Czech Republic

Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Czech koruna (ISO code: CZK)
 * Central bank discount rate: 0.25% (31 December 2009)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 6.25% (31 December 2008)
 * Stock of money (M1): $86.56 billion (31 December 2008)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $58.69 billion (31 December 2008)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1991-?

Links

 * Czech Republic on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Czech Republic
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
 * BBC country profile
 * Byli Přemyslovci podvodníci? ('Were the Přemyslids cheaters?' in Czech) by Jan Färber, about an 11th century inflation, December 2009
 * A Laissez-Faire Fable of the Czech Republic (pdf) by Josef Sima and Dan Stastny, 2000
 * The Czech Miracle: Why Privatization went right in the Czech Republic by Thomas W. Hazlett, April 1995