Czechia marks 35 years since Velvet Revolution

November 17th is the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the events of 1989 by which Czechoslovakia transitioned from a one-party communist state to a democratic and capitalist society. The day has been marked with memorials, concerts and demonstrations across the country, with a particular focus being Prague’s Národní Street, the central thoroughfare where a student protest on this day sparked the revolution. The day also commemorates 85 years since the Nazi closure of Czech universities, an event that inspired the protests of 1989 fifty years later.

People have been gathering on Národní Street since the early morning to remember the events of November 1989. President Pavel visited to pay his respects, as did Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda, and Andrej Babiš, leader of the opposition ANO party. The day has also involved an anti-government protest on Wenceslas Square, and a demonstration by the Million Moments for Democracy movement on Old Town Square. In the evening, the non-profit organisation Post Bellum will hand out its annual Memory of the Nation awards.