Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2022
Abstract
The chapter is a revised version of an article published in journal Soudobé dějiny [Contemporary History] in 2012. It deals with the crisis of the ruling elites at the demise of Communism in Czechoslovakia.
The disintegration of the official communist language, along with new values of authenticity, individual efforts, and efficiency, had a specific outcome: since the representatives of the ruling elites lacked the ability to react to sudden situations, their response to the destabilization (of ideology and power) was to show uncertainty, "disappointment" or "unpreparedness". The article focuses on the specific disintegration of late Communist elite groupings, which played a significant role in the collapse of the dictatorship in 1989.