Hard currency hustlers in late socialist Czechoslovakia - Research questions and possible perspectives
2014
Abstract
The paper focuses on a somewhat overlooked topic of the so called "veksláci" (hard currency hustlers) during the era of late socialism. It analyzes the basic context of their illegal activities but it also presents a number of research questions that are yet to be answered.
These questions adress not only the daily practice of the hard currency hustlers, but (in a broader sense) they also concern some of the key aspects of the socialist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and 1980s. This paper also introduces a number of methodological approaches which are relevant to the topic and at the same time it presents various historical sources that are relevant for the research.