Czechoslovakia : was a European continent founded in October 1918 when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and remained until its peaceful disintegration on January 1, 1993, split into two states, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic .

The Republic of Czechoslovakia was officially proclaimed on 28 October 1918 as a result of the unification of five autonomous regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire : Bohemia, Moravia, parts of Silesia (now all in the Czech Republic ), Slovakia and the Carpathian Rothenia (present-day Ukraine ). .

It was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939 and divided into two regions: the Bohemia and Moravian Protectorate headed by Emil Hakha , the Slovak Republic under Josef Teso, and made Silesia under the administration of Poland , and the Carpathian Ruthenia under the administration of Hungary . To its territory which is a province of Ukraine at present.

After its liberation from the Germans in 1945 during World War II (1939-1945), the Soviet army gradually became one of the countries of the Communist bloc in Europe that the Soviet Union headed.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of several disagreements between the two countries, it was agreed to dissolve the union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1992 and Czechoslovakia virtually ceased to exist, and the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were declared the following year.

In 1968, Czechoslovakia witnessed the so- called Prague Spring after the then Prime Minister Alexander Dubcek declared his reservations about the policies of the Soviet Union, prompting the Red Army to enter Prague, suppress demonstrations and topple Dubcek.

Language

The official language of Czechoslovakia is Czech , a West Slavic language, one of the Indo-European languages . Very similar to Slovak, then Polish , and Sorbian to the Lusatia region of Germany , and Ukrainian , Russian and Russian to the territory of Zakarpattia in Ukraine , since Czech accession to the European Union in 2004 Czech has become one of the official languages ​​of the European Union. In the Czech Republic.

Population

The population of the Czech Republic is about 10.3 million according to 2003 statistics. The ethnic composition of the country was formed mainly after the end of World War II and has remained homogeneous since then: about 90% of the population are Czechs, the rest are Slovaks, Roma, Hungarians, Moravians, Poles and Germans. The Silesians, Ukrainians and the inhabitants of the Russian Federation.

Before World War II there were millions of Germans residing in the country, and survivors deported to Germany after the war.