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Developments following the fall of communism in then Czechoslovakia have failed the expectations of most Czechs and Slovaks, according to a survey for Czech and Slovak public broadcasters. In the Czech Republic, 54 percent of those polled said they were disappointed while in Slovakia, their share reached 70 percent. Difficult social conditions were given as the most frequent complaint in both countries. However, the survey’s authors said the results did not suggest people would be unhappy about the change but rather that their expectations had been greater.

Gary Keith Griffin is currently in Prague presenting his new Czech-language movie Listopad (November), which explores the Velvet Revolution from the perspective of young participants in the street demonstrations of that time. Griffin also had personal experience to draw on, having himself been in the city as those historic events were unfolding at the end of 1989. When we met on Národní St., where the revolution began on November 17 that year, I asked the Oscar-winning cameraman what he had found when he arrived in Prague on an NBC news

The Communist Party says that the Velvet Revolution was a “wasted opportunity”. In a statement released on Friday the Communists said it was not possible to regard the changes after 1989 as a success, adding that today the Czech Republic is run by a propertied oligarchy that pays no heed to the interests of citizens. The party said Czechs had greater social certainty under the previous system. It criticized the division of Czechoslovakia without a referendum and the fact the Czech Republic had joined NATO, which it described as aggressive. The Communist Party of Bohemian and Moravia is one of the few parliamentary parties in the region to retain the word communist in its title.

Countless events across the Czech Republic – and indeed across the globe – are taking place over the next four days to mark the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. These are scheduled in key places associated with the Revolution, such as Wenceslas Square or Národní třída in Prague, as well as in locations such as Washington D.C. and London.

A relay reading of Michael Žantovksý’s new biography of Václav Havel gets underway on Friday afternoon at the Lucerna Passage in central Prague. The reading from Havel is part of a Festival of Freedom, which has been put together to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution. Most of those taking part are friends of the late Mr. Havel, who spearheaded the political changes at the end of 1989 and was president for 13 years. Mr. Žantovksý, who is now Czech ambassador to the UK, was his spokesman and advisor.

Czech and Slovak political leaders are to attend a ceremony in Prague marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism. The ceremony, which is to be attended by Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the heads of the Czech and Slovak parliaments, will take place in the one-time Czechoslovak Federal Parliament building at the top of Wenceslas Square. Participants will hear addresses from political leaders and former dissidents and honour the memory of the first post-communist speaker of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly and Prague Spring legend Alexander Dubcek who died in a car accident in 1992.

The Prague Freedom Foundation will present US Senator Roger Wicker with its first Defender of Freedom Award on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that toppled communism in Czechoslovakia. The Senator is being so honoured for his support for maintaining Radio Free Europe broadcasts to the western Balkans. The award is to be presented on November 17th at a concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Washington. It will be attended by the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, and the former US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, among others.

A new public perceptions survey by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM), conducted on the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, has revealed that around a sixth of Czechs still long for a return to communism, while they are equally split on whether their country’s current politics is moving the country forward.

The Velvet Revolution which toppled the communist regime in then Czechoslovakia began on November 17, 1989 with a student protest at Prague’s Národní třída. But a full week earlier, unrest was brewing in the northern Czech city of Teplice over poor air quality. Finally, one young student decided enough was enough.

Czech universities are organizing a gathering at Prague’s Albertov on November 17 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and the 75th anniversary of the Nazi oppression of Czech university students in 1939. The event is to be attended by President Miloš Zeman and his counterparts from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Germany. The event will be followed by a debate with the four heads of state at the building of the Law Faculty. A series of other events are scheduled to take place on November 17 across the Czech Republic to mark the fall of communist regime.