Velvet Divorce

The Velvet Divorce is a journalistic term for the dissolution of the former country of Czechoslovakia into the nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, effective January 1, 1993.

The term is used to liken this event to the Velvet Revolution of 1989 which led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the formation of a new, non-Communist government. The term itself did not catch on either in the Czech Republic, nor in Slovakia, but it is used by the international media.

History of the separation

In terms of public opinion, many Czechs and Slovaks desired the continued existence of a federal Czechoslovakia. A slight majority of Slovaks, however, advocated a looser form of co-existence or complete independence and sovereignty. In November 1992, when the division had been decided already, 49% of Slovaks and 50% Czechs were against the division, while 40% Slovaks agreed with it. In the same poll, 41% of Czechs and 49% of Slovaks advocated that the question of a division be put to a referendum, which, however, never took place.

In economic terms, the Czech Republic was the territory with a higher GDP level (by some 20%), but a lower long-run GDP growth. Money transfers from the Czech budget to Slovakia, which had been the rule in the past, were stopped in January 1991.

The future of the country, however, was decided by politicians. The Czech politicians elected in the 1992 elections (Václav Klaus) demanded an even tighter federation ("viable federation") than was the case until then or alternatively two independent states, while the leading Slovak politicians of 1992 (Vladimír Mečiar) wanted to achieve a kind of confederation. These two concepts were irreconcilable. Probably influenced by the Declaration of independence of the Slovak nation adopted by the Slovak parliament on July 17, 1992, the frequent and intense negotiations between Czech and Slovak politicians held since June ended by a decision on July 23 in Bratislava to dissolve Czechoslovakia. Further negotiations were conducted with the goal of a peaceful division. On November 25, the federal parliament adopted the "Constitutional law on the end of existence of Czechoslovakia", which stated that "with the expiry of December 31, 1992, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic shall cease to exist" and provided for the necessary technical details.

The separation occurred without violence, and was thus said to be "velvet", much like the "Velvet revolution" which preceded it, which was accomplished through massive peaceful demonstrations and actions and very little violence. This contrasts with the violent processes of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

Both countries were admitted to the European Union in 2004, weakening the boundaries between them.

Division of national property

Most of federal assets were divided in the ratio 2 : 1 (the approximate ratio between the Czech and Slovak population within Czechoslovakia), including army equipment, rail and airliner infrastructure. Some minor disputes (e.g. about gold reserves stored in Prague, federal know-how valuation) lasted for a few years after dissolution. The public in both countries was fairly uninterested in these disputes and their outcome.

Currency division

Initially the old Czechoslovak currency was still used in both countries (monetary union). Fears of economic loss on Czech side caused the two states to adopt two national currencies as early as on 8 February 1993. At the beginning the currencies had an equal exchange rate, but later on, for most of the time, the value of the Slovak koruna was lower than that of the Czech koruna (up to cca 30%, in 2004 around 25%-27%).

Consequences

Citizenship

Dual citizenship was originally not allowed; only years later did courts make it possible. Only handful of people have exercised this right. Since both countries are EU members now, this issue has become superfluous.

People of both countries were allowed to cross the border without a passport and were allowed to work anywhere without the need to obtain an official permit (this was used mainly by Slovaks working in the Czech Republic).

Economy

The dissolution had some negative impact on the two economies, especially in 1993, as traditional links needed to accommodate the bureaucracy of international trade were severed, but the impact was considerably lower than expected by many people.

The hopes that dissolution would quickly start an era of high economic growth in the Czech Republic (without the need to "sponsor the less developed Slovakia") proved plainly wrong or highly exaggerated. Also, the hope of a stand-alone, unexploited Slovakia becoming a new "economic tiger" was partially unfounded. The Slovak GDP level is still lower than that of the Czech Republic; the growth of the Slovak GDP, however, has been consistently higher than the Czech one since 1994 and many predict that Slovakia is entering a period of economic boom.

Language contacts

In the former Czechoslovakia, the first television channel (see Mass media in Communist Czechoslovakia) was a federal one and the Czech and Slovak language was used in equal ratios in the TV news there, although foreign films and TV series were almost exclusively synchronized in Czech, for example. This made almost all people of both nations naturally bilingual, without problems in understanding the other language (the two languages being very close anyway). After the divorce the new TV channels in the Czech Republic practically stopped using Slovak, so that young Czech people now have a much lower understanding of the Slovak language. The Czech TV news, however, recently started to reintroduce Slovak-language coverage from Slovakia. Also, the number of Slovak-language books and newspapers sold in the Czech Republic dropped drastically. In Slovakia, however, most cable TV providers offer Czech TV channels, and for economic reasons, many TV programmes on Slovak TV channels are still synchronized in Czech, some films in cinemas are subtitled in Czech and there are far more Czech-language books and periodicals on the market than before the divorce. Young Slovak people still have the same knowledge (if not a better one) of the Czech language as their predecessors.

Roma (Gypsies)

One of the problems not solved during dissolution was the question of a large number of Roma living in the Czech Republic, who were born and officially registered in today's Slovakia. Most of them didn't re-register their official place of stay during the months before dissolution and the question of their citizenship was left open. The Czech law allowed a grant of automatic citizenship only to those without a felony record and this excluded a very large percentage of Roma. Slovakia quite naturally did not want to grant citizenship to people not living there and seen as problematic. The issue dragged on for years and in the end the existing state was codified.

Conclusion

After a transition period of roughly four years, during which the relations between the states could be characterised as a "post-divorce trauma", the present relations between Czechs and Slovaks, as many people point out, are probably better than they have ever been.

No movement to re-unite Czechoslovakia has appeared and no political party advocates it in its programme. Political influences between the countries are minimal. Trade relationships were re-established and stabilized. After a short interruption, Slovakia's mountains are again the target of a growing number of Czech tourists.

From creation to dissolution – Overview

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