
Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, 1989 – In Pictures - Anon84
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2019/nov/16/czechoslovakias-velvet-revolution-1989-in-pictures
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pjc50
I once asked a Romainian colleague how the revolution went for him. The main
thing he talked about was just how chaotic the post-revolution power struggle
was. Having to argue an angry mob out of attacking the foreign students at his
university. Two nearby Army units deciding that the other was a rebel faction
and getting into a street battle with anti-tank guns. Widespread theft of
basically everything from the collapsing state-owned industries - this had
always been a problem, but suddenly there was nobody to even try to stop it.

Never imagine that a revolution ends when the corrupt leader is overthrown and
taken out and shot. In Hollywood that's when the credits roll. In real life
that's when the hard work is only just beginning.

~~~
kioieiure
Romania was the only country where the leader (dictator) didn't step down when
he was asked to by Moscow.

The leader was also obsessed that Romania would be invaded by Russia, like
Czech was in 1968, so he had specialized guerilla army units to fight back.
This can explain why the army was fighting itself, and why it took so long for
the shooting to stop.

~~~
rini17
None of eastern bloc leaders was "asked to by Moscow" to step down - or do you
have any sources for that claim?

Gorbachev merely assured everyone that USSR won't intervene like it did in
1956 or 1968, that everyone is on their own. He also encouraged (not enforced)
reforms "perestroika" and transparency "glasnost".

~~~
kioieiure
> _Visiting Berlin in early October, Gorbachev cautioned the East German
> leadership of the need to reform, and confided in his advisors that East
> German leader Erich Honecker had to be replaced. Two weeks later, Honecker
> was forced to resign, while hundreds of thousands marched in protest
> throughout major East German cities_

[https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-
commu...](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-communism)

~~~
rini17
Nowhere I could find he was directly forced to resign by Moscow. Some sources
say it was Stasi, others that it was his own party because of general
political situation (there was mass exodus to West Germany underway).

I am from Czechoslovakia, communists there similarly refused any reforms but I
don't know of any initiative from Moscow to replace them.

~~~
kioieiure
I'm from Romania, there was a lot of talk that Gorbachev asked Ceausescu to
resign, and offered him asylum in Russia, but I can't find a source for that.

But look here, a soviet source says that Moscow would have intervened
militarily to prevent Ceausescu's return:

> “This victory will be a hundred times more valuable if it is won by the
> Romanian people themselves,” a senior Soviet official said. “We would
> definitely act to prevent Ceausescu’s return--by now, that has been made
> clear to all--but the victory belongs to the Romanian people and must be
> protected and developed by them. In this, they can count on our firmest
> support, but let the actions be theirs.”

[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-
xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-s...](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-
xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-story.html)

> _In reality, it may have been a carefully planned coup aided by the Soviet
> Union -- Mikhail Gorbachev 's way of eliminating the troublesome despot
> Nicolae Ceausescu._

> _Through our sources cultivated in Bucharest and access to highly classified
> Central Intelligence Agency reports, we have learned that Moscow had a much
> more direct hand than previously revealed in the creation of the ruling
> Romanian party to replace the Ceausescu government, the National Salvation
> Front._

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/s...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/soviet-
hand-in-bucharest/b306c11f-df27-4c05-a63d-b6b37b00ea72/)

~~~
brokenkebab
It's quite possible that USSR made overthrowing Ceausescu more probable (by
clandestine negotiations rather), because after all in spite of being fellow
socialists, Romanian regime had unfriendly relations with Kremlin in 80s. It
however doesn't support the idea about Gorbi asking anybody to step down.

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dvh
I was seven when velvet revolution happened. I remember few days later when my
father come home from work, I went to the door to greet him. He stepped in,
put his suitcase on the floor, looked at me and said: "Well, from now on they
will not call me comrade but mister". That was revolution for me.

I was as grumpy kid as I am now adult, but I had quite reasonable parents.
They would always asked me if I wanted to join some club activities or
hobbies. Teacher thought I have musical ear so they asked me if I want to play
saxophone. I said no. They asked me if I wanted to be a pioneer (state run
scouts, every kid was member). I said no. And to my surprise my parents
accepted it. I was the only one in my class who wasn't pioneer. But then
people probably started to telling my parents that I could have problems later
on if I don't became pioneer so parents started asking me to join. After a
long while I finally agreed and started preparing for the pioneer entry exams.
Then the revolution came and it all fell down. "What do you mean I cannot be
pioneer?! I want to be a pioneer." I could understand when they told me that
they no longer exists. I even refused to call teacher Mrs and kept calling her
comrade but after a while kids started making fun of me so I eventually
stopped. And I never became pioneer.

~~~
pvg
_" Well, from now on they will not call me comrade but mister". That was
revolution for me._

I was a bit older than you (and not Czech) but I also found this striking
then. All over Eastern Europe the phraseology of communism simply melted away,
down to everyday forms of address. And there were at least two generations of
adults around who had never used anything else.

I lived in Vienna at the time of the Velvet Revolution and soon after the city
was full of visiting Slovaks and Czechs, many arriving in rickety buses. As
prone to high-faultin flights of fancy as any teenager, this seemed especially
symbolic to me - the old imperial capital, all lit up for the holidays,
welcoming what was once its biggest minority. As if saying we could, yet,
erase the murderous divisions and follies of most of the 20th century. Not
exactly how things worked out!

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markvdb
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjoWmDxVEog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjoWmDxVEog)

This was in 1987(!) in the then Latvian Soviet republic. Complete punk. Openly
mocking the entire Soviet way of life. Whoever well-informed could see the
USSR was falling apart very rapidly at that moment.

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Eugeleo
On the 16th there were big protests again, as lots of people are generally
unhappy with the state of affairs here in Czechia. Even Czechs no longer
living here joined the protests in 63 cities around the world. CNN did a nice
short article on it [1], if you'd like to read more about it.

[1]: [https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/europe/prague-velvet-
revo...](https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/europe/prague-velvet-revolution-
anniversary-protests-intl/index.html?no-
st=1573926654&fbclid=IwAR0i7fcAVfAmbxW52wKibQy1yNX9IKpaB4GDwbweJ39OHGKkXFvr7gJHpWc)

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brenden2
There's a documentary called _Meeting Gorbachev_ that's worth watching for
anyone interested in learning more about the collapse of the USSR. Gorbachev
was the leader of the USSR prior to its collapse.

While some saw the downfall of the USSR as the end of communism and a triumph
for the west, others might say it was just another round of the revolving door
of dictators and corrupt politicians that has plagued eastern Europe for
decades (maybe centuries?).

