Prague - Perceptions of Communism

Perceptions of Communism

Romeo Bosna

Elena Rapondzhieva

Mariya KamarashkaBrian ZuluEdiomi Iyanam

Aims and objectives

• We aimed to find out what has remained from Communism in Prague today, 22 years after the official fall of the regime. We would explore that in terms of the way the city looks and in terms of the way people live and think.

Working Definitions:• 1. a theory or system of social organization based on the

holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

 • 2. a system of social organization in

which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.” (Dictionary.com 2012)

Methods and Methodology• Preliminary Research- history of Prague and the Czech Republic, their current

situation in terms of politics, media and way of life.• Field Research

- Flow of tourists- Graffiti tracking- Classic derive: dice system

Audio-Visual data

Capital of the Czech Republic since 1992

The country sits on 78,864 square metres

Home to almost 10.5 million people

1.2 million people live in the capital of Prague.

Religion

Religious; 39.20%Atheists; 39.90%

Travel Destination

London

Paris

Rome

Madrid

Berlin

Prague

PRAGUE HISTORY

In 1355 Prague became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire after King Charles IV was crowned Emperor.

The construction of the ‘Stone Bridge’ began in 1357 and finished in the beginning of the 15 century. It was later named ‘Charles Bridge’

By the year 1781 the present day historic centre of Prague was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.

Patent on toleration of religion.

In 1918 the empire was defeated and its fall lead to the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia.

In 1939 their industrial growth was cut short by the Nazi occupation.

In 1945 the Prague Uprising occurred.

On May 9, 1945 the Soviet Red Army entered Prague

ReligionHuge numbers of historic churches and religious artefacts

Converted to Christianity in the 9th Century (Catholic)

15th Century there was significant call for reform and the Protestant faith started to gather pace.

During the period of Communist rule, religion was effectively banned.

PRAGUE SPRING

Political Reforms by Dubček

• Freedom of Speech• Press Freedom• Cultural Freedom

THE VELVET REVOLUTION

17 November – 29 December 1989(a total of 6 weeks)

Led to Czechoslovakia’s first democratic elections won by Václav Havel.

On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two independent countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia

Methods of research approach into a city

• Tuan Yi-Fu “What begins as an undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value… The ideas ‘space’ and ‘place’ require each other for definition. From the security and stability of place we are aware of the openness, freedom, and threat of space, and vice versa.”

Making it a place

Our habitus• Pierre Bourdieu- “can be understood as the values and dispositions gained from our cultural history that generally stay with us across contexts (they are durable and transportable).”

(Webb, Schirato and Geoff 2002, 36)

Habitus and Hexisthe city’s architecture is the physical embodiment of its habitus, or its “bodily hexis” (Webb, Schirato and Geoff 2002)

Out of the city centre

TOURISM IN PRAGUE

Souvenirs

Barrel organ player

Souvenir shop Tourist treats

OUR EXPERIENCE

Similarity

VÁCLAV HAVEL

2 February 1993 – 2 February 2003

Shaping today’s Czech society

SUBCULTURES

INTERVIEW WITH A LOCAL

QUOTES

What do you remember about communism?- Not to much really….I was too young.

“When I was a child …I was happy, got a chance to play will dolls, I had toys, food. I used to travel with “my parents a lot around the Czech Republic…

“It`s quite complicated with the parents ….but I can tell you about my grandparents. And this is more interesting .At the beginning…it was hard for them to adapt, because they were not working and everything went up – the prices, cost of living, everything was high. The first 2-3 years of capitalism were hard years, but slowly after that….it was ok.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, this idea of Prague and the Czech people having moved on from the experience of communism was evident throughout the city: the exploitation of the topic as a tourist attraction (through souvenirs and museums); the renovation and “westernization” of communist buildings and neighbourhoods outside the city centre; the light and unburdened attitude of young people towards the subject – all of this spoke to us that for Czech people communism is no longer a painful memory.

Limitations• Missing a person with a Western background on our field

research.• More primary research in the form of interviews.

References

• Enyedi, G.   1998.   “Transformation in Central European Postsocialist Cities,” in Social Change and Urban Restructuring in Central Europe, Enyedi, Ed,  Akademiai Kiado, Budapest.  Pp.9-34

• Musil, J.   2005.”City development in Central and Eastern Europe since 1990: Historical context and socialist legacies”, in Hamilton et al. (ed) Transformation of Cities in Central and Eastern Europe: Towards Globalization, United Nations University Press, Tokyo,   pp 22-43.

• Musil, J.  1993.  “Changing Urban Systems in Post-communist Societies in Central Europe: Analysis and Prediction,” Urban Studies, 30:6, 899-905.

• Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1977). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p6• http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech-news/ More Than A Destination Guide ( Last accessed on 21 April 2012.)• http://www.prague-holiday.cz/prague-today ( Last accessed on 21 April 2012.)• http://archiv.radio.cz/history/history15.html The Velvet Revolution ( Last accessed on 21 April 2012)• http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/prague_spring_1968.htm The Prague Spring Of 1968 (Last accessed on 21 April

2012)