Slovakia

Slovakia An independent republic since 1 January 1993. It formed the eastern part of Czechoslovakia from 1918, but many Slovaks soon felt disillusioned by a government composed of largely Czech elites which appeared to ignore their concerns. During World War II, it was governed by a Nazi puppet government under Tiso. Even though the Slovak revolt against the regime on 29 August 1944 was easily repressed by the Germans, it nevertheless provided an important boost for Slovak self-confidence, and subsequently soured relations with the Czechs, who had not undertaken a similar revolt. The Communist government tried to placate the Slovaks by transferring whole industries from the Czech lands to the agrarian Slovakia. Nevertheless, during the 1950s and 1960s, Slovak resentment was channelled through the Slovak Communist Party, which was increasingly resentful of the Stalinism of Gottwald and Novotny, who were both Czech. It was the rebellion of the Slovak wing of the party which resulted in the leadership of the Slovak Dubček, and the reforms of the Prague Spring.

Disappointment at the failure of the Prague Spring was barely muted by the fact that the hardline Husák was also a Slovak. However, in the subsequent two decades there seemed to be little official recognition of Slovak distinctiveness. Slovak desires for greater autonomy resurfaced during and after the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and ultimately led to independence. In contrast to its Czech neighbour, Slovakia proceeded more cautiously towards capitalism, slowing down the initially rapid process of privatization in 1994.

Ethnically less homogeneous than the Czech Republic, the first years of independence were marked by sporadic hostility against the Hungarian minority (10 per cent of the population), while in on 15 November 1995 Slovak was reaffirmed as the country's only official language. The first years of independence were characterized by the increasingly autocratic rule of Vladimir Mečiar, who tried to entrench his own rule and that of his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). The led to frequent confrontations with the President, Kováč, and caused mounting popular protests. The 1998 elections resulted in a landslide victory for the disparate opposition movement. Under the Prime Minister, Mikuláš Dzurinda, it gradually moved to strengthen the political institutions, create a more stable party system, and conduct accession negotiations for membership with the EU. In 2000 Mečiar was defeated in his bid to become President, when he lost to Rudolf Schuster.