impact can be seen in the US from 1919 to the 1990s and even today. The spread of Communist ideals in the East meant the beginning of the socialist state and mass industrialization. Its effect on the US was much different. The United States people, heavily diversified of all races, religions, and financial statuses, became extremely jingoistic as a result of competition with the USSR. This nationalism became unhealthy as citizens began determining what was “un-American.” The Communist Party USA was not successful in their primary objective of spreading communism to the US. What they did achieve however was hugely important. They showed that citizens of the United States could be scared out of their own freedom. That fear would lead them to give up “liberty and justice for all”. Still a highly misunderstood idea, it is important for citizens of the United States to understand what communism is and what impact the CPUSA and other communist organizations had on the country.

The countries using “communism” as their ideology were not really practicing the socialist ideas of Marx. In the fifties what America and the other democratic nations were beginning to learn about these places is that they were the most abhorrent strippers of human values and rights. Especially the paranoid dictator Joseph Stalin who took the “kill first and ask questions later” approach to problems. Stalinist Russia had some of the worst of the world’s slave labor camps known as the Gulag Archipelago. Whitfeild showed where our fears were manifested the best by giving credit to Stalinist Russia for “the largest killing fields of the twentieth century.

Communist rule was confined to the Soviet Union until the end of World War II.

relations with the West in the form of the Marshall plan nor the lack of

For example, Kovaly explains that the people of Czechoslovakia were aware that Communism had problems in other countries. She says that her people were aware of the atrocities committed in Stalinist Russia during the 1930’s. However, she states that those atrocities could not happen in Czechoslovakia. Kovaly says, “We would not be building socialism in a backward society under conditions of imperialist intervention and inner turmoil, but at peace, in an industrially advanced country, with an intelligent, well-educated population.” (67) Her people believed that they were stronger economically and socially than Russia was.

Many political beliefs exist. Everyone has the right to chose what to believe in, what ideas to have, what to seek and how to achieve his goals. Political science is not very defined and strict. Specific rules saying that if one believes in a certain idea he should join a certain party do not exist. Certain things match certain group of people and other things this group of people would not accept. The same principle can be applied for countries. Communism appears to be successful for China, but it failed for Eastern European countries. It is very important the proper way of government to be found and used by the government of a country. The failure of the government can lead to failure in

The citizens of Czechoslovakia had not known freedom in decades. During much of World War II the nation was occupied by the Nazis and later by the Red Army as it drove the Nazis back to Berlin. When they Red Army moved into an area, communist regimes were set up to govern the area, and establish satellite nations. There were numerous uprisings throughout the decade that were violently suppressed by the communist governments with help from the USSR. After Alexander Dubcek tried to grant reforms to the people of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the USSR and most members of the Warsaw Pact sent their military forces to intervene and suppress any unrest or reforms. Things grew somewhat violent and brutal, as any demonstrators were either or beaten,