The Velvet Revolution (1989)
Called "The Velvet Revolution" because no one was killed. On 17
th November, as
the Berlin Wall was coming down, a student demonstration confronted the police. There were larger demonstrations, with Havel at the forefront, until the Communist government resigned on 3rd December. Havel was elected president on the 29
th of December.
Divorce (1993)
Although the Czechs did not want the country to separate from Slovakia, the economic realities of the new competitive capitalism were different for two nations. The Slovaks had the burden of many former state heavy industries that faces closure and loss of employment. But, again, it was a peaceful evolution in Czech history. Havel had resigned his post rather then preside over the break up of Czechoslovakia, but he was re-elected as the first president of the Czech Republic.