ChronoFive
Play today’s puzzle
Setting the scene
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Czechoslovakia's Václav Havel and Slovak leaders negotiated the end of a federal state strained by diverging economies and nationalist politics; parliament passed a constitutional act dissolving Czechoslovakia at midnight.
What happened
The Czech Republic was founded on January 1, 1993, in Prague as Slovakia became a separate state the same day without the violence that shattered Yugoslavia.
Why it still matters
Slovakia became a separate state the same day, with both republics pursuing EU and NATO accession; Prague's preserved baroque core and industrial Moravia made the Czech Republic a post-communist success story while 'Velvet Divorce' entered political science vocabulary.
Background
Slovakia became a separate state the same day.