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Velvet Revolution Timeline

(November 17–December 29, 1989)

The Velvet Revolution was a largely peaceful mass movement in Czechoslovakia that brought an end to four decades of communist rule in 1989. Less

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Communist rule and dissent

Memory of the 1939 Nazi crackdown

Nov 17, 1939

The 1989 demonstration marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Nazi storming of Prague University in 1939, when 1,200 students were arrested and nine were killed. The anniversary gave the 1989 protest particular historical significance.

Persecution by the secret police

1948 - Nov 17, 1989

Until the revolution began in November 1989, the population faced persecution by state authorities and the secret police, contributing to fear, political conformity, and opposition to the regime.

Communist Party seizes power

Feb 25, 1948

The Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia on 25 February 1948, beginning the period of communist rule whose political repression and restrictions later became central grievances of the Velvet Revolution.

Image source: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

Communist Party seizes power

Prague Spring becomes taboo

1968 - 1989

After the suppression of the Prague Spring, speaking openly about the reform movement became taboo in Czechoslovakia, illustrating the regime's effort to suppress political debate and historical memory.

Image source: Prague Spring

Prague Spring becomes taboo

Gorbachev introduces reform policies

1985

Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of Glasnost, or openness, and Perestroika, or restructuring, changed the nature of political blacklisting in Czechoslovakia and helped create conditions for more open dissent.

Image source: Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev introduces reform policies

Thawing relations with Israel begin

Jan 1, 1989 - Mar 31, 1989

In early 1989, meetings on Jewish religious freedom, Holocaust memory, and ties between Czechoslovak Jews and the Jewish diaspora signaled the first thawing of relations between communist Czechoslovakia and Israel.

Havel receives petition support

1989

During Václav Havel's imprisonment in 1989, numerous important figures and ordinary workers signed petitions supporting him, demonstrating the breadth of sympathy for dissident voices.

Revolutionary demonstrations

Early anti-government demonstrations

1988 - 1989

The first anti-government demonstrations occurred in 1988 and 1989, including the Candle Demonstration. Authorities dispersed them and repressed participants, but dissent continued to spread.

Image source: Velvet Revolution

Early anti-government demonstrations

Candle Demonstration

Mar 25, 1988

The Candle Demonstration was one of the first major anti-government demonstrations in the late communist period. Police dispersed the protest and repressed participants, but the event demonstrated growing public opposition.

Eight Rules of Dialogue circulate

1989

One of the summer's most widely circulated documents, “The Eight Rules of Dialogue,” advocated truth, understanding, empathy, respectful discussion, avoidance of personal attacks, and an open mind.

Petition calls for political reform

1989

A petition circulated in the summer of 1989 calling for an end to censorship and the beginning of fundamental political reform. Its support reflected increasingly reform-minded public attitudes.

Citizens openly express discontent

1989

By 1989, citizens who had previously been complacent or silent became willing to express their discontent with the communist regime openly.

Outside factors catalyze the revolution

Nov 1989

The events of November 1989 confirmed that outside factors were significant catalysts in the downfall of communism in Czechoslovakia, alongside the country's internal opposition and public mobilization.

Anti-communist movement expands

Nov 1989 - Dec 1989

The demonstrations grew beyond the original student protest and became a mass anti-communist movement demanding political change and an end to the existing regime.

Slovak students organize Bratislava demonstration

Nov 16, 1989

On the eve of International Students' Day, Slovak high school and university students organized a peaceful demonstration in central Bratislava, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Nazi assault on Prague universities.

Revolutionary demonstrations begin

Nov 17, 1989 - Dec 31, 1989

The police response sparked a series of demonstrations that continued from 17 November through late December. The protests developed into a broad anti-communist movement.

Prague riot police suppress students

Nov 17, 1989

Riot police violently suppressed the student demonstration in Prague on 17 November 1989. The crackdown became the immediate catalyst for the mass demonstrations that followed.

International Students' Day demonstration

Nov 17, 1989

On International Students' Day, a student demonstration took place in Prague. The event commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the violently suppressed 1939 demonstration against the Nazi storming of Prague University.

Political transition

Velvet Revolution concludes

Nov 17, 1989 - Nov 28, 1989

The Velvet Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in Czechoslovakia that occurred from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Slovaks called the movement the Gentle Revolution.

First largely non-communist government appointed

Dec 10, 1989

President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948 on 10 December 1989, marking a decisive break with communist political dominance.

Gustáv Husák resigns

Dec 10, 1989

After appointing the largely non-communist government, President Gustáv Husák resigned on 10 December 1989, further accelerating the transfer of power.

Image source: Gustáv Husák

Gustáv Husák resigns

Alexander Dubček elected parliamentary speaker

Dec 28, 1989

Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December 1989, bringing a prominent reform communist and Prague Spring figure back into a leading national political role.

Image source: Alexander Dubček

Alexander Dubček elected parliamentary speaker

Václav Havel elected president

Dec 29, 1989

On 29 December 1989, rebel playwright and human rights activist Václav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia. His election symbolized the revolution's victory and the end of communist rule.

Consensus forms around a market economy

Jan 1, 1990 - Mar 31, 1990

Despite political transformation, there was broad consensus in early 1990 to move toward a market economy, shaping the new government's economic program.

Economic liberalization program begins

Jan 1, 1990 - Mar 31, 1990

The president and his top economic advisers decided to liberalize prices, promote de-monopolization, and privatize the economy as part of the post-revolutionary transition.

Image source: Economy of the Czech Republic

Economic liberalization program begins

First democratic elections since 1946

Jun 1990

Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946 in June 1990. The elections legitimized the new government and created a mandate for addressing the remnants of communist power.

Communist legacy addressed after elections

Jun 1990

The free June 1990 elections set the stage for dealing with the remaining political influence of the Communist Party and the broader legacy of the communist period.

Legacy and commemoration

Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolves

Dec 31, 1992

On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

Image source: Dissolution of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolves

Slovakia adopts the term Gentle Revolution

1993

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Slovakia used the term Gentle Revolution, or nežná revolúcia, which Slovaks had used for the revolution from the beginning.

Slovakia issues Velvet Revolution commemorative coin

Nov 17, 2009

Slovakia issued a commemorative 2 euro coin on 17 November 2009 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Key Facts

  1. The revolution began on November 17, 1989, when police violently dispersed a student demonstration in Prague.
  2. The crackdown sparked widespread protests, strikes, and demonstrations demanding political freedom and democratic reforms.
  3. Dissident playwright Václav Havel became a leading figure through the Civic Forum opposition movement.
  4. The Communist Party agreed to constitutional changes, ending its monopoly on political power in late November.
  5. Václav Havel was elected president on December 29, 1989, marking the peaceful transition to democracy.

Source

This Velvet Revolution timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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