Velvet Revolution - The Slovak Spectator

Students from Bratislava’s universities gathered on 21 November 1989 in the main hall of Comenius University and outside the building, expressing clear support for the movement of Prague university students.

Slovak schools and universities rethink schedules after November 17 holiday scrapped

Government move to end day marking fall of communism forces educators to adjust plans and look for new ways to commemorate it.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Robert Fico and Andrej Danko in parliament

Slovakia ends November 17 public holiday amid fiscal pressures

The Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy will remain symbolic but no longer a day off, as coalition seeks savings after transaction tax backlash.

Compiled by Spectator staff

The memorial plaque dedicated to the victims of the communist-era Border Guards in Petržalka was unveiled only last November.

Memorial to victims of the Iron Curtain in Bratislava is stolen

It was installed only last November, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Compiled by Spectator staff

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, up to 18,000 people gathered on Sunday on the Bratislava's Námestie SNP square at a meeting held by opposition parties Progressive Slovakia, SaS and KDH.

Remembering the lesson of November 1989, thousands took to the streets

Some events commemorated the victim of police brutality in Košice.

Compiled by Spectator staff

The decision to restore communist sickle-and-hammer symbols is prompting resentment in Košice. The motif is widely regarded as a symbol of modern-day Russian irredentism, and is used as such by Russian nationalists.

Interior Ministry will pay Košice to restore hammer-and-sickle symbols

Poland and the Baltic states are removing Soviet memorials; Slovakia is using taxpayers' money to restore them.

Compiled by Spectator staff

A memorial plaque to commemorate victims of the border guards in Bratislava’s Petržalka

The memorial will be placed in the square bearing the name of the Border Guards.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Goodbye breadlines, hello malls: How 1989 changed shopping forever for Slovaks

Greater supply, higher wages and the availability of modern shopping centres.

Compiled by Spectator staff

In an old Russian car, visitors to Bratislava return to the Iron Curtain time

The city has preserved several communist-era landmarks and venues.

It's hard to prosecute communism sympathisers in Slovakia

Police investigate MP Ľuboš Blaha and SNS leader Andrej Danko.

Bringing down the Iron Curtain in Devin near Bratislava, December 1989.

The gains of 1989 cannot be taken for granted

The language of its memories is velvety, but our non-violent revolution required real effort.

Michaela Terenzani

Velvet Revolution falling out of favour

Less than half see end of communist regime in positive light, new poll shows.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Painter and illustrator Miroslav Cipár died at the age of 86 on November 8, 2021.

Photo

The late Slovak artist could have been American had his parents not moved back to Kysuce

Painter Miroslav Cipár, who was born in northern Slovakia, died early November.

Peter Getting

Quality of life, at least when it comes to shopping, has improved since the Velvet Revolution

Customers have more choices and can buy more for less.

Compiled by Spectator staff

Unconvinced by democracy: Czechs nostalgic for Communist past, Slovaks even more so

In the recent Czech election, voters finally turfed the Communist Party out of parliament. Yet 32 years after the fall of communism, its legacy still casts a long shadow over the former Czechoslovakia.

Nina Hrabovská Francelová

Personality of the Velvet Revolution dies at age 77

He was also a journalist and writer.

Jakub Filo

In the north-eastern settlements of Slovakia, people did not know who Havel was

One of the organisers of the Velvet Revolution in Bardejov reminisces about November 1989.

Pandemic is the hardest test since 1989. Let's stick together

President Zuzana Čaputová addressed the nation on the eve of the 31st anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Michaela Terenzani

Slovak for Congress: Krupina native makes a splash on Arizona’s political scene

Because of Trump’s dealings with Putin, all eastern Europeans are considered Russians because people don’t distinguish accents, says politician Eva Putzova.

Anna Fay