Stuha

Non-violent protesters face armed policemen, presenting flowers

STUHA (Studentské hnutí – a Czech student movement; also the Czech word for 'ribbon') was an alternative, independent student movement in the late phase of the Czechoslovak Communist régime. It was gradually formed by Prague students in the late spring and early summer of 1989. The movement was the catalyst that mobilized the university students, later culminating in the demonstration and march at Albertov, Prague, and then on to the city centre, on 17 November 1989.

History

A meeting point of STUHA creators in front of statue of Karel Hynek Mácha in Petřín Park, Prague – 9. 11. 1989

The Stuha movement was formed in summer 1989,^[1] largely at the initiative of former classmates of a technical school (Střední Průmyslová škola strojnická Praha), in Betlémská ulice, Prague: Marek Benda and Jiří Dienstbier Jr.^[2] Other now well-known figures who took part in the formation of the group were Šimon Pánek and Jan Vidím. The aim of the movement was to push for visible democratic change in the Communist régime. With the collapse of the régime following the demonstrations, and with the emergence of new problems and topics and the dramatic differentiation of the new situation, the work of Stuha gradually lost importance and eventually came to a halt in the early weeks of 1990. The differentiation of the politics and ideologies of the main actors, as well as their getting involved in specific political activities, also led to the winding down of the movement. Three of the main founders soon became deputies to the new Federal Assembly (the Czechoslovak parliament).

Before that the leading figures of the STUHA movement had met on 9 November 1989 (the day the great 19th centuryCzech poet, Karel Hynek Mácha, is traditionally commemorated at his monument in Petřín park, Prague), with the aim of getting in touch with the leaders of the Socialist Youth Organization (Socialistický svaz mládeže – SSM) and winning over SSM members who were willing to take part in a mass demonstration for democratization of the régime. This new strategy became the source of conflict within Stuha, but was ultimately pushed through and contributed importantly to the success of the movement for democratic change.

It was very likely STUHA that had considerable influence on the course of events during the student march from Albertov up the hill to the Vyšehrad national cemetery and then, without permission, to the centre of Prague on the evening of 17 November 1989. And it is probably the moderation of this determined group that was reflected in the character and course of the first phase of the public demonstrations and their gradual radicalization. In November 1989, the secret police considered the activity of the Stuha movement to be very important and rather dangerous to the régime. The secret police monitored the role and work of Jiří Dienstbier Jr., Marek Benda, and Ladislav Lis, in organizing and moderating the demonstration at Albertov.

People on the Wenceslas Square in Prague, two days later 2é.11. 1989

A statue of Saint Adalbert of Prague with a streamer and banners

Aims and achievements

Among the important work of the STUHA movement was the awakening of the student body and its interest in civil liberties, human rights, and genuine democratization of the country. The aim was also to create another link between the dissident movement and students of what has popularly been called the 'grey zone' (people who did not support the régime but who did not openly come out against it).

Václav Havel & peaceful Prague protest photo by Marc Dragul

References

↑ Jan Vidím o hnutí Stuha (Jan Vidím on the Stuha movement; in Czech
↑ Martin and Marek Benda, Monika Pajerová, Milan Růžička, Václav Klaus (Preface) Studenti psali revoluci (Students wrote the revolution). Prague, 1990

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Velvet Revolution.

Velvet Revolution on web project of Institute of Contemporary History, Prague Detailed documentation, textual and visual, of the Velvet Revolution partly in English.
The Velvet Philosophical Revolution, City Journal, Winter 2010
Velvet Revolution on totalita.cz Detailed day-to-day history with key documents quoted (in Czech language only). Shortened version was used as a source for Chronology above.
Velvet Revolution on Prague-life A shortened version of the Velvet Revolution.
In the footsteps of November 17 – Czech.cz
After the Velvet, the Existential Revolution? dialogue between Václav Havel and Adam Michnik, English, salon.eu.sk, November 2008
The Velvet Oratorio An oratorio based on the events of the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution Diary English translation of an authentic diary of a student participating in the revolution plus scans of US articles from that time
PDF, zpráva Czechoslovak secret-police report on the student demonstration Albertov 17 November 1989 (in Czech)

Cold War

USA USSR ANZUS NATO Non-Aligned Movement SEATO Warsaw Pact

1940s	Hukbalahap Rebellion Dekemvriana Yalta Conference Operation Unthinkable Potsdam Conference Gouzenko Affair Operation Masterdom Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Corfu Channel incident Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference Marshall Plan 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Tito–Stalin Split Berlin Blockade Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Chinese Civil War (Second round) Malayan Emergency

1950s	Bamboo Curtain Korean War 1953 Iranian coup d'état Uprising of 1953 in East Germany 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Partition of Vietnam First Taiwan Strait Crisis Geneva Summit (1955) Poznań 1956 protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Suez Crisis Syrian Crisis of 1957 Sputnik crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Cuban Revolution Kitchen Debate Bandung Conference Bricker Amendment McCarthyism Operation Gladio Iraqi July Revolution "We will bury you"

1960s	Congo Crisis Sino-Soviet split 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Soviet–Albanian split Berlin Wall Portuguese Colonial War (Angolan War of Independence Guinea-Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence) Cuban Missile Crisis Sino-Indian War Sarawak Communist Insurgency Iraqi Ramadan Revolution 1963 Syrian coup d'état Vietnam War 1964 Brazilian coup d'état United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965–66) South African Border War Transition to the New Order Domino theory ASEAN Declaration Laotian Civil War 1966 Syrian coup d'état Argentine Revolution Korean DMZ Conflict Greek military junta of 1967–74 USS Pueblo incident Six-Day War War of Attrition Cultural Revolution Prague Spring Malaysia Communist Insurgency War Invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraqi Ba'athist Revolution Goulash Communism Sino-Soviet border conflict CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Corrective Move

1970s	Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September in Jordan Corrective Movement (Syria) Cambodian Civil War Realpolitik Ping-pong diplomacy 1971 Turkish military memorandum Corrective Revolution (Egypt) Four Power Agreement on Berlin Bangladesh Liberation War 1972 Nixon visit to China 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War Carnation Revolution Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Rhodesian Bush War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Ogaden War Ethiopian Civil War Lebanese Civil War Sino-Albanian split Cambodian–Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Iranian Revolution Operation Condor Dirty War Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Seven Days to the River Rhine Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union

1980s	Soviet–Afghan War 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts 1980 Turkish coup d'état 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident Solidarity Soviet reaction Contras Central American crisis RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Able Archer 83 Star Wars Invasion of Grenada People Power Revolution Nagorno-Karabakh War Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Revolutions of 1989 Glasnost Perestroika

1990s	Mongolian Revolution of 1990 Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia

Frozen conflicts	Abkhazia China Korea Nagorno-Karabakh South Ossetia Transnistria Sino-Indian border dispute

Foreign policy	Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Johnson Doctrine Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Rollback Sovereignty of Puerto Rico during the Cold War

Ideologies	Capitalism Chicago school Keynesianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply-side economics Thatcherism Communism Marxism–Leninism Castroism Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Maoism Naxalism Stalinism Titoism Liberal democracy Social democracy

Organizations	ASEAN CIA Comecon EEC KGB Non-Aligned Movement SAARC Safari Club MI6 Stasi

Propaganda	Active measures Izvestia Pravda Crusade for Freedom Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Red Scare TASS Voice of America Voice of Russia

Races	Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race

See also	Brinkmanship NATO–Russia relations Soviet espionage in U.S. Russian espionage in U.S. American espionage in the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United States relations US–Soviet summits

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Stuha

History

Aims and achievements

References

Further reading

External links