Historical Dictionary of Slovakia

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EUROPE HISTORY HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF EUROPE, NO. 47

KIRSCHBAUM

SECOND EDITION

The updated second edition of Historical Dictionary of Slovakia offers crossreferenced dictionary entries on Slovak political, social, and economic devel-

admission into the European Union in 2004. Entries describe presidents, prime ministers, and party leaders, and many leading academics and cultural personalities, including those from the national minorities. The dictionary also contains entries on the various institutions of the Slovak Republic, such as the judi-

explains Slovakia’s position and role in international organizations like NATO and the European Union. The historical survey explains how Slovakia, in its post-Communist transformation, was almost excluded from these institutions, but eventually became a full member.

This second edition adds fresh personalities, concepts, and events that marked this nation’s struggle for survival over the centuries. The bibliography is expanded, containing the most recent works in Western languages and seminal publications in the Slovak language on various aspects of Slovakia’s history. It enables the scholar and the researcher access to the background and the role of most of the institutions and figures of contemporary Slovakia.

Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, born in Bratislava, Slovakia, is professor of interna-

slovakia

ciary system, armed forces, media, and parliamentary committees and

Historical Dictionary of

opment since the creation of the second Slovak Republic in 1993 and its

slovakia

tional studies at York University, Glendon College, Toronto.

For orders and information please contact the publisher

SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 www.scarecrowpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5535-9 ISBN-10: 0-8108-5535-6 90000 9 780810 855359

SECOND EDITION

STANISLAV J. KIRSCHBAUM

HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF EUROPE Edited by Jon Woronoff

1. Portugal, by Douglas L. Wheeler. 1993. Out of print. See No. 40. 2. Turkey, by Metin Heper. 1994. Out of print. See No. 38. 3. Poland, by George Sanford and Adriana Gozdecka-Sanford. 1994. Out of print. See No. 41. 4. Germany, by Wayne C. Thompson, Susan L. Thompson, and Juliet S. Thompson. 1994 5. Greece, by Thanos M. Veremis and Mark Dragoumis. 1995 6. Cyprus, by Stavros Panteli. 1995 7. Sweden, by Irene Scobbie. 1995 8. Finland, by George Maude. 1995 9. Croatia, by Robert Stallaerts and Jeannine Laurens. 1995. Out of print. See No. 39. 10. Malta, by Warren G. Berg. 1995 11. Spain, by Angel Smith. 1996 12. Albania, by Raymond Hutchings. 1996. Out of print. See No. 42. 13. Slovenia, by Leopoldina Plut-Pregelj and Carole Rogel. 1996 14. Luxembourg, by Harry C. Barteau. 1996 15. Romania, by Kurt W. Treptow and Marcel Popa. 1996 16. Bulgaria, by Raymond Detrez. 1997. Out of print. See No. 46. 17. United Kingdom: Volume 1, England and the United Kingdom; Volume 2, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, by Kenneth J. Panton and Keith A. Cowlard. 1997; 1998 18. Hungary, by Steven Béla Várdy. 1997 19. Latvia, by Andrejs Plakans. 1997 20. Ireland, by Colin Thomas and Avril Thomas. 1997 21. Lithuania, by Saulius Suziedelis. 1997 22. Macedonia, by Valentina Georgieva and Sasha Konechni. 1998 23. The Czech State, by Jiri Hochman. 1998 24. Iceland, by Guðmundur Hálfdanarson. 1997 25. Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Ante Cuvalo. 1997 26. Russia, by Boris Raymond and Paul Duffy. 1998 27. Gypsies (Romanies), by Donald Kenrick. 1998 28. Belarus, by Jan Zaprudnik. 1998 29. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, by Zeljan Suster. 1999 30. France, by Gino Raymond. 1998 31. Slovakia, by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum. 1998. Out of print. See No. 47.

32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45.

Netherlands, by Arend H. Huussen Jr. 1998 Denmark, by Alastair H. Thomas and Stewart P. Oakley. 1998 Modern Italy, by Mark F. Gilbert and K. Robert Nilsson. 1998 Belgium, by Robert Stallaerts. 1999 Austria, by Paula Sutter Fichtner. 1999 Republic of Moldova, by Andrei Brezianu. 2000 Turkey, 2nd edition, by Metin Heper. 2002 Republic of Croatia, 2nd edition, by Robert Stallaerts. 2003 Portugal, 2nd edition, by Douglas L. Wheeler. 2002 Poland, 2nd edition, by George Sanford. 2003 Albania, New edition, by Robert Elsie. 2004 Estonia, by Toivo Miljan. 2004 Kosova, by Robert Elsie. 2004 Ukraine, by Zenon E. Kohut, Bohdan Y. Nebesio, and Myroslav Yurkevich. 2005 46. Bulgaria, 2nd edition, by Raymond Detrez. 2006 47. Slovakia, 2nd edition, by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum. 2007

Historical Dictionary of Slovakia Second Edition

Stanislav J. Kirschbaum

Historical Dictionaries of Europe, No. 47

The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2007

SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2007 by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. Historical dictionary of Slovakia / Stanislav J. Kirschbaum. — 2nd ed. p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of Europe ; no. 47) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5535-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-5535-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Slovakia–History–Dictionaries. I. Title. II. Series. DB2744.K57 2007 943.73003–dc22 2006010136 First edition by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, European Historical Dictionaries, No. 31, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD, 1999 ISBN 0-8108-3506-1

∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America.

To my mother, to my daughters Olga, Sophia, and Alexandra, and to the memory of my father

Contents

Editor’s Foreword

Jon Woronoff

vii

Acknowledgments

ix

Maps

xi

Note on Spelling

xvii

Acronyms and Abbreviations

xix

Chronology

xxiii

Introduction

1

THE DICTIONARY

39

Bibliography

317

Appendix

347

About the Author

353

v

Editor’s Foreword

Among the various “new” states that have emerged in Central Europe, Slovakia is rather special, for it almost did not make it. Long considered the poorer half of Czechoslovakia, it seemed destined to remain so until the historical evolution of the common state brought about different perspectives on the relations between the two components that resulted in a separation. This was achieved quickly and “gently,” although not without some unpleasantness and also uncertainty as to how well the Slovak Republic would do on its own. Since then, it has succeeded despite considerable difficulties. Some were economic, because the country had for so long been integrated in a larger economic space; others were political, as it sought a viable system and suitable leaders; and yet others were social or ethnic because Slovakia is not only the home of the Slovaks but also includes several minorities. Nonetheless, the present state is making a go of it, largely because it is not really “new” but has grown out of many older entities. The Historical Dictionary of Slovakia takes a long view, as indeed it must, to cover the historically significant predecessors, some just tribal, others kingdoms, empires, and states in which it played a greater or (more often) lesser role. There is some emphasis on the brief experience of independence during World War II and the more promising venture that began in 1993. The dictionary section contains entries on all these earlier units and their leaders, as well as the present Slovak Republic and its leadership, including entries on outstanding personalities in various walks of life. Along with historical and political aspects, there is ample coverage of economic, social, cultural, and linguistic topics. The chronology makes it easy to trace the path from past to present, and the list of acronyms helps to decipher the documentation. The useful bibliography makes this volume a stepping stone for further research on the “new” and also the older Slovakia and indicates why Slovakia and the Slovaks vii

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EDITOR’S FOREWORD

deserve greater consideration in the literature than has been the case until recently. This second edition was written by the same author as the first edition, Stanislav J. Kirschbaum, who was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, but raised and educated in Switzerland, Italy, France, and Canada, where he still lives and works. A specialist in Eastern European politics, especially of the not-so-remote Communist past, he has also delved into the earlier periods and the contemporary era. This broad and deep knowledge of Slovakia has been integrated in his teaching at York University in Toronto, where he is professor of international studies and political science, and more generally in numerous articles and books, the most relevant of which is A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival, now in a second edition. The information Dr. Kirschbaum has amassed over a long and fruitful career is now available in a particularly handy form in this updated and expanded second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Slovakia.

Jon Woronoff Series Editor

Acknowledgments

The writing of the second edition of this dictionary was an even more delightful exercise than the first because it gave me an opportunity to delve further into the social, economic, and political development of the second Slovak Republic and to acquaint myself with many of the people who have played or continue to play an important role in its life. Of course, errors found in the first edition were corrected and I am thankful to those who pointed them out. But the main task of this edition was to focus on the present and the recent past. All of the information in the first edition was retained in order to give the dictionary as broad a vocation as possible. Still, in works like this one, the issue of selection is always crucial; no doubt I have left out inadvertently a number of important personalities, not described totally accurately an institution, or not interpreted an event to the satisfaction of everyone, perhaps even sinned against some sort of “political correctness.” I am satisfied that I have been as fair, balanced, and objective as possible under the circumstances and that the information on Slovakia in this book will serve a broad spectrum of scholars, students, and interested readers. The acquisition of information was not always a simple matter; therefore, my heartfelt thanks go to those who so generously answered my queries or went out of their way to dig up information: they are Milan Buček, Ján Čarnogurský, Jozef Hvišč, Pavol Kossey, and Jozef Rydlo in Bratislava, and Milan Katuninec, Jozef Šimončič, and Pavol Krištof in Trnava. I also thank the many respondents from various ministries and institutions in Slovakia who helped me with my queries, in particular Marta Dubovská, Elena Červenová, Vladimír Čičmanec, Ľubomír Čierny, Darina Jahelková, Darina Janovská, Ivanka Litvajová, Klára Mészárosová, Eva Rupcová, and Captain Milan Vanga. In addition, I owe a debt of gratitude to Jozef Suchý of Toronto for his help, his thoughtful comments on various aspects of the manuscript, and for ix

x •

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

proofreading all of the Slovak words. They are all absolved of any errors and omissions; the responsibility is entirely mine. To my lovely wife Tiiu, whose love, patience, and help were an added bonus, I am very thankful. I gratefully acknowledge the permission granted by St. Martin’s Press to reproduce the maps found in my volume A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival (1995). I dedicate this book to my mother and to my three daughters with all the love a father can have for his children. I hope that it will help my girls understand and appreciate one part of their family background and heritage. I dedicate it also to the memory of my father who did so much for Slovakia and the Slovak people at home and abroad, especially in Canada. Toronto, Ontario July 2006

Note on Spelling

The Slovak language uses the Latin alphabet. There are letters that have diacritical signs and accents and thereby indicate a specific sound. Indicated below are the approximate pronunciations in English. Vowels ä ô

as in set as in won’t (the first two sounds in the word)

Consonants č ď ch j ľ ň š ť ž

as in child as in would you (at the junction without a pause) as in Scottish “loch” as in yes or boy as in million as in onion as in She as in must you (at the junction without a pause) as in pleasure

The acute accent on a letter indicates length. The long vowels are approximately twice as long as the short ones. When the consonants d, t, n, and l, have a diacritical sign or a tight “apostrophe,” or when they are followed by the vowels e or i, they acquire a soft pronunciation: written: de te ď ť ne le ň ĺ

pronounced: dje tje nje lje xvii

xviii •

di ti ni li

NOTE ON SPELLING

dji tji nji lji

The dictionary is organized according to the Slovak alphabet. This means that the letter č follows c; ď follows d; ch follows h; š follows s; and ž follows z. The dictionary also includes in their proper order the letters q and w, which do not exist in Slovak. Finally, we wish to point out that we have used the Slovak version of Hungarian names where applicable and put the Hungarian spelling in brackets. In doing this, we have followed normal usage in Slovak.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADSR ANO APR ASR AZZZ SR

ČR ČSDSR ČSL ČSFR Č-SFR ČSR ČSR Č-SR ČSSR ČS SNS DS DÚ

Aliancia demokratov Slovenskej republiky/Alliance of Democrats in the Slovak Republic Aliancia nového občana/Alliance for a New Citizen Alternatíva politického realizmu/Alternative of Political Realism Armáda Slovenskej republiky/Army of the Slovak Republic Asociácia zamestnávateľských zväzov a združení Slovenskej republiky/Federation of Employer Unions and Associations of the Slovak Republic Česká republika/Czech Republic Českoslovenksá sociálna demokratická strana robotnická/ Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party Československá strana lidová/Czechoslovak People’s Party Československá federatívna republika/Czechoslovak Federative Republic Česko-Slovenská federatívna republika/Czecho-Slovak Federative Republic Česká socialistická republika/Czech Socialist Republic Československá republika/Czechoslovak Republic Česko-Slovenská republika/Czecho-Slovak Republic Československá socialistická republika/Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Československá strana národno-socialistická/Czechoslovak National Socialist Party Demokratická strana/Democratic Party Demokratická únia/Democratic Union

xix

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ECAV

Evanjelická cirkev augsburského vyznania/Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession

FEMKE

Felsőmagyarországi magyar közművelődési egyesület/Upper Hungarian Educational Association

HG HP

Hlinková garda/Hlinka Guard Hnutie poľnohospodárov Slovenskej republiky/Farmer’s Movement of the Slovak Republic Hlinková slovenská ľudová strana/Hlinka Slovak People’s Party Hnutie za demokraciu/Movement for Democracy Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko/Movement for a Democratic Slovakia

HSĽS HZD HZDS JRD

Jednotné roľnícke družstvo/Unified Agricultural Cooperative

KDH

Kresťanskodemokratické hnutie/Christian Democratic Movement Konfederácia odborových zväzov Slovenskej republiky/Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic Komunistická strana Československa/Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Komunistická strana Slovenska/Communist Party of Slovakia Ľudová strana-Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko/People’s Party-Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Ľudová únia/ People’s Union

KOZ SR KSČS KSS ĽS-HZDS ĽÚ MKDM

Magyar keresztény demokrata mozgalom/Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement MKP-SMK Magyar koalíció pártja-Strana maďarskej koalicie/Party of the Hungarian Coalition MPP Magyar polgári párt/Hungarian Civic Party MS Matica slovenská/Slovak Cultural Institute NBS NDS-NA

Národná banka Slovenska/National Bank of Slovakia Národnodemokratická strana-nová alternatíva/National Democratic Party-New Alternative

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

NR SR NS SR

• xxi

Národná rada Slovenskej republiky/National Council of the Slovak Republic Najvyšší súd Slovenskej republiky/Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic

OS SR

Ozbrojené sily Slovenskej republiky/Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic

PSNS

Pravá slovenská národná strana/Real Slovak National Party

RHSD SR Rada hospodárskej a sociálnej dohody Slovenskej republiky/Council for Economic and Social Partnership of the Slovak Republic RSZMĽ Republikánska strana zemedelského (poľnohospodárskeho) a maloroľníckeho ľudu/Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party (usually known as Agrarians) RÚZ Republiková únia zamestnávateľov/Republican Union of Employers SAV SAV SDA

Slovenská akadémia vied/Slovak Academy of Sciences Slovenský akčný výbor/Slovak Action Committee Sociálnodemokraticá alternative/Social Democratic Alternative SDK Slovenská demokratická koalícia/Slovak Democratic Coalition SDKÚ–DS Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia-Demokratická strana/Slovak Democratic and Christian Union–Democratic Party SDĽ Strana demokratickej ľavice/Party of the Democratic Left SDS Sociálnodemokraticá strana/Social Democratic Party SDSS Sociálnodemokratická strana Slovenska/Social Democratic Party of Slovakia SF Slobodné forum/Free Forum SIS Slovenská informačná služba/Slovak Information Service SKA Slovenská katolícka akademia/Slovak Catholic Academy SKDH Slovenské kresťanskodemokratické hnutie/Slovak Christian Democratic Movement SKS Svetový kongres Slovákov/Slovak World Congress SĽS Slovenská ľudová strana/Slovak People’s Party SĽUK Slovneský ľudový umelecký kolektív/Slovak Folk Art ensemble

xxii •

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

SMER–SD Smer–Sociálna demokracia/Direction–Social Democracy SMK–MKP Strana maďarskej koalície–Magyar koalíció pártja/Party of the Hungarian Coalition SND Slovenské národné divadlo/Slovak National Theater SNJ Slovenská národná jednota/Slovak National Unity SNR Slovenská národná rada/Slovak National Council SNRS Slovenská národná a roľnícka strana/Slovak National and Farmers’ Party SNRvZ Slovenská národná rada v zahraničí/Slovak National Council Abroad SNS Slovenská národná strana/Slovak National Party SOP Strana občianskeho porozumenia/Party of Civic Understanding Slovenská oslobodzovacia rada/Slovak Liberation Council SOR SOV Slovenský oslobodzovací výbor/Slovak Liberation Committee SP Strana práce/Labor Party SR Slovenská republika/Slovak Republic SS Strana slobody/Liberty Party SSDS Slovenská sociálnodemokraticá strana Slovenska/Slovak Social Democratic Party of Slovakia SSNJ Strana slovenskej národnej jednoty/Party of Slovak National Unity Slovenská socialistická republika/Slovak Socialist Republic SSR SSV Slovenská strana vyrovnania/Slovak Party of Settlement SSV Spolok sv. Vojtecha/St. Adalbert Society SV Spoločná voľba/Common Choice SZS Strana zelených na Slovensku/Green Party of Slovakia VPN

Verejnosť proti násiliu/Public Against Violence

ZB ZPS

Zbor povereníkov/Board of Commissioners Združenie podnikateľov Slovenska/Entrepreneur Association of Slovakia Združenie robotníkov Slovenska/Association of Workers of Slovakia

ZRS

Chronology

Prehistory 179 Roman legions leave a carved inscription on a cliff in Trenčín (“Laugaricio” in Latin) during the Marcomanni wars. During the second Marcomanni campaign, from 177 to 180, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius writes his Meditations. c. 500 The Slavs make their first appearance on the territory of contemporary Slovakia. 568 The Avars, a nomadic people from Asia, arrive on Slovak territory and subjugate the Slavic tribes. 623–658 Existence of the Kingdom of Samo. Samo is a Frankish merchant whom the Slavic tribes choose as their warlord and leader to defend them against the Avars and, in 631 and 632, against Frankish attacks by King Dagobert. According to the Chronicle of Fredegar, Samo had 12 Slavic wives who bore him 22 sons and 15 daughters. However, his kingdom disappears after his death. 796 The Avars are defeated by Charlemagne’s sons Charles and Pépin. They leave Slovak territory and settle in an area that extends into today’s Austria from the Vienna Woods to the Hungarian border. The Empire of Great Moravia (833–906) 828 Consecration of a church in the town of Nitra by Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg. Nitra is also the name of one of two main Slavic principalities on Slovak territory; its ruler is Prince Pribina. The other, Morava, is ruled by Prince Mojmír. xxiii

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CHRONOLOGY

833 Mojmír of Morava drives Pribina out of Nitra and unites the two principalities to form a new state—the Empire of Great Moravia—and becomes its first ruler, Mojmír I. 846 With the help of the Frankish king, Louis the German, Rastislav of Nitra overthrows Mojmír to become the second ruler of Great Moravia. 855 Louis the German attacks Great Moravia but is unable to overthrow Rastislav. 859 A treaty is signed between the kingdom of the Franks and Great Moravia. 861 Rastislav asks Rome to create an ecclesiastical province on Slav territory, independent of the German dioceses that vie for influence and control in the area. He writes to Pope Nicholas I and asks for teachers who are familiar with the Slavic tongue. His request goes unanswered. 862 Rastislav turns to Emperor Michael III of Byzantium and requests of him not just teachers, but also a bishop. 863 Arrival of the Greek brothers Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius in Great Moravia. Constantine creates an alphabet for the Slavs called glagolitic and begins, together with Methodius, the translation of the Holy Scriptures and other liturgical texts. They also establish an institution of higher learning. 867 Constantine and Methodius leave for Rome at the invitation of Pope Nicholas I, who dies while they are on their way to the Eternal City. 869 Pope Hadrian II, who succeeded Nicholas I, consecrates Methodius bishop, names him archbishop of the new archdiocese of Great Moravia and Pannonia, and approves the use of the vernacular in the liturgy. 14 February: Constantine, who had taken the name of Cyril on entering a monastery, dies in Rome. Methodius is sent back to Great Moravia and named plenipotentiary papal legate to all the Slavs living in the territories ruled by Rastislav (Great Moravia), Koceľ (Pannonia), and Svätopluk (Nitra). 870 Methodius is arrested by the Franks on his way to Great Moravia. Rastislav is also arrested by Prince Svätopluk of Nitra and handed over to the Franks. Svätopluk becomes the third ruler of Great Moravia.

CHRONOLOGY

873

• xxv

Methodius is released and finally reaches Great Moravia.

874 The Peace of Forchheim is signed between the Frankish kingdom and Great Moravia. Svätopluk extends his reign north into Poland, south into Hungary, and west into Bohemia, where he subjugates to his rule, among others, the Czech tribes. 880 Pope John VIII issues the bull Industriae tuae in June, which approves the use of the vernacular, although the Gospel first has to be read in Latin. In addition, an ecclesiastical province is created and a Swabian monk, Wiching, is consecrated bishop of the new see in Nitra and made suffragan of Methodius. 885

6 April: Death of Methodius.

894

Death of Svätopluk. His oldest son, Mojmír II, succeeds him.

895 Czech tribes separate from Great Moravia and declare their suzerainty to the Frankish king Arnulf. 896 Arrival of the Magyars in Central Europe under the leadership of Árpád, one of the seven tribal chieftains. 898 War breaks out between Mojmír II and his brother, Svätopluk II. 899 Pope John IX reaffirms the existence of the ecclesiastical province of Great Moravia with the consecration of an archbishop and three bishops at the request of Mojmír II. 906 During a Magyar attack against Great Moravia, Mojmír II and Svätopluk II are slain. This marks the end of the Empire of Great Moravia.

The Kingdom of Hungary c. 924 The Principality of Nitra becomes the apanage duchy of Árpád’s son Üllö, a status that it retains until the reign of Kálmán (1095–1116). 955 10 August: The Magyars are defeated by the Germans, led by King Otto I, on the Lechfeld, near Augsburg. They cease being warring

xxvi •

CHRONOLOGY

nomads, turn to agriculture, and proceed to create a new state in Central Europe called Hungary. c. 970 Founding of the Benedictine monastery of St. Hyppolite in Zobor, near Nitra. (Some sources suggest that it was founded a century earlier.) 985 Prince Gejza (?–997), great-grandson of Árpád, converts to Christianity and encourages all Magyars to do likewise. 995 Gejza’s son Vajk is baptized and takes the name of Stephen. He marries the Bavarian princess Gisela. c. 1000 Arrival in the Benedictine monastery of Zobor of two missionaries, Svorad-Andrew and Benedict, both of whom are considered to be the first Slovak saints. 1000 Pope Sylvester II and German Emperor Otto III grant Prince Stephen (István) (977–1038), who succeeded Gejza in 997, the title of king; he becomes the first monarch of the Kingdom of Hungary. 1001 Duke Boleslav the Great (992–1018) of Poland occupies the northern parts of what is contemporary Slovakia. In subsequent years, he extends his influence as far as the Danube and Tisa rivers, thus encompassing most of Slovakia. 1018 An agreement is concluded between Boleslav and Stephen to give Slovak territory back to Hungary. 1038 15 August: Death of King Stephen. This is the beginning of a struggle for the Hungarian throne that pits Stephen’s successor, Peter, to a pretender, Samuel Aba, who is duke of Nitra. c. 1048 The former Principality of Nitra becomes the center of an administrative unit that covers a third of the kingdom (tertia pars Regni) that Andrew I grants to his brother Béla; until the beginning of the 12th century, during the reign of Kálmán, it also serves as the power base for pretenders to the throne. 1075 Founding of the Benedictine monastery Svätý Beňadik nad Hronom by King Gejza I. 1083 Nitra regains its status as an episcopal see by authority of Pope Gregory VII during the reign of King Ladislas I.

CHRONOLOGY

• xxvii

1222 In May, King Andrew II signs the Golden Bull, which seriously limits royal power by giving the landed nobility a jus resistendi (right to resist royal power). 1238 King Béla IV grants the city of Trnava its charter as a free royal city, the second city in Hungary, but the first on Slovak territory to be granted this privilege. 1239 The first female mendicant order in Slovakia, the Poor Clares (Klarisky), appears in Trnava. The monastery they build is the oldest urban monastery in Slovakia. 1241 11 April: Battle of Muhi, where the Hungarians are defeated by the Mongol invaders. For the better part of a year the Mongols ravage the towns and villages of Slovakia. In 1242, they return to Asia at the news of the death of Khagan Ogodei. 1301 14 January: Death of Andrew III, last of the Árpáds; a struggle for his succession ensues and involves a Magyar oligarch, Matúš Čák, who rules most of Slovakia and is known as “Lord of the Váh and the Tatras.” Čák at first supports the Přemyslide Václav III (1301–1305), who reigns under the name of Ladislas V; he then switches his support to Charles Robert of Anjou (1307–1342) when Ladislas abdicates to succeed to the throne of Bohemia on the death of his father and Otto of Bavaria makes a claim for the Hungarian throne. Čák’s support of Ladislas earns him more power and territory and, when he throws his lot behind Charles Robert, he is made one of the three palatines of the kingdom in 1309, with his authority extending to much of what is contemporary Slovakia. 1312 15 June: Čák’s forces, with the help of the Amadei, another oligarchic family, challenge Charles Robert and are defeated at Rozhanovce. 1321 18 March: Death of Čák. He is remembered in Slovak tradition and oral history as Matúš Trenčianský—“Matúš of Trenčín.” 1328 Charles Robert founds a mint in Kremnica, which a year later begins minting silver coins and, in 1335, gold florins. 1342 First parish school for which there are records opens in Diviaky nad Nitricou.

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CHRONOLOGY

1381 7 May: The Slavic inhabitants of the town of Žilina receive the Privilegium pro Slavis, which gives them equal rights with the Germans in the town council, including the use of their language. 1387

31 March: Sigismond of Luxemburg becomes king of Hungary.

1428 The first groups of Czech Hussite soldiers appear on Slovak territory in January. They are led by Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa and establish garrisons in such towns as Trnava, Skalica, Topoľčany, and Žilina and remain on Slovak territory on and off—they leave in 1434 but return in 1440—for about four decades. They are known as the Brethren. 1438 1 January: Albert of Habsburg is crowned king of Hungary. His death a year later results in a struggle for succession between Ladislas V Posthumous and Wladislaw I Jagellion. In the civil war that ensues, Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa sides with Elizabeth, mother of Ladislas, while the other nobles, led by János Hunyadi, support Wladislaw. 1444 10 November: Wladislaw’s death at the battle of Varna against the Turks results in an interregnum during which Hunyadi is regent from 1446 until 1453. 1453 29 January: The nobles and the Hungarian Diet finally recognize Ladislas V Posthumous as the legitimate king of Hungary. 1458 24 January: The son of János Hunyadi, Mathias “Corvinus,” becomes king of Hungary. 1465 29 May: Founding of the first university on Slovak territory, the Academia Istropolitana in Bratislava, consisting of four faculties. 1467 30 January: King Mathias I “Corvinus” defeats the Brethren and expels them from Slovak territory. 20 July: The official opening of Academia Istropolitana takes place. 1490 6 April: Death of King Mathias I “Corvinus” and the closing of the Academia Istropolitana. 15 July: Wladislaw II Jagellion is elected king of Hungary. 1495 16 March: Creation of the Fugger–Turzo concern, which controls mining in central Slovakia when Ján Turzo signs a merger agreement with the Fugger family of Augsburg.

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1517 The publication in Vienna of István Werbőczi’s Tripartitum, a document that lays down in explicit terms the complete legal equality of all nobles as enjoying “one and the same liberty.” 1526 29 August: Battle of Mohács, during which Louis II dies and the Hungarian army is defeated by the Ottoman Turks. His succession is the object of a power struggle between Ferdinand of Habsburg and Ján Zápoľský, Voivode of Transylvania, who has the support of the Hungarian magnates. 1540 sion.

21 July: The death of Zápoľský settles the question of succes-

1546 2 November: First Synod of the Augsburg Confession Lutherans in Prešov. 1549 The Confessio Pentapolitana, prepared by Leonhard Stoeckel of Bardejov, is accepted by five eastern Slovak towns (Bardejov, Košice, Levoča, Prešov, and Sabinov) in September. 1559 Seven central Slovak towns adopt the Confessio Montana (also known as the Confessio Heptapolitana). 1561 Nicholas Oláh, archbishop of Ostrihom, opens a seminary in Trnava and invites the Jesuits to prepare candidates for the priesthood. 1567 The seminary in Trnava burns down and the Jesuits leave and establish themselves in Kláštor pod Znievom and Šaľa. 1569 Twenty-four priests in Spiš county adopt the Confessio Scepusiana. 1591–1606 The 15-year war between Hungary and the Turks. The Peace of Zistvatorok ensures two decades of peace. 1603

Protestants are driven out of Košice and Prešov.

1604–1606 First of five magnate rebellions; this one is led by Štefan Bočkai. Most of the fighting during the five magnate rebellions takes place on Slovak territory. 1610 28 to 30 March: The Lutheran synod in Žilina creates the Lutheran Church on Slovak territory.

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1616 28 September: The Jesuit priest Peter Pázmaň becomes archbishop of Ostrihom and launches the Counter-Reformation in Hungary. 1619–1622 Second magnate rebellion led by Gabriel Betlen. Two Jesuit priests in Košice suffer martyrdom: Štefan Pongrác and Melicher Grodecký, as well as canon Marek Križin. 1629 Archbishop Peter Pázmaň is elevated to the rank of Prince of the Church. 1635 12 May: Founding of the University of Trnava by Peter Cardinal Pázmaň under the leadership of the Jesuits. Initially, it had only two faculties, philosophy and theology. 14 November: Martin Palkovič, the university’s first professor of Philosophy, gives the first lecture on the subject: “The importance of philosophy.” 1636 Publication in Prešov of Juraj Tranovský’s Cithara sanctorum, a Lutheran hymnal. 1642 Publication of Jakub Jakobeus’s Viva gentis Slavonicae delineatio (A live outline of the Slovak nation) and also of a poetic work entitled Gentis Slavonicae lacrumae, suspiria et vota (The tears, sighs, and vows of the Slovak nation), which complements his history of the Slovaks. 1644–1645 Third magnate rebellion, led by Juraj I Rákoci. 1646 24 April: In the chapel of the castle of Užhorod, 63 Orthodox priests come together to consider uniting with the Catholic Church. 1648 Publication of the dictionary Vocabularium ungarico–slavico– latinum (Hungarian–Slavic–Latin dictionary), also known as the Trnava dictionary. 14 May: Orthodox Catholics in Slovakia officially unite with the Catholic Church and acknowledge the authority of the Bishop of Rome in an act called the Union of Užhorod. 1655 Publication of the Catholic hymnal Cantus Catholici by Benedikt Szöllösi at the university press in Trnava. 1656 Publication of Peter Révai’s De monarchia et sacra corona regni Hungariae centeniae septem (Seven centuries of the Hungarian kingdom and holy crown), a work that looks at the history of the Slavs in Hungary and throughout Europe.

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1657 26 February: Founding of an institution of higher learning— for all intents and purposes a university in all but name—in Košice by the Jesuits. 1660 7 August: Opening of the Jesuit university in Košice. It will undergo many changes, live through many difficult times, and will be officially closed only in 1921 by the Czechoslovak government. 1666 Publication of Štefan Pilárik’s Sors Pilarikiana (The lot of Pilárik). 1667 2 January: The Faculty of Law is inaugurated at the University of Trnava. 16 October: Opening of the Collegium scholasticum, a Lutheran gymnasium, in Prešov. 1678 Publication of Daniel Sinapsius–Horčička’s Neo-forum Latino–Slavonicum (A new Latin–Slovak market) 1678–1681

Fourth magnate rebellion led by Imrich Tököli.

1687 5 March to 12 September: Executions in Prešov of 24 Lutherans involved in the Tököli rebellion with the approval of Emperor Leopold I on suspicion of preparing a new uprising; this event is known as the Prešov slaughter. The Hungarian Diet in Bratislava annuls the right of the nobility to resist royal power (jus resistendi) granted to it in the Golden bull of 1222. 1699 26 January: The Peace of Karlowitz is signed and ends the Turkish occupation of Hungary. 1703–1711

Fifth magnate rebellion led by František II Rákoci.

1711 30 April: The Peace of Szatmar is signed and puts an end to the magnate rebellions. 1713 19 April: Announcement of the Pragmatic Sanction, which allows the succession in the female line in the Habsburg empire. 1722 20 June: Adoption of the Pragmatic Sanction by the Hungarian Diet. University of Trnava law professor Michal Benčik submits a report to the Diet in Bratislava in which he suggests that the Slovak inhabitants of Trenčín were the descendants of the subjects of Svätopluk, who allegedly had sold his country to the Magyars for a white horse.

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1723 In response to Benčik, Ján Balthazár Magin publishes in Púchov Murices nobilissimae et novissimae diaetae Posoniensis scriptori sparsi, sive Apologia (The leg traps which the writer of the most distinguished and most recent diet in Bratislava distributed here and there, or an Apology), which defends the inhabitants of Trenčín. 1731 21 March: Adoption of the Resolutio Carolina; it settles the status of the Protestants, upholding the restrictions imposed by Leopold I: it limits worship, allows Lutheran grammar schools only, forbids conversion, and requires the swearing of a Catholic oath on entry into public service. 1733 Publication of Samuel Timon’s Imago antiquae Hungariae (Image of ancient Hungary), another response to Benčik and a defense of the Slovaks. 1735 Publication of the first volume of Matej Bel’s Notitia Hungariae novae historico geographica (A historical and geographical description of the new Hungary), another defense of the Slovaks. 1740 20 October: Maria Theresa becomes empress and the first of the Habsburg rulers to seek to reform and modernize the empire. 1750 Translation of the Bible into Slovak by Romuald Hadbavný. It will be confiscated in 1786 when all contemplative orders are banned by Joseph II; the Bible will later be given to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. 1755 Publication of Hugolín Gavlovič’s Valaská škola (Shepherds’ storehouse of wisdom). 1763 Completion of the first Slovak–Latin dictionary by Romuald Hadbavný, the Syllabus dictionarii Latino–Slavonicus (Outline of a Latin–Slavic dictionary). It, too, will be confiscated by the imperial government. 9 June: Opening of the Bergakademie for mining in Banská Štiavnica. 14 September: Opening in Senec of the Collegium oeconomicum for the teaching of economics and commerce. 1767 23 January: Enactment of the Urbarial law that defines the normative size of a peasant holding, forbids further conversion from peasant to demesne land, and codifies the exact sum and nature of peasant obligations.

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1770 The University of Trnava opens a Faculty of Medicine. 1773 21 July: Dissolution of the Jesuit order by Pope Clement XIV followed by the closing of all Jesuit schools. 1777 22 August: Publication of the Ratio Educationis, an educational reform that makes primary education compulsory. 26 September: Transfer of the University of Trnava to Buda in Hungary. 1780 29 November: Joseph II becomes emperor; during the next decade, he promulgates edicts and decrees that destroy the old feudal order in the empire. 1781

13 October: Joseph II enacts the Edict of Toleration.

1783 Publication of Ignác Bajza’s René mláďenca príhodi a skusenosťi (Adventures and experiences of a young man called René), a novel written in Cultural Western Slovak. 1785 22 August: Enactment of the Peasant Patent, which gives the peasantry the liberty to leave their holding on payment of their dues and forbids the expropriation of their land without adequate compensation.

The National Revival and Magyarization 1787 Publication of Anton Bernolák’s Dissertatio philologico-critica de litteris Slavorum (A philologico-critical dissertation of the letters of the Slavs) in which he formulates the principles of a Slovak literary language. 1789 Publication of Juraj Fándly’s Dúverná zmúlva medzi mňíchom a diáblom o prvních počátkoch, o starodávních, aj o včulajších premenách rehoľníckích (A private dialogue between a monk and the devil about the beginnings and the ancient and contemporary changes in religious orders), the first work published in Bernolák’s literary language. 1790 Publication of the first Slovak grammar, Anton Bernolák’s Grammatica slavica (Slavic grammar).

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1792 Founding in Trnava of the Slovak Learned Society/Slovenské učené tovarišstvo to propagate the new literary language created by Anton Bernolák. 1794 In May, Ignác Martinovič, a Serbian monk, creates two secret Jacobin societies in Hungary, the Society of Reformers/Societas reformatorum for the nobility and the Society of Freedom and Equality/Societas libertatis et equalitatis for radical democrats and Jacobins. 1795 20 May: Execution of Ignác Martinovič and his Slovak lieutenant, Jozef Hajnóci, for conspiracy. 1803 12 December: Establishment of the chair of Czechoslovak language and literature in the Lutheran lyceum in Bratislava. Its holder is Juraj Palkovič. 1806 4 November: Publication of a second Ratio Educationis, which defines further the school curriculum and promotes the use of the mother tongue in teaching in elementary schools. 1811

28 May: Bratislava Castle is burned down.

1818 22 September: The bishopric of Prešov of the Greek Catholic (Byzantine) Church is created by Pope Pius VII with the bull Relata Semper after the division of the bishopric of Mukačevo. 1819 12 June: Alexander Rudnay becomes archbishop of Ostrihom and encourages as well as supports financially the publications of Slovak works, in particular Anton Bernolák’s Slowár slovenskí česko– latinsko–ňemecko–uherskí (Slovak Czech–Latin–German–Hungarian dictionary) in 1825–1827. 1824 Publication of Ján Kollár’s Slávy dcera (Daughter of Slava), an epic poem that promotes Slavic solidarity. 1826 Publication of Jozef Pavol Šafárik’s Geschichte der slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten. 1828 Archbishop Alexander Rudnay is elevated to the rank of Prince of the Church. 1829 Founding of the Czecho–Slavic Society/Společnost česko– slovanská in Bratislava at the Lutheran Lyceum in August.

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19 July: Outbreak of the Eastern Slovak peasant rebellion.

1834 1 August: Founding of the Association of Friends of the Slovak Language and Literature/Spolok milovníkov reči a literatúry slovenskej in Buda by Martin Hamuljak. 1836 24 April: A group of young Slovaks under the leadership of Ľudovít Štúr meet in Devín, where they vow to dedicate themselves to the Slovak nation. 1838 Pavol Jozef Šafárik publishes Slovanské starožitnosti (Slavic antiquities). 1840 The Hungarian Diet passes a law that makes Magyar the official language of the kingdom. 1843 16 July: Ľudovít Štúr, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Michal Miloslav Hodža agree on the need for a new literary language based on Central Slovak dialects. 1845 Samuel Jurkovič creates the first farming cooperative in Central Europe. Slovenské národné noviny (Slovak National News) begins publication in Bratislava. 1846 Publication of Slovenskje pohladi na vedi, umeňja a literatúru (Slovak perspectives on science, art, and literature) by Jozef Miloslav Hurban. Ľudovít Štúr publishes Nárečja slovenskuo alebo potreba písanja v tomto nárečí (The Slovak language or the need to write in this language), in which he defends the new literary language. 1848 18 March: The Hungarian Diet, meeting in Bratislava, passes a number of laws, including the abolition of the robot, but no laws concerning the nationalities. 11 May: Adoption of the Demands of the Slovak Nation at a public meeting in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš. 2 June: The Slavic Congress in Prague opens, at which a Slovak delegation is present led by Ľudovít Štúr, Michal Miloslav Hodža, and Jozef Miloslav Hurban. Pavol Šafárik delivers the opening address. 12 June: The congress is disbanded. 16 September: Creation of a Slovak National Council/Slovenská národná rada (SNR) in Vienna. 18 to 28 September: An uprising against the Magyars takes place. 19 September: Štúr declares Slovakia’s political separation from Hungary at a public meeting of the SNR in Myjava. The SNR is active during the winter military campaign.

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1849 20 March: A Slovak delegation is received by the emperor in Olomouc but receives no firm commitment with regard to their demands. The SNR ceases to exist. 14 April: Hungary declares independence; Vienna demands military assistance from Russia. 13 August: the Hungarian armies are defeated at Világos. 1850

Hungary is governed directly from Vienna.

1853 19 January: Civilian rule is restored in Hungary. 2 March: The emperor confirms the abolition of the robot. 1856

12 January: Death of Ľudovít Štúr from a hunting accident.

1861 6–7 June: A meeting in Turčiansky Svätý Martin results in the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. 12 December: In a modified version, it is presented to the emperor in Vienna by a delegation led by Štefan Moyses. 1863 4 August: Founding of the Slovak Cultural Institute/Matica slovenská on the occasion of celebrations commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the arrival of Sts. Cyril and Methodius on Slovak soil. 1867 21 December: Austro–Hungarian Compromise is signed. Slovakia comes under the direct rule of Budapest. 1868 2 January: Publication in Pest of Slovenské noviny (Slovak news) by Ján Bobula; it announces the creation of the New School party by Ján Palárik. It advocates cooperation with the Magyars, the abandonment of the idea of a Slovak Okolie, and the acceptance of the integrity of the Hungarian state in exchange for language rights. 1869 4 August: Founding of Živena, a women’s organization, in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. 1870 14 September: Founding of the St. Adalbert Society/Spolok sv. Vojtecha in Trnava. 1871 6 June: Founding of the Slovak National Party/Slovenská národná strana (SNS) in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. 1875 6 April: Dissolution of Matica slovenská and the closing of three Slovak gymnasia. 1895

10 August: Nationalities Congress in Budapest.

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1896 7 May: Founding of the Czechoslav Unity/Českoslovanská Jednota in Prague. 1903 4 July: First issue of Milan Hodža’s Slovenský tyždenník (Slovak weekly) is published. 1905 12 June: Founding of the Slovak Social Democratic Party of Hungary/Slovenská sociálnodemokraticá strana Uhorska (SSDS). The party lasted only a year. 1907 27 October: Černova massacre. On the occasion of the consecration of the village church where Andrej Hlinka was born, but to which he was not invited, the authorities fire into a crowd that seeks to stop the Magyar clergy who came to Černova; 15 people died and over 60 are wounded. 1913 29 June: Founding of the Slovak People’s Party/Slovenská ľudová strana (SĽS) in Žilina by Andrej Hlinka, Ferdinand Juriga, and František Skyčák. 1914 26 May: A SNR is re-created in Budapest under the chairmanship of Matúš Dula, but is prevented from becoming active because of the world war. 1915 23 October: Signing of the Cleveland Agreement by the Slovak League of America and the Czech National Council; the agreement proposes a confederation between Slovakia and the Czech Lands. 1916 The Conseil national des pays tchèques (Czech National Council) is founded in Paris in February and becomes, later in the summer, the Conseil national tchéco–slovaque (Czecho–Slovak National Council) at the urging of Štefan Osuský, a delegate of the Slovak League of America. 1917

Creation of the Czecho–Slovak Legion in Russia in March.

Czechoslovakia (1918–1939) 1918 30 May: Signing of the Pittsburgh Pact. Slovakia is guaranteed autonomy within a united state. One of the signatories is Tomáš

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G. Masaryk, president of the Czecho–Slovak National Council. 12 September: Seven members of the SNS meet in Buda to consider and propose the reconstitution of the SNR. 28 October: A new state called Czecho–Slovakia is proclaimed in Prague by the Czech National Committee with Masaryk as president. 29 October: Representatives of various Slovak political parties meet in Turčiansky Svätý Martin to reconstitute the SNR under the chairmanship of Matúš Dula. 30 October: the SNR issues the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, known as the Martin Declaration. 4 November: A provisional Slovak government under the presidency of Vavro Šrobár is named and establishes itself in Skalica. 7 December: It is dissolved when Šrobár is named minister for Slovakia. 19 December: The SĽS is renewed under the leadership of Andrej Hlinka in Žilina. 1919 1 January: Matica slovenská is reopened in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. 8 January: The SNR is dissolved by the Czecho–Slovak government. 27 March: Slovakia’s main city, known as Prešporok in Slovak, is given the name of Bratislava. 4 May: Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik when his airplane is shot down upon entering Czecho–Slovak territory. 16 June: Parts of eastern Slovakia are invaded by the Hungarian Communist forces of Béla Kun in June, and a Slovak Soviet Republic, under the leadership of Antonín Janoušek, is proclaimed—it lasts only a few days. Within three weeks, as a result of diplomatic pressure, the Hungarian forces withdraw back to Hungary. 27 June: Creation of Comenius University in Bratislava. The existence of the Pittsburgh Pact becomes known in Slovakia during the summer. 27 August: Andrej Hlinka, with a Polish passport, leaves with a delegation for Paris to request that the Peace Conference grant Slovakia autonomy, as promised in the Pittsburgh Pact. 1920 29 February: Adoption by the Czechoslovak National Assembly of a constitution that creates the Czechoslovak Republic/Československá republika (ČSR), recognizes the existence of a “Czechoslovak nation,” and changes the spelling of Czecho–Slovakia, used in the peace treaties, to Czechoslovakia. 20 April: Elections to the Czechoslovak National Assembly are held; the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party/ Československá sociálna demokratická strana robotnická (ČSDSR) is the main winner in Slovakia and in the Czech Lands, obtaining 38.1 percent of the vote and 23 seats from Slovakia in the Chamber of Deputies.

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The Slovak National and Farmers’ Party/Slovenská národná a roľnická strana (SNRS) and the SĽS receive 18 percent and 17.5 percent of the vote respectively and 12 seats each. One seat is awarded to the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party/Československá strana národno-socialistická (ČS SNS), which polls 2.2 percent of the vote. Another twelve seats go to the Hungarians and the Germans, who give 18.5 percent of the vote to the German–Magyar Christian Socialists. 1921 16 May: The founding of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia/Komunistická strana Československa (KSČS) takes place as a result of a split in the ČSDSR. 26 November: The SĽS leaves the Populist Club in parliament and breaks from the Czechoslovak People’s Party/ Československá strana lidová (ČSL) with whom, as a single party, it had fought the 1920 elections. It becomes an independent Slovak party. 1922 25 January: Submission of the first bill for the autonomy of Slovakia. It is not discussed by the Czechoslovak National Assembly. 1923 13 January: Creation of the Defense of the Homeland/Rodobrana, a paramilitary organization of the Slovak People’s Party to protect party members at public rallies. Its activities are curtailed by the Czechoslovak government. 1925 17 October: Slovak People’s Party is renamed Hlinka Slovak People’s Party/Hlinková slovenská ľudová strana (HSĽS). 15 November: Elections to the Czechoslovak National Assembly take place; the HSĽS gains the greatest number of seats in Slovakia. Compared to the 23 seats and 34.3 percent of the vote for the HSĽS, the Social Democrats receive only two seats and 4.2 percent of the vote. The Republican and Agricultural Farmers’ Party/Republikánska strana zemedelského (poľnohospodárskeho) a maloroľníckeho ľudu, known as the Agrarians, receive 12 seats and 17.4 percent of the vote, thus holding their own from the previous poll. The KSČS is a newcomer and, by appealing to former Social Democratic voters, receives eight seats and 13.9 percent of the vote. The National Socialists retain one seat for 2.6 percent of the vote. Hungarian and German parties together obtain nine seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 16.1 percent of the vote. 1927 15 January: The HSĽS enters the government and is given two portfolios. 14 July: A constitutional law creates the Slovak Province

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with its own assembly: two thirds of its members are elected and one third are appointed by the government; however, its jurisdiction is quite restricted. The assembly is presided over by a public servant appointed by the government. The Ministry for Slovakia is abolished. 1928 1 January: Publication of an article by Vojtech Tuka in the daily newspaper Slovák on the existence of a “vacuum juris” as far as Slovakia’s position in Czechoslovakia is concerned because of an alleged secret clause in the Martin Declaration. 3 January: Tuka is arrested, divested of his mandate, accused of treason, tried on evidence that he was receiving secret funds from Hungary, and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. 1 July: The law creating the Slovak Province comes into effect. 1929 8 October: HSĽS ministers resign from the government. 27 October: Elections to the Czechoslovak National Assembly are held. The vote for the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party falls to 28.3 percent and 19 seats, the Agrarians again hold their own with 19.5 percent and 12 seats, and the Social Democrats make a modest comeback with 9.5 percent and five seats, while the Communists score only 10.7 percent and five seats. The National Socialists obtain 3.1 percent and two seats. The Hungarians and Germans remain stable at 15.9 percent and nine seats. 1930 8 May: Second submission to the Czechoslovak National Assembly of a bill for the autonomy of Slovakia. It is not discussed by the assembly. 1932 12 May: Rejection by Matica slovenská of a new grammar that sought to bring the Czech and Slovak languages closer together. 25–26 June: A meeting of the young generation takes place in Trenčianské Teplice to reject centralism and demand autonomy for Slovakia. 1933 12–15 August: Pribina celebrations in Nitra on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the consecration of the first church on Slovak territory. (Some historians have since come to the conclusion, on the basis of new evidence, that this consecration took place in A.D. 828.) 1935 19 May: Elections to the Czechoslovak National Assembly are held. The HSĽS joins with the SNS, the Polish Party from Silesia, and

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the Ruthenian Autonomist Agrarian Union to form an “Autonomist Bloc,” which polls 30.1 percent and 22 seats in Slovakia. The Agrarians fall to 17.6 percent and 12 seats, the Social Democrats increase to 11.4 percent with six seats, the Communists go up to 13 percent and seven seats, and the National Socialists maintain themselves at 3.2 percent and two seats, while the German and Magyar parties drop to 14.2 percent and nine seats. 4 November: Milan Hodža becomes prime minister of Czechoslovakia, the first Slovak to hold this post. 14 December: Tomáš G. Masaryk resigns as president. 18 December: Edvard Beneš is elected to the presidency. 1936 19–20 September: The HSĽS, at its congress in Piešťany, adopts a resolution to fight for the autonomy and industrialization of Slovakia. 1938 5 June: The original copy of the Pittsburgh Pact is brought to Slovakia and shown publicly in Bratislava. The Hlinka Guard is created. 16 August: Andrej Hlinka dies. 19 August: A third bill for the autonomy of Slovakia is submitted to the Czechoslovak National Assembly but does not receive a reading. 30 September: The Munich Conference cedes the Sudetenland to Germany. 6 October: Representatives of Slovak parties meet in Žilina and sign the Žilina Manifesto, which demands that Slovakia be granted autonomy immediately in accordance with the bill submitted on 19 August. 7 October: The Czechoslovak government, in accordance with the demands in the Žilina Manifesto, names the first autonomous government of Slovakia under the premiership of Jozef Tiso and agrees to prepare the legislation that will grant Slovakia autonomy. The activities of the KSČS in Slovakia are suspended on 9 October. 2 November: The Vienna Award grants Hungary 10,390 square kilometers of Slovak territory and 854,217 inhabitants, among them 250,000 Slovaks. 8 November: The Slovak sections of most Czechoslovak parties unite with the HSĽS under the name of Party of Slovak National Unity/Strana slovenskej národnej jednoty (SSNJ). 22 November: the Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts a constitutional amendment that grants Slovakia autonomy. The spelling of Czechoslovakia is changed to Czecho–Slovakia. 18 December: Elections to the new Slovak Assembly take place; all parties appear under the banner HSĽS–SSNJ. Out of 100 candidates, 63 are elected deputies. 27 December: The KSČS is dissolved by the Czecho–Slovak government.

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The First Slovak Republic (1939–1945) 1939 23 January: The Slovak government dissolves the KSČS in Slovakia. 10 March: the Czecho–Slovak government orders the occupation of Slovakia by units of the Czecho–Slovak army and the internment of hundreds of Slovak politicians. 13 March: Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Tiso is invited to Berlin and travels with Ferdinand Ďurčanský and Štefan Danihel to meet with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler; Tiso refuses to proclaim the independence of Slovakia on German radio and returns to Bratislava. 14 March: On Tiso’s report to the Slovak Assembly of his visit, Slovak deputies in the assembly vote unanimously the independence of Slovakia, thus creating the first Slovak Republic. 18 March: The Slovak government signs a Treaty of Protection with Germany. 23 March: Germany signs the Treaty of Protection. The same day, Hungarian troops occupy parts of eastern Slovakia but are pushed back by units of the Slovak army in what historians call the “Small War”; Slovakia loses more territory to Hungary when negotiations take place. In the weeks that follow, Slovakia is granted diplomatic recognition by a number of European states, including Great Britain and the Soviet Union. 18 April: The government passes a decree that curtails Jewish participation in Slovak life. In May, the illegal Communist Party of Slovakia/Komunistická strana Slovenska (KSS) is formed. 21 July: The Slovak Parliament adopts a constitution that has a number of authoritarian characteristics along with many liberal and Christian features. 1 September: World War II begins and Slovakia sends units into Poland to recover Slovak territory that had been given away by the Czechoslovak government in 1924. 5 September: Great Britain severs diplomatic relations with Slovakia. 26 October: Jozef Tiso is elected president of the republic. 22 November: Milan Hodža creates in Paris an SNR. 1940 28 January: Milan Hodža becomes president of the Czecho– Slovak National Council created in Paris. 24 April: A law is passed that initiates the “Aryanization” of Jewish firms in Slovakia, that is to say, the sale of 51 percent ownership to non-Jewish owners. 25 June: The SNR is dissolved as France signs an armistice with Germany. 23 July: The Slovak Parliament passes a law that changes the name of Bratislava’s Comenius University to Slovak University. 27 July: Presi-

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dent Tiso is summoned to Salzburg; German Chancellor Adolf Hitler intervenes directly in Slovak political life by demanding the removal of the minister of foreign affairs and interior, Ferdinand Ďurčanský, and his replacement by Vojtech Tuka and Alexander Mach, who are pro-German. Also removed from his position is the secretary general of the HSĽS, Jozef Kirschbaum. More laws are passed in October and November that deprive Slovak Jews of their civic rights and further specify the terms of Aryanization, giving the government the necessary powers to enforce it. 15 September: At a meeting of the SSV in Trnava, a Slovak Catholic Academy/Slovenská katolícka academia (SKA) is created with the mission of encouraging the pursuit of knowledge in the arts, literature, and the sciences in a Catholic spirit and is organized in five research sections: theology and philosophy; history, law, and political science; languages, literature, and literary history; natural sciences; and the creative and musical arts and the history of art. 1941 23 June: Slovakia joins Germany in the war against the Soviet Union on the sole authority of Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka. 18 July: The Allies recognize the Czechoslovak government-in-exile under the presidency of Edvard Beneš. 9 September: The Slovak government approves the Jewish Codex. President Tiso refuses to sign it. 25 November: Prime Minister Tuka declares that Slovakia is a member of the Anti-Comintern Pact. 1942 25 March: The first deportation of Slovak Jews to Germany and Poland begins; the deportations end in October when the Slovak government learns of the fate that awaits them. President Tiso makes use of his power to extend presidential exceptions to save tens of thousands of Slovak Jews and their families. Slovak officials prevent any further deportations until September 1944. 2 July: Founding of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts. 25 October: The United States recognizes the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. The Slovak National Unity/Slovenská národná jednota (SNJ) is created in London by Peter Prídavok. 1943 Resistance politicians in Slovakia, members of the KSS, as well as non-Communists who form the Democratic Party/Demokratická strana (DS), meet in September and agree to re-create an SNR. 25 December: Members of the SNR sign the Christmas Agreement, which

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mandates it to take over the resistance movement and, at the appropriate moment, to take power in Slovakia. 31 December: The SNJ in London is renamed Slovak National Council in London/Slovenská národná rada v Londýne under the presidency of Peter Prídavok. 1944 Partisan units are sent in the spring and summer from the Soviet Union to begin operations against German forces in Slovakia. 28 August: When the members of a German military mission are murdered in Turčiansky Svätý Martin an uprising breaks out and President Tiso asks for help from Germany to fight the partisans. 30 August: The call to join the uprising is made in Banská Bystrica, which is also the headquarters for partisan military activity under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian. The uprising lasts two months, with many villages and towns changing hands many times. Slovakia remains occupied by the Wehrmacht until the end of the war. Germany sends special units to round up Jews, and they deport 11,532 to Germany and Poland. 1 September: The SNR approves the Declaration of the Slovak National Council, which renews Slovakia’s adherence to Czechoslovakia.

Communist Czechoslovakia (1945–1989) 1945 22–25 March: Negotiations between the Czechoslovak government and the SNR take place in Moscow. Slovakia is granted autonomy; the federal solution proposed by the SNR is rejected by all Czech political parties. 1 April: President Tiso and members of the Slovak government move to Austria and on 8 May, the Slovak government officially surrenders to the commander of XXth Corps of the Third United States Army. President Tiso and his entourage are later handed over to Czechoslovak authorities. 5 April: The government program is accepted and is made public in Košice. The SNR and the Czechoslovak government pass laws in April, May, and June that prohibit certain political parties (namely the HSĽS and the Agrarian Party) and that confiscate the property of those found guilty of collaboration. 25 May: The SNR orders a change in the constitution of the SKA so that its activities are in line with the new political order. 2 June: the SNR and the government sign an agreement that defines the areas of competence of each. This agreement is known as the First Prague Agreement.

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1946 15 January: Ferdinand Ďurčanský creates the Slovak Action Committee/Slovenský akčný výbor (SAV) in Rome. Its aim is to promote the continuity of the first Slovak Republic. 1 April: Catholic leaders meet with representatives of the DS to announce that they will fight the elections under one banner. 2 April: The SSV meets to discuss the future of the SKA; for all intents and purposes, except in a formal sense, the SKA is dissolved. 11 April: The Second Prague Agreement, which further curtails the powers of the SNR, is signed. 26 May: The elections give the DS 62 percent of the votes and the KSS only 30.4 percent. The Communists abandon their federal stand in favor of centralism. 28 June: Slovakia’s autonomy is severely diminished in the Third Prague Agreement signed. 14 August: Former Slovak Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka is sentenced to death, then executed on 28 August. 2 December: The trial of President Tiso begins. 1947 15 April: President Tiso is sentenced to death, then executed on 18 April. 14 September: The KSS attempts a coup d’etat in Slovakia by accusing members of the DS of a conspiracy against the state. 1948 28 February: The KSČS takes power in a coup d’etat and establishes a one-party state. 9 May: A Communist constitution is adopted. 14 May: the Slovak National Council Abroad/Slovenská národná rada v zahraničí (SNRvZ) is founded in Rome by Karol Sidor, Jozef Kirschbaum, Konštantín Čulen, and others. 14 June: The Czechoslovak National Assembly acclaims Klement Gottwald as president of the Republic. 12 September: The Slovak National Council in London merges with the SNRvZ in Rome and elects Karol Sidor as its president and Peter Prídavok as its secretary general. 29 September: The KSS becomes a regional party of the KSČS. 1949 23 February: The Communist regime adopts laws on the collectivization of agriculture. 29 May: The KSČS opts for a policy of rapid industrialization. 12 March: Ferdinand Ďurčanský creates the Slovak Liberation Committee/Slovenský oslobodzovací výbor (SOV), which takes over from the SAV. 1950 1 March: A census is taken throughout Czechoslovakia and the results for Slovakia are: Total population is 3,442,317 inhabitants of whom 2,982,317 (86.64 percent) are Slovak, 355,000 (10.31 percent) Hungarian, 48,000 (1.3 percent) Russian or Ukrainian, 40,000 (1.6 per-

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cent) Czech, 5,000 (0.15 percent) German, 2,000 (0.06 percent) Polish and 10,000 (0.29 percent) other nationalities. 11 March: Vladimír Clementis is dismissed as Czechoslovak minister of External Affairs and replaced by Viliam Široky. 16 March: The Vatican nuncio to Czechoslovakia, Msgr. Ottavia de Livu, is asked to leave Czechoslovakia and his departure on 20 March signals the break of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and the Vatican. 6–7 April: At a meeting of the Central Committee of the KSS, Gustáv Husák, Vladimír Clementis, and Ladislav Novomeský are accused of “Slovak bourgeois nationalism.” 13–14 April: All male religious orders are suppressed and their members dispersed throughout the country and forced to do manual labor. 5 May: The Czechoslovak government dismisses Gustáv Husák and Vladimír Clementis from their posts in the SNR. 24–27 May: At its congress, the KSS leadership publicly accuses Gustáv Husák, Vladimír Clementis, and others of “Slovak bourgeois nationalism.” Viliam Široky is elected president of the KSS and Štefan Bašťovanský secretary. 29–31 August: Female religious orders suffer the same fate as the male religious orders. 1951 10–15 January: The trial of three bishops, Michal Buzalka, Pavol Gojdič, and Ján Vojtaššák, marks the culmination of the campaign against the Catholic Church. An educational reform is enacted based on the Soviet system. 24 February: After having been arrested on 6 February, Gustáv Husák and Vladimír Clementis are expelled from the KSČS. 1952 23 January: Karel Bacílek is named Czechoslovak minister of National Security. 15 September: The Slovak Institute/Slovenský ústav is founded in Cleveland, Ohio, and František Hrušovský, exiled Slovak historian, is named its director. 27 November: Fourteen high-ranking members of the KSČS are found guilty of an antistate conspiracy; 2 December: Eleven of the 14 are executed. Among them is one Slovak, Vladimír Clementis. Another Slovak, Eugen Löbl, is imprisoned for life. 1953 21 March: Antonín Zápotocký is elected president of the Czechoslovak Republic by the Czechoslovak National Assembly and Viliam Široký is named prime minister of Czechoslovakia. 26 June: The Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts becomes the Slovak Academy of Sciences/Slovenská akadémia vied (SAV), organized on the model of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. 3 July: Matica slovenská is

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closed down. 19 December: Karol Bacílek is elected first secretary of the KSS. 1954 24 April: Gustáv Husák, Ladislav Novemeský, and other leading Slovak Communists who were involved in the 1944 uprising are found guilty of “Slovak bourgeois nationalism” and condemned to prison terms. 26–29 April: A Bratislava court sentences 24 people to prison terms for being members of Rodina, a Catholic religious group founded in 1944 by the Croatian priest Tomislav Poglajen Kolakovič. Additional trials take place in June and October. 2 November: Bratislava’s university, the Slovak University, is given back its original name, Comenius University. 1955 3 February: President Antonín Zápotocký announced the end of the state of war between Germany and Czechoslovakia. 5 July: Matuš Černak, a leading Slovak political exile, former ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Germany, is murdered in Munich by a parcel bomb sent from Prague. 1956 29 April: Voices against the regime are heard at the second Czechoslovak Writers’ Congress in the wake of the XXth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February, at which Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev condemned Stalin. 31 July: The Czechoslovak National Assembly passes a law that diminishes the powers of the SNR and the ZB. 1957 3 November: Slovak Television begins regular broadcasts throughout Slovakia. 13 November: Czechoslovak President Antonín Zápotocký dies. 19 November: The Czechoslovak National Assembly elects the first secretary of the KSČS, Antonín Novotný, president of the republic. 1958 9–10 January: Karol Bacílek raises the specter of revisionism at a meeting of the Central Committee of the KSS and warns against the activities of “ľudák” elements in Slovakia who are seeking to undermine the idea of the unity of the Czechoslovak people. 19 March: A trial begins in Žilina against 15 former members of the Hlinka Guard Emergency Units/Pohotovostné oddiely Hlinkovej gardy (POHG) for their activities after the uprising from November 1944 to January 1945. 18 April: A Bratislava court sentences five former members of the POHG to death. The sentences are carried out.

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1959 3–6 March: A court in Nitra tries 14 persons for religious activities and condemns them to prison terms. 3 May: Another 15 persons are condemned. 1960 11 March: The secretly consecrated bishop, Ján Chryzostom Korec, is arrested and brought to trial for religious activities. 20 May: Korec is condemned to 12 years imprisonment and loss of citizenship. 9 April: The Czechoslovak National Assembly passes a law that reorganizes the administrative structure of the state by creating 10 regions and 108 districts; Slovakia has three regions and 33 districts. 15–16 April: The SAV loses its independences and becomes a branch of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Central Committee of the KSČS approves this merger on 10 October. 28–29 May: The SOV and the SNRvZ merge in New York to form the Slovak Liberation Council/Slovenská oslobodzovacia rada (SOR) under the leadership of Ferdinand Ďurčanský and Jozef Kirschbaum. 11 July: Czechoslovakia adopts a socialist constitution. 1961 1 March: A census is taken in Czechoslovakia and yields the following figures: total inhabitants: 13,745,577; in Slovakia: 4,174,046 of whom 3,560,241 (85.30 percent) are of Slovak nationality; 518,776 (12.43 percent) are of Hungarian nationality; 45,700 (1.94 percent) are of Czech nationality; 35,411 (0.85 percent) are of Ukrainian and Russian nationality; and 6,266 (0.15 percent) are of German nationality. Other nationalities total 7,652 (0.18 percent) inhabitants. 1962 4 September: The KSČS sets up the Kolder Commission to look at the purges of the 1940s and 1950s. 1963 3 April: The Kolder Commission submits a report that does not rehabilitate those found guilty of Slovak bourgeois nationalism. 4 April: Karol Bacílek, responsible for the purges of the 1950s, is dismissed from his position as first secretary of the KSS and is replaced by Alexander Dubček on 8 April. 27–28 May: The First Congress of Slovak Journalists is held in Bratislava and speakers criticize the campaign against Slovak bourgeois nationalism. 22 June: Another commission, the Barnabite Commission, is set up. In its report in December, it recommends the rehabilitation of those who had been found guilty of Slovak bourgeois nationalism. 9 July: The Slovak Academy of Sciences is granted some autonomy while remaining a member of

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the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Its organization and membership are henceforth approved by the SNR. 20 September: Jozef Lenárt replaces Viliam Široký as prime minister of Slovakia. 1964 28–29 August: CPSU First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev attends celebrations in Banská Bystrica commemorating the 1944 uprising. 12 November: Antonín Novotný is reelected President of Czechoslovakia. 1966 14 May: Alexander Dubček is elected first secretary by the KSS congress despite an attempt by KSČS first secretary Antonín Novotný to have him replaced. 1967 27–29 June: Opposition voices to the regime are heard at the fourth Czechoslovak Writers’ Congress. 26–27 August: Czechoslovak President Antonín Novotný attends the Matica slovenská celebrations in Martin but condemns publicly the institution’s leadership for their nationalist tendencies. He refuses to accept the gifts given to him by Matica. 1968 5 January: Antonín Novotný is replaced by Alexander Dubček as first secretary of the KSČS. The party publishes its Action Program on 5 April, which indicates its intention to introduce fundamental reforms. 23 January: Vasil Biľak is elected first secretary of the KSS. 14 March: The SNR passes a law that recognizes Bratislava as the capital of Slovakia. 15 March: The SNR adopts a motion to increase the powers of Slovak national organs. A commission is formed in Slovakia to propose the transformation of Czechoslovakia into a federation of two republics, a Czech and a Slovak one. Other measures for the liberalization of the regime are adopted. 22 March: Antonín Novotný resigns as president of Czechoslovakia. 30 March: General Ludvík Svoboda is elected president of Czechoslovakia by the Czechoslovak National Assembly. 5 April: The Central Committee of the KSČS accepts the Action Program of the KSČS, which outlines the regime’s new policies aimed as introducing “socialism with a human face” in Czechoslovakia. 18 April: Josef Smrkovský is elected president of the Czechoslovak National Assembly and becomes one of the leading advocates, along with Alexander Dubček, of the liberalization process in Czechoslovakia. 26 June: The Czechoslovak National Assembly passes a constitutional law that allows for the transformation of Czechoslovakia into a federation. 14–15 July: At a meeting in Warsaw, the representatives of the Communist Parties of the Warsaw Pact countries address a warning to the KSČS, which

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expresses their concern about the fate of socialism in Czechoslovakia. 3 August: The leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries, with the exception of Romania, meet in Bratislava and adopt the “Brezhnev Doctrine,” which declares that it is the responsibility of all socialist countries to defend socialism when it is threatened. 21–22 August: The opposition of other socialist states to the liberalization process results in the invasion of Czechoslovakia by armies of the Warsaw Pact. 22 August: The XIVth Congress of the KSČS is held in Prague and condemns the invasion of Czechoslovakia. 16–28 August: The KSS holds an extraordinary congress in Bratislava and elects Gustáv Husák as first secretary of the KSS. It rejects the resolutions of the XIVth Congress of the KSČS and, on the urging of Husák, adopts a new “normalization” policy. 27 October: The Czechoslovak National Assembly passes a constitutional law that transforms Czechoslovakia into a federation on the 50th anniversary of the creation of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks (28 October). The Czechoslovak National Assembly becomes the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly, a bicameral institution composed of the Chamber of the People and the Chamber of Nations. 1969 1 January: Czechoslovakia becomes a Communist federation composed of the Czech Socialist Republic/Česká socialistická republika (ČSR) and the Slovak Socialist Republic/ Slovenská socialistická republika (SSR). 17 April: Gustáv Husák replaces Alexander Dubček as first secretary of the KSČS and the party imposes a policy of “normalization” that turns Czechoslovakia into one of the most conservative and repressive states in Central Europe. Dubček is named Czechoslovak ambassador to Turkey. 1970 21 June: Slovak organizations abroad meet in New York to found the Slovak World Congress/Svetový Kongress Slovákov (SKS) and elect Štefan B. Roman as its president and Jozef Kirschbaum as its executive vice president. 26 June: Alexander Dubček is expelled from the Central Committee of the KSČS, from the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly, and is recalled as Czechoslovak ambassador to Turkey. 1971 13–15 May: The KSS holds a congress in Bratislava and elects Jozef Lenárt as first secretary. 1972 January: The monthly publication Horizont, with Imrich Kružliak as editor, begins appearing in Switzerland. It is a cultural

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publication that also defends the national rights of the Slovaks in the Czechoslovak federation. In 1976, it becomes a bimonthly publication and ceases publication in 1990. 1973 22 March: General Ludvík Svoboda is reelected president of Czechoslovakia. 1974 15 March: Ferdinand Ďurčanský, former foreign minister of the First Slovak Republic and a leading Slovak exile politician, dies in Munich, West Germany. 1975 29 May: Gustáv Husák is elected president of Czechoslovakia by the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. 30 July–1 August: Czechoslovakia participates in the international conference that produces the Helsinki Final Act, which it signs, and that approves the creation of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). 1976 27 March: Jozef Lenárt is reelected first secretary of the KSS. 16 April: Gustáv Husák is reelected general secretary of the KSČS at the party’s XVth Congress in Prague. 1977 15 October: A group of American and Canadian scholars of Slovak origin create in Washington the Slovak Studies Association. It is associated with the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) and meets annually at the AAASS convention. It also publishes periodically a scholarly journal called Slovakia. 1978 2–10 June: Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland and gives religion a boost in Communist Central Europe. 1979 16 October: Karol cardinal Wojtiła, bishop of Krakow, is elected Supreme Pontiff and takes the name of John Paul II. He is the first Slav to head the Catholic Church. 1980 22 May: Gustáv Husák is reelected president of Czechoslovakia by the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. 1 November: A census is taken throughout Czechoslovakia and the results are: Total population is 15,276,799 inhabitants of whom 4,984,331 live in Slovakia. In Slovakia 4,287,427 are Slovak; 582,455 Hungarian; 199,853 Roma; 43,494 Russian or Ukrainian; 51,719 Czech; 4,093 German; 3,151 Polish; and 11,004 other nationalities.

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1980s There are annual religious pilgrimages to Levoča in early July and Šaštín in mid-September; these pilgrimages take on the form of Slovak nationalist and antiregime demonstrations. 1981 22 March: Jozef Lenárt is reelected first secretary of the KSS. 10 April: Gustáv Husák is reelected general secretary of the KSČS at the party’s XVIth Congress in Prague. 14–21 June: The SKS holds a general meeting in Toronto, Canada. 1982 11 March: Five bishops from Czechoslovakia are allowed by the regime to visit Pope John Paul II in Rome; out of 13 dioceses in the country only three have a titular bishop (Prague, Banská Bystrica, and Nitra). 1983 30 August: The Central State Archives, now called the Slovak National Archives, are officially opened. The archives house the most important documents in Slovak history. 1984 17–24 June: The SKS holds a general meeting in New York and sponsors a conference on the history of Slovakia. Štefan B. Roman is reelected president of SKS. 15 September: During his visit to Canada, Pope John Paul II consecrates the foundation stone and the main altar of the Slovak Byzantine Catholic Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Unionville, near Toronto. 1985 22 May: Gustáv Husák is reelected president of Czechoslovakia by the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. 7 June: The St. Methodius celebration in Velehrad, Moravia, which the regime treats as a historical celebration, marks the beginning of religious and national dissidence in Slovakia, when the participants insist on the religious significance of the event. 1986 18 May: The University of Notre Dame grants Bishop Ján Chryzostom Korec an honorary degree. Bishop Korec is forbidden by the regime to travel to the United States. 1987 3 July: The SKS holds a general meeting in Toronto, Canada and approves new statutes that give it the right to speak on behalf of the Slovak nation on the international scene. 8 August: Eugen Löbl, one of the 14 coaccused in the Slanský trial of December 1952 and vice president of the SKS, dies in New York. 17 December: Gustáv Husák is replaced as secretary general of the KSČS by Miloš Jakeš.

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1988 23 March: Štefan B. Roman, president of the SKS, dies in Toronto. 25 March: A silent religious candlelight demonstration in a square in Bratislava led by Ján Čarnogurský and František Mikloško is brutally repressed by the police. Čarnogurský is arrested and sent to prison. 14 April: Jozef Lenárt is dismissed by the Central Committee of the KSS as first secretary and is replaced by Pavol Janák. 12 June: Ján Sokol is consecrated bishop and named archbishop of Trnava and metropolitan of Slovakia.

Democracy and Independence (1989–1993) 1989 14 March: Slovak television broadcasts a series on Slovak history entitled “The Cross in the Shackles of Power” that holds the Catholic Church responsible for all that happened in Slovakia since the creation of Czechoslovakia, especially during World War II. Bishop Ján Chryzostom Korec publishes a samizdat letter that refutes the broadcast’s allegations. 16 November: A peaceful antiregime demonstration by university students takes place in Bratislava. 17 November: A student demonstration in Prague marks the start of the “Gentle Revolution” and the end of Communism in Czechoslovakia. 19 November: Founding of the political grouping Public Against Violence/Verejnosť proti násiliu (VPN) in Bratislava. 24 November: Miloš Jakeš is replaced as general secretary of the KSČS by Karel Urbánek. 30 November: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly eliminates Article 4 of the Constitution that recognizes the leading role of the KSČS in the state. It also eliminates Article 16 that makes Marxism–Leninism the basic ideology of education. 10 December: A nonCommunist government is appointed with the Slovak Marián Čalfa as prime minister; President Gustáv Husák resigns. 12 December: The SNR names the first post-Communist government of Slovakia with Milan Čič as prime minister. 28 December: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly votes Alexander Dubček as its president. 29 December: The assembly proclaims Czech dissident playwright Václav Havel president of Czechoslovakia. 1990 27 January: VPN organizes its first congress in Bratislava. 3 February: In Bratislava, the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia/

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Socialnodmocratická strana Slovenska (SDSS) is re-created. 6 February: Bishop Ján Chryzostom Korec is named titular bishop of the diocese of Nitra. 18 February: The Christian Democratic Movement/ Kresťansko-demokratické hnutie (KDH) is created in Nitra and elects Ján Čarnogurský as its leader. 7 March: The SNS is renewed under the leadership of Víťazoslav Móric. It is the first party to come out openly in favor of the sovereignty of Slovakia. 30 March: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly rejects a motion to adopt the original spelling of the country, Czecho–Slovakia (to replace the spelling Czechoslovakia), resulting in public demonstrations in Slovakia. 20 April: The assembly votes the name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (ČSFR in the Czech Republic and abroad, and Č-SFR in Slovakia). 22 April: Pope John Paul II visits Slovakia and is welcomed by a million people at Bratislava airport. 9–12 May: SKS holds a general meeting in Toronto, Canada, and elects former Czechoslovak and National Hockey League hockey star Marián Šťastný as president. 8–9 June: Elections are held; among the newly formed political groups, VPN obtains 29.34 percent of the vote and 48 seats in the SNR; the KDH 19.20 percent and 31 seats; and the Green Party of Slovakia/Strana zelených na Slovensku (SZS) 3.48 percent and six seats. Among re-created prewar parties, the SNS scores 13.90 percent and 22 seats and the DS 4.30 percent and seven seats. The KSS manages 13.34 percent and 22 seats, while the Hungarian parties obtain 8.66 percent and 14 seats. Vladimír Mečiar of VPN forms a coalition government and František Mikloško is elected president of the SNR. 27 June: Alexander Dubček is reelected president of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. 13 August: The first constitutional discussions take place in Trenčianské Teplice to tackle the question of the respective powers of the federal government, the Czech National Council, and the SNR. The agreement that is signed also stipulates that the Czech and Slovak Republics will seek to be incorporated in European institutions as separate entities. 5 October: Matica Slovenská organizes a meeting in Bratislava that demands that Slovak be the only official language in Slovakia and that the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic be recognized. 25 October: The SNR approves a language law that also makes Czech an official language in Slovakia and also other languages in areas where 20 percent of the population speak that language. 30 October: The Slovak government approves a proposal to sign a tripartite agreement with the Confederation of Trade

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Unions of the Slovak Republic/Konfederácia odborových zväzov SR (KOZ SR) and the Federation of Employer Unions and Associations of the Slovak Republic/Asociácia zamestnávateľských zväzov a združení SR (AZZZ SR) to establish the Council for Economic and Social Agreement of the Slovak Republic/Rada hospodárskej a sociálnej dohody SR (RHSD SR), also known as the Tripartite Council. It is created the next day. 24 November: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly passes a law that approves the Trenčianské Teplice agreement. 29 November: The statutes and negotiation guidelines of the RHSD are approved by the Slovak government, the KOZ, and the AZZZ. 1991 3 March: A census is taken throughout Czecho–Slovakia and the results for Slovakia are: Total population is 5,274,335 inhabitants, of whom 4,519,328 (85.7 percent) are Slovak; 567,296 (10.8 percent) Hungarian; 75,802 (1.4) Roma; 59,326 (1.1 percent) Czech; 17,197 (0.3 percent) Rusin; 13,281 (0.2 percent) Ukrainian; 5,414 (0.1 percent) German; and 16,691 (0.3 percent) other nationalities. 23 April: Vladimír Mečiar loses a vote of confidence in the presidium of the SNR and is replaced by Ján Čarnogurský as prime minister. Mečiar leaves the VPN and forms the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia/Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko (HZDS). 10 May: Constitutional discussions take place in Lány; on 31 May in Budmerice; and on 17 June in Kromeříž; none results in constitutional change. 25 May: Bishop Ján Chryzostom Korec is named cardinal by Pope John Paul II. The ceremony of investiture takes place in Rome on 28 June. 4 October: The Czechoslovak Federal Parliament passes the lustration law that obliges all public servants to show that they did not collaborate with the secret police during the Communist regime. 18 November: Gustáv Husák, former secretary general of the KSČS and president of Czechoslovakia, dies in Bratislava after receiving the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church. 27–28 December: The SNR makes public a new Slovak constitution. 1992 4 February: Discussions in Milový hammer out new constitutional proposals. 25 February: They are rejected by the SNR. 7 March: A group of members of the KDH, unhappy with the federal approach of the leadership, break away and found the Slovak Christian Democratic Movement/Slovenské kresťanskodemokratické hnutie (SKDH). 15 March: Alexander Dubček joins the SDSS and is elected

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its president. 5–6 June: Elections are held in Czecho–Slovakia; in Slovakia, the HZDS wins 74 seats and 37.26 percent of the popular vote; the Party of the Democratic Left/Strana demokratickej ľavice (SDĽ) 29 seats and 14.70 percent; the KDH 18 seats and 8.89 percent; the SNS 15 seats and 7.93 percent; and the Hungarian parties win 14 seats and 7.42 percent. Vladimír Mečiar forms a coalition government. Meetings between representatives of the Czech and Slovak governments take place on 8, 11, 17, and 19 June and result in the decision to dissolve Czecho–Slovakia on 1 January 1993. 25 June: Michal Kováč of the HZDS is elected president of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. 17 July: The SNR votes the sovereignty of Slovakia; Václav Havel resigns as president of Czecho–Slovakia. 1 September: The SNR adopts a new constitution, a new flag, and changes its name, Slovak National Council, to National Council of the Slovak Republic/Národná rada Slovenskej republiky (NR SR). 8 November: The University of Trnava reopens its doors in Slovakia for the first time since its closing on 26 September 1777 and its move to Buda, Hungary. 18 November: The NR SR passes a law that creates the Slovak National Bank. 25 November: The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly votes the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia to take effect on 1 January 1993. 3 December: The NR SR formally declares that, on 1 January 1993, the Slovak Republic will become an independent sovereign state. 16 December: The NR SR approves the creation of the Army of the Slovak Republic/Armáda Slovenskej republiky (ASR).

The Second Slovak Republic (1993– ) 1993 1 January: The second Slovak Republic comes into existence. 19 January: The Slovak Republic becomes the 180th member of the United Nations Organization; 8 February: Slovakia adopts its own currency, the Slovak crown (Sk). 9 February: Slovakia is admitted into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 15 February: Michal Kováč is elected president of the republic by the NR SR. 8 March: Milan Čič is appointed by President Michal Kováč as president of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. 18 May: In Bratislava, Leopold Danihels, a businessman

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from California, is elected president of the SKS at its congress, held for the first time in Slovakia. 30 June: Slovakia is admitted into the Council of Europe. 4 October: Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar signs in Luxemburg an agreement allowing Slovakia to apply for membership in the European Union (EU). 18 November: Slovakia is admitted into the Food and Agriculture Organization. 1994 9 February: Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar signs in Brussels Slovakia’s participation in NATO’s Partnership for Peace. 4 March: Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar loses a vote of confidence in the NR SR; he is dismissed by President Michal Kováč on 14 March and is replaced on 16 March by Jozef Moravčík of the Democratic Union/ Demokratická únia (DÚ). 19 March: Slovakia signs a state treaty with Hungary that pledges both governments to ensure fair and equitable treatment of their minorities. 30 June: The NR SR approves the Defense Doctrine of the Slovak Republic. 30 September–1 October: Elections are held and the HZDS obtains 34.96 percent of the vote and 61 seats, Common Choice/Spoločná voľba (SV) 10.41 percent and 18 seats, the Hungarian parties 10.18 percent and 17 seats; the KDH 10.08 percent and 17 seats, the DÚ 8.57 percent and 15 seats, the Association of Workers of Slovakia/Združenie robotníkov Slovenska (ZRS) 7.34 percent and 13 seats, and the SNS 5.4 percent and 9 seats. Vladimír Mečiar forms a coalition government three months later. 3 November: Invoking Article 83(4) of the Slovak Constitution on secret sessions, although a new government has not yet been named, the coalition passes legislation in secret in the NR SR, an event that becomes known as “The Night of the Long Knives.” The coalition partners move votes of no confidence in two government ministers, dismiss a number of government officials, and attempt to introduce retrospective amendments to privatization laws instituted by the outgoing government. This last measure meets with a presidential veto a few days later. 15 November: The NR SR approves a law on the state language, Slovak, that does not, however, infringe on the rights of national minorities. It is signed by President Michal Kováč. 1995 13 May: During the visit of Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin in Bratislava, the Slovak government signs 20 Slovak–Russian agreements of cooperation in various fields. 19 March: Slovakia and Hungary sign a state treaty of good neighborly relations and cooper-

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ation. 5 May: HZDS deputies propose a vote of no confidence in President Michal Kováč; it fails to achieve the required three-fifths majority in the NR SR. 27 June: Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar submits at the EU summit in Cannes an application for Slovakia’s entry into the EU. 29 June: Pope John Paul II begins a five-day visit in Slovakia. 31 August: The son of President Michal Kováč, Michal Kováč Jr., is kidnapped in Bratislava and found alive in the Austrian town of Hainburg. 15 November: The NR SR votes a law on the state language in Slovakia, which is Slovak and which is to come into effect on 1 January 1996. 1996 23 April: The NR SR approves a document entitled Security Strategy of the Slovak Republic. 6 May: President Michal Kováč ratifies the Slovak–Hungarian state treaty. 3 July: The NR SR approves the country’s new territorial administration; Slovakia is divided into eight regions (Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov, and Košice) and 79 districts. 31 August: The private television station Markíza begins broadcasting throughout Slovakia. 29 September: At its congress in Cleveland, Ohio, the SKS elects businessman Pavol Rusnák as its president. 18 December: Opposition parties submit a bill to the NR SR calling for the direct election of the president once President Michal Kováč’s term of office comes to an end. The bill is not adopted. 1997 9 January: A signature campaign, organized by the opposition parties, to hold a referendum on direct presidential elections begins and is successfully completed on 23 February when the necessary number of 350,000 signatures is collected. 12 March: The NR SR rejects the opposition proposal for direct presidential elections. 13 March: President Michal Kováč announces that a referendum will be held on Slovakia’s membership in NATO and on direct presidential elections on 23–24 May. 22 April: The government decides to suspend the referendum on direct presidential elections in order to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of changing the Slovak constitution by a referendum. 23–24 May: The referendum takes place; two sets of ballots are available and, depending on the political affiliation of local officials, the ballots contain either three or four questions. The outcome is not only voter confusion but also a very low turnout, less than 10 percent. Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar declares that the results on both issues, NATO participation and presidential elections, are invalid. 26 May: The Central Referendum Commission confirms the invalidity of

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the referendum and cites faulty procedures as the reason for its decision. 28 June: Five Slovak parties—KDH, DÚ, DS, SZS, and SDSS—unite to form the Slovak Democratic Coalition/Slovenská demokratická koalícia (SDK), led by Milulaš Dzurinda of the KDH, to fight the next elections. 8–9 July: At the NATO Madrid Summit, Slovakia is not on the list of the Central European states invited to become members. 15 July: Slovakia is not among the 10 states named as candidates to join the EU by the European Commission. 25 September: The International Court of Justice at The Hague gives its judgment on the GabčíkovoNagymaros dam, indicating that the 1977 treaty between Hungary and Czechoslovakia is still in force. 1998 2 March: President Michal Kováč’s term of office comes to an end. The NR SR fails to elect a successor. Presidential powers are assumed by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar. 5 April: The founding congress of the Party of Civic Understanding/Strana občianskeho porozumenia (SOP) is held in Banská Bystrica and elects Rudolf Schuster as its president. 18 June: The NR SR passes a law that sets a minimum threshold on coalitions with 7 percent for a two-party coalition and 10 percent for a three-party one (the 5-percent threshold is maintained for parties). 21 June: Three Slovak Hungarian parties join together to form the Party of the Hungarian Coalition/Strana maďarskej koalície-Magyar koalíció pártja (SMK–MKP). 4 August: Presidential powers are assumed by the speaker of the NR SR, Ivan Gašparovič, as the elections campaign gets under way. 25–26 September: Elections to the NR SR are held and Vladimír Mečiar’s HZDS manages to win a plurality of 43 seats and 27.00 percent of the popular vote, the SDK comes in second with 42 seats and 26.33 percent, then the SDĽ with 23 seats and 14.66 percent, the SMK–MKP with 15 seats and 9.12 percent, the SOP, led by Rudolf Schuster, mayor of Košice, with 14 seats and 9.07 percent, and the SNS with 14 seats with 9.07 percent of the popular vote. Mečiar resigns his seat as a deputy in the NR SR. The participation of registered voters is 84.24 percent. 28 October: Mikulaš Dzurinda of the SDK forms a coalition government with the SDĽ, the SMK–MKP, and the SOP and drives the HZDS and the SNS into opposition. 29 October: Presidential powers are assumed by the newly elected speaker of the NR SR, Jozef Migaš. 1999 14 January: The NR SR passes a law that allows for the direct election of the president of the Slovak Republic and that also strength-

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ens the presidency’s political independence. 15 May: Presidential elections take place. No candidate obtains an absolute majority; Rudolf Schuster of the SOP and Vladimír Mečiar of the HZDS are the runoff candidates. 29 May: Rudolf Schuster wins the runoff election with 57.2 percent of the vote against 42.8 percent for Vladimír Mečiar; the turnout is 75.45 percent of the voting population. 15 June: Rudolf Schuster is sworn in as the second Slovak Republic’s second president. 26 June: The SOP elects Pavol Hamžík as its new chairman. 26 September: Ján Slota is dismissed as chairman of the SNS at the party’s congress. 30 September: Ján Slota is dismissed from his position as chairman of the NR SR parliamentary committee overseeing the activities of the Slovak Information Service/Slovenská informačná služba (SIS). 2 October: The SNS elects Anna Malíková as its new chairperson. 29 October: Róbert Fico, a former member of the SDĽ, registers a new political party called Direction/Smer. 24 November: Czech Prime Minister Miloš Zeman visits Bratislava and signs with Prime Minister Mikulaš Dzurinda the final agreement on the division of the property of the former Czecho–Slovakia. 2000 14 February: Prime Minister Mikulaš Dzurinda and Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan create a new party, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union/Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia (SDKÚ) as a result of crises within the KDH and the DÚ. 10 May: The NR SR passes a law that creates the Catholic University of Ružomberok, a nonstate institution of higher education officially recognized by the Vatican. 1 July: The NR SR passes a law that removes the Slovak National Library/Slovenská národná knižnica from the jurisdiction of Matica slovenská and sets it up as an independent entity. 28 July: The Slovak Republic is admitted to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as its 30th member. 26 August: At an extraordinary meeting of the DÚ, 112 of 116 delegates vote to dissolve the DÚ and join the SKDÚ. 21 October: At its congress in Trenčin, KDH President Ján Čarnogurský tenders his resignation as party leader and is replaced by Pavol Hrušovský. 17–18 November: The founding congress of the SDKÚ takes place and Mikulas Dzurinda is elected its president. 30 November: The NR SR adopts unanimously the basic treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Vatican.

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2001 23 February: The NR SR adopts a bill by 90 to 57 with one abstention to pass a constitutional amendment that is regarded as a key condition for continuing the country’s NATO- and EU-oriented transformations. 27 March: The NR SR approves a document entitled Security Strategy of the Slovak Republic, which replaces the 1996 document and which brings Slovakia closer to NATO and the EU. 26 May: Pavol Rusko, former director general of the private Markíza television, is elected as chairman of the newly established Alliance for a New Citizen/Aliancia nového občana (ANO). A census is taken in Slovakia and the results show that the total population is 5,379,455 of whom 4,614,854 are Slovaks (85.8 percent), 520,528 Hungarians (9.7 percent), 89,920 Roma (1.7 percent), 44,620 Czechs (0.8 percent), 24,201 Ruthenians (0.4 percent), and the rest, 85.332 (2.0 percent), are other nationalities. 19 June: The NR SR ratifies the European Charter on Regional Minority Languages. The Hungarian Parliament also passes the “Status Law” that will provide benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia. According to the law, which will go into effect on 1 January 2002, ethnic Hungarians will have the right to work in Hungary for three months each year, and will be given social, health, transportation, and education benefits. Persons who wish to receive those benefits need to apply for a certificate proving their Hungarian origin, which will be issued by a Hungarian authority and will be based on recommendations by ethnic Hungarian organizations in those countries. 1 July: Constitutional Law 90/2001 comes into effect, which redefines the powers of the presidency, creates the office of ombudsman, and recognizes that the Slovak Republic can voluntarily enter into a union with other states through a referendum and can for the purposes of maintaining peace, security, and democracy join an organization of mutual collective security. 6 August: Jozef Kirschbaum, former secretary general of the HSĽS from 1939 to 1941, Slovak Republic envoy to Switzerland from 1942 to 1945, cofounder and executive vice president of the SKS, dies in Toronto. 20 September: Josef Stank, Jaroslav Tvrdík, and Bronislaw Komorowski, the defense ministers of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland respectively, sign an accord on the creation of a joint military brigade. The brigade will consist of 2,500 soldiers and be ready to participate in peacekeeping operations by the end of 2005. 6 October: Former SNS leader, Ján Slota, forms a rival political party called the Real Slovak Na-

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tional Party/Pravá slovenská národná strana (PSNS). Slota announces that the PSNS’s principles are Christian and national. In addition, the PSNS opposes NATO accession and also what Slota calls “the sellout of the national economy.” 1 December: Elections are held in the eight newly created “regional self-government” entities; 401 mandates and eight regional governorships are contested. 15 December: The HZDS wins six of the seven contested governorships in the second round of the regional elections and 146 mandates. Voter turnout is low at 22.61 percent. 2002 5 February: The NR SR calls on Hungary to amend Hungarian Status Law in line with the principles of international law and the European standards for the protection of national minorities. 11 April: The NR SR adopts a law on the conditions for declaring war and a state of emergency as well as the manner in which the state should be administered during such periods. The law mentions both the individual and collective defense of the state, corresponding to Article 5 of NATO’s Washington Treaty, according to which an attack on one NATO state is considered to be an attack on all member states. 1 July: The NR SR renames the ASR the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic/Osbrojené sily Slovenskej republiky (OS SR), which include not only the professionals of the ASR, but also Interior Ministry forces and the Railway Police, with headquarters for the land forces in Trenčin and those of the Air Force in Zvolen. 6 July: At its preelectoral party congress, the HZDS chooses its candidates for the September elections and former speaker of the SNR and NR SR, Ivan Gašparovič, is not on the list. 12 July: Ivan Gašparovič announces the formation of a new political party, the Movement for Democracy/Hnutie za demokraciu (HZD) that will run in the September elections. 19 August: The NR SR adopts a law that creates the Nation’s Memory Institute that gives access to documents about the persecutions carried out by Nazi or Communist security agencies during the years 1939–1989. The law comes into effect on 28 September. 21–22 September: Elections are held in Slovakia in which 70.10 percent of the registered voters cast a vote. The HZDS obtains a plurality of seats, 36 with 19.5 percent of the votes; second is the SDKU with 28 seats and 15.1 percent; the Smer party is third with 25 seats and 13.5 percent; fourth is the SMK–MKP with 20 seats and 11.2 percent; in fifth position is the KDH with 15 seats and 8.3 percent; in sixth position

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is ANO with 15 seats and 8.01 percent; and in seventh position the KSS with 11 seats and 6.3 percent. The SDKU forms a coalition with SMK– MKP, KDH, and ANO. Mikuláš Dzurinda is reconfirmed as prime minister. 21 November: During the NATO Summit in Prague, Slovakia is invited, along with six other Central European states, to join NATO. 27 November: Prime Minister Mikulaš Dzurinda meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy in Budapest and expresses Slovakia’s opposition to the Hungarian Status Law. Dzurinda also indicates that Slovakia is ready to reconsider its stance if certain objectionable aspects are removed from the Status Law. 6–7 December: Municipal elections are held throughout Slovakia, with just 49.51 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. Official results show independent candidates winning mayoral posts in 951 towns and cities, about one-third of the total. Incumbents win in four of the nation’s eight largest cities, including PSNS Chairman Ján Slota, who is reelected mayor of the northwestern city of Žilina. 17 December: The SNS and the PSNS agree to reunite and form a single party. 2003 7 January: Ján Slota, leader of the PSNS and Anna Malíková, leader of the SNS, resign from their positions in order to facilitate the reunification of the two formations. 14 January: The Slovak Governance Institute officially launches a campaign in Bratislava and elsewhere in Slovakia for a referendum to determine whether Slovakia should join NATO. Among those backing the referendum is former Prime Minister Ján Čarnogurský; 350,000 signatures are needed to force a binding referendum. 7 February: Eleven HZDS deputies, led by Vojtech Tkáč, former deputy chairman of the HZDS, leave the party and announce that they will create an independent party, the People’s Union /Ľudová únia (ĽÚ). 25 February: The NR SR, in a 107–30 vote, approves the new parliamentary group formed by 11 former members of HZDS, led by Vojtech Tkáč. The HZDS thus ceases to be the strongest parliamentary faction in the NR SR. 1 March: The SOP officially ceases to exist as an independent party by merging with the Smer party led by Róbert Fico. The party had garnered just 1.36 percent in the 2002 elections, thus failing to gain parliamentary representation. 10 April: The NR SR overwhelmingly ratifies the protocols on Slovakia’s accession to NATO. 15 April: President Rudolf Schuster signs the parliamentary ratification of membership in NATO into law. 16 April: The committee

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that launched the drive to hold a referendum of Slovakia’s membership in NATO announces that it has stopped actively pursuing signatures. At the EU summit in Athens, the Slovak Republic signs the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. 26 April: Delegates to an extraordinary congress of the SNS and the PSNS fail to elect a chairman. 1 May: The Institute for the Memory of the Nation begins its activities and receives hundreds of applications from Slovaks who wish to view their Communist-era state security files. 3 May: Vojtech Tkáč is elected president of the ĽÚ at its founding congress in Bratislava. The ĽÚ defines itself as a political party of centrist orientation that is based on civic, Christian, national, and social principles. 12 May: Ján Langoš is appointed by the speaker of the NR SR, Pavol Hrušovský, chairman of the Institute for the Memory of the Nation. 16–17 May: Slovakia holds a referendum on membership in the EU: 52.15 percent of the registered voters cast their ballot, with 92.46 percent voting in favor of accession. 31 May: The SNS and the PSNS reunite as the SNS at a joint conference held in Žilina and elect Ján Slota chairman, with Anna Malíková as first deputy chairwoman. 13 June: At a party conference, Vladimír Mečiar is reelected to a two-year term as chairman of the HZDS, which also changes its name to People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia/Ľudová strana-Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko (ĽS–HZDS). 14 September: During his visit to Slovakia, at a mass in Bratislava, Pope John Paul II beatifies Bishop Vasiľ Hopko of the Greek Catholic (Byzantine) Church and the Roman-Catholic nun, Sister Cecília Schelingová, two victims of religious persecution under communism. 30 September: Milan Karabín is elected president of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic. 16 November: Ivan Šimko, former minister and deputy for the SDKÚ, announces that he wishes to create a “political platform” called Free Forum/Slobodné fórum (SF) within the SDKÚ. 2004 27 March: Six deputies from the SDKÚ form a faction called SF and elect Zuzana Martináková as their president. 2 April: The North Atlantic Council holds a Ceremonial Session in Brussels to welcome Slovakia and the other new members into NATO. 3 April: Elections for the presidency are held and 12 candidates, including outgoing President Rudolf Schuster and HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar, vie for the position. The runoff candidates are Mečiar with 32.73 percent and Ivan Gašparovič, former speaker of the NR SR and leader of the HZD, with

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22.28 percent of the vote. 17 April: Ivan Gašparovič wins the second ballot of the presidential election with 59.91 percent of the vote. 1 May: Slovakia is among 10 European states to become members of the EU. Throughout Slovakia, the event is marked by outdoor celebrations, the raising of the EU flag alongside the Slovak one, and, in the evening, with fireworks. 10–13 June: The people of Slovakia vote in their first European Parliament elections. 15 June: Ivan Gašparovič is sworn in as the second Slovak Republic’s third president. In his inaugural speech, he speaks of his desire to be a president with a social agenda, of the need to address the urgent social and economic problems that the people of Slovakia are facing; but he also wonders about the direction that the EU is taking. 30 June: Creation of the General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy and the Marshal Andrej Hadík Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš. The General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Air Force Academy is dissolved and incorporated in the Technical University in Košice. 21 September: Vojtech Tkáč resigns as president of the ĽÚ and is replaced by Gustáv Krajči. 9 October: At its congress in Spišská Nová Ves, the ĽÚ officially elects Gustáv Krajči as its president. 23 October: Ivan Šimko, one of the founders of the SF, resigns from that party. 19 November: Hurricane-force winds of 170 km per hour coming from the north destroy a major forest and tourist area of 24,000 hectares at the foot of the Tatra Mountains in Central Slovakia near the ski center of Štrbské Pleso. 2005 1 January: Three left-wing parties, the SDSS, the Social Democratic Alternative/ Sociálnodemokraticá alternatíva (SDA) and Smer merge to form the party Smer–Sociálna demokracia (Smer–SD). 24 February: Bratislava Castle is the venue for a summit meeting between United States President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Bush also addresses a Slovak crowd estimated at between 5,000 and 10,000 on Hviezdoslavovo námestie in front of the Slovak National Theater. 11 May: The NR SR, by a majority of 116 deputies, ratifies the text of the Constitution of the EU. The KDH and the KSS are the only two parties to vote against as are three independent deputies. 9 June: Pope Benedict XVI accepts the resignation of Ján Chryzostom Cardinal Korec as bishop of the diocese of Nitra and names Monsignor Viliam Judák, a professor of theology, as his successor. 30 July: Major forest fires in the Tatra Mountains force the evacuation of

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hotels. 24 August: Pavol Rusko, leader of the party ANO, is forced to resign from his post as minister of the economy because of a conflict of interest regarding certain financial dealings in which he is alleged to be involved. 12 September: A split occurs in the party ANO, as some deputies refuse to heed the call by leader Pavol Rusko to leave the government coalition. A crisis arises in the NR SR and the KDH and the SMK propose early elections. 21 September: The parliamentary crisis is resolved and parliament resumes work. 25 September: Slovakia advances to the Davis Cup finals in tennis by beating Argentina. 5 October: Ľudovít Kaník, minister of labor, social affairs, and family, resigns after allegations surface that members of his family received funds from the EU. 10 October: Slovakia is elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations for a two-year period to the Security Council beginning 1 January 2006. 14 October: Iveta Radičová, a sociologist, is named minister of labor, social affairs, and family, and becomes the first woman to serve in the second Dzurinda government. 4 December: Slovakia loses to Croatia in the final of the Davis Cup tournament. 2006 21 January: At a unification congress, the SDKÚ and the DS join forces to become the SDKÚ-DS. 7 February: The Dzurinda government decides not to sign an agreement with the Vatican that includes the freedom of conscience thereby provoking the withdrawal of support from the KDH. 8 February: Government ministers from the KDH submit their resignation to President Ivan Gašparovič; Pavol Hrušovský, leader of the KDH, resigns as speaker of the NR SR and the deputy speaker, Béla Bugár of the SMK-MKP, becomes speaker. 15 February: The speaker dissolves the NR SR and sets the elections for 17 June. 9 March: British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Bratislava and praises the economic performance of the Dzurinda government. 13 March: Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda pays a visit to President George W. Bush in Washington. 21 March: 21 parties register to fight the forthcoming elections. 11 May: German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Bratislava and praises the reform program of the Dzurinda government. 15 June: Ján Langoš, chairman of the Institute for the Memory of the Nation, dies in a car accident. 17 June: Elections are held in Slovakia in which 54.67 percent of the registered voters cast a vote. The party led by Róbert Fico, Smer-SD, obtains 21.94 percent of the vote and 50 seats in the NR SR; in second position is the SDKÚ-DS, led by Mikuláš

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Dzurinda, with 18.36 percent and 31 seats; in third is the SNS with 11.73 percent and 20 seats; in fourth is the SMK-MKP with 11.69 percent and 20 seats; in fifth is the ĽS-HZDS with 8.79 percent and 15 seats; and in sixth is the KDH with 8.31 percent and 14 seats. 28 June: Róbert Fico announces the formation of a Smer-SD coalition government together with the SNS and the ĽS-HZDS. 4 July: The NR SR meets to confirm the formation of the government led by Róbert Fico.

Introduction

Slovakia became an independent state, the Slovak Republic, on 1 January 1993. This came about as a result of a vote in the Czecho–Slovak Federal Assembly on 25 November 1992, which approved the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. The elections of 5 June 1992 had brought to power the Civic Forum, led by Václav Klaus in the Czech Republic, and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, led by Vladimír Mečiar in Slovakia. These two men realized that their respective political mandates led to no other alternative than the dissolution of their common state. The Slovak Republic, like the Czech one, immediately gained international recognition and became a member of the United Nations Organization on 19 January 1993. The revolution of November 1989 that overthrew the Communist regime became known as the “Velvet Revolution” (in Slovakia, the “Gentle Revolution”) because of the absence of violence and its peaceful unfolding. By analogy, the dissolution became known as the “Velvet Divorce.”

LAND AND PEOPLE Slovakia, which covers an area of 49,036 square kilometers (18,922 square miles), lies in the heart of Europe. It is often referred to as the Switzerland of Central Europe because of its mountain ranges, which make up the northern part of the Great Carpathian Bow and cover some 30 percent of the territory. The mountains are divided into three parallel ranges: the High Tatras, the Low Tatras, and the Slovak Ore Mountains (Slovenské Rudohorie). A smaller range in the West—the Small, or White Carpathians—forms the borders with Moravia in the Czech Republic. Mountains and rivers make up the border with neighboring states: the Morava River and the White Carpathians with the Czech Re1

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public in the west, the High Tatras with Poland in the north, the Danube River with Austria and Hungary in the south, and the Tisa and Už rivers with Hungary and Ukraine in the east. The Danube is Slovakia’s major waterway. It flows through Bratislava then breaks downriver into two channels: the Danube proper, flowing southeasterly, and the Little Danube, which rejoins the Danube farther east at the river Váh. Other important rivers are the Nitra, Hron, Ipeľ, and Orava, which flow in a southwestern arc into the Danube, and the Slaná, Bodrog, Laborec, and Hornád rivers, which flow into the Tisa in a southeasterly arc. The Poprad River drains northward. The Váh, Slaná, Orava, and Hornád, along with the Danube at Gabčíkovo, are also sources of hydroelectric power. Numerous lakes are found in the Tatra Mountains. The best known are Štrbské Pleso and Popradské Pleso. The majority of today’s inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks. They speak Slovak, a Slavic language that belongs to the Indo–European language family. According to the latest census, Slovaks make up 85.8 percent of a total population of 5,379,455 inhabitants. There are also national minorities. The largest minority is the Hungarians (Magyars) who make up 9.7 percent of the population and are concentrated mostly in the south, primarily in villages and small towns, along the Hungarian border. The remaining 4.5 percent of Slovakia’s inhabitants are divided among Roma (1.7 percent), Czechs (0.8 percent), Ruthenians (0.4 percent), and Ukrainians (0.26 percent) found mostly in eastern Slovakia; Germans (0.11 percent); Moravians (0.07 percent); Poles (0.06 percent); and others (1.1 percent). Except for the Germans, Magyars, and Roma, the rest of Slovakia’s inhabitants—the Slovaks together with the other minorities—are members of the Slavic group of European nations. Slovakia’s population and most of its ethnic groups are relatively well distributed across the country. As of 31 December 2003, Bratislava, the capital city of the Slovak Republic, is the largest urban agglomeration with 425,533 inhabitants, of whom 43,367 live in the old town and Košice (population 236,093) is the second largest. In eastern Slovakia, the main cities are Prešov (district population 161,782, city population 92,147) and Poprad (district population 104,348, city population 55,680); in central Slovakia, they are Banská Bystrica (district population 111,984, city population 81,961) and Žilina (district population 156,361, city population 85,278); and in western Slovakia, they are

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Nitra (district population 163,540, city population 86,138) and Trnava (district population 127,125, city population 68,292). Komárno in the south (district population 108,556, city population 36,804) is the biggest Hungarian center, with Hungarians making up two thirds of its inhabitants. Administratively, Slovakia is divided into eight regions, each with a designated regional capital (Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov, and Košice), and 79 districts, each with a designated district capital; the regions act as the middle level between government and district authorities.

HISTORY Today’s Slovaks are the descendants of the Slavs who began migrating into Central Europe from Asia possibly as early as the middle of the fifth century of our era, but most likely at the beginning of the sixth. According to the Goth historian Jordanes, they were noticed in Central Europe, in today’s Hungary, during the reign of Attila the Hun (A.D. 435–453). The territory of contemporary Slovakia had seen many migratory peoples come and go: the Celts, the Romans with their legions, Germanic tribes such as the Quadi, Marcomanni, Gepids, and Langobardii, and the Avars. It is with the latter that the Slavs vied for political control, unsuccessfully for the most part, except for a short period during the Kingdom of Samo, from A.D. 623 to 658. The Slavic tribes asked Samo, a Frankish merchant, to help them loosen the grip of the Avars after the Avars had been defeated in war by Byzantium. Since the Frankish merchants were also in need of protection against Avar attacks, an alliance was formed. The task fell to Samo, because, according to the Chronicle of Fredegar, he had impressed the Slavs with his bravery. He successfully ruled over them for 35 years, warding off the most serious threat, which came from the Frankish king Dagobert, who attacked Samo’s kingdom in 631 and 632. On Samo’s death, the Avars once again imposed their rule on the Slavic tribes. Another century and a half would pass before the Avars were finally defeated and driven out of the territory of Slovakia. In 792, they were attacked by the Franks, and they sued for peace in 796. By then, two Slavic principalities had begun to form and lay the basis for the first Slavic state on Slovak territory, Great Moravia.

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THE EMPIRE OF GREAT MORAVIA The Empire of Great Moravia came into existence when Prince Mojmír of Morava drove Prince Pribina of Nitra from his principality and united both Morava and Nitra around 833 to form Central Europe’s first political entity. It received its name from the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenet, who wrote about it in his work De administrando imperio. At that time, the Slavs were experiencing pressure from the Frankish kingdom, whose clergy had been sent to convert them. In 828, Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg had consecrated a church in Nitra, but the rulers of the Slavs, in particular Rastislav, who had Mojmír arrested and deposed by the Franks in 846, wanted to avoid Frankish dominance. In 861, Rastislav wrote to Pope Nicholas I asking for teachers who were familiar with the Slavic tongue. When he received no reply, he wrote to Byzantine Emperor Michael III asking not just for teachers, but also for a bishop. The emperor agreed and sent the Greek brothers Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius in 863. As a result of their efforts, the Christianization of the Slavs, and also that of central and eastern Europe, began. Constantine and Methodius not only established a seminary and created an alphabet for the Slavs called glagolitic, but also translated the Holy Scriptures and the liturgy into the vernacular. However, the Frankish clergy, who used Latin as their liturgical language, opposed the use of the vernacular. The two brothers, who were supported by Rastislav, were thus forced to obtain permission from the Holy See to use the vernacular in the liturgy. Rastislav also wanted to have an independent ecclesiastical province. Constantine and Methodius traveled to Rome in 867 to have some seminarians consecrated priests. Their translations were approved by Pope Hadrian II and, at the request of Rastislav, Methodius was consecrated bishop and named archbishop, as well as plenipotentiary papal legate of all the Slavs living in Great Moravia and Pannonia. Constantine died in Rome in 869 (he had entered a monastery and taken the name of Cyril) and Methodius returned to Great Moravia to continue the work begun with his brother. The opposition of the Frankish clergy to the use of the vernacular, despite the permission granted by the Holy See, did not abate. On his return from Rome, Methodius was held captive by the Franks from 870 to 873. In addition, Rastislav had been overthrown by his nephew

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Svätopluk of Nitra in 870. Svätopluk became Great Moravia’s greatest ruler. He not only kept the Franks in check, but also extended his power well beyond the two principalities that made up the core of the state. His conquests included territories in today’s Poland and most of the Czech Republic and to the south as far as the borders of Bulgaria. He also asked for and obtained papal protection from Rome in the bull Industriae tuae in 880 but did not press for an ecclesiastical province. The Frankish clergy maintained their pressure against the vernacular, and Methodius was once again called to Rome but died soon after his departure in 885. After his retirement in 882, he had completed the translation of the Bible and written other works. When Svätopluk died in 894, the conquered territories broke away from the empire. His successor, his son Mojmír II, was unable to withstand the combined attacks of the Germans and the Magyars and, after a defeat in 906, the first Slavic state in Central Europe disappeared. The Slavs came under the rule of the Magyar tribes who, after their defeat by the Germans in 955 near Augsburg, settled in the Danubian plain and by the beginning of the second millennium were the rulers of a new kingdom, Hungary. The ancestors of today’s Slovaks would not get another opportunity to form their own state until the 20th century.

IN THE HUNGARIAN KINGDOM For the next 500 years, the relations between Slavs and Magyars, though not always harmonious, were without major conflicts. The Magyars consolidated the state, Christianity and education spread as various religious orders arrived and established monasteries and schools on Slovak territory, and the kingdom organized itself on the basis of counties, each of which was headed by an administrator called župan. In the 13th century, Hungarian and Slovak territory experienced the Mongol invasions (1241–1242), which laid waste to the land and forced King Béla IV, after the Mongols returned to Asia, to call on German colonists to engage in mining, giving them special privileges, and also to rely on the landed nobility to defend the kingdom. This weakened royal power. Béla’s predecessor, Andrew II, had been forced to sign the Golden Bull in 1222, which had given the landed nobility a jus resistendi (right to resist royal power). This weakening of royal authority gave power on

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Slovak territory to Matthew Čák, an oligarch who, like Samo some 700 years before, entered into Slovak folk history as a man who united the Slavs, but only temporarily. When Andrew III, the last of the Árpáds, died in 1301, a power struggle developed that involved the French Anjous and the Czech Přemyslides. Matthew Čák of Trenčín threw in his lot with Charles Robert, was made one of three palatines of the kingdom in 1309, and ruled over much of what is contemporary Slovakia. However, on 15 June 1312, along with the Amadei, who ruled in eastern Slovakia, he sought unsuccessfully to challenge Charles Robert at Rozhanovce. After this defeat, until his death in 1321, he ruled his lands from his castle in Trenčín and was known as the Lord of the Váh and the Tatras. In Slovak oral tradition, he is known as Matúš Trenčiansky—Matthew of Trenčín. Charles Robert had not only been able to withstand the challenge of oligarchs, such as Matthew Čák, but also succeeded in strengthening royal power. The kingdom of Hungary was consolidating, and during his reign the area that is contemporary Slovakia slowly underwent a process of urbanization. With the influx of German colonists, tensions developed between them and the Slavs. There was a need to regulate their relations. This began to happen under Louis I; the Slavic inhabitants of Žilina received rights equal to those of the Germans in the town council in the Privilegium pro Slavis granted by the king in 1381. The Slavs acquired such privileges also in other cities and towns. In the 15th century, the Slavic population experienced the spread of Hussitism when Hussite armies from Bohemia appeared in 1428 and established garrisons in towns such as Trnava, Skalica, Topoľčany, and Žilina. Their leader was Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa, who was also involved in struggles for the succession. He became one of the seven captains of Hungary and a major landowner. The Hussites, also known as the Brethren, often attacked populations and plundered towns and villages; they were eventually driven out of Hungary. The Slavs experienced Western European culture as well, thanks to the Anjous and their successors. During the reign of Mathias “Corvinus,” a university, the Academia Istropolitana, was founded in Bratislava in 1465; however, it did not outlive its founder and was closed in 1490. In architecture and art, the Middle Ages left their most-lasting imprint on Slovak territory. Magnificent Gothic cathedrals and churches

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are found throughout Slovakia, but no other piece of art celebrates the Gothic period in such splendor as the wooden altar in the Church of Sv. Jakub in Levoča, completed in 1517, by the artist known to Slovaks as “Majster Pavol.” The Middle Ages also saw the development of schools, usually by religious orders, and Slovak students also studied in foreign universities, mainly in Vienna, Cracow, and Prague. Slovakia’s link to Western European culture was established and would be maintained throughout the centuries as new intellectual and political challenges embraced Central Europe over the next 500 years. The Ottoman presence in Central Europe was confirmed at the battle of Mohács on 29 August 1526, during which King Louis II died, thus opening the way for a struggle for succession that brought the Habsburgs to the Hungarian throne. By combining the crowns of Austria and Bohemia, this dynasty ended up playing a fundamental role in Europe by facing not just the Ottoman challenge, but also the one posed by the Reformation to Catholic Europe. With the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, the territory of contemporary Slovakia made up the core of what historians call royal Hungary, with Bratislava (then called Pozsony in Hungarian and Preßburg in German) as the de facto capital. Slovak towns and villages were not spared from frequent Turkish raids during the 150 years that the Ottoman Empire controlled the rest of Hungary and the Reformation’s successes and failures were played out on Slovak territory as Hungarian magnates either identified with it or embraced the Counter-Reformation. The economy of the region, which during the Middle Ages had shown remarkable growth and development, especially in mining, began to slow down when trade routes were closed and the discovery of the New World redirected Western European trade patterns. The Reformation had a double impact in Slovakia. First and most important, it helped strengthen the national consciousness of its Slavic inhabitants to such a degree that they could at that point be called Slovaks, even if historical sources generally continue to refer to them as Slavs. Second, it resulted in five magnate rebellions during the 17th century in Hungary that had political as well as religious connotations and in the end strengthened royal absolutism for the Habsburgs. They were the rebellions of Štefan Bočkai (1604–1606), Gabriel Betlen (1619– 1622), Juraj I Rákoci (1644–1645), Imrich Tököli (1678–1681), and František II Rákoci (1703–1711); the Slovaks were exposed to each

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one of them, the last one giving rise to a folk hero, Juraj Jánošík, the Slovak Robin Hood. The Slovaks, however, were also deeply affected by the CounterReformation after the Jesuits founded the University of Trnava in 1635 and another university in Košice in 1657. Initially, the Reformation had found fertile ground in Slovak towns, especially in the mining centers where there was an important German population. The Confession of Augsburg had formed the basis for three local confessions in the 16th century, the Confessio Heptapolitana, the Confessio Montana, and the Confessio Scepusiana. Finally, in 1610, at a synod in Žilina, the Slovak Lutheran Church came into being. The publication of the Cithara Sanctorum, a Lutheran hymnal, by Juraj Tranovský in 1636 in Levoča, and the Cantus Catholici, a Catholic hymnal by Benedikt Söllöši in 1655 in Trnava, testifies to the importance of this competition for people’s souls on Slovak territory. Both publications also testify to the development of Slovak national consciousness: each hymnal was written in the vernacular, the first in Czech—possibly Slovakized Czech—the second in Cultural Western Slovak. The use of Czech as a written language in Slovakia, especially by Lutherans, was not unusual at this time. By the time the Ottoman Turks left Hungary at the end of the 17th century, the Counter-Reformation, under the leadership of Peter Cardinal Pazmaň, archbishop of Ostrihom and founder of the University of Trnava, had prevailed among the Slovaks. The status of the Protestants was later defined in the Resolutio Carolina of 1731, which limited worship, allowed only grammar schools to be Lutheran, forbade conversion, and required the swearing of a Catholic oath on entry into public service. The Protestants’ situation improved only half a century later, when Joseph II issued his Edict (Patent) of Toleration in 1781; with it, these restrictions were eliminated and Protestants, along with members of the Greek Orthodox faith, achieved civic equality with Catholics.

SLOVAKS AND MAGYARIZATION By the beginning of the 18th century, not only had the Ottoman Turks departed, but Habsburg absolutism was launching the empire on the road to modernization. There were other challenges: The national bal-

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ance in Hungary had begun to shift away from the Magyars, especially when new settlers were invited to colonize the country after the Ottomans had gone. By the end of Maria Theresa’s reign in 1780, the Magyars had lost their majority, numbering about 3.25 million and representing 35 percent of the total population. The Slovaks were the largest minority, totaling about 1.25 million. The origins of the conflicts that Hungary would undergo for the next century and a half were centered around nationality questions. The first sign of this conflict came in 1722 from a Magyar professor of constitutional law at the University of Trnava, Michal Benčik, who claimed that the Slovak inhabitants of Trenčín were the descendants of the subjects of Svätopluk, who allegedly had sold his country to the Magyars for a white horse. Responses were not long in coming from the pens of Ján Balthazár Magin, Samuel Timon, Matej Bel, Juraj Sklenár, and Juraj Papánek, all following on the footsteps of historians of the previous century, namely Peter Revai, Jakob Jakobeus, and Martin Sentiváni, who had written about the Slavs in Hungary. The Slovaks were not to be denied their history nor their right to it. Yet, until modern times, this right would be challenged, and this challenge defined in part the struggle for survival in which Slovaks found themselves when the Magyars began a process that sought to transform the multinational Hungarian state into a Magyar one. To achieve this objective, they introduced an assimilation process known as Magyarization. The right of the Slovaks to their history and their national identity was the object of a second challenge, one that would not be fully felt until the 20th century but that had its roots in the Reformation. It arose from a peculiar linguistic situation. According to Slovak linguists, by the 15th century, along with the development of the spoken language, a Slovak written language had developed known as Cultural Slovak, into which religious and civil texts were translated. Cultural Slovak (in its three variants, Eastern, Central, and Western) was used in letters and documents pertaining to agricultural, commercial, and juridical matters. The Czech orthography was adopted to write Cultural Slovak and such features as Czech conjunctions appeared in it until the 17th century. These Czech features were supported by the Czechs who came to Slovakia from the 15th century onward. However, many of these Czechisms had vanished from Cultural Slovak by the 17th century. By

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then, Cultural Slovak had also developed into three distinct linguistic integration areas: western, central, and eastern. Given the role of Bratislava in royal Hungary and the importance of the University of Trnava during the Counter-Reformation, Cultural Western Slovak came to predominate to such an extent that even texts written in Cultural Central Slovak were translated into it. Still, this was not a codified literary language. Only in 1790 did Anton Bernolák codify the Slovak language. In the meantime, there was another factor that was influencing the adoption of a literary language among Slovaks. When the Hussites came to Hungary in the 15th century, they brought with them a Czech translation of the Bible and also used their own language in their pastoral work. This use of Czech was strengthened in the 17th century with the adoption by Slovak Protestants of the Czech Králická Biblia (Kralice Bible), published in six volumes in 1579–1593. Since Czech was their liturgical language, many Slovak Protestants, especially those of the Lutheran faith, also used Czech as their literary language. The language situation in Slovakia toward the end of the 18th century was thus defined by the existence of three written languages: Czech, which was used by the Lutherans; Cultural Slovak (usually Cultural Western Slovak), which was used in correspondence and documents, as well as some poetic works; and Latin, which was the language of officialdom and was used in the administration of the kingdom, especially in correspondence with the court. Latin was also the language used by Catholics in their liturgy, but it was on its way out as a literary language. Of the two remaining languages, Cultural Western Slovak was more generally used and was also gaining ground; the court accepted it as the language of the Slovaks and used it in the publication of such documents as the Urbarial Law of 1767. In addition, a Camaldolese monk, Romuald Hadbavný, prepared in 1763 in Červený Kláštor in eastern Slovakia a Latin–Slovak dictionary based on it (it was, however, never published), and the first novel in the vernacular was published in Cultural Western Slovak in 1783 by Ignác Bajza. Despite its strength and use, Cultural Western Slovak was just a regional language; there was a need to codify a literary language that was understood by and accessible to all Slovaks. The impetus to do so came from the educational reforms of 1777 (the Ratio Educationis), the imposition of German as the language of administration in 1784 in Hungary, and the beginnings of the policy of

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Magyarization that became manifest toward the end of the 18th century. At the same time, there was the pressure from the Czech literary language, which had a strong enough foothold among Lutherans in Slovakia to seek to establish itself as the literary language of the Slovaks. This linguistic–religious division provoked a debate that raged during the first half of the 19th century with political consequences that were to be felt for decades to come. This pressure to adopt Czech also put in doubt the existence of an independent Slovak language in the 20th century and sustained many nonlinguistic arguments that Slovak was but a dialect of Czech. Despite these pressures, or perhaps because of them, Anton Bernolák published in 1790 the first codification of the Slovak literary language, based on the language that had been in use among Catholic Slovaks during the preceding century. It contained elements of western Slovak dialects along with some features of his own central Slovak dialect. His language was later called bernolákovčina. A Slovak Learned Society was created two years later to ensure its adoption. One of the greatest Slovak poets, Ján Hollý, published his poetry and translated foreign literature into that language. Yet Bernolák’s codification was not accepted by all Slovaks and was supplanted in the mid-19th century by that of Ľudovít Štúr, who used central Slovak dialects as the basis for the literary language. Štúr, a Lutheran, had realized the need for a common front against Magyarization and had put aside religious differences to achieve it. As a result, a half-century debate about a Slovak literary language—a debate that had seen support for the adoption of Czech— was over. In the decades that followed, Slovak writers and poets, such as Ján Botto, Samo Chalupka, Janko Kráľ, and Andrej Sládkovič, produced a literary output that not only anchored the literary language but gave it a literature that is considered by some as having been unequaled since. This codification also happened at a time when the winds of revolution and nationalism were blowing through Central Europe, inciting Magyars and Slovaks alike, as well as other nationalities in the Habsburg Empire, to political action. The modern era had begun and the struggle for survival of the Slovaks took a new turn. The policies of centralization of Joseph II, in particular the imposition of German as the administrative language in the empire, replacing Latin, had put the nationalities on a collision course with each other and with the ruling classes, while the peasantry fought for emancipa-

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tion. The French Revolution had faint echoes in the Habsburg lands, spawning a failed conspiracy by Ignác Martinovič, who proposed that Slovakia become an autonomous unit in Hungary. It is rather the revolution of 1848–1849 that provoked the Slovaks into action; the pressure from the Magyars to assimilate the Slovaks had been mounting and required a response. The Slovak leaders, Ľudovít Štúr, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Michal Miloslav Hodža, created the Slovak National Council/Slovenská národná rada (SNR) in September 1848, declared the political independence of Slovakia from Hungary, and launched an armed rebellion. In the words of a distinguished Slovak historian, Daniel Rapant: “after almost a thousand years, this is the first time that the Slovak nation as such finally makes political history.” Poorly organized and also a poor match against the might of the imperial and Hungarian forces, the Slovak uprising of 1848–1849 failed but at the same time served notice as to the determination of the Slovaks to take their destiny in their own hands. The Demands of the Slovak Nation, adopted in Liptovský Sväty Mikuláš in May 1848, is the first document that testifies to this determination. The challenge lay in finding the ways and means to achieve Slovak objectives. This is the battle that the Slovak political leaders fought until 1918 when the international situation decreed the dissolution of the Austro–Hungarian empire. For the balance of the 19th and the first two decades of the 20th century, the Slovak struggle for survival was evident on two fronts: the political and the cultural. On the political front, in their opposition to Magyarization, Slovak leaders made an attempt in 1861 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin to achieve national and political recognition with the adoption of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, again without success. Nevertheless, toward the end of the century, in line with similar developments elsewhere in the empire, political parties made their appearance among the Slovaks. Those who fought for the implementation of the proposals in the memorandum came to be known as the Old School, forming in 1871 the Slovak National Party/Slovenská národná strana (SNS), while a New School, created in 1868 in Pest, advocated cooperation with the Magyars. In 1905, Slovak Catholics separated from the Hungarian People’s Party founded in 1895 to constitute the Slovak People’s Party/Slovenská ľudová strana (SĽS) to defend their interests. A Slovak Social Democratic Party of Hungary/Slovenská sociálnodemokratická strana Uhorska (SSDS) was similarly created in

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1905 but survived only one year. Finally, Slovak students studying in Prague who were members of the student organization Detvan began proposing closer cooperation between Czechs and Slovaks; because their ideas were propagated in the periodical Hlas, they became known as Hlasists and in time formed a cohesive political grouping that played a pivotal role in the next phase of the Slovak struggle for survival. On the cultural front, there was some success with the creation of Matica slovenská (Slovak cultural institute) in 1863 and the opening of three Slovak gymnasia. As a result of the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of 1867, however, Matica slovenská and the three gymnasia were closed in 1875; yet Slovak cultural life, rather than diminish under this blow, grew and flourished. It gave Slovak literature the poetic and prose creations of such writers as Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Martin Kukučín, and Svetozár Hurban Vajanský, among others. Other art forms also flourished. Ján Levoslav Bella made an outstanding contribution to music and František Sasinek to history. Hungary was industrializing and modernizing and so was Slovakia, though at a lesser rate. Then, international events, in particular World War I, brought the Slovaks new options; a political union with the Czechs was the most viable of these, and by the end of the war, at a meeting in Turčiansky Svätý Martin, in the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, it was adopted by all political formations in Slovakia.

THE CZECHO–SLOVAK OPTION Even though it was the only realistic solution, the Czecho–Slovak option had a tenuous link with the past, both as a political alternative and in the history of both nations. Nevertheless, Czechoslovak historiography would later claim that Czechs and Slovaks had formed a common state as early as the Great Moravian Empire and that over the centuries the links between them had never been cut as the presence of the Hussites in Slovakia, for example, testifies. The use of the Czech language by Slovaks was another proof of the necessity and inevitability of a union between the two nations. In fact, such a union had first been proposed at the Slavic Congress of June 1848 in Prague and met with little support from the Slovaks. It reappeared in Czech politics in the last decade of the 19th century with the creation in Prague of an association called

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INTRODUCTION

Czechoslav Unity, which openly advocated a political union between the two nations; this proposal became the cornerstone of Czech politics in the 20th century. The Hlasists were its greatest supporters in Slovak political circles. At the end of World War I, when Central Europe was reorganized on the principle of self-determination, its validity as a solution for both nations was acknowledged with the creation of a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks, the Czecho–Slovak Republic. Its success and future depended on how it was defined and implemented. Prior to the creation of the Czecho–Slovak Republic, American Czech and Slovak organizations, because of the interdiction to engage in any political activity in Austria–Hungary during the war, had signed two agreements that outlined a political union between the two nations in a common state. The Cleveland Agreement of 1915 proposed a confederation between Slovakia and the Czech Lands. This agreement, however, did not represent a viable solution for the leadership of the Czecho–Slovak National Council in Paris, which had another agenda that saw Slovakia not as an equal partner of the Czech Lands in a common state, but rather as a necessary territorial and demographic extension of the Czech Lands that would allow the Czech nation to achieve its main political objective, the creation of its own national state. Thus, in order to create such a state, not equal partnership, but rather Slovak acquiescence, was necessary; it was acquired in the second agreement, the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918, which promised Slovakia a degree of autonomy in a centralized state. The need to create such a state was justified by invoking the imperatives of postwar Central European politics. At the conclusion of World War I, Central Europe was reorganized on the principle of national self-determination. The new state that was created on 28 October 1918 contained three main national groups but none with a numerical majority. Exact statistics were not available at the time of its creation (for Slovakia, the 1910 census in Hungary was used), but according to the 1921 census the total population was 13,874,364 people and included Czechs (6,818,995), Germans (3,123,568), Slovaks (1,941,942), Magyars (745,431), Ruthenes (Ukrainians) (461,849), and Poles (75,853). The Czechs were the ones with accepted historical rights while the others, with the exception of the Slovaks, were national minorities. The Czechs required, however, in addition to these rights, an absolute majority. A fusion with the Slovaks was the solution to this dilemma; together the two peoples would form a Czechoslovak nation

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that would make up 65.13 percent of the population. The Pittsburgh Pact had marked the first step toward the creation of this new nation by limiting Slovak demands to little more than a form of autonomous selfgovernment. When Czecho–Slovakia adopted a constitution in 1920 and became Czechoslovakia, Tomáš G. Masaryk, its first president and one of the signatories of the pact, refused to acknowledge its validity. The Slovaks suddenly became a branch of a hitherto nonexistent nation called Czechoslovak and their language was deemed to be a dialect of Czech. Once again, they were locked in a struggle for national survival. The First Czechoslovak Republic was a centralized democratic state that held regular elections, enforced the rule of law, and gave its citizens all the rights and privileges found in a democracy; it was the only one in Central Europe in the interwar period. Slovakia and the Slovaks benefited a great deal from their union with the Czechs: Slovak education, the arts, and culture flourished, and the vestiges of the feudal past were swept away as the state and society embraced modernization. Slovakia’s industrial development, however, was much slower than that of the Czech Lands. Czechoslovakia was also conceived and run like a Czech national state; this definition was the main challenge to democracy. The main political party to articulate Slovak opposition—without, however, seeking to destroy the state—was the SĽS, re-created in 1918 and led by Andrej Hlinka, one of the most respected Slovak political figures of the 20th century. In 1925, to honor its founder, it was renamed the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party/Hlinková slovenská ľudová strana (HSĽS); in the elections of 1925, 1929, and 1935, the party won the greatest number of seats in Slovakia. Its platform was based on the implementation of the Pittsburgh Pact—the granting of autonomy to Slovakia—and on the defense of the political, social, and economic interests of the Slovak population, which was overwhelmingly Catholic in its religious affiliation. The political elite in Prague, however, was unwilling to abandon its commitment to the existence of a Czechoslovak nation and to a centralized form of government, and within two decades of the creation of the state, the tension in Czech–Slovak relations was one of the elements that brought about the breakup of Czechoslovakia. According to a Czech historian, Czechoslovakia was a “doomed democracy” in the interwar period. It was sandwiched between two major European powers, Germany and the Soviet Union, each of which also

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represented the two challenges to liberal democracy in Europe, fascism and communism. Germany used the presence of the German minority to challenge Czechoslovakia as part of its policy to annul the settlement of Versailles and to put into effect the principle of self-determination by integrating into the German Reich the fringe areas with a predominantly German population that had been cut off from German and Austrian territory after World War I. As Germany imposed itself on the European scene and France and Great Britain showed themselves incapable of countering German expansionism, the future of Czechoslovakia became more uncertain with every German success. When the leaders of Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy met in Munich in September 1938 and gave Germany the Sudentenland, territory in Czechoslovakia that was overwhelmingly populated by Germans, the First Czechoslovak Republic ceased to exist. It is under these circumstances, after Munich, that Slovakia finally achieved autonomy. In addition to an autonomous government, it also had an assembly; elections to it were held on 18 December 1938 and were won by the HSĽS. However, the international situation was anything but stabilized with the Munich Agreement. Within six months, the Second Czecho–Slovak Republic succumbed to German pressure. The Slovak leaders, fearful that the common state would not be able to protect Slovakia from the threat of partition between Germany, Hungary, and Poland, opted for the creation of a Slovak state when the German threat became clear. On 14 March 1939, the Slovak deputies in the Slovak Assembly voted unanimously for independence. The Czech Lands were incorporated into the Third Reich as the Protectorate of Bohemia–Moravia on the next day. The Slovak struggle for survival now faced new challenges as German expansionism plunged Europe into World War II.

THE FIRST SLOVAK REPUBLIC Within a very short time after independence, the political leaders of the Slovak Republic created the necessary institutions that allowed the Slovak people not only to go very far down the road of economic and social development, but above all to experience the challenges of self-government. On 26 October 1939, the Slovak Parliament elected

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as president of the republic Jozef Tiso, the first prime minister of the Slovak autonomous government. He rallied around him the moderates in the HSĽS and sought to minimize German involvement in Slovak politics. The prime minister, Vojtech Tuka, was the leader of the radical wing of the party that wanted to run Slovakia in the spirit of the ideology of German National Socialism. Slovakia’s position in Europe was not felicitous; it was aligned with Germany as a result of the Treaty of Protection signed on 23 March 1939. When hostilities broke out in Europe, it participated in the war against Poland to recover territories given away by the Czechoslovak government in 1924. Slovak political life, however, was particularly influenced by the struggle that developed between the two groups concerning the policies to pursue; it was resolved by Germany. In July 1940, Tiso was summoned by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to Salzburg and told to dismiss officials who were considered unacceptable to the Third Reich. The Tuka group was given the upper hand in Slovak politics but not full power; Tiso remained in the presidency. In addition to participating in the war against the Soviet Union in June 1941 and joining the Anti-Comintern Pact in September, the Slovak government, which had approved the deprivation of the civic rights of Slovakia’s Jewish population, proceeded to deport Jews to German concentration camps in Poland between March and October 1942. Yet Slovakia was also one of the states in the German orbit that refused to participate fully in the German Final Solution: the deportations were stopped when it was learned what fate awaited Slovak Jews. In addition, legislation gave President Tiso the right to grant exceptions, which he applied to save some 30,000 Jews. Until September 1944, Slovakia did not deport any more Jews and became, as the International Committee of the Red Cross reported, a haven for Central European Jews fleeing from German concentration camps. Apart from the struggle between the moderates and the radicals in the HSĽS, Slovak political life also experienced the development and growth of a resistance movement not only against German influence and presence, but also for Slovakia’s reincorporation into Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. By the end of 1943, there were two political groups, the Communist Party of Slovakia/Komunistická strana Slovenska (KSS) and non-Communists, who came together to form the Democratic Party/Demokratická strana (DS). By signing the

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INTRODUCTION

Christmas Agreement that outlined their political objectives, these two parties prepared the way for the outbreak of an armed uprising against the first Slovak Republic that would signal the return of Slovakia in Czechoslovakia. They created an SNR whose main objective was not only to take power, but also to ensure that the solution to Czech–Slovak relations in the postwar era was fundamentally different from that of the First Czechoslovak Republic. As far as the Communists were concerned, there could only be a federal solution. The uprising that broke out on 29 August 1944 indicated the presence of a Slovak anti-Fascist movement in Europe, brought German Wehrmacht and SS troops into Slovakia to fight the partisans, and plunged Slovakia into the war. For all intents and purposes, it was the end of Slovak statehood. Partisan and military warfare lasted for the better part of two months, during which time the Germans sent special units to seek out the Slovak Jews who had been spared deportation since October 1942, and bitter fighting pitted Slovak against Slovak, as well as partisan and Slovak military units against the Germans, with wanton destruction of life and property by all concerned. Slovakia was back in Czechoslovakia and the SNR had earned the right to govern Slovakia after the war. All that was left was to negotiate with the Czechoslovak government the terms to determine its position in the common state and to deal with the consequences of six years of relative independence and statehood. Those who had worked for Slovakia’s first modern state, if they did not go into exile, were excluded from political life and silenced. Another chapter in the Slovak struggle for survival had opened.

THE COMMUNIST REGIME Since the SNR took over all of the institutions of the Slovak Republic at the end of hostilities, Slovakia enjoyed a great deal of autonomy immediately after the war; this was a state of affairs that could not last as far as the Czechoslovak government was concerned; it still perceived Slovak autonomy as a challenge to the integrity of the state. It did not take long therefore for Slovakia to be subordinated to a new form of centralism; this was accomplished in three Prague Agreements that were signed in 1945 and 1946. In addition, the trial and execution of President Tiso in April 1947 was meant to erase the memory of Slovak

INTRODUCTION

• 19

independence and statehood and to prevent their resurgence. Despite these developments, even because of them, Czech–Slovak relations still had to find a balance. The search for this balance was influenced by the fact that Czechoslovakia was also in the throes of another conflict, the new postwar competition between Western liberal democracy and Soviet communism. Central Europe had become a Soviet sphere of interest and the Kremlin wanted the states of the region controlled by its political allies. When the Communists took power in a coup in February 1948, the Iron Curtain that fell across Europe opened the way for the imposition of a totalitarian ideology. In the elections of May 1946, the Slovaks had handed the Communists a humiliating defeat and voted overwhelmingly for the DS. Slovak political life had to be transformed. However, the imposition of communism on Slovakia did not bring about a solution to Czech–Slovak relations; rather, it exacerbated them. Furthermore, the Communist regime did not tolerate either opposition or a divergence of views; as a result, the task of defending the Slovak nation fell to Slovaks who had left their native land. The end of World War II had provoked an exodus of some 5,000 officials from the Slovak Republic. These Slovaks were initially denied refugee status by the International Refugee Organization; they were eventually able to immigrate to various Western countries, from which they sought to speak on behalf of the Slovak nation, stressing its right to political independence. Their ranks were increased with those who fled the Communist takeover in 1948; however, this wave of refugees also included Slovaks who supported a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks. Of all the organizations the political refugees created during the Communist era, the most important were the Slovak National Council Abroad, created in 1948 in Rome, and the Slovak World Congress established in 1970 in New York. They kept the international community informed of developments in Slovakia under communism. In the first two decades of the Communist regime, all aspects of political, social, economic, cultural, and personal life underwent radical change. The KSS was quickly subordinated to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia/Komunistická strana Československa (KSČS), whose leadership thus enjoyed a monopoly on political power and excluded any form of opposition; the collectivization of agriculture sent thousands of peasants and agricultural workers into factories and

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INTRODUCTION

cities; Slovakia underwent rapid industrialization, concentrating on armaments and heavy industry; socialist realism was imposed on culture and all religious faiths were the object of persecution and restricted activity; and the individual was expected to become a new socialist being, obedient to the dictates of the party and willing to ensure the triumph of socialism. Czech–Slovak relations were subordinated to the new social, economic, and political order and declared resolved in the spirit of proletarian internationalism. Czechoslovakia was once again a centralized state, and the autonomy that Slovakia had acquired in the immediate postwar period was transformed into a mere formality; in addition, those who had participated in the 1944 uprising and favored a Czech–Slovak federation were found guilty of Slovak bourgeois nationalism in the purges that Moscow imposed on Central Europe in the late 1940s and early 1950s to ensure complete obedience to the dictates of the Soviet leadership. For the Communist regime, there was, for all intents and purposes, no “Slovak question” anymore. In 1960, the country adopted a socialist constitution. It was only when the economies of the socialist states began to slow down and the populations became less fearful in showing their displeasure with the Communist system that the “Slovak question” reappeared on the political agenda of Czechoslovakia. After the failure of the Hungarian people to overthrow the regime in 1956, Czech and Slovak intellectuals sought to reform the Communist system in the 1960s, to substitute its Stalinist variation with “socialism with a human face.” A Slovak politician, Alexander Dubček, elected first secretary of the KSČS in January 1968, led the reform movement during the spring and summer of that year; its objectives were outlined in his Action Program. A new solution to Czech–Slovak relations was on the agenda; Czechoslovakia would be transformed on the 50th anniversary of its creation, 28 October, into a federation of two socialist republics, one Czech and one Slovak. It is the only reform that survived the invasion of the country by Warsaw Pact troops in August; the other socialist states of Central Europe and the Soviet Union had been fearful of the other reforms and had used military power to ensure their elimination. The last two decades of communism in federal Czechoslovakia were marked by a policy of “normalization” that made it one of the most conservative and repressive regimes in Central Europe under the leadership of another Slovak, Gustáv Husák. He had replaced Dubček

INTRODUCTION

• 21

in April 1969. After Czechoslovakia signed the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, a group of Czech dissenters formed Charter 77 to voice their opposition to the regime. Only a handful of Slovaks belonged to it. Slovak dissent manifested itself instead in annual Marian pilgrimages to Šaštin and Levoča and in the resurgence of religiosity and religious activity. Federalization had also given Slovakia a measure of administrative selfgovernment. When the Communist regime was finally overthrown in the “Gentle” or “Velvet Revolution” of November 1989, Slovakia had the necessary institutions to embrace postcommunism on its own terms. It did not take long for the question of Czech–Slovak relations and the definition of the common state to come to the fore.

DEMOCRACY AND INDEPENDENCE In the three years that led to the “Gentle Divorce,” Slovak political life was characterized by a debate on the nature of Czech–Slovak relations and, as elsewhere in Central Europe, on the policies needed to abandon the command economy and politics of communism in favor of a market economy and pluralist democracy. New political groupings and parties were formed, elections were held, and constitutional talks took place on the redefinition of the state. The motion submitted to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in March 1990 to reintroduce the hyphen in the name of the country—“Czecho–Slovakia” rather than “Czechoslovakia”—met with opposition from the Czech (and some Slovak) deputies and brought about calls for the independence of Slovakia. In April, the assembly voted the name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (abbreviated ČSFR in the Czech Republic and abroad, and Č-SFR in Slovakia) as a compromise. Vladimír Mečiar, the parliamentary leader of Public Against Violence/Verejnosť proti násiliu (VPN), the first Slovak political movement created after the fall of communism, won the June 1990 elections. However, he was ousted from power in April 1991 in a vote of no confidence in the SNR. He formed his own party, Movement for a Democratic Slovakia/Hnutie za demokraticé Slovensko (HZDS) and won the June 1992 elections on a platform of gradual economic transformation and the reorganization of Czecho–Slovakia on a confederal basis. This plan met with opposition from Václav Klaus, who had won the elections in the

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INTRODUCTION

Czech Republic and who was determined not only to increase the tempo of economic transformation but also to ensure that Czecho–Slovakia was as centralized as a federal arrangement would allow. Constitutional talks produced a deadlock. The SNR voted for the sovereignty of the Slovak nation on 17 July and adopted a new constitution on 1 September, also renaming itself the National Council of the Slovak Republic/Národná rada Slovenskej republiky (NR SR); Mečiar and Klaus agreed that there was no other option than to dissolve the common state. The Czechoslovak Federal Assembly approved the dissolution on 25 November. On 1 January 1993, the second Slovak Republic was born. The first years of postindependence Slovak politics were marked by a degree of political instability. Mečiar was once again ousted from power in a vote of no confidence in March 1994 in the NR SR when members of his party, objecting to his style and some of his policies, defected to form with other political parties a coalition government led by Jozef Moravčík. Early elections were called in September, and Mečiar won once again, albeit with a reduced number of deputies. He had to form a coalition government with two extreme parties, the Slovak National Party/Slovenská národná strana (SNS) on the right and the Association of Workers of Slovak/Združenie robotníkov Slovenska (ZRS) on the left. Slovak politics was in ferment; the government proceeded to attack the principles of vertical and horizontal accountability with a number of institutions becoming the object of specific government interest and interference, namely the NR SR, the broadcast media, intelligence, law enforcement and defense agencies, privatization, and the state administration. The opposition in the NR SR and also the Western media accused the government of being authoritarian, intolerant of opposition views, and also insensitive to the needs of Slovakia’s Hungarian minority. Slovakia underwent in March 1996 an administrative reorganization that divided the country into eight regions and 79 districts that cut right across Hungarian districts. Hungarian politicians saw this as a blatant case of administrative gerrymandering. In November 1995, the government also passed a Language Law that required that all public employees speak Slovak and that all public ceremonies, except weddings, also be held in Slovak. Similarly, the government’s treatment of the Roma was not seen as fair and equitable. There were also public policy clashes between Mečiar and Michal Kováč, who had been elected president on 15 February 1993.

INTRODUCTION

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There were also uncertainties concerning Slovak foreign policy. In the early years, and until its economic transformation made it competitive, Slovakia needed economic partners. As Russia was in a similar position with regard to Western help and investments, the two states had reason to enter into economic relations, especially because Russia had a debt of $1.6 billion toward Slovakia. In addition, during his visit to Bratislava in April 1997, Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin, aware of the difficulties Slovakia was having with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) application, hinted at the positive reception in the Kremlin of a Slovak policy of neutrality, especially toward NATO. The political instability provoked by government policies resulted in Slovakia being dropped in 1996 from the initial United States Congress list of countries to be offered the opportunity to join NATO and from the list of candidates for membership in the European Union (EU). A failed referendum in Slovakia on NATO and the presidency in May 1997 resulted in Slovakia not being on the list of the first Central European states invited to join NATO in July 1997. As for the presidency, the question was shelved until Kováč’s term came to an end in March 1998 and, when the NS SR failed to elect a successor, it became an issue in the September 1998 elections. The elections marked a turning point in Slovak political life. With the help of Western civil society organizations, the opposition parties joined together and succeeded in defeating Mečiar and the HZDS to form a coalition government that lasted four years. Not only did the coalition government of Mikuláš Dzurinda of the Slovak Democratic Coalition/Slovenská demokatická koalícia (SDK) reverse many Mečiar’s decisions, but it successfully redirected the Slovak political system and the economy to make it possible for Slovakia to become a candidate in the second NATO enlargement and in the first enlargement process of the EU. In addition, elections for the presidency were held on 15 and 29 May 1999 and Rudolf Schuster of the Party of Civic Understanding/Strana občianskeho porozumenia (SOP) won on the second ballot against Mečiar of the HZDS. Last but not least, and in response to EU, OSCE, and Council of Europe pressure, it passed a new language law in July 1999, the Law on the Use of Ethnic Minority Languages. In order to join NATO, Slovakia had to bring about major changes in its defense and military policies. Soon after independence, the government had clearly indicated that membership in NATO was a

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INTRODUCTION

major foreign and defense objective. On 16 December 1992, the SNR had passed a law creating the Army of the Slovak Republic/Armáda Slovenskej republiky (ASR), which it proceeded to modernize. Then on 1 March 1994, the Slovak government published a document entitled Slovak Republic’s Defense Doctrine, which committed Slovakia to international agreements limiting forces and arms and expressed interest in joining NATO and the Western European Union. During the first year of independence, Slovakia intensified its activities in the North Atlantic Council for Cooperation, took part in sessions of the North Atlantic Assembly, and on 9 February 1994 signed the Partnership for Peace agreement with NATO and also achieved associate member status in the WEU. In addition, the ASR provided forces and observers to selected UN peacekeeping operations. In June 1994, under the Jozef Moravčík government, the NR SR Defense Committee approved a new Slovak defense doctrine, which placed even greater emphasis on closer relations with European and Alliance structures; in August the NR SR approved the creation of a General Staff, thereby bringing the ASR in line with Western European armies; and in September the ASR was restructured and reorganized. However, the two parties that supported the Mečiar government from 1994 to 1998, the SNS and the ZRS, had ideological and political reasons for questioning Slovakia’s application for membership in NATO. In addition, as we have seen, the government had embarked on a path that put in doubt its commitment to the democratic development of Slovakia. As a result, Slovakia’s application to NATO stalled until the September 1998 elections. When Dzurinda came to power, he introduced policies in 1999 and 2000 that amounted to a defense reform that streamlined the ASR and made it an effective military force. In February 2001, the NR SR approved a constitutional amendment that allowed the government to deploy Slovak forces in NATO operations. In March, the NR SR approved a document entitled National Security Strategy, which replaced the 1996 document and which brought Slovakia closer to NATO and the EU. On 1 July 2002, the NR SR renamed the ASR the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic/Ozbrojené sily Slovenskej republiky (OS SR). Only after the results of the September 2002 elections was the way clear for Slovakia to join NATO and the EU. Prior to the elections, public-opinion polls indicated strong dissatisfaction with the Dzurinda gov-

INTRODUCTION

• 25

ernment and the possibility that Mečiar and the HZDS might get another chance to form a government; this brought about warnings from the West. However, Dzurinda, now leader of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union/Slovenská demokratická a kresťanská únia (SDKÚ), was able to form another coalition government and keep the HZDS out. Slovakia became one of the seven Central European countries admitted into NATO in November 2002. Less than two years later, on 2 April 2004, the North Atlantic Council held a Ceremonial Session in Brussels to welcome Slovakia and the other new members to NATO. Slovakia’s admission in the EU was not any less difficult and complex, especially as it was dependent on the successful negotiation of 31 chapters and the adoption of the acquis communautaire. When the EU decided at its Helsinki summit in December 1999 to open accession negotiations, the Dzurinda government proceeded with determination to negotiate Slovakia’s accession. On 16 April 2003 in Athens, the Slovak Republic signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. On 16– 17 May 2003, Slovakia held a referendum on membership in the EU: 52.15 percent of the registered voters cast their ballot, with 92.46 percent voting in favor of accession. On 1 May 2004, Slovakia was among the 10 European states to become members of the EU. A year and a half later, another foreign policy success was attained: on 10 October 2005, Slovakia was elected for a two-year period to the Security Council of the United Nations Organization beginning 1 January 2006. President Schuster’s term was scheduled to come to an end on 15 June 2004. Presidential elections were held on 3 and 17 April with 12 candidates in the running including President Schuster and former Prime Minister Mečiar. Ivan Gašparovič, former speaker of the NR SR and leader of the Movement for Democracy/Hnutie za demokraciu (HZD), won on the second ballot over Mečiar, leader of the HZDS, and was sworn in on 15 June 2004. Elections to the NR SR were to take place in September 2006 but a parliamentary crisis in February over a treaty with the Vatican brought down the government when the KDH withdrew its support. Elections were called for June and the campaign was fought on the economic program of the Dzurinda government and in particular its reforms in health and education. Although the SDKÚ-DS, led by Mikuláš Dzurinda, increased its number of deputies in the NR SR from 28 to 31, a coalition government with the SNS, which came in a surprising third

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INTRODUCTION

with 20 seats and the ĽS–HZDS was formed by Róbert Fico, leader of the party Direction–Social Democracy/Smer-Sociálna demokracia (Smer–SD), which obtained 50 seats in parliament. The election results were not only an indication of a degree of popular dissatisfaction with the Dzurinda reform program, but also a signal to the EU that many in Slovakia, like in other post-Communist member-countries, namely Poland and the Czech Republic, wished to see the enactment of policies that reflected national and social needs. The Western media warned of the possible isolation of Slovakia as a result of the participation of the SNS and the ĽS-HZDS in the government.

ECONOMY Until the modern period, Slovakia’s economy reflected the general characteristics and trade patterns of most Central European economies. In its plains and valleys, agriculture predominated, producing wheat, rye, barley, corn (maize), sugar beets, and vegetables. Cattle and hogs were and still are the primary livestock. Fruit trees and orchards are found in the river valleys, in particular, the Váh, and vineyards on the slopes of the Small Carpathians have always produced some excellent wines. The feudal system that regulated agricultural production and its accompanying social organization remained basically intact until the creation of Czecho–Slovakia in 1918, justifying the remark of a Slovak historian that “Slovakia was in essence a country of great landowners and agriculture.” Even the forested areas, representing about one third of Slovakia, were owned by the Hungarian magnates. There was another area of economic activity, however, namely Slovakia’s mountains, that was always an important source of silver and gold, as well as high-grade iron ore and nonferrous metals, such as copper, magnesium, lead, and zinc. Mining centers began to develop with the arrival of the first German colonists in the 13th century; during the Middle Ages, the mining of precious metals, copper, and iron was the most important single economic development. Much of this mining activity took place in central Slovakia, and such towns as Banská Štiavnica, Kreminca, and Banská Bystrica became major mining centers. There were also smaller ones in Spiš, Gemer, and Liptov counties. It is estimated that in the 14th century the mines of Kremnica produced

INTRODUCTION

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around 400 kilograms of gold and over 1,000 kilograms of silver annually, a level of production unequaled elsewhere in Europe. The extraction of precious metals was under royal control, as were the mints in Kremnica and Smolník, which struck coins for the realm. The gold ducats struck in Kremnica around 1330 were among the most soughtafter coins in Europe. This mining production decreased somewhat in the 15th and 16th centuries. Miners were organized in societies; one of the best known and best run was created by Ján Turzo from Betlanovce in Spiš county. Toward the end of the 15th century, he merged his enterprise with the German firm Fugger from Augsburg; thereafter, the Fugger–Turzo concern controlled mining in central Slovakia. Turzo’s enterprise offered working conditions for miners that were quite exceptional for the period, with an eight-hour day, sickness and old-age insurance, and guaranteed pensions for widows and orphans. The situation changed after the Ottoman Turks invaded Hungary in the 16th century; most Central European economies began to stagnate. This state of affairs was aggravated by the discovery of the New World, which redirected Western Europe’s trade patterns. Although Slovakia’s natural resources were always abundant, once the Ottoman occupation of Hungary ended in the 18th century, they were never fully exploited. As a result, Slovak economic development did not attain anywhere near the proportions that would have brought about major transformations in Slovak society. The population of Slovakia remained basically agricultural, and subsistence farming was the lot of the overwhelming majority of the people. The onset of industrialization in the 19th century did not change the situation much and the 1870s saw massive immigration to the United States and Canada, not only because of the boom in those countries but also because of the slow pace and alienating conditions of industrial development and employment in the Hungarian kingdom. On average, for the half century preceding World War I, some 30,000 people emigrated annually. Still, there was growth in banking and industry—especially in the production of iron, gold, wood products, cotton, and textiles—and in agriculture (in the sugar beet industry). Of the 4,091 kilometers of railway tracks built by 1873 in Hungary, 890 were on Slovak soil. However, the government in Budapest did not support industrial development directly; to a great extent foreign capital accounts for the development that took

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INTRODUCTION

place. In addition, the working conditions were often very primitive. As was the case elsewhere in Europe, workers’ movements developed, and the 1870s saw the first industrial strikes in Slovakia, Zvolen, Lučenec, and Košice. The creation of Czecho–Slovakia in 1918 had major effects on the economy and the population of Slovakia. First, many of the north–south economic patterns that had existed in Hungary were severed and replaced by east–west ones, connecting Slovakia’s economy to that of the Czech Lands. Although there was a need to create a Czechoslovak economy and integrate Slovakia into it, there was also competition from Czech firms. In addition, the Czechoslovak government sent thousands of Czechs to Slovakia to occupy positions in the state and education sectors. The Czechoslovak government made an effort to raise the economic level of the population and to modernize the economy of Slovakia. However, in the two decades of the existence of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the Czechoslovak economy experienced three crises, in 1921 to 1923, 1930 to 1934 (the Depression), and 1937. All three hit Slovakia particularly hard, for Slovakia had less industrial development than the Czech Lands. Moreover, as a result of the economic liberalism at the time, Slovak economic activity and the prospects for development were not only limited, but in many cases curtailed. In the republic’s first decade and a half, 260 enterprises in various industrial branches in Slovakia were shut down as a result of the competitive pressure from Czech industries; by 1937, another 68 enterprises in heavy industry had experienced the same fate. Where there was capital investment, it was in old rather than new industries. By 1930, Slovakia’s share of industrial labor was only 19.4 percent, compared to 42.1 percent in the Czech Lands. As Slovak historians write: “Some busy industrial areas, in particular in mountainous regions, were literally transformed into ‘valleys of hunger.’” The growth and modernization of the Czechoslovak economy meant that progressive legislation was enacted, including an eight-hour day, unemployment, medical insurance, and old-age pensions. On the whole, the standard of living of the population, in the Czech Lands and in Slovakia, rose over time. Slovakia’s industrial development, however, was not commensurate with that of the Czech Lands, and the crises the economy experienced had particularly severe consequences on Slovak

INTRODUCTION

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economic activity and the work force in Slovakia. As had been the case in Hungary toward the end of the 19th century, there was unemployment, limited labor mobility, and, especially, emigration. Slovakia’s population totaled 2,958,557 people in 1921 out of a total population of 13,374,364 and a decade later 3,254,189 out of a total population of 14,479,565. The two censuses indicate that the percentage of Slovakia’s population in agriculture dropped from 60.6 percent in 1921 to only 56.8 percent in 1930. Emigration was the other outlet. According to available statistics, out of 400,193 persons who left Czechoslovakia in the years 1920 to 1938, 213,185 (54 percent) were from Slovakia. The six years of the first Slovak Republic during World War II saw the Slovak economy stabilize and even grow. Unemployment was virtually eliminated, there were no shortages of foodstuffs, Slovakia had a positive trade balance with most of its trading partners, and the middle class found employment in the state, education, and service sectors, areas that had been occupied by Czechs during the interwar years. Despite the progress made, Slovakia’s economy was still overwhelmingly agricultural and its industrialization level was lower than that of the Czech Lands. Under communism, Slovakia’s industrialization finally took place. Agriculture was collectivized thus creating the labor force that was essential for rapid industrialization. Between 1948 and 1983, the number of people employed in industry increased from 216,884 to 809,928. The industrial development of Slovakia was based entirely on the needs of the Czechoslovak economy and, above all, the Warsaw Pact’s strategic requirements. It was integrated in the central planning system. The plans and the tempo of plan fulfillment were worked out in Prague, were adjusted annually, and underwent only minor modifications over the years. In Slovakia, the plans called for the development of mining, smelting, and chemical industries and for the fulfillment of production quotas. In addition, as Slovak historians note: “These factories, often built without regard to the cost of production, for strictly strategic–military reasons, with old technology, seriously affected the ecology of many areas.” Most of Czechoslovakia’s military industries, which produced tanks, munitions, rockets, and all types of weapons, were found in Slovakia, particularly in eastern Slovakia, because of its proximity to the Soviet Union. Such factories employed 10,000 to 12,000 workers. There was little production of consumer goods or light industry, other

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INTRODUCTION

than what was needed for internal consumption, and raw materials extracted in Slovakia were usually sent to the Czech Lands for processing and finishing. Still, Slovakia became industrialized, a development that also brought urbanization. By the 1980s, half of the population lived in cities. The federalization of Czechoslovakia in 1968 gave a particularly strong impetus to the industrial development of Slovakia; the federal regime favored it with massive investments. Communist statistics indicate not only that industrial production in Slovakia increased dramatically—20 times since 1948—but that Slovakia’s share in the overall volume of industrial production, for example, rose from 20.8 percent in 1965 to 26.6 percent a decade later. At the Communist Party of Slovakia Congress, held in 1976, the first secretary spent the bulk of his report dealing with Slovak economic achievements, stressing that the basic goals of the just-completed plan had been reached and in some cases even surpassed. If, according to a Slovak economist, by 1974, “Slovakia had overcome her economic, social and cultural backwardness and become a country with a developed economy” and was well on its way to reaching equality with the Czech Lands, Slovakia’s economy was nevertheless organized as a socialist economy, intimately linked not only to the Czechoslovak economy, but also to the economic activity and strategic needs of the Soviet bloc. When that bloc began to disintegrate in 1989, Slovakia was hit particularly hard. Two factors account for the economic difficulties that post-Communist Slovakia encountered: the decision taken by Czechoslovak President Václav Havel to curtail arms sales abroad in 1990; and the difficulties that Czecho–Slovakia experienced as it proceeded to transform its command economy into a market one. The effects of the transition were particularly evident in Slovakia, which saw a drop of 25.6 percent of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 1990–1993 and a GDP growth rate of -2.5 percent in 1990, -14.5 percent in 1991, and -7.0 percent in 1992. Slovak independence reversed this trend and proved wrong the economists who had argued that separation would have disastrous consequences and place Slovakia among the less, if not least, successful transition economies. One of the first economic reports after independence indicated that “[Slovakia’s] GDP per capita was USD 2,053 in 1993. Only Hungary with a per capita GDP of USD 3,566 and the

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Czech Republic with USD 3,066 rank above Slovakia in a list of the transition economies. Poland . . . and the other former CMEA [Council for Mutual Economic Assistance] countries had lower GDP per capita values than Slovakia.” In November 1994, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Slovakia is quietly establishing itself as one of the fastergrowing economies in Eastern Europe, expanding by 4 per cent a year after several years of decline. Defying expectations, the new nation has compiled an impressive record of low inflation, financial stability, surging equities and booming exports to the West.” The 1996 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report on Slovakia indicated that it had recorded one of the best macroeconomic performances among Central and East European countries, pointing to a GDP growth of 7.4 percent in 1995, an inflation rate of 6.1 percent, surpluses in state budget and current account balances, and an unemployment rate of 11.9 percent in May 1996, down from 15 percent at the beginning of 1995. In 1997, the Slovak economy experienced a GDP growth of 6.2 percent, an inflation rate of 6.5 percent, and an unemployment rate of 12.8 percent. However, according to some analysts, the Slovak economy was also overheating. In trade, Slovakia exported 37.4 percent of its total world trade to the European Union and imported 34.7 percent; it exported 44.3 percent to the countries of the Central European Free Trade Association and imported 32.9 percent (the Czech Republic is the main trading partner in the association with 35.2 percent of exports and 27.5 percent of imports); and it exported 7.1 percent to Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States members and imports 19.5 percent. Slovakia had a negative trade balance of $2.4 billion in 1997, and a slightly smaller negative balance of under $2 billion for 1998, the equivalent of approximately 10 percent of GDP. Slovakia’s economic transformation from a command to a market economy, although impressive, and for some totally unexpected, was not without a number of difficulties. As much as 80 percent of the economy was privatized but the process had taken place in an atmosphere of bitterness and partisan criticism. Prime Minister Mečiar was accused of allegedly disposing of state assets to his political supporters and allies at very favorable rates, a phenomenon that the Financial Times described as “insider privatisation.” In addition, the Bratislava stock market on occasion underperformed other regional stock markets; many financial institutions did not recommend Slovakia as a very favor-

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INTRODUCTION

able environment for investment. The structure of Slovakia’s exports also indicated that the economic activity that characterized Slovakia under communism has been modified very slowly: in 1996, raw materials and semifinished goods represented 60 percent of all exports, machinery and transport equipment 24 percent, manufactured consumer goods 11 percent, and agricultural products and foodstuffs about 6 percent. Exports stagnated somewhat in 1997 because of weak demand in Western markets, but imports increased significantly. New measures were needed and the September 1998 elections determined who would implement them. It was up to the Dzurinda government to redress the economic situation. GDP growth had fallen to 4.1 percent in 1998 (from 6.2 percent the previous year) and would continue its slide to 1.9 percent in 1999. It began to rebound slowly in 2000 with a 2.2-percent GDP growth, a 3.8-percent growth in 2001, and a 4.6-percent growth in 2002. The government’s approach to foreign direct investment was more open than that of the Mečiar government, but it would take time before Slovakia enjoyed figures comparable to its immediate neighbors: in 1998, Slovakia received $514 million U.S. (compared to $206 million the year before). This decreased to $389 million in 1999, increased to $2,031 million in 2000; fell to $1,460 million in 2001; jumped to $4,101 million in 2002; only to fall to $536 million in 2003. Although this influx of foreign investment enabled the government to introduce some major changes, the brunt of the slowdown was felt by the labor force, with rising unemployment figures of 12.5 percent in 1998, 16.2 percent in 1999, 18.6 percent in 2000, and 19.2 percent in 2001. In 2002, unemployment fell to 18.5 percent, and dropped to 17.4 percent in 2003. Finally, the inflation rate first jumped from 5.2 percent in 1998 to 14.2 percent in 1999 and then decreased to 8.4 percent in 2000, 6.5 percent in 2001, and 3.3 percent in 2002. The economic policies of the Dzurinda government made it unpopular and the prime minister faced challenges not only from Mečiar and the HZDS but also from Róbert Fico, who had founded a new left-wing party called Smer in October 1999; nevertheless he managed to get reelected in September 2002. The economy continued to grow and diversify; the GDP had a 4.5 percent growth in 2003, 4.2 in 2004, and 6.0 in 2005 with unemployment continuing to fall in 2003 to 17.4 percent, rising again in 2004 to 18.1, but falling to 16.2 in 2005. With regards to

INTRODUCTION

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the inflation rate, on the other hand, it rose to 8.5 percent in 2003, but then fell to 7.5 percent in 2004 and 2.7 in 2005. Nevertheless, there was a degree of popular dissatisfaction with the reform program of the Dzurinda government that manifested itself in the results of the June 2006 elections: Smer–SD obtained 50 seats and 29.14 percent of the vote. Paradoxically, the SDKÚ–DS, which came in second place with 18.36 percent of the vote, also increased its number of seats from 28 to 31. It was Róbert Fico who formed a coalition government with the SNS and the ĽS–HZDS, both considered to be right-wing parties. The promises he made during the election campaign to reverse some of the reforms of the Dzurinda government, to reintroduce a graduated tax rate, and possibly to delay the adoption of the euro, if they are carried out, may well have negative consequences on Slovakia’s economic development. Such were the warnings in the Western press upon the announcement of the formation of the Fico government.

QUO VADIS SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA? In 2006, thirteen years after independence, it is clear that the second Slovak Republic has exceeded most expectations and proven wrong those who doubted its survival. The economy is strong and growing, the living conditions of its citizens are improving, its social and cultural life is thriving, new universities have been founded, and its armed forces have participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Building on the development it experienced in Czecho-Slovakia (both democratic and socialist) and in the first Slovak Republic, the Slovak nation created the conditions for a democratic government that allows it to claim its place among the developed nations of Europe. It earned the title of “Cinderella country” given to it by Peter Petro, a Canadian academic. Slovakia overcame many obstacles, but in the process of doing so its political life showed the strains of both the past and the transformation process that it has been undergoing since the fall of communism. Western criticism of Slovak political life in the first years of independence was severe; it was not without foundation but it was also not entirely deserved. The Slovak government’s behavior can be described as a classical case of the “tyranny of the majority”; however, it is a description that, even if it were totally accurate, did not warrant many

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INTRODUCTION

of the negative reports that Slovakia was getting. Among other factors, there is no indication that Slovakia’s democracy was ever threatened. Rather, as a study of British journalism on Slovakia in 1993–1994 by Adam Burgess indicates, it would seem that the harsh criticism that was leveled against Slovakia came from elsewhere: “Slovakia has been hostage to an ideological agenda which is not the product of actual events within the country itself . . . . It has been cast as a probable member of that unenviable club, ‘the East,’ a demon which apparently throws a dark shadow over Europe proper as the continent makes its way into the next century.” A number of observers felt that Slovakia, as the result of such a perceived orientation, was in danger of not experiencing full democratic development. If the negative reaction of many Western observers is explained by the persistence of this agenda, there were also certain domestic factors that sustained it. When seen in their proper context, these factors point to the lingering legacy of the Communist political culture that dominated Slovakia’s political life in the postwar era. The main characteristics of Communist political culture disappeared after 1989, yet the Slovak political scene retained the personalized aspect. Before the “Gentle Revolution,” the achievement and maintenance of political power was not a matter of political conviction or program, but of personal success, arrived at usually through a combination of talent, ambition, ruthlessness, and devious maneuvering in the cooptation system that characterized Communist politics. After 1993, free elections determined who acquires power and for how long; it is the style of governing that was reminiscent of the pre-1989 period. In a democracy, style is as important as substance; the authoritarian, often uncompromising and intolerant behavior of many politicians, especially in government but also in opposition, caught the attention of the West. While this kind of behavior was present in other post-Communist states, what made Slovakia such an easy target for criticism is the poor understanding of Slovak history both in Slovakia and in the West. Since the end of the last century, but in particular since the creation of Czechoslovakia, Slovak political culture was defined by three characteristics: the absence of a constitutional tradition; the exercise of political power as a monopoly of power; and permanent political opposition based on charismatic leadership and populism. These characteristics produced an “us versus them” mentality in the political elite while in the

INTRODUCTION

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population it bred subservience to authority and/or apathy toward the political process. They weighed heavily on the politics and the political life of the first years of the second Slovak Republic and marked the behavior of Slovak politicians. Most Slovaks were raised under communism and, because of the policies of that regime, not only knew little of their history in the 20th century, but were also influenced by Communist political culture. The Western public also knew little about Slovak politics, having focused for the most part on Czechoslovakia and Prague where the fate of Slovakia was generally determined. As a result, little attention was paid to what was a fundamental feature of Slovak politics in Hungary and in Czechoslovakia, namely reacting to having others decide their fate. The three characteristics mentioned above developed from and were sustained by this need to react. It arose out of an agenda that had developed over the centuries: the struggle for survival. This struggle for survival continued to have an impact on post-Communist Slovak political culture. Eva Hoffman, noting how close the Slovak language is to Czech and Polish, wrote wistfully after a tour of post-Communist Central Europe: “It must have taken a special pertinacity to maintain a distinct Slovak identity.” This “special pertinacity,” sustained in the political systems of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, had consequences that were evident in Slovak politics, in academic debates, and in the press in the first years of independence. On the one hand, many Slovaks were inclined to make of this pertinacity the only virtue in Slovak political life, while on the other, many could not make their peace with the end of their Czechoslovak past and had difficulty accepting their nation’s right as well as ability to determine its own future and destiny. In addition, the experience of the first Slovak Republic (1939– 1945) and the 1944 uprising cast long shadows, leaving Slovak society divided on its past: many Slovaks were not convinced about the right of the Slovaks to their own state. This dichotomy was the main ideological undercurrent that influenced the political debate in Slovakia during the Mečiar years and, woven into the legacy of Czechoslovak Communist politics as it was, determined the style of Slovak politics, in particular the behavior of its politicians. As a result, political discourse was often anything but edifying. This dichotomy also ended up placing obstacles in the achievement of a consensus on many issues dominating Slovak political life, especially on the position and role of Slovakia in Europe. The message to the outside world was, therefore, rather ambiguous

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INTRODUCTION

and led, among other things, to the conclusion drawn by the previously quoted British study. The decision taken by NATO in 1997 must therefore be seen as being as much a consequence of the West’s lack of understanding of Slovak history as a response to contemporary Slovak politics, which were, as we have seen, hostage to Slovakia’s past. Nevertheless, the first years of self-government, fraught as they were with issues of governance under Mečiar, turned out to be a salutary experience in the end. Although many of the problems mentioned above lingered, the people of Slovakia above all came to realize not only that they can govern themselves and that they can have a democratic system of government, but that their young state was fully accepted into the family of Western and European states. Independence and statehood had proven to be successful rather than catastrophic and the domestic political scene, as a result, changed dramatically. Election results showed that the nation’s historical struggle for survival was over. In 1998 and 2002 pro-Western parties formed a government and gave Slovak politics a new direction, thus making it possible for Slovakia to be admitted into both NATO and the European Union. Future historians may well consider the year 2002 as a pivotal year. Not only were many past issues no longer on the political agenda anymore, but there were other signs that indicated that Slovakia was coming into its own. The country’s victory at the World Hockey Championships that year was an important defining moment domestically: the celebrations throughout Slovakia clearly demonstrated the pride the people felt at seeing their young state compete successfully with the best teams in the world and win the championship. The election of Slovakia by the General Assembly of the United Nations to the Security Council in October 2005 confirmed the degree of international recognition that the country had achieved. Last but not least, in the elections of 2006, the Slovak electorate expressed itself not only on the policies that the government had pursued to join the EU, but also on the direction that the government ought to take; it gave more support to parties that indicated that they wished to take Slovakia in a direction that emphasized national and social values than to those that wanted to continue on the path of economic reform. These elections focused primarily on domestic issues, but they also raised two questions that begged an answer: namely not only where does Slovakia go from here, but what can it contribute to the institutions to which it was admitted, in particular

INTRODUCTION

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the EU? The answer to this latter question, which is fundamental for Slovakia’s future, lies in the country’s past. Even when they were locked in a struggle for survival, the inhabitants of Slovakia, especially the Slovaks, participated in and made a significant contribution to European history and civilization over the centuries. Slovak history left an important legacy that can be Slovakia’s contribution to the EU: the Slovak people’s intimate link with Christianity and the values that their faith represents. These are also European values. With the rejection of the EU constitution by the citizens of France and the Netherlands in June 2005, the EU entered a new phase and many more constitutional and political outcomes have now become possible; a sui generis solution will emerge one day, where diversity and plurality will become Europe’s defining characteristics in ways that are quite different, perhaps even innovative, from those found in other state formations. But for this or any other solution to come about, the Slovaks, like all the other nations and peoples who make up today’s Europe, must take fully part in that process. Understanding their history and knowing who they are and where they came from will make it much easier for the citizens of Slovakia to participate openly and actively in the development of a new Europe.

The Dictionary

-AABA, SÁMUEL (?–1044). A Magyar warlord whose landholdings extended into eastern Slovak territory, he was most likely Hungary’s first count palatine under King Stephen, and founder of the House of Aba, a Hungarian noble family linked to the Árpád dynasty. ACADEMIA ISTROPOLITANA (1465–1490). The first institution of higher learning founded on Slovak territory in 1465 in Bratislava by King Mathias I “Corvinus.” Its official opening took place on 20 July 1467. It was composed of four faculties—theology, law, medicine, and arts—and is often designated in the documents of the period as “Universitas Histropolitana.” The curriculum in the Faculty of Arts centered on the septem liberales (the seven liberal arts), as defined at the time, namely, algebra, geometry, music, astronomy, Latin grammar, dialectics, and rhetoric. Little is known about the other faculties and even less about the student body. Poor financing from the king, the Hungarian conquest of Vienna in 1485 (where there was a well-established university), the decreasing involvement of Ján Vitez, archbishop of Ostrihom, and Juraj Schomberg, vice-chancellor, and a lack of interest by their successors resulted first in the university’s decline and then in its closing in 1490. See also HUMANISM; UNIVERSITIES. ACTION FOR (VATICAN) COUNCIL RENEWAL/DIELO KONCILOVEJ OBNOVY. Organization of Catholic lay people created in the spring of 1968 that cooperated closely with other political groups during the months of liberalization. It was dissolved after the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968. 39

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ACTION PROGRAM/AKČNÝ PROGRAM

ACTION PROGRAM/AKČNÝ PROGRAM. A document published by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on 6 April 1968 that outlined the new policies of the regime, emphasizing among other things the need to find a solution to Czech–Slovak relations. ADALRAM, ARCHBISHOP. Frankish archbishop of Salzburg who consecrated the first Christian church on Slovak territory in Nitra in A.D. 828 in the Principality of Nitra. AGRARIANS. See REPUBLICAN AGRICULTURAL AND FARMERS’ PARTY. AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES. See UNIFIED AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE. AKČNÝ PROGRAM. See ACTION PROGRAM. ALBERT I (1397–1439). The first member of the House of Habsburg to ascend the Hungarian throne on the death of Sigismond of Luxemburg; he ruled from 1437 to 1439. He was married to the daughter of Sigismond, Elizabeth, who became involved in the struggle for his succession and obtained the help of Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa. ALEXY, JANKO (1894–1970). Painter and writer. In 1929, he began his professional career as an artist in Slovakia after studying at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts from 1919 to 1925. He was a representative of modern Slovak painting based on domestic traditions, focusing on the Slovak countryside, the poverty of the rural population as well as city scenes. His first exhibition was in Bratislava in 1921 and thereafter throughout Slovakia. His work was also exhibited in Paris, New York, Venice, Leningrad, and elsewhere. In the 1950s, he specialized in decorative monumental work that includes the color mosaic windows in the Pavol Országh-Hviezdoslav Theater and the reconstruction of Bratislava Castle. His literary career reflects his experiences as a painter and among his publications, many of them autobiographical, are Dom horí (The house on fire) (1942), Život nie je majáles (Life is not a feast) (1956), and Ovocie dozrievania (The fruits of maturation) (1957). In 1948, he also published Osudy slov-

ALTERNATIVE OF POLITICAL REALISM/ALTERNATÍVA POLITICKÉHO REALIZMU

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enských výtvarníkov (Life stories of Slovak artists), a biographical presentation of 74 artists. ALIANCIA DEMOKRATOV SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. See ALLIANCE OF DEMOCRATS IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. ALIANCIA NOVÉHO OBČANA. See ALLIANCE FOR A NEW CITIZEN. ALLIANCE FOR A NEW CITIZEN/ALIANCIA NOVÉHO OBČANA (ANO). A liberal political party founded in 2001 by Pavol Rusko that belongs to the mainstream of European liberal parties, which are united into the European liberal, democratic and reform party union. In the 2002 elections, it gained 15 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and was one of the parties to form the government. ALLIANCE OF DEMOCRATS IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/ALIANCIA DEMOKRÁTOV SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (ADSR). A political party founded in 1993 by eight deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic under the leadership of Milan Kňažko. They were former members of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia led by Vladimír Mečiar but disagreed with Mečiar’s policies and leadership. With the fall of the Mečiar government in March 1994, the deputies joined the government coalition and merged with the group Alternative of Political Realism to form the Democratic Union. ALTERNATÍVA POLITICKÉHO REALIZMU. See ALTERNATIVE OF POLITICAL REALISM. ALTERNATIVE OF POLITICAL REALISM/ALTERNATÍVA POLITICKÉHO REALIZMU (APR). Political grouping founded in 1993 by a number of deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic led by Jozef Moravčík. They were former members of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia led by Vladimír Mečiar but disagreed with Mečiar’s policies and leadership. With the fall of the Mečiar government in March 1994, the members joined the govern-

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ment coalition and merged with the party Alliance of Democrats to form the Democratic Union. AMADEI. A Magyar oligarchical family that ruled parts of northeastern Slovakia in the early 14th century. In 1312, they combined with the forces of Matúš Čák of Trenčín to attack King Charles Robert of Anjou but were defeated at Rozhanovce on 15 June. Their property was confiscated by the king. AMBROSIUS, SAMUEL (1748–1806). Publisher of a Latin annual review, the Annales novi ecclesiastico-scholastici (New churchschool annals) from 1793 to 1803. It was an all-purpose religious review written for students who came from all over Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia to attend the Bergakademie. ANABAPTISTS. A Protestant religious movement that originated in Western Europe in the early 1530s and first appeared a decade later in the mining towns of central Slovakia. Rejecting formal priesthood and any type of ceremony, Anabaptists sought to create a church of true believers that worshipped in simple buildings. By the time of Maria Theresa, most Anabaptists had been forced to repudiate their religion. See also REFORMATION. ANDREW II (1175–1235). King of Hungary from 1205 to 1235 who was forced to sign the Golden Bull by the landed nobility; this gave them a jus resistendi (right to resist royal power), thereby limiting the power of the king. ANNALS OF MATICA SLOVENSKÁ/LETOPIS MATICE SLOVENSKEJ. The first Slovak scientific periodical, published yearly by Matica slovenská from 1864 to 1875. It ceased publication when Matica slovenská was closed down by the Hungarian government. ANTITRINITARIANS. A Protestant religious movement that found adherents in the mining towns of Central Slovakia during the early Reformation in the 16th century. Antitrinitarians rejected the dogma of the Holy Trinity and were attacked by both Catholics and mainstream Protestants.

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APANAGE DUCHY. The Principality of Nitra, after the fall of the Empire of Great Moravia, became an administrative and territorial unit known as an apanage duchy, the object of a royal donation in Hungary, usually to another member of the ruling family. The first to be granted the Principality of Nitra was Árpád’s son Üllö, early in the 10th century. Until the beginning of the 12th century during the reign of Kálmán (1095–1116), it also served as the power base for pretenders to the throne. APRIL AGREEMENT/APRÍLOVÁ DOHODA. This is an agreement that was signed on 30 March 1946 (and announced the next day) between representatives of the Democratic Party (DS) and Catholic politicians and intellectuals, such as Emanuel Böhm, Ján Kempný, Imrich Kružliak, and Jozef Staško, to have the DS represent Catholic interests and put forth Catholic candidates in the 1946 elections in Czechoslovakia. The Hlinka Slovak People’s Party had been the main Slovak Catholic party in the First Czechoslovak Republic and had been dissolved at the end of the war. The Catholics had been unsuccessful in their efforts to create a new party prior to the elections because of Communist opposition. The Communist Party of Slovakia did allow, however, the last minute creation of the Liberty Party. The agreement consisted of 10 points that spelled out the political intentions of the Catholic participation in the DS and the arrangements that governed it; among the main points were the recognition by the DS of the importance of religious, and in particular Catholic, education and the proportion of positions in the executive for Catholics. APRÍLOVÁ DOHODA. See APRIL AGREEMENT. ARMÁDA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. See ARMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. ARMED FORCES OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/OZBROJENÉ SILY SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (OS SR). On 1 July 2002, the Army of the Slovak Republic joined together with Interior Ministry forces and the Railway Police to become the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. The law that created the OS SR defined their main

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responsibilities as being the defense of the Slovak Republic and the security of the state in the event of an external armed attack by a foreign power, the fulfillment of commitments resulting from international treaties binding for the Slovak Republic, their participation in the maintenance of public order and the security of the state, and the maintenance of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of the borders of the Slovak Republic. The OS SR are composed of Ground Forces, an Air Force, Training and Support Forces, and Military Police. The headquarters of the Ground Forces are in Trenčín and they are composed of Immediate Reaction Forces, Rapid Reaction Forces, and Main Defense Forces. The headquarters of the Military Police are also in Trenčín. The functions of the Ground Forces are designated specifically to guarantee or participate in the protection and defense of political and economic centers, areas, and facilities when there are military and nonmilitary threats to the state, to fulfill the tasks connected with the protection of the population, to ensure disaster relief after extraordinary events, including appropriate measures involving search and rescue, and adequate operational capabilities in peace and humanitarian missions outside the territory of the Slovak Republic. The Ground Forces are organized in one mechanized infantry brigade, one light infantry brigade, one artillery regiment, and one rapid reaction battalion. The Air Force is headquartered in Zvolen and is composed of seven divisions, including a division of air reconnaissance and electronic warfare and a division of command, signal, information, and security. The Air Force is involved in peace and humanitarian operations and in the elimination of military and nonmilitary threats as well as in support of operational and tactical mobility. It also fulfills tasks in the emergency system established for the whole territory of the Slovak Republic. The Air Force has bases in Sliač, Prešov, and Kuchyňa, an antiaircraft rocket brigade in Nitra, a signal battalion in Vlkanová, and an air operation control center, a radiolocation survey battalion, and an air defense command support battalion in Zvolen. The Air Force is composed of one fighter wing, one bomber fighter wing, and one helicopter air wing that include 71 combat aircraft and 19 attack helicopters. The Training and Support Forces are headquartered in Trenčín, which also houses a logistics command, with a training command in

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Martin, a signal command in Nové Mesto nad Váhom, and a garrison in Bratislava. The role of these forces is to organize, manage, and provide basic and professional training, including special training of professional NCOs, the preparation of observers and units sent to military missions, the logistical support within the OS SR, the operation of all communication, information, and security systems as well as to create the appropriate measures to guarantee their security, and to ensure the security of the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic, the General Staff, and the garrison in Bratislava. The chief of the General Staff is Lieutenant-General Ľubomír Bulík. The current strength of the OS SR is around 22,000 men and women (with an officer corps of 4,176) of whom 12,860 are in the Ground, Training, and Support Forces, and 5,160 are in the Air Force. The remaining personnel include civilians and those are serving abroad with the United Nations or with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including Afghanistan, Iraq, Cyprus, Ethiopia/Eritrea, and Kosovo. The OS SR currently participate in 14 operations, of which six are observer operations and eight with units. In 2001, the Ministry of Defense prepared a long-term plan entitled Model 2010, which it reviewed in 2004 and extended to 2015. In June 2004, the National Council of the Slovak Republic passed a law reorganizing the military institutions of higher learning of the OS SR by creating the General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy and the Marshal Andrej Hadík Military Academy, both situated in Liptovský Mikuláš and dissolving the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Air Force Academy in Košice. See also UNIVERSITIES. ARMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/ARMÁDA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (ASR). The first Army of the Slovak Republic was created in 1939 and fought on the side of the Axis powers during World War II. It was organized after the declaration of independence in March 1939, formed from the three corps (V, VI, VII Corps), consisting of seven divisions, one air force regiment, and 435 Slovak officers (out of an officer corps of 12,792) and 395 noncommissioned officers (NCOs) (out of 8,008 NCOs) of the Czechoslovak army in Slovakia. The position of minister of national defense was given to Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Čatloš while the only Slovak general, Rudolf Viest, was made inspector general. With the departure

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of most Czech personnel, military and civilian, and the repatriation of Slovak military personnel in the Czech Lands, the remaining two lieutenant colonels and 11 majors took over command of the three corps and organized three field divisions with the aircraft, armor, and artillery left on Slovak territory. Junior officers were promoted to command divisions. It is at this time that the Slovak army saw its first engagements in what Slovak historians call the “Small War” against Hungary. On 30 August 1939, the Slovak forces were reorganized into a Slovak Field Army with General Čatloš as its commander. It consisted of three field divisions. By October 1940, its strength was 31,528 officers and men, of whom 5,364 were officers and 2,164 were NCOs. In June 1941, another reorganization took place and a corps-sized Slovak Expeditionary Army Group was constituted that fought in the Soviet Union. It consisted of two divisions, the Rapid and the Security Divisions; in 1943, they were renamed the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions. The air force had no bombers and therefore no strategic capability; it was a tactical air force dedicated to the support of the army. In addition to these fighting forces, the Slovak Army was also composed of two Home Army divisions and other support units. In the summer of 1944, the army was reorganized once more when an East Slovak Corps was formed composed of two field infantry divisions to counter the Soviet offensive. When the uprising broke out in August, these two divisions, earmarked for military support for the partisans by General Čatloš, were held back by General Augustín Malár, commander of the East Slovak Corps. In Central Slovakia, however, Slovak army units did join the uprising, whose military headquarters in Banská Bystrica were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian. The uprising spelled the end of the Army of the first Slovak Republic. The military forces of the second Slovak Republic, composed of land and air forces and air defense artillery, known as the Army of the Slovak Republic, were created by an act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) on 16 December 1992 as a result of a treaty signed between the governments of the Slovak and Czech Republics based on a constitutional act passed by the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in 1992. The task of the ASR was to protect the independence, liberty, and territory of the Slovak Republic. Accord-

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ing to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, the president is the commander-in-chief. In 1993, the ASR was composed of three corps, two army corps, one in Topoľčany and one in Prešov, and one air force corps in Zvolen. The offices of the Ministry of Defense were in Bratislava and the headquarters of the General Staff were in Trenčin. The chief of the General Staff had the rank of colonel general and there were 17 general officers on active duty; its strength was 46,667 personnel of whom approximately 12,000 were officers and NCOs, and it had 478 tanks, 683 armored vehicles, 115 aircraft, and 25 helicopters. On the basis of negotiations with the Conference (now Organization) on Security and Cooperation in Europe, its complement was reduced progressively so that by 31 December 1997, the ASR had achieved a strength of 35,275 personnel. The ASR also ran two military academies, the Liptovský Mikuláš Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš and the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Air Force Academy in Košice. On 9 February 1994, Slovakia signed the Partnership for Peace agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and also achieved associate member status in the Western European Union. In answer to obligations that membership in world bodies carries, the ASR provided forces and observers to selected United Nations peacekeeping operations, in particular UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia with an engineering corps totalling 606 men. Observers were sent to Angola (UNAVEM), Liberia (UNOMIL), Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR), and Iraq (UNGCI). The government of Mikuláš Dzurinda, elected in 1998, introduced a series of measures in 1999 and 2000 that amounted to a defense reform that streamlined the ASR and made it a streamlined military force. The overall objective was to establish an effective, professional but affordable armed force organized, equipped, and trained to comply with the Military Strategy of the Slovak Republic, a modernized armed force that is interoperable with NATO military organizations, and supported by effective and efficient supporting activities. The General Staff was moved from Trenčín to the Ministry of Defense in Bratislava, conscription time was reduced from 12 to nine months, and personnel policies were implemented to ensure that the total strength of the ASR did not exceed 30,000 officers and men by 2002. On 1 July 2002, the ASR was renamed by the NR SR Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, which included not only the pro-

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fessional soldiers and airmen of the ASR, but also Interior Ministry forces and the Railway Police, with headquarters for the land forces in Trenčín and those of the Air Force in Zvolen. ARNO, ARCHBISHOP. Germanic archbishop of Salzburg who was commissioned by Charlemagne in A.D. 798 to study the situation in the land of the Slavs for the purpose of Christianizing them. ARNULF (?–899). He was a ruler of Pannonia who became king of the Franks in A.D. 887. He attacked Great Moravia in 892, but failed to defeat the forces of Svätopluk. ÁRPÁD (?–907). One of seven nomadic Ugro–Finnish tribal chieftains who was chosen by them to lead the Magyar tribes across the Carpathians into the Danubian plain and Central Europe in A.D. 896. He is considered to be the founder of the Árpád dynasty, which, with the help of the Germans, brought about the breakup of Great Moravia. ARYANIZATION. A policy adopted by the government of the first Slovak Republic on 24 April 1940 that transferred through a regulated purchase 51 percent ownership of Jewish firms to non-Jewish owners. Earlier decrees and government regulations had already limited the participation of Jews in Slovak professional and economic life. Decrees passed in October and November 1940 further specified the terms of Aryanization, giving the government the necessary powers to enforce it. It is estimated that over 100,000 hectares of land were bought out as well as 12,500 shops and businesses. ASOCIÁCIA ZAMESTNÁVATEĽSKÝCH ZVÄZOV A ZDRUŽENÍ (AZZZ). See FEDERATION OF EMPLOYER UNIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS. ASSOCIATION OF ENTREPRENEURS OF SLOVAKIA/ ZDRUŽENIE PODNIKATEĽOV SLOVENKSA (ZPS). An interest group of entrepreneurs for small- and medium-sized enterprises, established in 1989, that represents the interests of its members in discussions on the annual General Agreement, helps in the process of

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establishing legal norms, and disseminates information on economic activity. Its assembly elects a general council and a control commission every two years. See also COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP; TRADE UNIONS; TRIPARTITE. ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS OF THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/SPOLOK MILOVNÍKOV REČI A LITERATÚRY SLOVENSKEJ. A literary organization created by Martin Hamuljak in Pest in 1834 to support the Slovak language codified by Anton Bernolák and to bring together its supporters and those who preferred to use literary Czech. Supporters of the latter left the association in 1835. It published the almanac Zora, in which appeared the works of the greatest Slovak poet, Ján Hollý. The association was dissolved in 1850. ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS OF SLOVAKIA/ZDRUŽENIE ROBOTNÍKOV SLOVENSKA (ZRS). Political party with a leftwing program that was generally opposed to the transformation of Slovakia’s command economy into a market one, it was created on 26 April and was under the leadership of Ján Lupták. In the 1994 elections, it obtained 7.34 percent of the votes and 13 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and joined the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak National Party to form a coalition government under the prime ministership of Vladimír Mečiar, leader of the HZDS. It failed to get any deputies elected in 1998, obtaining only 1.3 percent of the vote. ASYMMETRICAL MODEL. Name given to the political system in Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1968, when Slovakia enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy. Legislative power was vested in the Slovak National Council (SNR) and executive power in the Board of Commissioners (ZB). The division of powers between the central government, the SNR, and the ZB were defined in the three Prague Agreements of 1945–1946. The ZB was abolished in 1956 although individual commissions were retained and the constitution of 1960 reduced the powers of the SNR to such a point that the asymmetrical model was more formal than real. See also FEDERATION; CONFEDERATION.

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AUSGLEICH. See COMPROMISE, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN. AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN COMPROMISE. See COMPROMISE, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN. AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE. See HABSBURG EMPIRE. AUSTRO–SLAVISM. A policy proposed by Czech political leaders during the revolutionary years of 1848–1849 to federalize the Habsburg Empire on the basis of nationality; it included a political union between the Czechs and the Slovaks. AUTONOMY. In its broadest definition, it means the recognition of the independent existence of the Slovak nation and its right to selfadministration on the territory that it inhabits. In the 19th century, the first autonomy declaration was made by the Slovak National Council (SNR) on 19 September 1848 when Ľudovít Štúr declared Slovakia’s political separation from Hungary. Other autonomy demands appeared in two documents, the Demands of the Slovak Nation of 1848 and the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation of 1861. In the 20th century, autonomy became a Slovak political objective that aimed at giving Slovakia legislative, executive, and administrative powers in the First Czechoslovak Republic. It was actively supported by the Slovak People’s Party (SĽS) and the Slovak National Party. It appeared for the first time in the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918. After Czecho–Slovakia was created, the SĽS made three autonomy submissions to the Czechoslovak National Assembly, in January 1922, May 1930, and June 1938, all based on the Pittsburgh Pact. None was discussed by the assembly. On 14 July 1927, the Czechoslovak National Assembly passed a law that abolished the county system and reorganized the administration of Czechoslovakia along provincial lines. A Slovak Province was created. The province had an assembly, with two thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the government; however, its jurisdiction was quite restricted. The assembly was presided over by a public servant appointed by the government. The Ministry for Slovakia was abolished. Although a far cry from the autonomy of the Pittsburgh Pact, this reorganization was seen as a step in the

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right direction; Andrej Hlinka, leader of the SĽS, declared it a “first flash of autonomy.” The presidents of the Slovak Province were Ján Drobný (1928–1931), Jozef Országh (1931–1938), and Julián Šimko (1938–1939). It was in the wake of the Munich Conference of September–October 1938 that the Czechoslovak National Assembly finally passed a constitutional law on 22 November that granted Slovakia political autonomy. It was supported by all Slovak political parties except the Communists and the Social Democrats, who had declined the invitation issued by the SĽS to meet in Žilina on 6 October. That meeting adopted the Žilina Agreement, which reiterated the autonomy demand. In addition to the assembly created in 1927, a Slovak government of five ministers was formed under Jozef Tiso, who became prime minister of Slovakia. There were two other prime ministers, Jozef Sivák and Karol Sidor. The Czechoslovak government had exclusive powers in matters of foreign policy, defense, currency, the budget, and foreign trade; some powers were held concurrently and the remaining ones were held by the newly established Slovak autonomous bodies. Elections to the Slovak Assembly were held on 18 December 1938. Slovakia enjoyed autonomy until 14 March 1939, when the assembly voted for independence and the creation of the first Slovak Republic. In the postwar period, when it was reincorporated into Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, through the creation of a Slovak National Council, experienced various forms of political and, under communism, administrative autonomy in the “asymmetrical model” that lasted until 1968. When Czechoslovakia became a federation on 1 January 1969, Slovakia’s administrative autonomy was substantially increased, enabling it to lay the foundations for independence in 1993. Since the end of communism in 1989, the demand for autonomy, in this case Magyar autonomy, has been articulated by some of the political parties that make up the Hungarian Coalition. See also CONSTITUTION; CONFEDERATION. AVARS. A nomadic people from Asia who appeared in Central Europe in the sixth century and subjugated the Slavic tribes established on Slovak territory. However, from A.D. 623 to 658, they had to contend with Slavic resistance to their rule; a Frank named Samo was chosen

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by the Slavs to be their king and defend them. The Avars disappeared from Slovak territory at the end of the eighth century after being defeated by the Franks. AVENTINUS. Author of the chronicle Annales Boiorum (1552), translated into German in 1566 as Bayerische Chronik. It provides the most extensive reference on the Libellus de conversione Bagoariorum et Carantanorum ad fidem christianam (Booklet about the conversion of the Bagaori and the Carantani to the Christian faith), one of the first documents to shed light on the activities of Pribina, Koceľ, and Great Moravia.

-BBACH, ALEXANDER (1813–1893). Minister of the interior under Emperor Francis Joseph from 1849 to 1859 who was determined to create a centralized imperial political system in Austria, where German was the official language of administration. He declared Hungary’s constitution null and void. He brought about a reform of the judicial services, creating in the process a class of central administrators called “Bach Hussars” because of their special uniforms. He also required Hungary to pay for its entire share of the central services of the empire and a proportionate share of the national debt. Slovak political life stood at a standstill during his regime, but cultural life flourished under the impetus of Romanticism. BACÍLEK, KAROL (1896–1974). Communist politician of Czech origin who played a major role in the Communization of Slovakia in the 1950s and early 1960s. He began his Communist Party career in Slovakia in Vrútky in 1924, participated in the uprising of 1944, delivered Gustáv Husák’s Memorandum on Slovakia to Moscow in August 1944, was head of the agricultural section of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) from 1946 to 1948, commissioner for transportation in 1949–1950, chairman of the Board of Commissioners in 1950–1951, Czechoslovak minister of state control in 1951–1952, minister of national security in 1952–1953, deputy prime minister in 1953, and from 1953 to 1963 first secretary of the KSS.

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During his tenure as minister of national security, Bacílek was responsible for the purges in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia that sent 11 prominent party members to the gallows, among them Vladimír Clementis, the only Slovak. As first secretary of the KSS, he was responsible for the trial of the “Slovak bourgeois nationalists” in 1954 and the collectivization of agriculture in Slovakia during the 1950s. He was dismissed from his post in 1963 in the wake of the findings of the Barnabite Commission. See also PURGES. BAJZA, JOZEF IGNÁC (1755–1836). Roman Catholic priest, writer, and author of the first novel in Cultural Western Slovak, written in 1783 and entitled René mláÈenca príhodi a skusenosťi (Adventures and experiences of a young man called René). Bajza’s novel was the first indication that Slovak literature was fast approaching the end of its multilingual period, heralding thereby the beginning of efforts to create a literary language. He was a member of the Slovak Learned Society and the Association of Friends of the Slovak Language and Literature. See also LITERATURE. BALLEK, LADISLAV (1941– ). Writer, journalist, and politician, he was a deputy to the Slovak National Council and the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1992–1994 for the Party of the Democratic Left. His writings focus on the relations between Slovaks and Magyars in southern Slovakia. Among his best works are Južná pošta (Southern mail) (1974), Pomocník (Assistant) (1977), Agáty (Acacias) (1983), Čudný spáč zo Slovenského raja (The strange sleeper from the Slovak paradise) (1990), and Letiace roky (Years fly by) (1998). See also LITERATURE. BANÍCKA AKADÉMIA. See BERGAKADEMIE. BANÍK, ANTON AUGUSTÍN (1900–1978). Cultural historian. From 1932 to 1938, he was the librarian, archivist, and publications editor of the St. Vojtech Society in Trnava and from 1938 to 1971, librarian and archivist at Matica slovenská. Many of his publications deal with the great personalities of Slovak history and his work on Ján Balthazár Magin’s Apologia is considered to be one of the best

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analyses of the first defense of the Slovak language. He is also the author of Slovenská reč (The Slovak language) (1923) and is coauthor with Henrich Bartek of the Pravidla slovenského pravopisu (Rules of Slovak orthography) (1932). BANKING. A purely Slovak banking system existed for the first time during the first Slovak Republic after the Slovak National Bank was created. Its first and only governor was Imrich Karvaš; it was integrated into the Czechoslovak system after 1945 and all other banks were nationalized. With the Communist takeover in February 1948, the banking system was transformed to serve the Communist command economy. The “Gentle Revolution,” but especially independence, made possible the development of the modern Slovak banking system with the creation of the National Bank of Slovakia on 1 January 1993 in Bratislava. Four major commercial banks run by the state were established, Slovenská šporiteľna, Všeobecná úverová banka (VÚB), Investičná a rozvojová banka (IRB), and Tatra Banka; they held about 85 percent of deposits, 66 percent of all loans, and 65 percent of all assets. The banking system, like other state enterprises, soon became the object of privatization. When VÚB was privatized and the sale of the state’s remaining 35 percent stake in IRB took place, only Slovenská šporiteľna remained in state hands. The banking sector has continued to develop and there are presently 22 banking institutions in Slovakia, of which 16 are with and two are without foreign capital participation, and three are branch offices of foreign banks. BANSKÁ BYSTRICA. As the main city in Central Slovakia, Banská Bystrica has been throughout its history, as its name (banská) indicates, a mining town whose origins go back to the time when gold and copper began to be mined in Slovakia. The first written record about the city dates back to 1255 when King Béla IV declared it a town with royal privileges. The first church, the Assumption of Our Lady, was built in the second half of the 13th century by German colonists and the first Slovak one, the church of the Holy Cross, was completed in 1452. Mining brought prosperity throughout the centuries, to which the historic part of the city testifies, in particular the Gothic and Renaissance homes of wealthy burghers. It is in Banská

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Bystrica that the Fugger-Turzo concern was headquartered in the 15th and 16th centuries. When Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Turks after the battle of Mohács in 1526, the town completed in 1589 its walled fortifications to protect it against armed incursions. These fortifications still exist today. Its natural location, its wealth, and its past made of Banská Bystrica one of the most picturesque mining towns of Slovakia. During World War II, the town became the headquarters of the 1944 uprising; a museum with a unique architectural design commemorates the event. In 1991, Matej Bel University was founded. Today, with its population of 81,961, according to the latest figures, Banská Bystrica is a major tourist attraction both in summer and in winter, thanks to its climate and location in Central Slovakia. BARNABITE COMMISSION. Name of the second commission created by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in June 1963 under the chairmanship of Jozef Lenárt to look into the purges of Slovak Communists in the 1950s after the first commission, known as the Kolder Commission, recommended only the partial rehabilitation of those accused of “Slovak bourgeois nationalism.” The Barnabite Commission concluded that the charge had been unjustified and recommended that all who were condemned be rehabilitated. See also PILLER COMMISSION. BARTEK, HENRICH (1907–1986). Linguist who worked in Matica slovenská, he led the opposition in 1932 to the new Slovak grammar presented by Czech scholars that would have brought the Slovak language closer to Czech. He established the new rules of Slovak orthography in 1940. He immigrated to the West after World War II. BÁRTFAY, JÚLIUS (1888–1979). Sculptor who, after spending the years 1929–1930 in Paris, established himself in Nitra and became the founder of modern Slovak sculpture. In addition to creating busts of Beethoven, Dvořak, Paganini, Smetana, and others, he sculpted works of social reality among which are Starenka (Old woman), Slepec (Blind man), Zamrznuté dieťa (Frozen child), Súsošie Ľudovíta Štúra pri Redute (Statue of Ľudovít Štúr near Reduta), and Partizán (Partisan).

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BAZOVSKÝ, MILOŠ ALEXANDER (1899–1968). Painter who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 1924 and was a contemporary of Janko Alexy. His painting is distinctive; he is considered a representative of modern Slovak fine art, focusing on motifs of Slovakia, in particular landscape views of mountains and valleys. Two of his well-known canvases are Súmrak (Dusk) and Detvianska melódia (Melody of Detva). BEDNÁR, ALFONZ (1914–1989). Writer, high school teacher, and translator, his novels deal with historical subjects, in particular the 1944 uprising. He focuses on this topic in Sklený vrch (Glass summit) (1954), Hodiny a minúty (Hours and minutes) (1956), and Cudzí (The foreigners) (1960). In Hromový zub (Thunder tooth) (1964) and the trilogy Za hrsť drobných (A handful of coins) (1970, 1974, 1981), narrated by a dog, he deals with political and social issues. He is also the author of many movie scripts and a translator into Slovak of Daniel Defoe, Mark Twain, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, and others. See also LITERATURE. BEL, MATEJ (1684–1749). An outstanding Slovak scholar in Hungary in the 17th century whose studies contributed to the history of the Hungarians and the Slovaks. He defended the right of the latter to claim their native land and to live as equals with other nations in Hungary. He was a gymnasium (high school) teacher in Banská Bystrica and Bratislava, as well as a Lutheran pastor in Bratislava. He was a pioneer of pedagogical realism and the foremost representative of pietism in Slovakia. Bel is best known for his scholarly writings. In his publication Hungariae antiquae et novae prodromus (Herald of ancient and new Hungary), he showed that Slavs had arrived in the Danubian plain long before the Avars and the Huns. Bel also advanced the theory that Czech Hussite refugees had strengthened the Slovak nation by assimilating into it; this would explain the Slovaks’ acceptance of the Czech language. The political ramifications of this theory became clear in the next two centuries. Another important publication by Bel is his history of the Slovak counties in Hungary, Notitia Hungariae novae historico geographica (A historical and geographical description of the new Hungary), published in Vienna in 1736. See also LITERATURE.

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BÉLA IV (1206–1270). King of Hungary from 1235 to 1270 who set out to rebuild the kingdom after the Mongol invasion of 1241–1242. He rebuilt towns and dotted the countryside with fortifications and castles to defend the kingdom against any other attacks; to do so, however, he gave the landed nobility a free hand on their domains, thereby weakening royal power. He also invited German colonists to engage in mining in Central Slovakia and gave them special privileges in the towns where they settled. BELLA, JÁN LEVOSLAV (1843–1936). Roman Catholic priest, educated in Levoča, Banská Bystrica and Vienna, he is considered the first professional Slovak composer. His most important compositions are Sväto-Martinská Kadrylla [St. Martin’s quadrille], Staroslovanský otčenáš [An Old Slavonic Our Father], the cantatas Cyrilo-Methodiana and Svadba Jánošíkov, [Jánošík’s wedding], the song cycle Matka nad koliskou [A mother at the cradle], the symphonic poem Osud a idéal [Destiny and ideal], and the opera Kováč Wieland [Wieland the smith], first performed in 1926 at the Slovak National Theater. BELNAY, JURAJ ALOJZ (1765–1809). Historian and publisher, he was professor at the Royal Academy in Buda. He was a supporter of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. In 1790, he presented a petition to the Diet entitled Reflexiones cunctorum Hungariae civium (The thoughts of all Hungarian citizens) in which he attacked the unjust demands and privileges of the Hungarian estates and demanded the recognition of personal and property rights, as well as the right of any citizen to hold office. BELVEDERE CIRCLE. An informal institution at the Habsburg imperial court, composed of politicians, particularly from among the non-Magyars, who advised the heir to the throne, Francis Ferdinand. Among its members was the Slovak Milan Hodža. BEŇAČKOVÁ, GABRIELA (1947– ). Opera singer who studied at the Prague Conservatory. She had her professional debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1974 and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1991 in the role of Kaťa Kabanová in the opera of the same name

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by Leos Janáček. She has performed in other international opera houses and specializes in Czech, French, Italian, and Russian roles. BENČIK (BENCSIK), MICHAL (1670–1728). Magyar professor of Hungarian law at the University of Trnava, he submitted a report to the Diet in Bratislava in which he suggested that the Slovak inhabitants of Trenčín were the descendants of the subjects of Svätopluk who allegedly had sold his country to the Magyars for a white horse. In the words of Slovak historians: “Benčik was not alone in holding such views.” His thesis was contested by Ján Balthazár Magin and Samuel Timon. BENCUR, JOZEF (1728–1784). Writer and teacher whose work Ungaria semper libera (Hungary is always free) encouraged Empress Maria Theresa to tax the Hungarian nobility. He was a close collaborator of Adam František Kollár, advisor to the empress. BENEDICTINES. Male monastic order that spread Christianity throughout Central Europe in the Middle Ages. It founded the Zobor monastery near Nitra during the reign of Svätopluk in the ninth century, most likely the main center of religious and cultural activity in the early years of the Hungarian kingdom. It later became a pilgrimage site because of two saints who sojourned there, Svorad-Andrew and Benedikt. Other monasteries were in Sv. Beňadík nad Hronom, founded in 1075, and Krásna nad Hornádom, founded in 1143, the latter playing an important cultural role in eastern Slovakia. There were Benedictine abbeys also in Janošovce, Ludanice, and Kliž. The Benedictines concentrated on teaching and church history during the Reformation. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. BENEDIKT (?–1043). Disciple of Svorad-Andrew and a monk of the Zobor monastery who was known for his piety and ascetic way of life, he lived as a hermit at Skalka near Trenčín. He was murdered by robbers. He was canonized, along with Svorad-Andrew, in 1083. BENEŠ, EDVARD (1884–1948). Czech politician, cofounder, together with Tomáš G. Masaryk and Milan R. Štefánik, of the First Czechoslovak Republic, he was its minister of Foreign Affairs from

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1918 to 1935, prime minister in 1921–1922, and its president from 1935 to 1938, when he resigned in the aftermath of the Munich Conference. He was an ardent defender of the notion of the existence of a Czechoslovak nation and a determined opponent of the granting of autonomy to Slovakia. During World War II, he presided over the provisional Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London that he created in 1940 and that was recognized by the Allies in July 1941. This recognition signaled the renewal of the Czechoslovak Republic with him as president; he remained in that post until June 1948, when he resigned after refusing to sign the Communist-written constitution of 9 May 1948. His attitude and policies toward the Slovaks were grounded in his unwavering faith in the existence of a Czechoslovak nation—even in the face of opposition to this notion among the Slovaks. He opposed the creation of a binational federation after the war, encouraged the whittling away of the powers of Slovak national organs in the three postwar Prague Agreements, and refused to grant clemency to Jozef Tiso, president of the first Slovak Republic, after he was condemned to death by a Slovak court in April 1947. BENIAK, VALENTÍN (1894–1973). Notary and translator, he is also one of the most important Slovak poets of the 20th century. His poetry expresses his defense of basic human rights combined with traditional national feelings. His best-known major poems are “Žofia” (1941), “Popolec” (Ash Wednesday) (1942), and “Igric” (Wandering artist) (1944). In the first Slovak Republic, he was president of the Union of Slovak Writers; for this reason, he was silenced under communism. He turned to the translation of works by Shakespeare, Goethe, Oscar Wilde, and Hungarian authors. Permitted to return to literature again in the 1960s, he published Plačúci Amor (Tearful love) (1969), Sonety podvečerné (Twilight sonnets) (1970), and Medailóny a medailónky (Medallions and little medallions) (1971). BERGAKADEMIE/BANÍCKA AKADÉMIA. Founded in 1763 in Banská Štiavnica, it was the first institution of higher learning concerned with mining. It was given its name officially in 1770; its curriculum involved three years of study and one year of work in the mines. It was transferred to Hungary in April 1919.

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BERNOLÁK, ANTON (1762–1813). Roman Catholic priest and codifier of the Slovak literary language based on Cultural Western Slovak. His first work, published in 1787, was the Dissertatio philologico-critica de litteris Slavorum (A philologico-critical dissertation of the letters of the Slavs) in which he formulated the principles of a literary language. Three years later, he completed a Grammatica slavica (Slavic grammar), based on a 1746 Czech grammar text. In the introduction, he indicates that he thought that the literary language ought to be based on central Slovak dialects but did not believe that it was useful to stray too far from what was already in existence in Bratislava and Trnava, namely Cultural Western Slovak. In 1791, Bernolák published Etymologia vocum slavicarum (The etymology of Slavic words) while working on a dictionary that was published pothumously, the Slowár slovenskí česko-latinskoňemecko-uherskí (Slovak Czech-Latin-German-Hungarian dictionary) (Buda, 1825–1827). The new language was propagated by the Slovak Learned Society. Although the literary Slovak codified by Bernolák never became the national literary language, it played an important role in the formation of modern Slovak. BETLEN, GABRIEL (BETHLEN, GÁBOR) (1580–1629). Hungarian magnate and prince of Transylvania who challenged Habsburg rule in Hungary in the 17th century. In August 1619, Betlen occupied Košice; from there, his supporters proceeded to occupy the rest of Slovakia. His rebellion was linked with the Thirty Years War and the rebellion of the Czech magnates in Bohemia, who were defeated at the hands of the Habsburgs at White Mountain in 1620. It was motivated primarily by the desire of Protestant magnates in Hungary to put their hands on property confiscated by the Catholic Church and not by a desire to overthrow the Habsburgs. It was during his rebellion that two Jesuit priests—Štefan Pongráč and Melicher Grodecký and Canon Marek Križin—were murdered by his supporters in Košice on 7 September 1619. They were canonized in 1996. BIBLE OF KRALICE/KRÁLICKÁ BIBLIA. Czech translation of the Bible published in six volumes in 1579–1593 that was adopted by Slovak Protestants in the 17th century. In 1792, after Anton Ber-

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nolák codified the Slovak language, Lutheran pastor Juraj Ribay proposed the creation of a society to study bibličtina, the name given to the language of this Bible. See also LUTHERAN CHURCH; REFORMATION. BIBLIČTINA. Name given to the written language of the Czech translation of the Bible, namely, the Bible of Kralice, that some Slovak Lutherans in the 19th century proposed be adopted as the Slovak literary language. Societies such as the Learned Society of the Mining Region were created to support the study of bibličtina. It was also the language used at the Bratislava Lutheran lyceum. BIELEK, ANTON (1857–1911). Journalist and teacher, he was among the Slovaks in the second half of the 19th century who defended the right of the Slovaks to nationhood. In 1897, he published Dejepis Slovákov od najstaršej doby do dnešných čias (History of the Slovaks from the oldest times to the present). From 1891 to 1897, he was the administrator of Slovenské národné noviny (Slovak National News) and from 1897 to 1903, editor of Ľudové noviny (People’s News). He had to flee Slovakia in 1906 in order to avoid appearing before a Hungarian court to answer charges related to his journalistic activities. BIĽAK, VASIĽ (1917– ). Communist politician of Ruthenian origin who began his political career in Slovakia in 1949. In 1968, he was for a short period of time first secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia. He supported the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and became thereafter the main ideologue of Gustáv Husák’s policy of “normalization.” BLAHO, JANKO (1901–1981). Lyrical tenor who studied at the Prague National Theater and also at the Faculty of Law at Charles University. While working in a law firm in Bratislava, he was a soloist at the Slovak National Theater Opera from 1926 to 1965, singing in operas by Bizet, Mozart, Smetana, Verdi, and others. He sang Janík in Predaná nevesta (The bartered bride) by Smetana 215 times. He appeared as a guest soloist in Bucharest, Prague, Vienna, and Warsaw. He was one of the best interpreters of Slovak folk songs, specializing in those from Western Slovakia, where he collected folk

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music that he published in six volumes, entitled Záhorácke piesničky (Songs of Záhorie). He also taught at the State Conservatory and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. BLAHO, PAVOL (1867–1927). Slovak politician and physician. He was a deputy to the Hungarian Parliament from 1906 to 1918. In 1898, with Vavro Šrobár, he was one of the founders of Hlas, a magazine that, under the influence of Professor Tomáš G. Masaryk, favored a union of Czechs and Slovaks in a common state. From 1908 to 1914, he organized discussion on Czecho–Slovak unity in Luhačovice. He was a social activist, especially among farmers. In 1919, he became president of the National Republican Farmers’ Party and later an official of the Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party. BLOUDEK, BEDŘICH (1815–1875). Czech soldier who was one of the military leaders of the Slovak uprising of 1848–1849. On 18 September 1848, he led a volunteer force into Western Slovakia that saw engagements in Myjava, Brezová pod Bradlom, Senica, and Stará Turá. Ten days later, his forces drew back into Moravia. He was also a member of the Slovak National Council. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS/ZBOR POVERENÍKOV (ZP). Created in September 1943, it was the executive branch of the Slovak National Council, which governed Slovakia after 1945. Under the Communist regime, it transmitted the decisions taken by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In 1960, when a constitutional law transformed Czechoslovakia into a socialist republic, the board was dissolved, although individual commissioners were appointed. See also ASYMMETRICAL MODEL; CONSTITUTION. BOBULA, JÁN (1844–1903). Publicist and politician who led a new group in Pest called New School, which advocated cooperation with Hungarian liberals. He was the owner and editor of a newspaper called Slovenské noviny (Slovak News), which proposed the abandonment of the idea of a Slovak okolie and the acceptance of the integrity of the Hungarian state in exchange for language rights. He designed the first building of Matica slovenská in Turčiansky Svätý Martin.

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BOČKAI, ŠTEFAN (BOCSKAY, ISTVÁN) (1557–1606). Hungarian magnate who in 1605–1606 controlled most of Slovakia. He was elected prince of Transylvania in 1605 and led one of the Protestant revolts against the Habsburgs. It started when the Lutheran church in Košice was taken over by the Catholics in January 1604. Protestant representatives in the Diet in Bratislava objected, but Rudolf II simply reaffirmed the validity of earlier laws against non-Catholics and forbade the Diet to discuss religious questions henceforth. The unrest that this provoked spread and led to an open rebellion under the leadership of Bočkai. By the fall of 1605, the rebels controlled all of Slovakia, except Bratislava. Finally, on 23 June 1606, a peace was signed in Vienna between Bočkai and the king whereby the magnates retained all their hitherto acquired privileges, elected their palatine, and ensured that major Hungarian offices would be occupied only by Hungarians in the future, irrespective of religion. Religious freedom was granted to the population and an amnesty was given to those who had participated in the rebellion. BÖHM, EMANUEL TEODOR (1909–1990). Chemist, teacher, author, and politician, he was the leader of the Slovak community between 1938 and 1945 in those parts of Slovakia that were occupied by Hungary as a result of the Vienna Award and he was also editor of Slovenská jednota (Slovak Unity). After the war, he was one of the signatories of the April Agreement and a vice president of the Democratic Party, which he represented in the Czechoslovak National Assembly between 1946 and 1948. He was also a vice chairman of the assembly. He immigrated to the United States of America in 1948, became one of the vice chairmen of the Slovak National Council Abroad, and was one of the founders of the Slovak World Congress. Among his publications is The Arbitration at Vienna (1975). BOHEMIA–MORAVIA, PROTECTORATE OF. See PROTECTORATE OF BOHEMIA–MORAVIA. BOII. A Celtic tribe that settled on Slovak territory toward the end of the pre-Christian era. It was challenged and driven out by German tribes from the north and Roman legions from the south.

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BOKES, FRANTIŠEK (1906–1968). A historian, he was one of a handful of Slovaks to write a comprehensive history of Slovakia and the Slovaks. His work, published in 1944, is entitled Dejiny Slovenska a Slovákov od najstarších čias až po prítomnosť (The history of Slovakia and the Slovaks from the earliest times to the present). BOLESLAV THE GREAT (966–1025). Polish duke who controlled parts of Slovakia in the early 11th century. By 1031, this territory was back in Hungarian hands. BORODÁČ, JÁN (1892–1964). Director and actor, husband of Oľga Borodáčová-Országhová, he worked in the Slovak National Theater from 1924 to 1945 as an actor and director and later as artistic director and drama adviser. He also taught at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava and from 1945 to 1953 he was the manager of the State Theater Company in Košice. He did not hesitate to produce plays written by Slovak playwrights and he also translated plays from Russian. He was a pioneer of Slovak radio plays. See also THEATER. BORODÁČOVÁ-ORSZÁGHOVÁ, OĽGA (1899–1986). Actress, wife of Ján Borodáč, she studied drama in Prague and was a member of the Slovak National Theater (SND) from 1924 to 1945 and a member of the State Theater Company in Košice from 1945 to 1953. She returned to the SND in 1954 and taught at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava in 1954–1955. She also performed in films, on the radio, and on television, and she was instrumental in the development of professional theater in Slovakia. BOTTO, JÁN (1829–1881). Lawyer and writer, known for his romantic writings, namely, Baj na Dunaji (Baj on the Danube) (1846) and Vojenské piesne (Military songs), which he published between 1847 and 1850. He also published an epic poem entitled Svetský víťaz (World victor) (1846), but he is best known for Pieseň Jánošíkova (The song of Jánosík) (1846) and Smrť Jánošíka (The death of Jánošík), written in 1858, the romantic epic poem that celebrates through the life and death of Jánošík the people’s fierce desire for freedom. See also LITERATURE; ROMANTICISM.

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BOTTO, JÚLIUS (1848–1926). Historian, lawyer, and teacher, he is another of the small group of Slovaks to write a comprehensive history of their nation; it is entitled Slováci: Vývin ich národného povedomia (The Slovaks: The development of their national conciousness) and was published only after World War I. Another book, Krátka história Slovákov (A short history of the Slovaks), for which he was prosecuted, was confiscated by the Hungarian government in 1914. BRATISLAVA. The history of the capital city of the second Slovak Republic is as old as the history of Slovakia itself. Until the 20th century, Bratislava had a number of names, including Wratislaburgum (9th century), Preslawaspurch (11th century), Brezalauspurc (date unknown), Istropolis (15th century), Braslavespurch (16th century), but was mostly known as Prešporok in Slovak, Preßburg in German, and Pozsony in Hungarian. It acquired its current name in March 1919. As it is situated on the banks of the Danube, the area of Bratislava was colonized already in the Neolithic Age according to the latest archeological evidence. In the first century of our era, it was a fortified Celtic settlement, taken over later by the Romans, the Avars, and the Slavic ancestors of the present-day Slovaks. Bratislava and its area were made into a župa by King Stephen in the 11th century and, in 1291, the city received extensive privileges from King Andrew III, thus confirming its incorporation into a system of royal free towns and laying the foundation for the development of trade and crafts. Viticulture, already developed before Roman times, became one of its main industries. In 1430, the town was granted minting rights by King Sigismond and in 1436 the right to use its coats of arms. During the reign of King Mathias “Corvinus,” a university, the Academia Istropolitana, was founded in 1465 but lasted only three decades. Less than a century later, in 1536, Bratislava officially became the capital city of Hungary by an act of the Hungarian Diet (when the Ottoman Turks occupied most of Hungary after the battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary’s surviving political and administrative leadership fled from Buda to Bratislava thus making it the de facto capital). For three centuries, from 1536 to 1830, 11 Hungarian kings and queens were crowned in Bratislava’s main church, the Dome of St. Martin. During the reign of Maria Theresa, the city began

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to experience growth; in 1776, a municipal theater was established with a company of actors, the precursor of today’s Slovak National Theater. In 1783, Bratislava shared its status as the capital city of Hungary with Buda when Joseph II ordered all offices to be moved to Buda; the Diet remained in Bratislava. In 1805, after the battle of Austerlitz, the Peace of Pressburg between France and Austria was signed in the archbishop’s palace. In 1809, Bratislava was shelled by Napoleonic troops and on 28 May 1811, Bratislava Castle burned down. In 1830, Ferdinand V was the last Hungarian king crowned in Bratislava, an early coronation taking place while the father was still alive and ruling in order to ensure that the legitimate son would, in fact, succeed. The Hungarian Diet met for the last time in Bratislava in 1847–1848 in the building that today houses the library of Comenius University, and passed a number of laws, including the abolition of the robot. With the dissolution of the Diet, Bratislava ceased to be the capital of Hungary. From the 1850s on, Bratislava, now a provincial town, experienced rapid economic growth; in 1891, the first bridge over the Danube was opened and in 1895, the first tram appeared. It was also becoming a cosmopolitan city and, in 1914, the Hungarian Elizabeth University was founded there. However, its fate was unclear at the end of World War I because Hungary considered Bratislava a Hungarian city; it became the main city of Slovakia only in January 1919. Elizabeth University moved to Budapest and Comenius University was established as the first modern Slovak university. During the interwar period, Bratislava, still very much a cosmopolitan city, developed into Slovakia’s main urban center of Slovak intellectual, academic, and artistic life. In March 1939, after the Slovak Assembly voted the independence of Slovakia, Bratislava became the capital city of the first Slovak Republic, the seat of the presidency, parliament, and all government offices until the end of World War II. The Red Army entered Bratislava on 4 April 1945. With the restoration of Czechoslovakia in 1945, Bratislava returned to its previous role as Slovakia’s biggest urban center. In 1946, by incorporating the villages of Devín, Dúbravka, Lamač, Petržalka, Prievoz, Rača, and Vajnory, Bratislava became “Greater Bratislava.” On 28 October 1968, the law that transformed Czechoslovakia into a federation was signed

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in Bratislava Castle and Bratislava became the capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic on 1 January 1969. In 1971, “Greater Bratislava” grew further with the annexation of the villages of Čunovo, Devínska Nová Ves, Jarovce, Podunajské Biskupice, Rusovce, Vrakuňa, and Záhorská Bystrica. On 1 January 1993, Bratislava became the capital of the second Slovak Republic. On 31 March 1995, the Vatican decreed that St. Martin’s Dome was a cocathedral, along with the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Trnava, in the Trnava archdiocese, renamed Bratislava-Trnava. Its population continued to grow. According to the census of 26 May 2002, the Bratislava district has 428,672 inhabitants of whom 391,761 are Slovaks, 16,451 Hungarians, 7,972 Czechs, and the remainder represent various nationalities recorded in the census. Bratislava’s role not only as Slovakia’s main urban center, but also as the country’s cultural, artistic, and intellectual center grew in the postwar era. Since independence, it has also become a major economic center. Slovakia’s major newspapers are published there; Slovak banks and insurance companies have their main offices there; Slovak Radio and Television are headquartered there; with Comenius University, the Economic University, the Slovak Technical University, and the Slovak Health Services University, Bratislava is a major center of scientific research; and a multiplicity of theaters, the Slovak Philharmonic, the Slovak Folk Art Ensemble, the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts make Bratislava the cultural hub of Slovakia. Since the fall of communism, Bratislava has undergone a major facelift and is today a stopover for cruise ships traveling up and down the Danube. BRETHREN, CZECH. Groups of wandering mercenaries, disciples of Jan Hus, who, after the battle of Lipany in 1436, when the Hussite armies were defeated, wandered throughout Slovakia and other parts of Central Europe. They established garrisons in such towns as Trnava, Skalica, Topoĺčany, and Žilina and remained in Slovakia on and off—they left in 1434 but returned in 1440—for about four decades. Their leader was Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa. They attacked abbeys and monasteries as well as merchants who traveled throughout the Hungarian kingdom. Their influence on the Slovak population is

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debated among historians. Their last camp was destroyed by King Mathias I “Corvinus” in 1467. BROTHERS OF MERCY. Roman Catholic religious order that appeared in Slovakia in 1672 to help the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation to reestablish the primacy of the Catholic faith and the authority of the Catholic Church. See also COUNTER-REFORMATION. BUDAJ, JÁN (1952– ). Persecuted by the Communist regime for his antigovernment activities and samizdat publications, he was a leader, along with Milan Kňažko, of the “Gentle Revolution” in Slovakia. He was a cofounder of the political movement Public Against Violence and served as vice president of the Slovak National Council for a short time in 1990. He left politics in 1991 but attempted a comeback in 2002, when he sought to renew the Democratic Union. BUDSKÝ, JOZEF (1911–1989). Actor and director who was born and educated in Prague. In 1935, he moved to Slovakia, where he became a member of the Slovak National Theater and its director in 1945. He also taught at the State Conservatory and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He interpreted Czech roles and also appeared in plays by Sophocles, Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, and other writers. In a very rich artistic career, he also appeared in many films and, as director, he staged to great acclaim Ján Botto’s Smrť Jánošíkova (Death of Jánošík), Andrej Sladkovič’s Marína, and the poetry of the Štúrovci, entitled Pieseň našej jari (The song of our spring). See also THEATER. BUGÁR, BÉLA (1958– ). Engineer and politician, a graduate of the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava, he was one of the founders of the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement and its chairman since 1991. From 1990 to 1992, he was a deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly and since 1992 he has been a deputy to the Slovak National Council and the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR). In 1998, he became chairman of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition and was also elected deputy speaker of the NR SR, a post to which he was reelected in 2002.

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BULÍK, ĽUBOMÍR (1957– ). Professional soldier who, from 1993 to 2004, held a variety of staff positions on the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and in the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic. In 1996–1997 he attended the Bundeswehr General Staff School in Germany. Promoted to the rank of major general in September 2000, he was appointed chief of the General Staff on 21 December 2004. In May 2005, he was promoted by the president of the Slovak Republic to the rank of lieutenantgeneral. BUZALKA, MICHAL (1885–1961). Slovak bishop who, together with bishops Ján Vojtaššák and Pavol Gojdič, was tried and condemned to a prison sentence on 10 January 1951. Their trial marked the culmination of the initial campaign of the Communist regime against the Catholic Church in Slovakia. BYZANTIUM (BYZANTINE EMPIRE). The eastern half of the Roman Empire that lasted one thousand years after the western part broke apart into various kingdoms; it fell to the Turks in 1453. It played an important role in the consolidation of the Great Moravia, in particular during the reign of Emperor Michael III when Rastislav turned to him, asking that teachers and a bishop be sent to Great Moravia. The emperor sent the brothers Cyril and Methodius, whom the Catholic Church has since designated as Apostles of the Slavs. The second Byzantine emperor to play a significant role in the history of the Great Moravian Empire was Constantine VII Porphyrogenet, who gave Great Moravia its name in his treatise De administrando imperio.

-CCAMALDOLESE HERMITS. Male Roman Catholic monastic order that originated in Italy and arrived in Slovakia in 1691, settling in the former Benedictine abbey of Zobor near Nitra and, in 1711, in Červený Kláštor in Eastern Slovakia. In the latter abbey, Romuald Hadbavný translated the Bible into Slovak and created the first Latin–Slovak dictionary Syllabus dictionarii Latino-Slavonicus

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based on the dialects of the western Slovak integration area. Unfortunately, the Syllabus was never published. When Joseph II banned all contemplative monasteries in 1782, including Hadbavný’s, his manuscript was confiscated and later given to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The same fate awaited his translation into Slovak of the Holy Scriptures. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. CANON. Title given to a learned priest in the Catholic Church who is usually also a member of a chapter. CAPUCINS. Male Roman Catholic religious order that appeared in Slovakia in 1672 to help the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation to reestablish the primacy of the Catholic faith and the authority of the Catholic Church. CARLOMAN (828–880). Frankish king who, initially as margrave of Ostmark, invaded Great Moravia in A.D. 870, arrested Rastislav, and recognized Svätopluk as the new ruler of Great Moravia. He imposed on Great Moravia the Peace of Forchheim in 874. CATHOLIC CHURCH. The influence of the Catholic Church in Slovakia can be traced to Frankish missionaries on Slovak territory in the eighth century, but even more significantly to the arrival of the brothers Cyril and Methodius in Great Moravia. Through its missionary and mendicant orders, among them the Benedictines, the Cistercians, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Paulinians, and the Premonstratensiens, the Catholic Church played a major role in the Middle Ages in the cultural as well as the spiritual development of the inhabitants of Slovakia. These orders established primary and secondary schools throughout Slovakia. During the Reformation, the Jesuits founded a university in Trnava in 1635 from which they launched the Counter-Reformation under the leadership of Peter Cardinal Pázmaň. Other orders that participated in the Counter-Reformation were the Brothers of Mercy, the Camaldolese Hermits, the Capucins, the Franciscan Conventuals, the Piarists and the Ursuline Sisters. The influence of the Catholic Church in the 20th century on Slovak society and also on Slovak politics, mainly through the Slovak

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People’s Party, lasted until the Communist regime. Beginning in 1949, with the creation of the Office of Church Affairs, the Communist regime targeted the church, suppressing all religious orders in the week after Easter Sunday in 1950 and forbidding its members to exercise their vocation. Three bishops, Michal Buzalka, Ján Vojtaššák, and Pavol Gojdič, were tried in public and condemned to prison terms. The priests who were allowed to exercise their ministry were made employees of the state and were kept under strict control. The church went underground, and many monks and priests who were condemned to manual labor became secretly active in their places of work, carrying on with their ministries and preparing candidates for ordination. Two bishops were secretly ordained in 1951, Pavol Hnilica and Ján Chryzostom Korec. During the 1970s and the 1980s, the church organized pilgrimages to Levoča, usually in early July, and to Šaštin, normally in mid-September. By their very nature of bringing people together of all ages and from all parts of Slovakia, these pilgrimages also became nationalist demonstrations. In December 1977, the centuries-long tie with the archbishopric of Ostrihom ended as Slovakia became an independent ecclesiastical province in which all Slovak dioceses were made suffragant dioceses of the new archdiocese of Trnava, also declared a metropolitan seat. In 1995, the archdiocese of Trnava was renamed Bratislava-Trnava and a second archdiocese was created in Košice; the heads of both of these archdioceses became archbishops-metropolitans. After 1989, in the wake of the “Gentle Revolution,” the church began to reclaim its confiscated properties and take its normal place in the spiritual life of the people of Slovakia. The Catholic Church is organized in six Roman Catholic ecclesiastical dioceses, the Bratislava-Trnava and Košice archdioceses, the Banská Bystrica, Nitra, Spiš, and Rozňava dioceses; two Greek Catholic (Byznatine) bishoprics, the eparchy of Prešov and the exarchate of Košice; runs eight seminaries or institutions of higher learning; publishes a number of periodicals and newspapers; runs Rádio LUMEN; and is administered by the Conference of Bishops of Slovakia. Its president is Bishop František Tondra, titular bishop of the Spiš diocese, and its headquarters are in Bratislava. See also GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH; MEDIA; MUSIC; NITRA, PRINCIPALITY OF; UNIVERSITIES.

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CATHOLIC CLERICAL COUNCIL. A short-lived political institution organized by Andrej Hlinka in November 1918 to defend the rights of the Catholic population of Slovakia. It was composed of politically active clergy and§ on its initiative the Slovak People’s Party was re-created in December 1918. CELTS. A nomadic people who made their first appearance on the territory of present-day Slovakia in 500 B.C., although they did not settle until the latter half of the second century B.C. They came from eastern France, the Alps, and Central Germany. Arriving at the time of the late Hallstatt culture, they brought, as a result of commerce with the Etruscans and the Greeks, the artistically rich La Tène culture into the Danubian area, including present-day Slovakia. They were the first to mint coins in this area, and they built military settlements, better known in Latin as oppida, not just for protection, but also for economic and cultural activity. As the pre-Christian era came to a close, the Celts, in particular the Boii tribes that had settled on Slovak territory, were challenged and chased away by German tribes from the north and Roman legions from the south. CHAPTER/KAPITULA. Name given in the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church to an advisory council of bishops and archbishops at a cathedral that also consisted of several canons led by a provost or a dean. Important nonepiscopal churches also had chapters. CHARLEMAGNE (742–814). First emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (800–814), whose sons chased the Avars out of Slovakia toward the end of the eighth century; he let them settle in an area that extends into present-day Austria from the Vienna Woods to the Hungarian border. In A.D. 798, Charlemagne commissioned Archbishop Arno of Salzburg to study the situation in the land of the Slavs. But it is only after his visit to Arno in 803 that Frankish missionaries started to make serious inroads in the area with well-defined goals of extending their influence in the land of the Slavs. CHARLES VI (1675–1740). Habsburg emperor (1711–1740) who had no male heir. He wished to have his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, succeed him. In 1723, the Hungarian Diet accepted the

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Pragmatic Sanction, which established the succession in the female line and also linked Hungary “indivisibly and inseparably” to the Habsburgs. CHARLES ROBERT OF ANJOU (1288–1342). Angevin king of Hungary from 1307 to 1342 who opened Hungary to French influence. He also strengthened royal power and diminished that of the oligarchs, in particular Matúš Čák. CHARTER 77. Informal organization of Czech dissidents during the late 1970s and 1980s in Communist Czechoslovakia to which only three Slovaks belonged; one was Miroslav Kusý, another Dominik Tatarka. See also DISSIDENCE; HELSINKI FINAL ACT. CHMEL, VILIAM (1917–1961). Painter who is known for his folk art, in particular women dressed in folk costumes. Among his wellknown paintings are Dedinčanka (Village woman) (1948), Slovenka (Slovak woman) (1949), and Dievča v kroji (Girl in folk costume) (1949). During the Communist period, he was a painter of socialist realism, specializing on rebel motives, including the 1944 uprising and rebel figures in Slovak history. Well-known canvases are Jánošík (1947); Zbojník (Highwayman) (1949); Moták o ozbrojenom povstaní (A code message on the armed uprising) (1950); Partizáni v horach (Partisans in the mountains) (1953); Partizáni v dedine (Partisans in the village) (1953); Štúrovci a ich Slovensko (The Štúrovci and their Slovakia) (1956); and Panorama hôr (Mountain panorama) (1959). CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT/KRESŤANSKODEMOKRATICKÉ HNUTIE (KDH). It was formed in Nitra on 22 February 1990 by Ján Čarnogurský, a Catholic dissident lawyer from Bratislava who became its chairman. Its platform stresses Christian and democratic values, the rule of law, and the revival of Slovak society, and has established contacts with Western European Christian Democratic parties and movements. It was also split into two wings until 1992, when the nationalist wing formed the Slovak Christian Democratic Movement. In the 1990 elections, it obtained 19.2 percent of the vote and 31 seats in the Slovak National Council. In the 1992 elections, its support fell to 8.89 percent of the vote and

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18 seats. Its popular vote increased in the 1994 elections to 10.08 percent but it gained only 17 seats. Its program has generally remained unchanged since its creation. For the 1998 elections, it was one of the parties that formed the Slovak Democratic Coalition and, in the 2002 elections, running as an independent party, it won 15 seats with 8.25 percent of the vote. Its current leader is Pavol Hrušovský. CHRISTMAS AGREEMENT. This was a document signed by representatives of the Communist Party of Slovakia and the Democratic Party in December 1943 that outlined their coordinated activities and created the Slovak National Council. According to the agreement, its task was not only to lead the resistance movement in Slovakia but to launch military activities that would provoke an uprising of the Slovak people and, in the words of the agreement, “to take over all political, legislative, military, and administrative powers in Slovakia and exercise them according to the will of the people until freely elected representatives of the people are able to assume all power.” CHUDÍK, LADISLAV (1924– ). Actor and member of the Cinohra of the Slovak National Theater who interpreted many classical roles, from the plays of Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Ibsen, Pirandello, and Pavol Orságh-Hviezdoslav. He also appeared in 14 films and more than 100 television series. In 1989–1990, he was Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic. CHURCH AFFAIRS, OFFICE OF. It was created by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on 14 October 1949 and was given the task of exercising complete control over church activities in Communist Czechoslovakia. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. CIEKER, JOZEF (1907–1969). Slovak diplomat who served as chargé d’affaires in Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, and Madrid for the first Slovak Republic. He remained in Spain after the war and worked for Spanish radio. He was a cofounder and vice president of the Slovak National Council Abroad and secretary of the Slovak Liberation Council. CIGER-HRONSKÝ, JOZEF. See HRONSKÝ, JOZEF CIGER-.

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CIKKER, JÁN (1911–1989). A graduate of musicology at Charles University in Prague and the Akademie für Musik in Vienna, he is a modern Slovak composer who taught at State Conservatory from 1939 to 1951 and from 1951 to 1977 at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava. He is best known for his opera Juro Jánošík. Other compositions include the operas Beg Bajazid about the Turkish occupation of Slovakia, Vzkriesenie [Resurrection] based on the Tolstoy novel of the same name, and Rozsudok [The sentence] based on a novel by Heinrich von Kleist. He also composed music for theater and film. CIRCLE OF THE HRON VALLEY/SPOLOK POHRONSKÝ. One of the first reading groups created in Slovakia, in 1845, by Canon Anton Tilesa in Banská Bystrica. CISTERCIANS. Roman Catholic order that appeared in Slovakia beginning in the 12th century and established abbeys in Lipovník in 1141 and Štiavník in 1223, and a convent in Bratislava in 1235. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. CLEMENTIS, VLADIMÍR (1902–1952). Slovak Communist politician, lawyer, and founder of the periodical Dav (The Crowd). He was a deputy in the Czechoslovak National Assembly between 1935 and 1938 and from 1945 to 1950. He was one of the few members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) to disapprove publicly of the Nazi–Soviet Pact of 29 August 1939. During World War II, he lived in England and broadcast regularly to Slovakia through the shortwave service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. In 1945, he was named secretary of state, and then he was minister of foreign affairs of Czechoslovakia from 1948 until 1950, when he was arrested in connection with the fabricated “antistate conspiracy” alleged to exist in the KSČS. He was found guilty and executed in December 1952. The Communist regime rehabilitated him in 1963. See also PURGES. CLEVELAND AGREEMENT. This is the first of two agreements signed in the United States, in Cleveland, Ohio, on 23 October 1915, between Czech and Slovak representatives on a future union of the

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Czechs and Slovaks in a common state. Its text, approved by Tomáš G. Masaryk, was agreed on at a joint conference of the Czech National Association and the Slovak League of America and stipulated a confederation between the two nations. In 1918, this agreement was superceded by the Pittsburgh Pact. COEXISTENCE/EGYÜTTÉLÉS. Hungarian political movement formed after the collapse of communism on 1 March 1990 by Miklós Duray that supports not only a market economy, a democratic state, and the rule of law, but also the rights of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. With the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, it formed the Hungarian Coalition in 1990, which sent 14 deputies to the Slovak National Council in 1992, and 17 deputies to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994. It was the second largest party in the coalition. In 1998, this movement joined the Party of the Hungarian Coalition. COLLECTIVIZATION. A policy that ended individual ownership of the land and forced farmers to work on collective farms. On 23 February 1949, the Czechoslovak National Assembly passed a law on the creation of Unified Agricultural Cooperatives (JRD). On 26 May 1952, a decision was taken to exclude the rich peasants from the cooperatives by both the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the government. The campaign to collectivize agriculture turned out to be far more problematic in Slovakia than the Communists expected. The initial campaign was almost unsuccessful. In 1952, the regime resorted to more radical measures. It launched a drive into the cooperatives by using economic and psychological pressure rather than persuasion to achieve maximum results. Even writers and poets were employed to ensure the success of collectivization. The radical measures were abandoned in September 1953 in favor of material support and increased financial investments in existing JRDs. This policy achieved a measure of success. In 1957, collective and state ownership finally superseded private ownership, reaching 54.4 percent. By 1960, it rose to 80.5 percent, of which the JRDs represented 65.8 percent. What private property remained was found mostly in mountainous regions that had not been targeted for collectivization.

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COLLEGIUM OECONOMICUM. School of administrative studies that was founded in Senec by Empress Maria Theresa in 1763. It was designated to prepare professionals for the expanding bureaucracy; the language of instruction was German and the curriculum included arithmetic, economics, architecture, geodesy, calligraphy, and stylistics. In 1786, a fire damaged the school building and the college moved to Tara in Hungary. COLLEGIUM SCHOLASTICUM. Lutheran gymnasium (high school) established in Prešov in 1667. It was closed in 1711 and its properties handed over to the Catholics. COLOTKA, PETER (1925– ). Lawyer and Communist politician, he was a member of the International Court of Justice at The Hague from 1963 to 1968, deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia in 1968, president of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in 1969, prime minister of the Slovak Socialist Republic, deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987, and deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly from 1969 to 1989. He was one of the main supporters of the policy of “normalization.” COMENIUS UNIVERSITY/UNIVERZITA KOMENSKÉHO (UK). Main university in Bratislava, and the biggest in Slovakia, it is named after a Czech humanist reformer of the 17th century, Amos Komenský. Created in 1919, it changed its name to Slovak University in 1939; in 1954 it returned to its original name. It is composed of 13 faculties and five centers and institutes. See also EDUCATION. COMES PALATINUS. See PALATINE. COMMON CHOICE/SPOLOČNÁ VOĽBA (SV). Coalition of leftwing and special-interest parties under one ticket, formed in Žilina on 22–23 May 1993. The main party was the Party of the Democratic Left; other parties were the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia, the Green Party of Slovakia, and the Farmers’ Movement of the Slovak Republic. In the 1994 elections, the coalition came in second with 18 seats and 10.41 percent of the popular vote, and formed the main opposition party. Its program was left-oriented but has also stressed social justice, democracy and human rights, ecological re-

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sponsibility, and the renewal of natural resources. It was dissolved before the 1998 elections. COMMUNIST PARTY OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA/KOMUNISTICKÁ STRANA ČESKOSLOVENSKA (KSČS). It was created from a split in the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party in May 1921 when a left-wing group accepted Lenin’s Twenty-One Conditions to join the Communist International (Comintern), headquartered in Moscow. Thereafter, its policies were in line with those of the Comintern; it was bolshevized in 1929 under the leadership of Klement Gottwald, and its main objective was to take power. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was an opposition party and its influence and success in Slovakia were limited because of the small workforce and the absence of a national program for Slovakia. Nevertheless, it succeeded in sending deputies to the Czechoslovak National Assembly; in the 1925 elections, it received 13.9 percent of the vote and sent eight deputies; in the 1929 elections, it scored only 10.7 percent and obtained five seats; and in the 1935 elections, it rose to 13 percent and won seven seats. In May 1937, it finally adopted a program for Slovakia, targeting its economic, social, and cultural development. However, its activities were suspended in Slovakia on 9 October 1938 and it was ordered dissolved on 27 December 1938 by the Czecho–Slovak government. Its leadership moved to Moscow. During and after World War II, its leaders worked closely with those of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). After taking power in February 1948, it relegated the KSS to the rank of a regional party and it ran Slovakia until the “Gentle Revolution” of 1989. In 1963, it established two commissions, the Kolder and later the Barnabite Commission to look into the purges of the 1950s. During the liberalization period of 1968, it published an “Action Program” that proposed a reexamination of relations between the Czechs and Slovaks. The Warsaw Pact invasion of August, however, forced the party to abandon its liberal reforms and adopt a policy of “normalization.” COMMUNIST PARTY OF SLOVAKIA/KOMUNISTICKÁ STRANA SLOVENSKA (KSS). It was founded on 16–17 January 1921 in Ľubochňa by left-wing members of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party who lived in Slovakia, primarily Hungarians,

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Germans, and Jews. This group, however, joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) when it was constituted in May 1921; this party elected deputies from Slovakia to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in the elections of 1925, 1929, and 1935. Communist activities were suspended by the Slovak government on 9 October 1938. After the KSČS was dissolved by the Czecho–Slovak government in December 1938 and by the Slovak government in January 1939, an independent Slovak party, the Communist Party of Slovakia, was formed in Moscow in May 1939; it maintained strong links with the KSČS leadership in Moscow. During World War II, as an illegal party, it was active in the resistance movement in Slovakia, organizing national committees, and preparing an armed uprising against the first Slovak Republic. In December 1943, its leaders signed the Christmas Agreement with leaders of the Democratic Party (DS). It opted for a federal arrangement between Czechs and Slovaks a few months later at the July 1944 plenum of the fifth illegal Central Committee, but it abandoned this objective in March 1945 in Moscow under the pressure of KSČS leader Klement Gottwald and accepted that Slovakia had to have instead a high degree of autonomy in postwar Czechoslovakia. In 1945, most KSS policies became aligned with those of the KSČS. In the elections of May 1946, it campaigned on a nationalist platform that stressed the autonomy of Slovakia, but the party suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the DS when it received only 30.37 percent, while the DS obtained 62 percent, the Labor Party 3.11 percent, and the Liberty Party 3.73 percent. It abandoned its autonomy platform in favor of a centralized system in Czechoslovakia. After the coup d’état of February 1948, the KSS became a regional party of the KSČS on 29 September. Although it held regular party congresses in Slovakia, it acted mostly as a transmission belt for KSČS Presidium/ Politburo and Central Committee decisions, particularly during the purges of the 1950s, the collectivization of agriculture, and the campaign against intellectuals in 1957–1958. During the liberalization period of 1968, it worked toward the abandonment of its role as a regional party. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968, it implemented the policy of “normalization” in Slovakia. When communism fell in November 1989, the KSČS was deprived of its leading position, which had been enshrined in the

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constitution, and as a result, the KSS collapsed. Some of its former members regrouped under its old name and ran in the 1990 elections; they won 13.3 percent of the popular vote and 22 seats in the Slovak National Council. In 1992, the party changed its name to Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ), obtaining 14.7 percent of the vote and 29 seats. In the 1994 elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR), the SDĽ constituted the main party in the coalition Common Choice, which obtained 10.41 percent and 18 seats. In the 1998 elections, the SDĽ obtained 14.66 percent of the vote and 23 seats and became part of the coalition government led by Mikuláš Dzurinda. In the 2002 elections, a renewed KSS, different from the SDĽ, surprised all observers by obtaining 6.30 percent of the vote and 11 deputies in the NR SR. COMPROMISE, AUSTRO–HUNGARIAN (AUSGLEICH). An agreement that the Hungarian government reached in May 1867 with the imperial government in Vienna. It gave Hungary the right to self-government. The empire, now called Austro–Hungarian, not Habsburg, had three “common subjects”: foreign affairs, defense, and the financing of both, which was to be conducted by a “common” minister in Vienna. Otherwise, all other enactments by the emperor pertinent to Hungary had to bear the countersignature of the responsible minister. As a result of the compromise, the Slovaks had no further recourse to the imperial court in their search for political autonomy, and all demands henceforth had to be addressed to the Hungarian government. As a result of the Compromise, Budapest was able to pursue vigorously its policy of Magyarization of the non-Magyar nationalities, in particular the Slovaks. CONFEDERATION. In its broadest meaning, it refers to a constitutional and political arrangement between two or more federated states (they can also be called provinces, republics, cantons, commonwealths, or Länder), whereby the federated states have more powers than the confederal or central government. The arrangement proposed in the 1915 Cleveland Agreement suggested a confederation between the Czechs and Slovaks. The

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agreement was superseded by the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918, and the idea of a confederation between the two nations did not reappear as a solution to the relations between them until 1968, during the discussions and negotiations to transform the existing asymmetrical model in socialist Czechoslovakia into a political system that recognized the constitutional equality of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The constitutional law passed on 27 October 1968, however, did not enact a confederation, but a federation. It was not until the end of communism in November 1989 that the confederal solution appeared once more in Czechoslovakia. Although not always explicitly defined as such, it was the solution that was favored by Vladimír Mečiar after he was ousted from power in April 1991 and that he put forth in his electoral platform during the elections of 1992. It was rejected by the Czech political leadership and this rejection was one of the factors that led to the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia and the creation of the Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993. See also AUTONOMY. CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/KONFEDERÁCIA ODBOROVÝCH ZVÄZOV SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (KOZ SR). It is the biggest trade union organization in Slovakia, formed after the abolition of the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement in March 1990. Created on 10 April 1990, it was, until 1 January 1993, a member of the Czech and Slovak Confederation of Trade Union Associations. At its second congress in June 1993, it adopted the basic documents and the organizational structure, which was enlarged in 1996 that define it today. The basic mission of the KOZ SR is to affiliate trade union federations and associations, to defend trade union members, and to protect their economic, social, cultural, and other interests and needs arising from or relating to their employment or career. Its fundamental objective is to contribute to the development of freedom, social justice, and solidarity that will enable any employee to have a meaningful life. It is also to develop fully the personality and capacity of every man and woman, and to guarantee human and civil rights in a democratic society, accepting the principles of a socially based market economy. The KOZ SR represents 36 independent and equal trade unions with a membership of about

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500,000 members. It is a member of the Council for Economic and Social Partnership. Its central offices are in Bratislava and its president is Ivan Saktor. See also GENERAL AGREEMENT; TRIPARTITE. CONFESSIO MONTANA (HEPTAPOLITANA). A confession of faith of Slovak Lutherans, based on the Confession of Augsburg of 1530, agreed to by the Lutherans of seven central Slovak towns (Banská Belá, Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica, Ľubietová, Nová Baňa, and Pukanec) in 1559. CONFESSIO PENTAPOLITANA. A confession of faith of Slovak Lutherans, based on the Confession of Augsburg of 1530, prepared by Leonhard Stoeckel of Bardejov, and agreed to by Lutherans of five eastern Slovak towns (Bardejov, Košice, Levoča, Prešov, and Sabinov) in 1549. CONFESSIO SCEPUSIANA. A confession of faith of Slovak Lutherans, based on the Confession of Augsburg of 1530, proclaimed by 24 parish priests in Spiš County in 1569. CONSEIL NATIONAL TCHÉCO-SLOVAQUE. See CZECHO–SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL. CONSILIUM LOCUMTENETIALE. Created during the reign of Charles VI, it was the highest administrative body of government in Hungary, sitting in Bratislava under the presidency of the palatine, and assisted by 22 councilors appointed by the king from among the Hungarian nobility. CONSTANTINE. See CYRIL. CONSTANTINE VII PORPHYROGENET (905–959). Byzantine emperor who gave Great Moravia its name in his study De administrando imperio. It was based on the name Moravians (Sclavi Marahenses), found in the Annales regni Francorum (822) and especially in the Annales Fuldenses (822–897). This brief but nonetheless significant historical account of Great Moravia describes the activities

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of those who created, governed, and ultimately destroyed this first Slavic state in Central Europe. CONSTITUTION. It is in Czechoslovakia and not in Hungary that Slovakia first experienced constitutional rule. The first constitution to define its status and thus influence its politics was the constitution of 1920, which remained in force until 1948. It was a centralist constitution that defined the country’s legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and recognized the existence of a Czechoslovak nation. Amendments were introduced in response to pressure from Slovakia. In 1927, a government bill amending the county law declared Slovakia a province. In November 1938, a constitutional law granted Slovakia autonomy; this law remained in force until March 1939. In 1945, when Slovakia was reincorporated into Czechoslovakia, it was given self-government with the recognition of the Slovak National Council (SNR) and the Board of Commissioners (ZP) as governing institutions created by the Christmas Agreement. Political agreements negotiated in 1945 and 1946, known as the Prague Agreements, defined the relations between Slovakia and the Czechoslovak government. In May 1948, the Communist government adopted a new constitution, which a Western analyst describes as “an elaborate hybrid, a combination of Western parliamentarism with sovietism.” This constitution recognized the existence of the SNR and the ZP as institutions for Slovakia. Minor changes were introduced by a constitutional law in 1956. In 1960, the regime adopted a socialist constitution that weakened the SNR and abolished the ZP while retaining specific commissions. A constitutional law in 1964 sought to increase slightly the powers of the SNR. In 1968, a constitutional law changed Czechoslovakia into a federation, and it remained in force until April 1990, when another constitutional law eliminated all of the Communist features and redefined the powers of the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, and the federal government. It remained in effect until the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia. When Slovakia declared its independence in March 1939, a constitution was promulgated on 21 July 1939 that gave the first Slovak Republic a presidential form of government. It remained in effect until Czechoslovakia was renewed in 1945.

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On 1 September 1992, the SNR voted a Slovak constitution that became the sole law of the land when Slovakia achieved independence on 1 January 1993. In a preamble and nine chapters, the constitution establishes a democratic form of government; declares that state power derives from the inhabitants of the country who exercise it directly or through deputies elected by them, that the territory of the Slovak Republic is united and indivisible, and that the official language of the state is Slovak and the official use of other languages is set down by specific laws; describes state symbols; designates Bratislava as the capital city; codifies the elementary rights and freedoms of the citizens; defines the territorial administration and all legislative, executive, and judicial powers; and sets the rules for temporary and implementation enactments. See also ASYMMETRICAL MODEL; PRESIDENT; SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. CONSTITUTION OF 1939. See SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. CONSTITUTION OF 1992. See SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/ ÚSTAVNÝ SÚD SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. It is an independent judicial body and the highest instance that protects and interprets the constitution of the Slovak Republic. Cases may be submitted to it by at least one fifth of the deputies to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR), by the president, by the government, by a court, by the prosecutor’s office, or by a juridical or natural person whose natural rights have been violated. It is composed of 13 judges and is headed by a president and vice president. The president of the Slovak Republic shall, on the advice of the NR SR, appoint the judges of the Constitutional Court for a period of 12 years. Any citizen of the Slovak Republic who is eligible for election to the NR SR, has reached 40 years of age, is a law school graduate, and has been practicing law for at least 15 years may be appointed judge of the Constitutional Court. No judge may be appointed for a second term. It was established on 1 January 1993. Its first president was Milan Čič, who served until 2000. Ján Mazák is president since 2000. See also JUDICIARY. CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS. See CONSTITUTION.

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CORRUPTION. Like most of the post-Communist states of Central Europe, Slovakia has had to deal with the problem of corruption. The transformation of its command economy to a market one opened the door for a variety of activities, many illegal, particularly in the process of privatization that was essential to achieve the transformation. Allegations of corruption began to be leveled at the government of Vladimír Mečiar soon after the creation of the second Slovak Republic. Although some legislation was enacted to end corruption while Mečiar was in power, it is not until Mikuláš Dzurinda formed a government in 1998 that this issue began to be seriously tackled. In 1999, changes were made to the Criminal Code, which increased the powers of the police to fight corruption. In February 2000, Prime Minister Dzurinda launched an anticorruption drive, claiming that two-thirds of Slovaks had “encountered corruption” when dealing with government officials. He also made a point of underlining the fact that many people did not hesitate to bribe doctors and teachers. Then in November 2003, the National Council of the Slovak Republic passed a law that created a special prosecutor’s office and a special tribunal to try public officials charged with corruption. The law took effect on 1 May 2004. Nevertheless, according to Transparency International, a nonprofit organization that tracks corruption around the world, Slovakia’s corruption index, first published in 1998, has placed the country below the half-way point in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and just above the half-way ranking of the countries listed until 2004, when its ranking improved. Thus in 1998, Slovakia’s CPI was 3.9 (out of 10) and its ranking was 47th (out of 85 countries); in 1999, 3.7 and 53rd (out of 99); in 2000, 3.5 and 52nd (out of 90); in 2001, 3.7 and 51st (out of 91); in 2002, 3.7 and 52nd (out of 102); in 2003, 3.7 and 59th (out of 133); in 2004, 4.0 and 57th (out of 145); and in 2005, 4.3 and 47th (out of 158). Since the CPI is based on surveys made among business people, it is interesting to note the little change in the perception over the years until 2004 when it worsens while Slovakia’s ranking improves. COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/RADA HOSPODÁRSKEJ A SOCIÁLNEJ DOHODY SR (RHSD SR). The main organ of the Tripartite, created on 30 October 1990, is involved in all discussions concerning

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economic and social policies and is composed of representatives of the government, the employers’ associations, and the trade unions. The activities of the RHSD are focused on judging, discussing, and accepting government policies that determine the economic and social development of Slovakia, in particular the living standard of the population, employee working conditions, and the role and position of employers. These are embodied in a General Agreement that is negotiated annually. The council is also known as the Tripartite Council. COUNTER-REFORMATION. The Catholic Church’s response to the Reformation would bring about an even more profound cultural revolution that would mark the religious, social, and political life of the Slovak people to this day. Under the leadership of Peter Cardinal Pázmaň, a Catholic convert from a Magyar Calvinist family, appointed bishop of Ostrihom in 1616, the Counter-Reformation came into its own in Slovakia. It quickly spread as a result of the activities of many religious orders among the people of the cities and towns and also as a result of the creation of the University of Trnava. In addition to the Jesuits and those already established since the Middle Ages, other orders appeared in Slovakia whose aim was to reestablish the primacy of the Catholic faith and the authority of the Catholic Church; in Bratislava, for example, the Capucins and the Brothers of Mercy arrived in 1672, the Ursuline Sisters in 1676. Two other orders that played an important role were the Franciscan Conventuals (Friars Minor), who established themselves in Levoča in 1668 and the Piarists, who settled in Podolinec in 1642, in Prievidza in 1666, in Brezno in 1673, and in Sväty Júr in 1685. See also LUTHERAN CHURCH. COUNTY/STOLICA (ŽUPA) (COUNTY SYSTEM). The administrative division of Slovakia that was begun in the reign of King Stephen was organized on the basis of counties and was headed by an administrator named by the king called župan (comes in Latin, ispán in Hungarian). The counties evolved slowly from the 10th century onward from castles and their surrounding lands, which were the seat of a feudal lord. The southeastern and southwestern counties were in place by the end of the 12th century, while counties in northern and central Slovakia came into being later. By the 14th century, the county system was fully in place and would not be altered until 1923, when Slovakia

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was no longer a part of Hungary. Under the reforms of Joseph II, the counties lost their autonomy. In 1849, the name was changed from stolica to župa. In 1923, the 19 historic counties were merged into six counties, which were themselves dissolved in 1928 when Slovakia became an administrative unit called the Slovak Province. A county system with six counties was in effect in the first Slovak Republic and abolished in 1945 when Czechoslovakia was re-created. CULTURAL SLOVAK. This is the name that is given to all liturgical texts and correspondence translated into or written in Slovak prior to the codification of a literary language by Anton Bernolák at the end of the 18th century. As a written language, Cultural Slovak was weak structurally and functionally because its use was limited to social and cultural functions, yet at the same time it was a language that was linguistically more complex than the spoken one and its dialects. It evolved in three integration areas: western, central, and eastern. Prior to the Bernolák codification, Cultural Western Slovak predominated. CULTURAL WESTERN SLOVAK. Name given to the Cultural Slovak of the western integration area. As this area included Bratislava, the de facto capital of royal Hungary, and Trnava, where a university was founded in 1635, it prevailed over the Cultural Slovak of the two other integration areas and was used by the imperial court to publish documents such as the Urbarial Law of 1767. It is in this language that the first novel in the vernacular was published in 1783 by Jozef Ignác Bajza. CYRIL (CONSTANTINE) (826–869). The younger of two Greek brothers who had learned the Slavic dialect spoken in Thessaloniki and who arrived in Great Moravia in 863. Together with his brother Methodius, he created a basic alphabet for the Slavic language. This alphabet is called glagolitic. In Great Moravia, he established a seminary for the training of priests with Slavic as the language not just of instruction but also of the liturgy. Methodius, a lawyer by training, was his principal assistant. In A.D. 867, the two brothers left for Rome to have some of their seminarians consecrated priests and their translations of the Holy

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Scriptures and liturgical texts approved. Pope Hadrian II examined their translations, approved them, and authorized their use in the liturgy. Methodius and a number of seminarians received holy orders. His mission accomplished, Constantine entered a monastery, where he took the name of Cyril and died three months later on 14 February 869. Cyril and Methodius are known today as the “Apostles of the Slavs.” See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. CYRILLIC. See GLAGOLITIC. CZAMBEL, SAMO (1856–1909). Linguist, one of a handful of Slovak intellectuals who fought Magyarization at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. He was a reformer of the Slovak literary language, publishing in 1890 Slovenský pravopis (Slovak orthography) and in 1902 Rukoväť spisovnej reči slovenskej (Handbook of the Slovak literary language). CZECH AND SLOVAK CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNION ASSOCIATIONS/ČESKÁ A SLOVENSKÁ KONFEDERÁCIA ODBOROVÝCH SVÄZOV (ČSKOZ). Name given to the new organization of Czech and Slovak trade unions created after the Communist Revolutionary Trade Union Movement was abolished on 3 March 1990. It was dissolved when Czecho–Slovakia broke up on 1 January 1993. See also TRIPARTITE. CZECH LANDS. Name given to the Czech part of the Czechoslovak Republic until 1968. When Czechoslovakia became a federation, the Czech Lands became known as the Czech Socialist Republic and, after the fall of communism, as the Czech Republic. CZECH REPUBLIC/ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA (ČR). Name given to the Czech Socialist Republic after the fall of communism in 1990 when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic became the Czechoslovak Federative Republic. The name was retained when Czechoslovakia broke up on 31 December 1992. CZECH SOCIALIST REPUBLIC/ČESKÁ SOCIALISTICKÁ REPUBLIKA (ČSR). Name given to the Czech Lands when Communist Czechoslovakia became a federation in 1968.

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CZECHO–SLAV SOCIETY/SPOLEČNOST ČESKO–SLOVANSKÁ. Created in 1827 by the students of the Bratislava Lutheran lyceum, it was, initially, under the influence of Ján Kollár’s ideas of Czechoslovak Unity. However, when Ľudovít Štúr assumed leadership in 1830, it became a vehicle not only to increase Slovak national consciousness but above all to combat Magyarization. It was dissolved by order of the Hungarian police in 1837. CZECHO–SLOVAK FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC/ČESKO–SLOVENSKÁ FEDERATÍVNA REPUBLIKA (Č-SFR). Official name given to the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks on 20 April 1990 and remained in use until 31 December 1992; it was composed of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. It was used only in Slovakia. Another orthographic usage, officially used in the Czech Republic and abroad, was Czechoslovak Federative Republic. CZECHO–SLOVAK LEGION. Organized in May 1917 in Russia by Tomáš G. Masaryk and Milan R. Štefánik from Czech and Slovak soldiers who had deserted the Austro–Hungarian armies on the Eastern Front. By the end of the year, it had grown to 40,000 men. The October Revolution in Russia and the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Peace in March 1918 brought about a plan to move the legion to the Western Front. It crossed Siberia, the Pacific Ocean, and Canada to do so, successfully engaging the Red Army in Siberia. CZECHO–SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL/CONSEIL NATIONAL TCHÉCO–SLOVAQUE. Originally called Conseil national des Pays tchèques (Czech National Council), it was the official organization abroad during World War I, of Czechs and Slovaks who sought to create a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks. Its most eminent members were Tomáš G. Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, and Milan R. Štefánik. On 29 June 1918, it was recognized by the French government as the Czecho–Slovak government; British and American recognition was extended on 9 August and 3 September respectively. A second Czecho–Slovak National Council was created in Paris on 28 January 1940 as a result of discussions between Milan Hodža, president of the Slovak National Council, and certain Czech émigré

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groups opposed to Beneš. Hodža became its president and its program consisted in the renewal of the Czechoslovak Republic, the respect of Slovak individuality as well as autonomy for Slovakia, and the possibility of Czechoslovakia belonging to a Central European federation. The fall of France in July 1940 and the British recognition of a provisional Czechoslovak government led by Beneš on 21 July 1940 spelled the end of the council. CZECHO–SLOVAK REPUBLIC/ČESKO–SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA (Č–SR). Official name of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks as written in the peace treaties and used until the promulgation of the constitution in February 1920. This spelling also designates the period of the existence of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks from October 1938 to March 1939, often referred to as the second Czecho–Slovak Republic (also as the second Czechoslovak Republic). In contrast to the First Czechoslovak Republic, which was a centralized state, it was a quasi-federal state in which Slovakia enjoyed a degree of autonomy. CZECHO–SLOVAK REVOLUTIONARY ASSEMBLY. It was created by the Prague National Committee on 13 November 1918 as a provisional National Assembly. It was a unicameral body with undivided authority and was given the power to draft and adopt a permanent constitution. Its 40 Slovak members were selected by Vavro Šrobár and the greatest representation went to the Hlasists. CZECHO–SLOVAKIA. Official spelling used in the peace treaties and from October 1918 to February 1920, October 1938 to March 1939, and in Slovakia from April 1990 to December 1992. This spelling is often employed by authors who wish to stress the binational composition of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks in the 68 years of its existence (the war years are excluded because of the existence of the first Slovak Republic). The other spelling is Czechoslovakia. CZECHOSLAVIC UNITY/ČESKOSLOVANSKÁ JEDNOTA. Founded in Prague in 1896 by František Pastrnek, a Czech Slavist, its aim, according to its constitution, was to “cultivate Czechoslav interest”

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and maintain contacts between Slavic peoples, especially the Slovaks. Some Slovak students in Prague were influenced by its goals and activities, and its annual meetings from 1908 to 1914 in the Moravian spa of Luhačovice enabled various topics of mutual interest between Czechs and Slovaks to be aired. CZECHOSLOVAK FEDERAL ASSEMBLY. Name given to the Czechoslovak National Assembly when Czechoslovakia was transformed into a federation on 1 January 1969. The federal assembly was composed of a Chamber of the People and a Chamber of Nations, equal in status and competence, and both directly elected. The Chamber of the People, with 200 members was elected on the basis of one man, one vote for the whole country, whereas the Chamber of Nations, with 150 members was composed of equal representatives from the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic. CZECHOSLOVAK FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ FEDERATÍVNA REPUBLIKA (ČSFR). Official name given to the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks on 20 April 1990 and in use until 1 January 1993; it was composed of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic; in Slovakia another spelling, that of Czecho–Slovak Federative Republic, was authorized. CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE, PROVISIONAL. Created by Edvard Beneš in 1940, it was located in London. It was composed of Czech politicians who had fled their homeland before or during World War II and Slovak politicians opposed to the first Slovak Republic, among them Milan Hodža and Vladimír Clementis. However, Hodža soon came in conflict with Beneš and left for the United States. When it received de jure recognition from the Allies in July 1941 with Beneš as president (thus dropping the qualifier “provisional”), the government-in-exile established diplomatic relations with most Allied countries and helped in the war against Germany by encouraging the development of resistance movements in Slovakia and in the Czech Lands (Protectorate of Bohemia–Moravia) through direct contacts with resistance leaders and in broadcasts on the shortwave service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

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CZECHOSLOVAK NATION. This is the name given to a nation, in the classical definition of the term, presumed to have come into existence the moment the Czechs and Slovaks formed a common state, the Czecho–Slovak Republic in 1918. The creation of such a nation had been proposed in 1848 by the Czechs but had been rejected by the Slovaks. In its preamble, the constitution of 1920 identified the “Czechoslovak nation” as the creator of the new state, making it by inference a national state. In its definition and meaning, the Czechoslovak nation relegated the Slovaks to the rank of a branch of that nation and denied them national recognition. The fiction of the existence of such a nation was maintained by the government of the First Czechoslovak Republic; many Slovaks saw this as an attempt to assimilate their nation into the Czech one. In the postwar era, when the Slovaks were recognized as a nation, the term “Czechoslovak nation” gave way to that of “Czechoslovak people.” CZECHOSLOVAK NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. Name of the supreme legislative body of the Czechoslovak Republic. From November 1918 until the elections of April 1920, it was known as the Provisional (Revolutionary) National Assembly. It was composed of a 300-member Chamber of Deputies and a 150-member Senate elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot. From May 1945 until the May 1946 elections, the assembly was again known as the Provisional National Assembly. After the elections, the assembly became the Constituent National Assembly, a title it retained until the elections of 30 May 1948. It then resumed its original name. When Czechoslovakia became a federation in 1968, it changed its name to Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. CZECHOSLOVAK NATIONAL COMMITTEE. Created in Paris in November 1939 by exiled Czechoslovak politicians, it was granted recognition by the British and French governments and was given the task of reconstituting the Czechoslovak army. It was dissolved when the British government recognized in July 1940 an enlarged national committee as the provisional Czechoslovak governmentin-exile.

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CZECHOSLOVAK NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ STRANA NÁRODNO–SOCIALISTICKÁ (ČS SNS). It was one of the first Czech parties to be active in Slovakia; in February 1919, it created its first organization in Trenčín and sought thereafter to expand into other counties. It held its first conference in August 1919. Its electoral results in Slovakia were meager, with 2.19 percent of the votes in 1920, 2.6 in 1925, 3.1 in 1929, and 3.27 in 1935. It had one seat in the Czechoslovak National Assembly from Slovakia until the 1929 elections, when it obtained two, and again only one in the 1935 elections. Its leader in Slovakia was Igor Hrušovský. In November 1938, it agreed to merge with the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party to form the Party of Slovak National Unity. The party was revived in the Czech Lands after the Second World War and developed a radical anti-Slovak policy, which was outlined in an internal document entitled Memorandum on Slovakia. The party was dissolved after the Communist coup of February 1948. CZECHOSLOVAK PEOPLE’S PARTY/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ STRANA LIDOVÁ (ČSL). A Czech Catholic party that sought to expand into Slovakia. It joined forces for the 1920 elections with the Slovak People’s Party as a result of which the latter obtained 17.5 percent of the vote and 12 seats. In November 1921, this Catholic coalition broke up, and in the 1929 and 1935 elections the ČSL succeeded in getting one deputy elected, its leader in Slovakia, Martin Mičura. In November 1938, it agreed to merge with the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party to form the Party of Slovak National Unity. CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA (ČSR). Official name of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks as adopted by the 1920 constitution and used from 1920 to 1938, and from 1945 to 1960. CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. This is a designation used by historians for the period of the existence of the Czechoslovak Republic from February 1920 to October 1938. It was a centralized state that did not grant Slovakia autonomy.

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CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. This is a designation used by some historians for the period from the Munich Agreement of October 1938 until 14 March 1939, when Czecho–Slovakia ceased to exist. It was a quasi-federal state that recognized the autonomy of Slovakia. It is also referred to as the Second Czecho–Slovak Republic. CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRACTIC WORKERS’ PARTY/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ SOCIÁLNA DEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA ROBOTNICKÁ (ČSDSR). Its presence in Slovakia was assured when Slovak Social Democrats decided at a meeting in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš in December 1918 to join it. It was the main winner of the 1920 elections, obtaining 31.8 percent of the vote in Slovakia and 23 seats. Its leader in Slovakia was Ivan Dérer. The ideological and political split that occurred in 1921 and resulted in the creation of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia had serious consequences for the party in Slovakia: in the 1925 elections it received 4.2 percent of the vote and only two seats; in the 1929 elections, the Social Democrats made a modest comeback, with 9.5 percent and five seats, and in the 1935 elections they increased to 11.4 percent with six seats. Its representatives were present at the Žilina meeting of 6 October 1938 but the party was not invited to sign the Žilina Agreement; its activities were prohibited in Slovakia on 22 November 1938 and it was dissolved on 23 January 1939. CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIALIST REPUBLIC/ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ SOCIALISTICKÁ REPUBLIKA (ČSSR). Official name of the Czechoslovak Republic when a socialist constitution was promulgated in July 1960. It remained in effect until April 1990. CZECHOSLOVAK WRITERS’ CONGRESS. Under communism, it was organized by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to encourage as well as reward writers who followed the party line diligently. In June 1956, in the wake of the events in Poland and Hungary, many participants at the Second Czechoslovak Writers’ Congress publicly voiced their opposition to the regime. It marked the beginning of a new role that intellectuals would play in Communist Czechoslovakia and bring about in the 1960s an intellectual revolution as well as a liberalization process.

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CZECHOSLOVAKIA. Official spelling of the country used from February 1920 to October 1938 and April 1945 to December 1992. For the period from April 1990 to December 1992, it was used in the Czech Republic and abroad, but not in Slovakia. Most historians tend to use this spelling for the entire period, beginning with the creation of the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks to its dissolution (the war years, despite the existence of the first Slovak Republic, are included). The other spelling is Czecho–Slovakia. CZECHOSLOVAKISM. The official ideology of the First Czechoslovak Republic, a natural development arising from the extension of the Czech agenda to the new state. Its aim was the fusion of the Czech and Slovak nations into a single one, a Czechoslovak nation, an aim that justified the maintenance of a centralized political system and the refusal to grant autonomy to Slovakia. -ČČÁK, MATÚŠ (1260–1321). Magyar warlord who ruled an area that corresponds more or less to present day Slovakia. His power became evident when Andrew III, the last of the Árpáds died and a successor had to be found. At first Čák supported the Přemyslide Václav III, who reigned under the name of Ladislas I, but then he switched to Charles Robert of Anjou when Ladislas abdicated to succeed to the throne of Bohemia on the death of his father and Otto of Bavaria made a claim for the Hungarian throne. Čák’s support of Ladislas earned him more power and territory, and when he threw his lot behind Charles Robert, he was made one of the three palatines of the kingdom in 1309, with his authority extending to much of what is contemporary Slovakia. In 1311, he turned against Charles Robert but his forces were defeated at Rozhanovce on 15 June 1312. Until his death in 1321, he ruled Slovakia from his castle in Trenčín. He was known as the Lord of the Váh and the Tatras. Čák left no son to succeed him. Slovakia therefore returned to the royal fold after his death. He is remembered in Slovak oral history and tradition as “Matúš Trenčiansky”—that is to say “Matúš of Trenčín.”

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ČALFA, MARIÁN (1946– ). Member of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly from 1988 to 1993, he was the last prime minister of Czechoslovakia under the Communist regime and the only one in the post-Communist period. In the constitutional discussions in 1990–1992, he was opposed to a confederation between the Czech Lands and Slovakia and defended the need for a strong federation. See also GENTLE REVOLUTION. ČAPLOVIČ, JÁN (1904–1976). Slovak journalist who worked for the Czechoslovak government-in-exile during World War II; he broadcast messages on the shortwave radio transmitters of the British Broadcasting Corporation. After the war, he devoted himself to Slovak literary history. See also RESISTANCE; UPRISING. ČARNOGURSKÝ, IVAN (1933– ). Engineer and politician, brother of Ján Čarnogurský, he is a cofounder of the Christian Democratic Movement and was a deputy and vice president of the Slovak National Council in 1990–1992. ČARNOGURSKÝ, JÁN (1942– ). A lawyer and Catholic dissident under communism, he became the founder and leader of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) from the moment it was founded in Nitra on 22 February 1990. Initially appointed deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia after the “Gentle Revolution,” he resigned in April 1990 to lead the KDH in the June elections of 1990 for the Slovak National Council. He became prime minister of Slovakia in April 1991, when Vladimír Mečiar was ousted from power, until the June 1992 elections. He was reelected in 1994 and in 1998 to the National Council of the Slovak Republic; in 1998, in the government of Mikuláš Dzurinda he was minister of Justice. He left politics in 2002 and returned to the practice of the law. ČATLOŠ, FERDINAND (1895–1972). Slovak officer in the Czechoslovak army who became a general in the army of the first Slovak Republic and also its minister of defense. In 1944, he prepared a plan to have Slovakia switch sides and by so doing maintain its statehood. The plan had two major aspects, military and political. The military propositions Čatloš made consisted of having the Slovak

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armed forces clear the passage for Soviet troops through Slovakia on their way to Hungary and Austria. The moment military operations began, the Slovak government would be overthrown, and a military dictatorship would be installed that would at the same time declare war on Hungary in order to gain popular support. In time, political figures would be found, although power would remain in military hands. Contact with Soviet authorities would be maintained through a Permanent Commission, and Slovak Communists would be informed, though not involved, especially at the very beginning when the military took power. The plan was not accepted by the resistance leaders but was used, on the other hand, as the basis of their first—the so-called offensive—alternative in their plans for an armed uprising against Germans: an uprising would start when the Soviet forces reached the vicinity of Cracow. When the uprising broke out, Čatloš spoke out against it. He was then arrested by the partisans, interned in the Soviet Union until the end of the war, and in 1947 condemned by a Slovak court to a five-year prison term. See also ARMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. ČERNÁK, ĽUDOVÍT (1951– ). Electrical engineer, manager, and politician, he was first elected to the Slovak National Council in 1992 for the Slovak National Party (SNS), of which he became president. From June 1992 to March 1993, he was minister of the Economy. Dismissed from the SNS in February 1994, he created the National Democratic Party–New Alternative (NDS–NA) in March 1994. He was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 for the Democratic Union with which the NDS–NA united in March 1995. In the elections of 1998, he was elected for the Slovak Democratic Coalition. From October 1998 to October 1999, he was minister of the economy. ČERNOVA MASSACRE. It happened on 27 October 1907 around the consecration of the village church in Černová, where Andrej Hlinka was born. The parishioners wanted Hlinka to attend the consecration because he had helped build this church, but ecclesiastical authorities would not consider this. (Hlinka was in the Czech Lands at this time on a lecture tour.) On the day of the consecration, the people tried to stop the Magyar clergy who came to Černova; the security forces

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fired into the crowd, killing nine people on the spot, with a total of 15 dead by the end of the day. More than 60 people were wounded. The event encouraged a British journalist and academic, Robert W. Seton-Watson, to denounce Budapest’s policies toward the nationalities in his book Racial Problems in Hungary, which he published under the pseudonym of Scotus Viator in 1908. ČERNÝ, JAN (1874–1959). Czech politician and provincial president of Moravia in the First Czechoslovak Republic, he formed a cabinet of officials and became prime minister in September 1920 until 1922 and again for a few months in 1926. ČESKOSLOVANSKÁ JEDNOTA. See CZECHOSLAVIC UNITY. ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ SOCIÁLNO-DEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA ROBOTNICKÁ. See CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRACTIC WORKERS’ PARTY. ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ STRANA LIDOVÁ. See CZECHOSLOVAK PEOPLE’S PARTY. ČESKOSLOVENSKÁ STRANA NÁRODNO-SOCIALISTICKÁ. See CZECHOSLOVAK NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY. ČIČ, MILAN (1932– ). Lawyer, politician, and first prime minister of Slovakia after the “Gentle Revolution.” In 1990–1992, he was a deputy in the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly for Public Against Violence, and deputy prime minister of Czecho–Slovakia, and from 1993 to 2000 he was president of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. Since June 2004, he has been head of the Office of the President. ČULEN, KONŠTANTÍN (1904–1964). Journalist and historian who in the first Slovak Republic was the head of the government press office. He broadcast on Slovak Radio commentaries on the broadcasts of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile from London. He is also the author of a history of the Pittsburgh Pact (Pittsburghská dohoda) and two histories of the Slovaks in America, Slováci v

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Amerike (Slovaks in America) and Dejiny Slovákov v Amerike (History of the Slovaks in America). He was one of the founders of the Slovak National Council Abroad. ČULEN, MARTIN (1823–1894). Catholic educator who organized Slovak national and cultural life and Slovak secondary schools, for which action he was persecuted by the Hungarian authorities.

-DDAGOBERT (604–639). Frankish king (629–639) who unsuccessfully attacked the Kingdom of Samo in A.D. 631 and 632. DANIHEL, ĽUDOVÍT (1950– ). Researcher and academic, he is a specialist in pathology and forensic medicine. Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava, he was also vice-dean of the faculty from 1991 to 1997. He is the author and co-author of more than 60 scientific studies, specializing in gestational trophoblastic disease and immunohistochemistry. He was awarded the Silver Medal of the Faculty of Medicine in 2000 and is a member of many international associations of pathology. In 1998, he was elected president of the Slovak Society of Pathologists; in 2002, he was appointed head of the Department of Pathology at the university. DANIHEL, ŠTEFAN (1885–1966). Teacher, entrepreneur, politician, and member of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party, he was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1929 to 1939, a deputy to the Slovak Assembly in 1938–1939, and a deputy to the Slovak Parliament from 1939 to 1945. He accompanied Jozef Tiso on 13 March 1939 on his visit to Berlin. On 4 April 1945, after a German officer had been shot the day before in a neighboring village, he successfully negotiated with the German high command freeing some 50 boys and men who had been rounded up in a church in Sološnica in Western Slovakia as hostages to ensure the safety of the German forces there. Communist historiography on World War II only occasionally mentioned this event but never acknowledged his

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role in it. He was also one of three deputies of the Slovak Parliament who were acquitted after the war of all charges brought against them by the Czechoslovak government. DANUBE RIVER. The Danube is the only major river in Europe to flow from west to east. It rises in the Black Forest in Germany and flows eastward for about 2,850 kilometers, eventually finding its way to the Black Sea. It is Slovakia’s major waterway, flowing through Bratislava, and forms part of the border with Austria and, for 175 kilometers, with Hungary. After passing through Bratislava, it breaks into two channels, the Danube proper, flowing southeasterly, and the Little Danube, which joins the Danube farther east at the river Váh. In the early Middle Ages, Goths, Huns, Slavs, and other groups crossed the Danube in order to invade the Roman Empire. Many ancient castle remains can be seen along the Danube and none is more important for the Slovaks than Devin Castle near Bratislava. The Danube is celebrated as Europe’s greatest river. Although not blue as the Johann Strauss waltz suggests, it is still a river of great beauty and importance. It is a major transport route in Europe, with more than 3,500 ships passing yearly through its delta. Bratislava is one of the major ports. The Danube was also dammed for hydroelectric power at Gabčíkovo. It was once a great center for human daily life and, at the same time, a fabulous ecosystem with hundreds of species living in its waters or on its banks. Today, the most romantic river in the world is quite polluted and only since the fall of communism has there been an effort to study the full extent of the pollution. DAXNER, ŠTEFAN MARKO (1822–1892). Lawyer and politician during the revolutionary years of 1848–1849 and in the 1860s. On 10 May, in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš, Daxner and Ján Francisci helped Jozef Miroslav Hurban draft a national program entitled Demands of the Slovak Nation, which he proposed the next day to those assembled. In March 1861, Daxner published a brochure entitled Hlas zo Slovenska (Voice from Slovakia), which he circulated widely. In it, he rejected the theory of a single Hungarian political nation and demanded the recognition of the Slovaks as a nation. His brochure was used by a 6–7 June 1861 meeting in Turčiansky Svätý Martin, which he attended, as a basis for the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation.

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DECLARATION OF THE SLOVAK NATION/DEKLARÁCIA SLOVENSKÉHO NÁRODA. Document issued by the Slovak National Council at its meeting on 30 October 1918 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin that officially rejected the right of the Hungarian government to speak on behalf of the Slovaks, gave the council the right to do so, and proposed a political union with the Czechs in a common state. It is often referred to as the Martin Declaration. DECLARATION OF THE SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL/ DEKLARÁCIA SLOVENSKEJ NÁRODNEJ RADY. Document approved by the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1944 in which it proclaimed its right to act in the name of the Slovak nation and to take legislative and executive power in Slovakia and exercise it until the Slovak nation chose its representatives in free elections. According to some historians, Slovakia was officially back in Czechoslovakia with this declaration. DEKAN, JÁN (1919– ). Archaeologist and historian, he worked for Matica slovenská and the Historical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. From 1973 to 1985, he was the director of the Institute of Arts of the academy. He specialized in the study of the Roman and Slavic eras in Slovakia, especially Great Moravia. Among his most significant publications are Začiatok slovenských dejín a ríša Veľkomoravská (The beginnings of Slovak history and the Great Moravian Empire) (1951), Veľká Morava, translated into English as Great Moravia (1976), and Apoteóza slobody na antickej mise zo Stráži (The apotheosis of liberty on the ancient bowl from Stráže) (1979). DEKLARÁCIA SLOVENSKÉHO NÁRODA. See DECLARATION OF THE SLOVAK NATION. DEKLARÁCIA SLOVENSKEJ NÁRODNEJ RADY. See DECLARATION OF THE SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL. DEMANDS OF THE SLOVAK NATION/ŽIADOSTI SLOVENSKÉHO NÁRODA. A document prepared in May 1848 in Liptovský Sväty Mikulas by Štefan Marko Daxner and Ján Francisci. In 14

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points, the Slovak nation demanded the recognition and guarantee of national identity; the transformation of Hungary into a state composed of equal nations, each with its own parliament and equal representation in the Hungarian Diet; and the use of the Slovak language in all Slovak county offices. In addition, it insisted on democratic rights, including universal and equal suffrage, the total abolition of serfdom, and the return of the land to the peasants, from whom it had been taken away. In the context of the age, these demands not only express the principle of self-determination as it was understood then but also reflect the desire of the Slovak nation to pursue its development in accordance with its own requirements. DEMOCRATIC PARTY/DEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA (DS). Grouping together non-Communists opposed to the first Slovak Republic, the party was created as a party after the outbreak of the 1944 uprising under the leadership of Ján Ursíny. From 1945 to 1948, its leader was Jozef Lettrich. Its membership consisted mostly of former Agrarians but included Catholic activists after the April Agreement was signed with them on 30 March 1946. In the 26 May 1946 elections, it obtained 62 percent of votes in Slovakia but was unable to prevent the dilution of the autonomy of Slovakia in the three Prague Agreements of 1946 or fend off attacks by the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) in 1947 against some of its members who were accused of antistate activity. It was disbanded after the Communist coup of February 1948 and some of its former members joined the KSS or the Liberty Party (SS), which the Communist National Front tolerated. In the spring of 1990, the Democratic Party was re-created from the SS by Martin Kvetko, a member of the postwar party who had lived in exile during the Communist period. Its political program was the same as that of its pre-Communist predecessor. Led by Ján Holčík, it ran candidates in the June 1990 elections and obtained seven seats. It failed to get any seats in the 1992 elections and ceased to be a presence on the Slovak political scene. It was revived in 1995 under the leadership of Ján Langoš and joined the Slovak Democratic Coalition. Ľudovít Kaník sought also to revive it for the 2002 elections, forming a coalition with the Democratic Union, but in the end withdrew from the election and advised his supporters to vote for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union.

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DEMOCRATIC UNION/DEMOKRATICKÁ ÚNIA (DÚ). This party was created in 1993 when the Alliance of Democrats of the Slovak Republic and the Alternative of Political Realism, groups formed by defectors of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, joined forces to pass a motion of no confidence in the government of Vladimír Mečiar in March 1993 and formed a government under Jozef Moravčík. In the elections of 1994, it obtained 15 seats; it was led by Eduard Kukan. The party stressed government fiscal responsibility, the lowering of taxes, and greater powers to regional organs. For the 1998 elections, it merged with the parties that formed the Slovak Democratic Coalition. An attempt to revive it for the 2002 elections by Ján Budaj proved unsuccessful. DEMOKRATICKÁ ÚNIA. See DEMOCRATIC UNION. DEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA. See DEMOCRATIC PARTY. DENIS, ERNEST (1849–1921). French academic who may be considered the father of the Czechoslovak approach to Slovak history in the West with the publication of his book La question d’Autriche—Les Slovaques (1917). DÉRER, IVAN (1884–1973). Lawyer, politician, deputy from 1918 to 1938, leader of the Slovak wing of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party, minister for Slovakia (1919–1920), minister for the unification of laws and administrative organization (1921–1922, 1926), minister of schools and national education (1929–1934), minister of justice (1934–1938), and president of the Supreme Court of the Czechoslovak Republic (1946–1948). He was an ardent supporter of the ideology of Czechoslovakism and a strong opponent of the granting of autonomy to Slovakia. DETVA CLUB/DETVAN. Slovak student club in Prague between 1882 and 1948. Founded by Slovak students studying at Charles University, it played an important role in the development of Slovak nationalism and the redirection of Slovak politics in the period preceding the First World War. DETVAN. See DETVA CLUB.

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DEUTSCHE PARTEI. See GERMAN PARTY. DIBARBORA, FRANTIŠEK (1916–1987). A very versatile comic and dramatic art actor and singer who was a member of the Slovak National Theater and who also taught at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Among the roles he was famous for were Neguš in Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow, Grunio in William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, Smerdjakov in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, and Chlestakov in Nikolai Gogol’s Inspector General. He appeared in many Slovak films and television productions and also performed on many radio broadcasts. DIELO KONCILOVEJ OBNOVY. See ACTION FOR (VATICAN) COUNCIL RENEWAL. DILONG, RUDOLF (1905–1986). Franciscan monk, writer, and poet, he was one of the outstanding representatives of Catholic modernism in the 1930s and the early 1940s with dozens of books of prose, poetry, novels, and plays. He was in some respects an enfant terrible of Slovak poetry with collections of verses such as Budúci ľudia (Future people) (1932), Mesto s ružou (Town with a rose) (1939), and Konvália (Lilies of the valley) (1944). After World War II, he immigrated first to Argentina and in 1965 to the United States. Nostalgia and religion characterize his emigration publications like Diaľky bez domova (Far away and homeless) (1961), Dotyk s večnosťou (A touch of eternity) (1961) and Vidím otvorené nebo (I see an open sky) (1976). Of equal interest are his memoirs entitled Stretával som ľudi a svet (I used to meet people and the world) (1976). See also LITERATURE. DIRECTION-SOCIAL DEMOCRACY/SMER-SOCIÁLNA DEMOKRACIA. A political party created in December 1999 and led by Róbert Fico that is rooted in the idea that the contents and style of politics in Slovakia require a fundamental change by means of a broad replacement of the political representation. The party incorporates the connotation “third way” in its official name and hence clearly defines itself as a progressive center-left party proposing the same kind of political platform as the British Labour Party or the

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German Social Democratic Party. Smer entirely identifies itself with the model of a socially oriented market economy. Smer obtained 13.6 percent of votes in the September 2002 elections and gained 20 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Its deputies sit in the opposition. On 1 January 2005, Smer merged with the Party of the Democratic Left and the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia. It also changed its name to Smer-sociálna demokracia. DISSIDENCE. Unlike citizens in other countries in Central Europe, or even the Czech Socialist Republic with Charter 77, the Slovaks expressed their opposition to the Communist regime not politically but through personal religiosity and church-organized pilgrimages during the 1970s and the 1980s to Levoča, usually in early July, and to Šaštin, normally in mid-September. The regime did not intervene. However, in March 1988, a candlelight procession in Bratislava organized by František Mikloško, was brutally repressed by security forces. See also HELSINKI FINAL ACT. DIVIACKY FAMILY. A Slovak landowning family that supported Matúš Čák in his struggles with King Charles Robert of Anjou. DOBRIANSKÝ, ADOLF (1817–1901). Ruthenian politician who represented Slovak interests in the Hungarian Diet from 1865 to 1868 when no Slovak deputy was elected and the Diet passed the Nationalities Law of 1868. DOBŠINSKÝ, PAVOL (1828–1885). Lutheran priest, member of the Štúrovci, he was a prolific writer, and translator into Slovak of works by Lord Byron, Adam Mickiewicz, Mikhail Lermontov, William Shakespeare, and other world-famous writers. He is especially known for his studies on Slovak folklore and ethnography; he is the author of Slovenské rozprávky (Slovak fairy tales), which has been translated in many languages. See also LITERATURE. DOMINICANS. Male mendicant order that played an important role during the Middle Ages, erecting monasteries in Banská Štiavnica in 1275 and Košice in 1303 and later in other parts of Slovakia. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH.

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DROBNÁ PRÁCA. A concept developed by the Štúrovci that translates as “menial tasks” and that meant the creation of reading circles, temperance clubs, credit unions, and self-help groups. It was later advocated by Tomáš G. Masaryk and his Slovak supporters, known as Hlasists. DROBNÝ, JÁN (1881–1948). Lawyer and administrator, he was president of the Slovak Province from 1928 to 1931. See also AUTONOMY. DUBČEK, ALEXANDER (1921–1992). Slovak politician who, after rising through the ranks of the Communist Party of Slovakia in the postwar years—including the position of first secretary from 1963 to 1968—became on 6 January 1968 first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, leader of the liberalization movement, and its most eminent representative in Czechoslovakia and abroad. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968, his authority was challenged and he was ousted from power in April 1969 by Gustáv Husák, served as Czechoslovak ambassador to Turkey for a few months, and, on his return to Slovakia, was kept under police surveillance until the “Gentle Revolution” in 1989, when he was elected in December of that year president of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. He remained in that post until the elections of June 1990. He was elected to the assembly in 1990 and again in 1992 as leader of the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia. See also PUBLIC AGAINST VIOLENCE. DUCHOŇ, JÁN (1595–1637). Lutheran pastor and teacher, he was a pioneer of pedagogical realism during the Reformation in Slovakia. DULA, MATÚŠ (1846–1926). Lawyer and politician, he became the leader of the Slovak National Party in 1914. His political activities were limited during the war, but in 1918 he invited other politicians to Turčiansky Sväty Martin on 24 May to consider “the future of the Slovaks and the untangling of the entire Slovak problem.” On 30 October, he was elected president of the Slovak National Council, which issued the Declaration of the Slovak Nation. He was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1918 to 1920 and a senator from 1920 to 1925.

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DURAY, MIKLÓS (1945– ). Scientist, dissident, and Hungarian politician, and member of Charter 77, he was the founder of Coexistence, a deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in 1990–1992, and a deputy to the Slovak National Council and the National Council of the Slovak Republic, elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006. DUSÍK, GEJZA (1907–1988). Composer of dance songs who is considered the creator of Slovak popular music and the Slovak tango. He composed more than 200 dance songs, the most popular of which are Dedinka v údoli [Village in the valley], Stupavská krčma [The inn at Stupava], and Rodný môj kraj [My native land]; more than 10 operettas; and a variety of concert compositions. His operettas Keď rozkvintne máj [When the month of May is in bloom] and Modrá ruža [Blue rose] were major hits during the first Slovak Republic. DVORSKÝ, PETER (1951– ). Tenor and opera singer, he is a graduate of the State Conservatory in Bratislava. Since 1972, he has been a soloist with the Slovak National Theater and since 1977, a permanent guest singer with the Vienna State Opera. He has performed with the major opera companies of Europe and North America. See also MUSIC. -ĎĎURICA, MILAN STANISLAV (1925– ). Roman Catholic priest, professor, and historian, he holds academic appointments in Central European history at the Università di Padua in Padua, Italy, and in church history at the theological faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava. Among his publications on modern Slovak history are La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania 1938–1945 (1964), and The Slovak Involvement in the Tragedy of the European Jews (1989). He is also the author of a well-researched and well-documented chronological presentation of Slovak history entitled Dejiny Slovenska a Slovákov (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks) (1995). It became the object of controversy when it was accepted by the Ministry of Education for use in secondary schools. There was opposition from certain ideological quarters to the way

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he presented some facts in his chronology. As a result of pressure from various sources, including the European Union, the book was withdrawn from the secondary school curriculum in 1997. In 2003, he published an enlarged edition under the title Dejiny Slovenska a Slovákov v časovej následnosti faktov dvoch tisícročí (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks in a chronological order of facts over two centuries). ĎURČANSKÝ, FERDINAND (1906–1974). Professor of law and politician, he was minister of justice, social affairs, and health and also minister of transport and public works in the autonomous Slovak government of 1938–1939. He traveled with Jozef Tiso and Štefan Danihel to Berlin on 13 March 1939 to meet with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. With the declaration of Slovak independence, he became the first minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as minister of the interior of the first Slovak Republic. In July 1940, he was ousted from Slovak politics under pressure by the German government and was named professor of international law at Bratislava’s Slovak University. A Slovak court found him guilty on 15 April 1947 of crimes against the Slovak people and condemned him to death in absentia. He left Slovakia after World War II and became active in émigré political circles, creating in 1946 the Slovak Action Committee, renamed in 1949 the Slovak Liberation Committee. He became president of the Slovak Liberation Council when the Slovak Liberation Committee merged with the Slovak National Council Abroad in 1960 and was a member of the Slovak World Congress created in 1970. ĎURIŠIN, DIONÝZ (1929–1997). Literary scholar who worked in in the Institute of World Literature and Languages of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He specialized in Russian literature but is best known for his comparative literary studies. Among his publications are Problémy literárnej komparistiky (The problems of comparative literature) (1967), Z dejín a teórie literárnej komparistiky (From the history and theory of comparative literature) (1971), and O literárnych vzťahoch (On literary relationships) (1976). He also published Dejiny slovenskej literárnej komparistiky (History of Slovak comparative literature) (1980). See also LITERATURE.

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-EECONOMY. Since 1993, Slovakia’s economy has been undergoing a process of transformation, not only from a command to a market economy, but also internally from a concentration on the heavy machine and armaments industry to a more diversified industrial sector. Similarly in agriculture, there have been changes as a result of the privatization of land and, last but not least, the goods and services sector has also experienced significant growth. Considered for a long time an agricultural country, the agricultural sector does not play today the role it once did. Its share of the domestic economy is slightly above the average of states in the European Union (EU), namely 4.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employing from 8.0 to 9.0 percent of a labor force of approximately three million persons (in the EU, 3.0 and 5.3 percent, respectively). Employment in agriculture is important in small towns of less than 5,000 inhabitants and in remote regions where (together) less than half of the population of Slovakia lives. According to the 2001 census, the total number of farms in Slovakia was 7,189, of which 2,527 were in crop production and 713 in animal husbandry. Fruits, orchards, vegetables, and vineyards made up the remaining part of agricultural production. Slovakia’s industry has undergone growth in the manufacturing sector while remaining strong in mining and quarrying. It represents around 34.1 percent of GDP and 30 percent of the labor force. Motor vehicle production has been a growing sector, with Volkswagen, Peugeot, and Kia manufacturing cars and trucks for the international market. Other industrial sectors are metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; textiles; rubber products, earthenware and ceramics; and electrical and optical apparatus. An important segment of the industrial sector is the construction industry that currently employs 6.40 percent of the labor force. The goods and services sector represents 61.4 percent of GDP and 17.9 percent of the labor force. This sector has undergone substantial growth as a result of the privatization of previously state-owned stores and other establishments. Foreign investment has also played an important role.

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Slovakia has tended to import more that it exports and had an estimated external debt of $14.4 billion U.S. in 2003. Its major export partners in 2002 were Germany at 26.00 percent, the Czech Republic at 15.20 percent, Italy at 10.80 percent, Austria at 7.70 percent, Hungary at 5.50 percent, Poland at 5.30 percent, and France at 4.20 percent; major import partners were Germany at 22.60 percent, the Czech Republic at 15.10 percent, Russia at 12.10 percent, Italy at 6.90 percent, France at 4.40 percent, and Austria at 4.20 percent. Despite economic growth and development, Slovakia has been recording high rates of unemployment, on average between 17 and 19 percent. In some regions of Slovakia, in particular in eastern Slovakia, unemployment has been recorded as high as 30 percent. The inflation rate has varied from year to year and was at 7.50 percent in 2004. EDICT OF TOLERATION. See TOLERATION, EDICT OF. EDUCATION. Education in Slovakia has a long history, going back to feudal times, as far back as Great Moravia in the ninth century, when it is believed that Cyril and Methodius created an institution of higher learning. There is evidence of a school at the Benedictine monastery in Zobor created specifically to teach future clergy the vernacular of the Slavic inhabitants and the glagolitic alphabet. When monastery, parish, and capitulary schools were created in the later Middle Ages, it was Latin that was taught primarily. Over time, three (grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics) or four (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music) subject programs were developed. Preparation for the priesthood still remained the main objective. When town and village schools began to appear, the vocation and constitution of these schools broadened and some elements of the natural and social sciences were taught. With the advent of humanism in Hungary, higher education became accessible, at least for a short period of time, with the creation in Bratislava of the Academia Istropolitana in 1465. It is with the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation in Hungary that education assumed greater importance and, as a result, university studies became available not only at many European universities, but also at the University of Trnava, specifically created in 1635 to spread the message of the Counter-Reformation or at

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the Collegium scholasticum created in Prešov in 1667 for those of the Lutheran faith. Also at this time, new secondary schools were founded, often by the aristocracy or by enlightened educators like Matej Bel, where the language of instruction was the vernacular. The school system also began to be organized at the primary and secondary levels but it was not until the reign of Maria Theresa that these schools began to abandon their openly confessional character and that education became compulsory, thanks in great part to the enactment of the Ratio educationis of 1777 and that of 1806. In the 19th century, however, education became for the Slovaks one of the battlegrounds of Magyarization; as a result, the Slovak school system experienced little growth. It was not until the creation of the Czechoslovak Republic that education in Slovakia changed dramatically. The official language of instruction was no longer Hungarian, but Slovak, primary education, in both state and church schools, was compulsory for eight years, kindergartens were created, and the secondary system was expanded to include not only the classical gymnasium (where Latin, other languages, and the humanities were taught), but also secondary schools specializing in the natural and applied sciences called reálne gymnázium. In addition, specialized vocational schools for commerce, industry, and agriculture, as well as teacher’s colleges were opened and access to higher education in Slovakia became possible with the founding of Comenius University. From 1918 until 1944, when the Slovak National Council turned all schools into state institutions, the educational system in Slovakia was both public and confessional. Under communism, the educational reforms of 1948 made school compulsory for nine years and also introduced obligatory ideological elements. In 1976, compulsory education was extended another year, with four years of primary, four years of secondary education, and at least one year of vocational training; other options for those wishing additional education included higher vocational training schools and gymnázium. The educational system was modified after the fall of communism, eliminating the ideological component, and widening the educational possibilities of pupils and students and also allowing for the reintroduction of confessional schools. The nine-year period of schooling was retained, where after the elementary level (four years), pupils have the choice of going to a gymnázium or to a specialized secondary

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school called stredná odborná škola. A pupil may also opt to end his education at a gymnasium in which case he may do so in four rather than five years. Upon graduation, admission to a university program depends on the successful completion of an entrance exam. Depending on the faculty and the program of study, universities deliver a first degree called bakalár or baccalaureate. Postgraduate study leads to a master’s, an engineering, and a doctoral degree, the latter accessible not only at a university but also at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Starting with the academic year 2005–2006, the Slovak university system came in line with the educational changes adopted by the European Union. In February 2002, the National Council of the Slovak Republic introduced legislation to integrate the Slovak university and higher education system in the “Bologna process” defined in the Declaration of Bologna of 19 June 1999. The three university cycles have been retained, with the first leading to the baccalaureate, the second to a master’s or engineering degree, and the third cycle (doctoral) is completed with the granting of the degree of doctor of philosophy or PhD. It replaces the old “candidate of science” or CSc degree of the Communist period. For medicine and dentistry, there is only one cycle of study, which lasts six years and which, after successfully passing state examinations and submitting a major work, leads to a doctoral degree. Additional study in a specialized area is required to obtain a professional qualification. ELAJET. An Ottoman administrative unit, akin to a province. When the Turkish forces occupied Nové Zámky, Levice, Nitra, and Novohrad in 1663, they turned each city into a sandjak and unified them into the westernmost elajet of the Ottoman. It was dissolved in 1885 when imperial troops liberated Nové Zámky and the rest of occupied Slovakia. See also HUNGARY. ELECTIONS. According to the constitution, the election of 150 deputies to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) takes place every four years by universal secret ballot by all citizens who have reached the age of 18 and are permanently resident on the territory of the Slovak Republic. New elections are called either at the expiration of the electoral term or with the dissolution of the NR SR, which can happen when three-fifths of the deputies vote for it. To run

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as a candidate a person must be 21 years of age, a permanent resident on the territory of the Slovak Republic, and be on the list of one of the registered political parties. Every political party that achieves at least 3 percent of the popular vote is reimbursed a certain sum determined by law for every vote received. There is also a ceiling to the amount that can be spent by each party on the election campaign. Since the fall of communism, there have been two elections to the Slovak National Council (SNR) in June 1990 and June 1992. The SNR changed its name to NR SR in June 1992 and elections to it were held in September–October 1994, September 1998, September 2002, and June 2006. In the June 1990 elections the voter turnout was 95.53 percent of registered voters; in the 1992 elections, 84.20 percent; in the 1994 elections, 75.65 percent; in the 1998 elections, 84.24 percent; in the 2002 elections, 70.06 percent; and in the 2006 elections, 54.66 percent. The September–October 1994 elections were early elections voted upon by the NR SR in the aftermath of a government crisis that saw Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar lose a vote of confidence. The June 2006 elections were also early elections brought about by the withdrawal of support from one of the coalition partners of the government of Mikuláš Dzurinda. ELIZABETH (QUEEN) (?–1442). Widow of Albert I, she got involved in the struggle for his succession by having her son, Ladislas V Posthumous, with the help of Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa, crowned with the crown of St. Stephen while the magnates, led by Ján Huňady, elected Wladislaw Jagellio I. ELIZABETH UNIVERSITY. Hungarian university that was founded in Bratislava in 1912 but that opened only in 1914. It consisted of three faculties: humanities, law, and medicine. It was closed on 30 June 1919 after its faculty members refused to recognize the newly established Czecho–Slovak Republic. ENGELSCHALK (?–872). One of two Frankish lords appointed by Carloman to rule over Great Moravia in 871–872 after Svätopluk had overthrown Rastislav in order to become ruler of Great Moravia. He was slain in battle when Svätopluk bolted from the Frankish

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armies to join Slavomír of Morava, who led the revolt against the brutal rule of Engelschalk and Wilhelm. ENGLIŠ, ALOJZ (1947– ). Metallurgist, he was the president of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic from 1993 to 1996. In 1990–1993, he was president of the metalworkers KOVO trade union and also vice president of the Czech and Slovak Confederation of Trade Union Associations. See also TRIPARTITE. EÖTVÖS, JÓZSEF (1813–1871). One of the liberal personalities of Hungarian politics in the 19th century. He headed a committee in 1866 to prepare a Nationalities Law based on a draft report initially formulated in 1861, which expressed his personal philosophy concerning Hungary’s nationalities problems. That report had recognized that all the citizens of Hungary formed politically a single unit, the unitary and indivisible Hungarian nation, and that national claims could be made on the basis of freedom of the individual and of association. Although Magyar was the official language of the state and the university (Hungary had only one university at that time, which had to have chairs of the non-Magyar languages and literatures), national languages could be used at lower levels of the administration and also in church-run schools. ETHNIC GROUP. See NATIONALITY. ESTERHÁZI, MIKULÁŠ (ESZTERHÁZY, MIKLÓS) (1582– 1645). Župan of Zvolen County (1618–1631) and Hungarian palatine from 1625 until his death, he built the first Baroque church in Central Europe, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in the western Slovak town of Trnava. EUROPEAN UNION (EU). Since declaring independence, Slovakia indicated its desire to become a member of the EU. However, the criticisms of Slovak political life that excluded Slovakia from the first list of states invited in July 1997 to enter into accession talks with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were also the main reason why, in December 1997, Slovakia’s name did not appear on the list of states invited to begin talks with the EU. Among other things, the EU

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Commission indicated that the Slovak government did not respect the role of other political institutions and treated the opposition as the enemy. In addition to the public personal conflict between President Michal Kováč and Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, the commission pointed to the failure of the parliamentary majority to respect the judgment of the Constitutional Court and reinstate a former deputy from the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, František Gaulieder, who was unfairly stripped of his seat in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) in December 1996 when he decided to resign from the movement and sit as an independent. It was not until the change of government after the elections of 1998, that Slovakia could proceed with its membership application. The government of Mikuláš Dzurinda successfully negotiated the 31 chapters of accession; at the EU summit in Athens on 16 April 2003, the Slovak Republic signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Union. On 1 May 2004, Slovakia was among the 10 new members of the EU. On 10–13 June 2004, the people of Slovakia voted in their first European Parliament elections. In preparation for admission in the EU, the NR SR had introduced in February 2002 legislation to integrate the Slovak university and higher-education system in the “Bologna process” defined in the Declaration of Bologna of 19 June 1999. See also EDUCATION; REFERENDUM. EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION. See LUTHERAN CHURCH. EVANJELICKÁ CIRKEV AUGSBURSKÉHO VYZNANIA. See LUTHERAN CHURCH.

-FFÁNDLY, JURAJ (1750–1811). Roman Catholic priest and writer who organized Bernolák’s Slovak Learned Society. It was he who published the first work in Bernolák’s literary Slovak, the Duverna zmulva medzi mníchom a ďablem o prvných počatkoch, o starodávných, aj o včulajších premenach reholnických (A confidential conversation between a monk and the devil about the beginnings and

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the ancient and contemporary changes in religious orders), which appeared in 1789. It is a satirical work that defends the policies of Joseph II toward the contemplative monasteries. He was an extremely well-read man with a highly developed sense of social responsibility. His attitude toward the peasants and his desire to come to their assistance distinguished him from his contemporaries. Beginning in 1792, he published a series of writings, some known simply as Hospodár (Landowner), which together make up an agricultural encyclopedia. In 1793, he completed a history, based on Juraj Papánek’s and Juraj Sklenár’s works entitled Compendiata historia gentis slavae (A short history of the Slavic nation). It was aimed at the members of the society in order to encourage them, through knowledge of the Slovak past, to work for the Slovak people. He wrote and published untiringly on a vast variety of subjects, but many of his ideas were too progressive for his time. He was silenced by the reactionary policies of Francis II and died a broken man, abandoned even by his friends. See also LITERATURE. FARMERS’ MOVEMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/HNUTIE POĽNOHOSPODÁROV SR (HP SR). Political grouping that was a member of the coalition Common Choice. Its leader, Jozef Klein, won a seat in the National Council of the Slovak Republic in the 1994 elections and represented the interests of Slovak farmers. FEDERATION. In its broadest meaning it refers to a constitutional and political arrangement between two or more federated states (they can also be called provinces, republics, cantons, commonwealths, or Länder) whereby the federal government has more power than the federated states. The autonomy of Slovakia proposed in the Pittsburgh Pact of 1918 would have transformed Czechoslovakia into a quasifederation. Slovakia achieved autonomy after the Munich Agreement in the Second Czecho-Slovak Republic. The idea of a federation between the two nations did not appear officially until 1944 when the Communist Party of Slovakia first proposed it as a solution to the relations between them, embodied in the slogan “rovný s rovným” (“as equals”). It then appeared in the Manifesto of the Slovak National Council of 1945. The federal solu-

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tion was rejected by all Czech parties and the Czechoslovak government. It was finally implemented in 1968 after prolonged discussions and negotiations to transform the existing asymmetrical model in socialist Czechoslovakia into a political system that recognized the constitutional equality of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The constitutional law passed on 27 October 1968 transformed Czechoslovakia into a federation of two socialist republics, the Slovak Socialist Republic and the Czech Socialist Republic, on 1 January 1969. After the fall of communism in November 1989, the maintenance of the federal solution was favored by the Czech political leadership and some Slovak politicians but not by Vladimír Mečiar who won the elections of June 1992; he favored a confederation. This difference in the solution to Czech–Slovak relations was one of the factors that led to the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia and the creation of the second Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993. See also AUTONOMY. FEDERATION OF EMPLOYER UNIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/ASOCIÁCIA ZAMESTNÁVATEĽSKÝCH ZVÄZOV A ZDRUŽENÍ SR (AZZZ SR). The employers’ representative organization was established as a voluntary association with the objective of guaranteeing a coordinated and consistent approach in the representation and presentation of employer and entrepreneur interests in the Council for Economic and Social Partnership. It was founded in March 1990 by state enterprises, socialist-style agricultural cooperatives, and nonagricultural cooperatives with the exception of the Union of Entrepreneurs of Slovakia; it brought together eight founding members that employed 1.2 million people. Thereafter, the AZZZ grew to 36 members. It is composed of all of the unions and associations in Slovakia constituted as employer organizations. With the transformation of property, the AZZZ also included private entrepreneurs. These are organized into the Association of Private Construction Entrepreneurs, the Association of Entrepreneurs of Medium and Small Businesses, and other organizations. Other associations were also transformed, and private organizations (primarily medium and small entrepreneurs) joined these unions and associations. Heterogeneity characterizes employer organizations associated in the AZZZ, and it includes all sectors of the economy. In 2004, 11 unions separated from the AZZZ and created the Republican

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Union of Employers. From 1990 to 2004, the president of the AZZZ was Michal Ľach. The current president is Tomáš Malatinský. See also GENERAL AGREEMENT; TRADE UNIONS; TRIPARTITE. FEJEŠ, JÁN (1764–1823). Writer who founded the Malohont Learned Society, which, from 1810 to 1832, with a final special issue in 1842, published the Solennia Bibliothecae Kis-Hontanae (Yearbook from the Kis-Hont County library), a general-interest publication that had articles in four languages: Latin, Czech, Magyar, and German. FELDEK, ĽUBOMÍR (1936– ). Dramatist, poet, and translator, he was one of the founding members of the Trnava group in 1958 that revived traditions of avant-garde poetry. Among his works are the collection of poetry Jediný slaný domov (The only salty home) (1961), children’s stories Zelená kniha rozprávok (The green book of fairy tales) (1983); and a play entitled Skúška (The rehearsal) (1989). His translations into Slovak include works by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and William Shakespeare. See also LITERATURE; THEATER. FELDEKOVÁ, OĽGA (1943– ). Writer, wife of writer Ľubomír Feldek, she has written children’s stories, namely, Rosprávky pre dievčatko (Stories for a little girl) (1975) and Dievča a šťastie (The girl and happiness) (1979), as well as the adult novels Sťahovanie na mieste (Moving on the spot) (1976) and Veverica (The squirrel) (1985), considered her best novel. She has also published translations from Polish. See also LITERATURE. FELIX, JOZEF (1913–1977). Literary historian and translator, he was a pioneer in the theory of translation, translating over 50 literary works from French, Spanish, Italian, Provençal, and Czech, including Dante’s Divine Comedy with Viliam Turčaný. Among his essays on literature are Cesty k veľkým (Ways to greatness) (1957), Modernita súčasnosti (Contemporary modernism) (1960), and Dve románske fresky (Two Romanesque frescoes) (1973). FEMKE. See UPPER HUNGARIAN EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

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FERDINAND I (1503–1564). Although the second Habsburg of Austria to become king of Hungary in 1526, it was he who definitely established the Habsburg claim not only to the Hungarian throne, but also to the Bohemian one, thus creating the Habsburg Empire. At the beginning of his reign, when he made his claim, he was contested by many Hungarian magnates and the lesser nobility who preferred Ján Zápoľský (János Szapolyai), voivode of Transylvania and the biggest landowner in Hungary, as a national king. Both men were, in fact, crowned king of Hungary. FERDINAND II (1578–1637). Habsburg emperor (1618–1637) who defeated the Czech magnates at the Battle of White Mountain (1620) and faced the second rebellion of the Hungarian magnates in 1619–1622. FERDINAND III (1608–1657). Habsburg emperor (1637–1757) who faced the third rebellion of the Hungarian magnates in 1644– 1645. FERDINAND V (1793–1875). Habsburg emperor (1835–1848) who approved the liberal laws proposed by the Hungarian Diet in 1848. FERKO, Milan (1929– ). Writer and journalist who studied at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University. He was the director of important Slovak literary publications like Kultúrny život (Cultural Life), Mladá Tvorba (Young Creation), and Slovenské pohľady (Slovak Perspectives) during the Communist period. His support of the democratization process in 1968 brought about his dismissal from the Union of Slovak Writers and from all the positions he held. He kept writing nevertheless. After 1989, he became very active once again in the Union of Slovak Writers; since 1994, he has held a position of director general in the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. Among his publications are Svet na dlani (Obvious world) (1961), Rovnováha (Balance) (1966), Keby som mal pušku (If I had a rifle) (1969), and Keby som mal dievča (If I had a girlfriend) (1983). He is also known as an author of historical novels among, which are Krádež svätoštefanskej koruny (The theft of the crown of St. Stephen) (1970), the trilogy Svätopluk (1975), Svätopluk a Metod: Oheň

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života, oheň skázy (Svätopluk and method: The fire of life, the fire of ruin) (1985), and Svätoplukovo dedičstvo (The legacy of Svätopluk) (1989). In addition, he is the author of several works dealing with the Slovak language and Slovak history. See also LITERATURE. FICO, RÓBERT (1964– ). Lawyer and politician who graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University. He first worked as a lawyer in the Institute of Law of the Ministry of Justice until he was elected in 1992 to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) for the Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ). From 1994 until 1999, he was a member of the permanent delegation of the NR SR in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe. In 1999, he was appointed its leader. In December 1999, he left the SDĽ and founded a new party, Direction–Social Democracy (Smer-Sociálna demokracia), which won the elections of June 2006. He formed a coalition government together with the Slovak National Party and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. FIGULI, MARGITA (1909–1995). Writer and leading representative of Slovak naturists who achieved prominence during the first Slovak Republic. The primary theme that runs through all of her writings is love and the struggle for its full expression. Among her publications are Pokušenie (Temptations) (1937), Tri gaštanové kone (Three chestnut-colored horses) (1942), and Babylon (1946), a four-volume historical novel about the fall of the Babylonian Empire. She also wrote an autobiography about life in World War I entitled Mladosť (Youth) (1956), expanded in another work entitled Ariadnina niť (Ariadne’s web) (1964). Two of her well-known children’s stories are entitled Môj prvý list (My first letter) (1963) and Balada o Jurovi Jánošíkovi (A ballad about Juro Jánošík) (1980). Her novel Víchor v nás (The whirlwind in us) (1974) describes the work women did in a factory in Orava. She also translated from the Czech the works of Karel Čapek and Karel Jaromír Erben. Her works have been translated into Hungarian, Polish, and Russian. See also LITERATURE. FILKORN, EUGEN (1881–1974). Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and politician, he was a deputy to the Slovak Assembly from 1929 to 1938 and a deputy to the Slovak Parliament from 1939 to

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1945. He was the founder of the men’s Roman Catholic university residence Svoradov, its director from 1931, and a chaplain of the leading Roman Catholic student organizations. FIRST ČSR. See CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. FIRST CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC. See CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. FIRST SLOVAK REPUBLIC. See SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. FLORA. Name of one of the main resistance groups that were active in the preparation for the 1944 uprising. FORCHHEIM, PEACE OF (874). Signed in A.D. 874 between Svätopluk and Carloman, it brought peace between Great Moravia and the Frankish kingdom until 882. During that period, Svätopluk was able to expand in areas that the Frankish kingdom did not consider to be in its sphere of interest. He thus extended his power to the north and to the west into parts of today’s Poland; he incorporated much of what is today the Czech Republic, and in the south he went as far as the borders of Bulgaria, thereby also extending his control over parts of Pannonia. During his reign, Great Moravia achieved its maximum expansion and power and exercised its greatest influence in the region. FOREIGN POLICY. In his first address to the North Atlantic Council in February 1994 President Michal Kováč stated that Slovakia belonged to the West and that it had no enemies in Europe. From the moment of the creation of the second Slovak Republic, Slovak foreign policy was defined by two themes: the search for a security arrangement that would best meet its security needs and good relations with all of its neighbors. The search for a security arrangement focused primarily on admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). Admission to NATO in the first enlargement round became problematic when the government of Vladimír Mečiar embarked on a path that put in doubt his government’s commitment to democratic development in Slovakia and when he refused

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to heed warnings from Western states and institutions that some of his policies were unacceptable. Slovakia, which had been initially on the United States Congress list of candidates for admission in 1994 and 1995 was dropped in 1996 and excluded from the first enlargement group in 1997. Only after the election of a new government under the leadership of Mikuláš Dzurinda in 1998 that Slovakia was included on the list of states considered for a second NATO enlargement. The elections of September 2002 confirmed the population’s commitment to membership in NATO and in November 2002 Slovakia was among the seven states invited to join NATO. Similarly, after having been initially dropped from the list when Mečiar was in power, from 1998 on the Dzurinda government successfully negotiated the 31 chapters for admission in the EU and on 1 May 2004 Slovakia was among the 10 states admitted to the union. Slovakia shares borders with Austria and Hungary in the south, the Ukraine in the east, Poland in the north, and the Czech Republic in the west. With all of these states, Slovakia has significant relations. Whereas all, with the exception of Ukraine, are now members of the EU, but as Slovakia is not yet a member of the 1995 Schengen Agreement, which allows countries to remove their internal borders and allows people to travel without checks from country to country, Slovakia’s relations, in particular commercial relations, are still the object of border controls. These restrictions are to be removed in 2007, at which time Slovakia will fully be integrated in the EU. As far as the euro is concerned, Slovakia will adopt it as its currency in 2009. Two neighboring states with which Slovakia has had some issues that resulted in intense diplomatic activity are the Czech Republic and Hungary. The “Gentle Revolution” was accompanied by a “gentle divorce” between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which included an agreed-upon division of all federal property of the former Czecho-Slovakia. However, some aspects of this division remained outstanding for a number of years, for example, the return of the Bojnice altar, which had been held in the Czech Republic and was only returned in December 1995. On other fronts, there is close cooperation between the two states, for example in military affairs: In the spring of 2001, Slovakia and the Czech Republic created a joint Czech–Slovak motorized unit that was deployed in

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KFOR in 2002 and, in September 2001, the Slovak minister of Defense signed an agreement with his Czech and Polish counterparts to establish a combined brigade with command headquarters in Topoľčany, Slovakia. Relations with Hungary have been more complex, in part, because of the presence of a large Hungarian minority in Slovakia, a sizeable Slovak minority in Hungary, and also because of historical factors, in particular the Vienna Award of 1938. Each state has on occasion commented on, even criticized, the other’s policies toward its minority, but on the whole relations have been good. Two issues have nevertheless resulted in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic activity: the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros dam and Hungary’s Status Law. As there has been no movement to resolve certain questions concerning the dam complex, as proposed by the International Court of Justice in 1997, negotiations are still taking place between the two states. The Hungarian Status Law, passed by the Hungarian Parliament in June 2001, was also the object of bilateral negotiations between the two states. On 12 December 2003, Hungary and Slovakia signed the text of a negotiated agreement on the implementation in Slovakia of the Hungarian Status Law. FORGÁČ, ADAM (1601–1681). Hungarian magnate, župan, and general, he led an unsuccessful attack against a Turkish vanguard on 17 August 1663 that resulted in deep Turkish penetrations and devastation on Slovak territory. FRANCIS FERDINAND (1863–1914). Heir to the Habsburg throne who was advised by the Belvedere Circle on questions dealing with the nationalities in the empire. FRANCIS JOSEPH (1848–1916). He was one of the longest serving Habsburg emperors and kings of Hungary. It is during his reign that the empire moved toward constitutional rule and that the Austro–Hungarian Compromise was adopted. He was not particularly sensitive to the political demands of the small nations of the empire, nevertheless, on two occasions, in March 1849 and in December 1861, he received a delegation of Slovak leaders who presented him with the Demands of the Slovak Nation.

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FRANCISCAN CONVENTUALS (FRIARS MINOR). Male Roman Catholic religious order that appeared in Slovakia in 1668 in Levoča to help the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation to reestablish the primacy of the Catholic faith and the authority of the Catholic Church. FRANCISCAN NUNS. See POOR CLARES. FRANCISCAN TERTIARIES. Lay people who live according to the Rule of St. Francis of Assisi and for whom Hugolín Gavlovič wrote the poem Valaská škola (Shepherds’ storehouse of wisdom). FRANCISCANS. Male mendicant order that played an important role during the Middle Ages, erecting monasteries in Bratislava in 1228 and later in other parts of Slovakia. They were also very active during the Counter-Reformation and became the most important order in Slovakia. The order was disbanded by the Communist regime in 1950 and reestablished in 1989 after the “Gentle Revolution.” See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. FRANCISCI, JÁN (1822–1905). Lawyer and politician who, together with Štefan Marko Daxner, helped Jozef Miloslav Hurban draft the 1848 national program entitled Demands of the Slovak Nation. Coorganizer with Daxner of the national guard in Gemer County, he was sentenced to death in November 1848 but freed in January 1849. In 1861, he organized the meeting that produced the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation; from 1861 to 1863, he was the editor of the Peštbudínske vedomosti (Budapest News) and in 1864–1865, župan of Liptov County. He lived in Turčiansky Svätý Martin until his death. He was active not only as a political writer, but also as a member of the Old School and the Slovak National Party. FREDEGAR, CHRONICLE OF. Document by an unknown author written to celebrate Dagobert’s reign. It recounts briefly the existence of the Kingdom of Samo. FREE FORUM/SLOBODNÉ FÓRUM (SF). It was created on 27 March 2004 by six deputies of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) and one deputy from the Alliance for a New

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Citizen and is led by Zuzana Martináková. It began as a conservative centrist movement within the SDKÚ, seeking to bring back the ideals that brought about the creation of the SDKÚ but has since become a right-of-center party with a liberal economic program. FREIWILLIGE SCHUTZSTAFFEL. Armed units of the German community in Slovakia during the first Slovak Republic modeled on the German SA that carried out, with the Hlinka Guard, the deportation of Slovak Jews in 1942. FUGGER–TURZO CONCERN. Created from the merger of the mining enterprise of Ján Turzo and the German firm Fugger from Augsburg, it controlled mining in central Slovakia and also around Cracow in Poland. It was headquartered in Banská Bystrica and proved to be a mining enterprise without equal in Europe, exporting minerals to Germany, Poland, the Low Countries, and Portugal. For example, in the years 1494 to 1526, the concern’s mines produced 2,550 tons of copper ore annually. FULLA, ĽUDOVÍT (1902–1980). A graduate of the Prague School of Applied Arts, where he studied from 1922 to 1927, he was known for his fine art, graphic art, illustrations, tapestries, and theater designs and also taught at the Academy of Fine Art. He was a very creative artist who was also an illustrator of Slovak folk children’s stories, most of all for Pavol Dobšinský’s Slovenské rozprávky (Slovak fairy tales).

-GGABČÍKOVO-NAGYMAROS. Major hydroelectric dam complex on the Danube River begun under the Communist regime in 1977 that became the object of dispute on ecological grounds between Hungary and Slovakia after the fall of communism. The Hungarian government suspended construction on the Nagymaros dam in May 1989 while Slovakia went ahead with Gabčíkovo. The dispute was presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in July 1993; in September 1997, while finding fault with both Slovakia

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and Hungary on different grounds, the court blamed Hungary for reneging on the original treaty. This judgment was seen in Bratislava as vindicating Slovakia’s decision to proceed with the dam’s completion and refuting the ecological arguments against it. Hungary declared that it would comply with the court’s decision—namely, that both sides negotiate to carry out the original intentions of the 1997 agreement, compensate each other for any damages, and resolve the issues of the level of water in the old bed of the Danube and of a joint operational regime for the hydro-electric project. This also meant that Hungary was required to build the Nagymaros dam or to compensate Slovakia for its investment. Negotiations between Slovakia and Hungary have been ongoing since the ICJ ruling primarily because the government in Budapest has been unwilling to build the Nagymaros dam. See also HUNGARY. GÁL, FEDOR (1945– ). Sociologist and politician, he was among the founders of Public Against Violence where he exerted considerable influence initially. He was a leading personality of the “Gentle Revolution” in Slovakia but was never elected to either the Slovak National Council or the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. He moved to Prague after the creation of the second Slovak Republic. GALANDA, MIKULÁŠ (1895–1938). Painter who studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest and then at the School of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague before establishing himself in Slovakia. An avant-garde painter, inspired by socialist ideas and the urban and working class environment, he shared a studio with Ľudovít Fulla. After a study trip to Paris in 1930, he focused on lyrical compositions with themes of maternity and female nudity, on peasants and robbers, and on new urban and social themes. He helped develop the career of many young artists and his ideas about art were published as Pravda, krása, sen (Truth, beauty, dream) (1962). GAŠPAR, TIDO J. (1893–1972). Writer, diplomat, and publicist, he represented the first Slovak Republic in Bern, Switzerland, in 1940 before being appointed head of the Office of Propaganda from 1941 to 1945. He was arrested and imprisoned after the war. As a writer,

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he is known for his novellas, among which are Deputácia mŕtvych (A deputation of the dead) (1922), Karambol (Crash) (1922), Červený koráb (Red argosy) (1931), and Námorníci (Sailors) (1933). See also LITERATURE. GAŠPAROVIČ, IVAN (1941– ). Lecturer in law and politician, he was general prosecutor of Czecho–Slovakia in 1991–1992. From 1992 to 2002, he was deputy for the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia; from 1992 to 1998, he was chairman of the Slovak National Council and the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In July 2002, he formed a new party, the Movement for Democracy, but ran unsuccessfully in the September elections. He returned to his academic position at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University and then in April 2004 was elected president of the Slovak Republic. GAVLOVIČ, HUGOLÍN (1712–1787). Franciscan monk and author of 20 works in Slovak, he is best known for his Valaská škola (Shepherds’ storehouse of wisdom), a poem composed for Franciscan Tertiaries offering a Christian/Catholic moral perspective on their lives and their interaction with God and society. GAŽÍK, MAREK (1887–1947). Lawyer and politician, deputy from 1920 to 1935, he was among the two Populists named ministers in the Czechoslovak government in 1927 when the Slovak People’s Party accepted to join the government. He was minister of unification of laws and administration. GENERAL AGREEMENT. An agreement of social and economic partnership signed annually between the government, the employers, and the trade unions, as concluded by the Council for Economic and Social Partnership. A General Agreement usually contains six chapters: general provisions, economic policy, employment policy, labor earnings policy, social affairs, and concluding provisions. GENTLE REVOLUTION. Name given to the events of November– December 1989 that brought about the collapse of the Communist regime. This term is used in Slovakia, whereas the Czechs and the West prefer “Velvet Revolution.”

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The revolution began on 17 November 1989, on International Students Day, when a peaceful student demonstration in Prague was brutally repressed by the police. The regime was unable in the following days to reassert its authority, and successive public demonstrations in the towns and cities of Czechoslovakia brought about the resignation of the secretary general of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS), Miloš Jakeš, on 24 November. A general strike on 27 November provoked further resignations, culminating with that of President Gustáv Husák on 10 December. On 29 November, the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly eliminated article 4 of the 1960 constitution, which gave the KSČS a leading role in the state and society. On 18 November, Czech political dissidents, including those in Charter 77, had formed Civic Forum in Prague, a political grouping that took over the government as well as seats in the assembly; its leader, the playwright Václav Havel, was acclaimed president by the assembly on 29 December. Marián Čalfa, the last prime minister of Communist Czechoslovakia, remained in his post, while another Slovak, Ján Čarnogurský, was appointed deputy prime minister and Alexander Dubček was elected chairman of the assembly. The events in Prague had been preceded by a Slovak university student demonstration against the regime on 16 November and thereafter the Slovak situation underwent a parallel development. On 19 November, Slovak dissidents met to form Public Against Violence (VPN), which became the leading force for change. Public meetings took place in Slovak towns and cities, most importantly in Bratislava under the leadership of Milan Kňažko and Ján Budaj. On 30 November, Communists resigned from the Slovak National Council and were replaced by VPN members and other dissidents. On 8 December, a new Slovak government was formed under the prime ministership of Milan Čič. The election of Havel to the presidency marked formally the end of the Communist regime. The first free post-Communist elections were held in June 1990. See also MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA; PUBLIC AGAINST VIOLENCE. GEPIDS. Nomadic Germanic people who invaded the territory of contemporary Slovakia in the sixth century, only to be evicted by the Quadi and the Marcomanni.

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GERMAN PARTY/DEUTSCHE PARTEI. Party of the German minority in Slovakia during the Second Czecho–Slovak Republic and the first Slovak Republic, led by Franz Karmasin. It had two deputies elected to the Slovak Assembly in the elections of 18 December 1938. In the First Czechoslovak Republic, it was called the Carpathian German Party/Karpathen-deutsche Partei and was a branch of the Sudeten German Party/Sudetendeutsche Partei in Czechoslovakia. It was suppressed on 5 October 1938 but resumed its activities five days later on 9 October. GERMANIZATION. A policy introduced by Joseph II that decreed that German was the language of the imperial administration. GÉZA I (?–977). Great-grandson of Árpád, whom most of the clan chiefs recognized as prince. He defeated those who opposed him, took their lands, made peace with the Germans, and allowed Christianity to spread in his territory through the efforts of German clergy. GLAGOLITIC. Alphabet created by Cyril for the needs of his missionary activity in Great Moravia. It is based on the miniscula of the Greek alphabet. Toward the end of the ninth and beginning of the tenth century, it was modified in Bulgaria and has since become known as Cyrillic, an alphabet used today by Eastern Slavs and some Southern Slavs. See also CYRIL. GODRA, MICHAL (1801–1874). Lutheran pastor and linguist who sought unsuccessfully to create a compromise orthography between Anton Bernolák’s literary language and Czech. GOJDIČ, PAVOL (1888–1960). Slovak bishop who, together with Bishops Michal Buzalka and Ján Vojtaššák, was tried and condemned to a prison sentence on 10 January 1951. Their trials marked the culmination of the initial campaign of the Communist regime against the Catholic Church in Slovakia. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. GOLIAN, JÁN (1906–1945). Army officer who first served in the Czechoslovak army and, from 1939 on, in the Slovak army. He

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kept in touch with the resistance movement and, as chief of staff of the Slovak land forces in Banská Bystrica, he commanded the operational headquarters that prepared the military dimension of the uprising. On 30 April 1944, President Edvard Beneš appointed him commander of the military center of the Slovak National Council and on 1 September commander of the 1st Czechoslovak forces in Slovakia with the rank of general only to be replaced by General Rudolf Viest on 7 October. He was captured by the Germans and died in a German concentration camp. GOLDEN BULL. A document not unlike the Magna Carta, it was signed by King Andrew II in 1222 and seriously limited royal power by giving the landed nobility a jus resistendi (right to resist royal power). GORAZD (835–?). Priest whom Methodius named to be his successor. He came from a prominent Slavic family near Nitra. GOTTWALD, KLEMENT (1896–1953). Czech Communist politician who began his political career in Slovakia before becoming secretary-general of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) and bolshevizing it in 1929. In 1945, he became president of the party, from 1946 to 1948 prime minister of Czechoslovakia, and, after the Communist coup in February 1948, president of Czechoslovakia. It was under his leadership that an “antistate conspiracy” was alleged to exist in the KSČS that sent 11 prominent members to the gallows. See also PURGES. GÖTZ, CHRISTIAN (1805–1860). Imperial general under whose command a group of Slovak volunteers controlled much of central and eastern Slovakia in 1848–1849. GREAT MORAVIA, EMPIRE OF. It appeared on the scene in Central Europe, encompassing most of what is today contemporary Slovakia, when prince Mojmír of Morava drove prince Pribina of Nitra out of his principality in A.D. 833 and united both principalities under his authority. Great Moravia was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. This may be the reason why the

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reign of Mojmír I had no major internal problems, in particular in the relations between the two constituent principalities. However, some of the Slavic nobles in Nitra resented paying this tribute and in 846, in connivance with the Franks, Rastislav of Nitra deposed Mojmír and became his successor. It is during Rastislav’s reign that the Christianization of Central Europe came into its own. In response to the attempts of the Franks and the Frankish clergy to dominate Great Moravia, Rastislav asked first the pope in Rome in 861 and then the Byzantine emperor in 862 for teachers who were familiar with the Slavic language, and also for a bishop. Two Greek brothers, Cyril and Methodius, arrived in Great Moravia in 863. They developed an alphabet called glagolitic and proceeded to translate the sacred texts into Slavonic. In 869, Pope Hadrian II consecrated Methodius bishop, named him archbishop of the new archdiocese of Great Moravia and Pannonia, and approved the use of the vernacular in the liturgy. This decision by the Supreme Pontiff was opposed by the Frankish clergy, led by Wiching, and the use of the vernacular in the liturgy remained a source of tension in the political life of Great Moravia. Rastislav was overthrown in 870 by Prince Svätopluk of Nitra with the help of the Franks. It is during Svätopluk’s reign that Great Moravia achieved its greatest territorial extension as a result of the Peace of Forchheim he signed with Carloman in 874. During his reign, Great Moravia also received papal protection with the bull Industriae tuae in 880. It confirmed the decision taken by the Holy See during Rastislav’s reign to create an archdiocese, in effect an ecclesiastical province, for the Slavs of Great Moravia. He also successfully withstood attacks by the Franks from 882 to 885. Great Moravia began disintegrating after the death of Svätopluk in 894, when his son Mojmír II became his successor. Mojmír was challenged by his brothers Svätopluk II of Nitra and Preslav, as well as by the Magyars, and when he was slain in a battle with the latter in 906, Great Moravia ceased to exist as a state in Central Europe. In the centuries that followed its disappearance, Great Moravia’s legacy survived in the oral and literary tradition of the Slovaks; in particular, it gave substance to the Slovak national Renaissance of

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the 18th and 19th centuries and underpinned—and to some degree even defined—Slovak political activity during the period of Magyarization, in the First Czechoslovak Republic, and in the first Slovak Republic. During the Communist period, it was kept alive in the cultural and political activities of Slovak émigré groups and organizations. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH; NITRA, PRINCIPALITY OF. GREEK CATHOLIC (BYZANTINE) CHURCH. Name given to the members of the Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite; most of its adherents are found in eastern Slovakia. It was formed in 1648 when Orthodox Catholics in Slovakia officially acknowledged the authority of the Bishop of Rome in an act called the Union of Užhorod. Originally, they were under the authority of the eparch of Mukačevo. The bishopric of Prešov was created in 1818 by Pope Pius VII with the bull Relata Semper after the division of the bishopric of Mukačevo. Today, the Greek Catholic (Byzantine) Church is organized in two bishoprics, the eparchy of Prešov and the exarchate of Košice. The exarchate was created on 21 February 1997 by Pope John Paul II with the bull Ecclesiales communitates. The eparch of Prešov is Monsignor Ján Babjak and the exarch of Košice is Monsignor Milan Chautur. See also RELIGION. GREEN PARTY OF SLOVAKIA/STRANA ZELENÝCH NA SLOVENSKU (SZS). Formed shortly after the collapse of communism as a national Czecho–Slovak party, its Slovak wing became independent on 21 October 1991. It advocates a socially oriented market economy, pluralist democracy, and the protection and preservation of the environment. Led by Peter Šabo, it won six seats and 3.45 percent of the vote in the 1990 elections. In the 1994 elections, under the leadership of Zdenka Tóthová, it was a member of Common Choice and had two deputies in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR). For the 1998 elections, it was one of the parties that formed the Slovak Democratic Coalition and had four deputies in the NR SR. In the 2002 elections, when it stood independently, it failed to get any deputies elected. GREGOR-TAJOVSKÝ, JOZEF. See TAJOVSKÝ, JOZEF GREGOR-.

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GRUBEROVÁ, EDITA (1946– ). Coloratura soprano and opera singer, she is a graduate of the State Conservatory in Bratislava and sang in the Banská Bystrica Opera from 1968 to 1970. She immigrated to Austria in 1970 and became a soloist and Kammersängerin of the Vienna State Opera. She has since been a guest artist of the most important opera houses in Europe and North America. In 1997, she was made a member of the Order of the White Double Branch Cross of Slovakia by President Michal Kováč and an Honorary Citizen of Bratislava. See also MUSIC. GRÜNWALD, BÉLA (1839–1891). Magyar official in Zvolen County and deputy to the Hungarian Diet, he was an ardent defender of the policy of Magyarization. It was he who proposed to the Hungarian Diet in 1879 that it make the teaching of Magyar obligatory in all non-Magyar schools. Author of an anti-Slovak booklet entitled A felvidék (The upper Hungarian land), he was also unrelenting in his search for “Panslav agitators” in the cultural institutions, gymnasia, and seminaries of Slovakia. See also HUNGARY. GUILDS. Set up in the Middle Ages by German colonists when they arrived in Slovakia, the main objective of all guilds was to represent the economic interests of the artisans, rather than to elect representatives to the town council, as was the case in Western Europe. They appeared in Slovakia later than in Western Europe; it is in Košice that the first guild in Hungary, a guild of leather merchants, was founded in 1307. The first recorded case, a shoemaker guild, complete with statutes, dates back to 1415 in Podolinec. Although some towns had only one guild, bigger ones such as Košice, Prešov, and Bratislava had as many as eight. GUZOVÁ, JANKA (1917–1993). Singer and teacher, she was an interpreter of eastern Slovak folk songs, of which she collected over 500. She interpreted them on gramophone records, many of which were destroyed after 1969 when she immigrated first to Austria and then to the United States, where she became a citizen. She is considered to be one of the most significant interpreters of Slovak musical folklore. See also MUSIC.

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-HHABSBURG EMPIRE. Austrian family that played a major role primarily in Central European politics but also in the life of the Slovaks as monarchs of Hungary. The first to ascend the Hungarian throne was Albert I, who reigned from 1437 to 1439, but it was not until Ferdinand I became king of Hungary and king of Bohemia in 1526 that the Habsburg Empire came into existence. Slovakia’s first direct link with the Habsburgs was established after the battle of Mohács, in December 1526, when one segment of the Hungarian nobility fled from Buda to Bratislava and elected Ferdinand (the brother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) king of Hungary. As most of Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Turks, Bratislava served as the de facto capital of what remained of the Hungarian kingdom, known as “royal Hungary.” This reality was recognized and codified by an Act of the Hungarian Diet meeting in Bratislava in 1535, which Act went into effect in 1536; Bratislava remained Hungary’s capital until 1848. In addition, 11 kings and queens of Hungary were crowned in Bratislava’s St. Martin’s Dome until 1830. The territory of Slovakia during the 150 years occupation of Hungary by the Ottoman Turks often found itself directly involved in the political struggles of the Habsburgs, whether it concerned Turkish incursions, succession issues, or the magnate rebellions. However, it was not until 1777 that the Habsburgs became directly involved in Slovak politics, first with the Ratio educationis of Maria Theresa, which reformed education, then with the reforms of Joseph II, in particular the decree in 1786 that obliged government officials to explain legislation in the language of the various peoples of the monarchy. In addition, the emperor decreed the Germanization of the administration, a measure that provided a political argument in favor of the use of national languages. This brought about the codification of the Slovak language but also placed the Slovaks in a struggle for survival as the Hungarian government launched a policy of Magyarization of the national minorities. The revolutionary years of 1848–1849 finally put the Slovaks in direct contact with the Habsburgs. The Slovak uprising against the Hungarians in September 1848 was condemned by the emperor and imperial armies helped Hungarian forces crush it. However, when

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in December the emperor decided to end the Hungarian rebellion, Slovak volunteers fought with imperial forces to push the Hungarian army out of Slovakia. Then on 20 March 1849, Emperor Francis Joseph received a Slovak delegation, which presented him with a petition requesting the creation of an autonomous territory called Slovakia, free of Hungarian control that would have its own parliament and administration answering directly to Vienna. There was some interest in imperial circles in this project, if only to use it as a tool to put an end to Hungarian resistance. Shortly after the defeat of the Hungarian forces at Világos on 11 August 1849, the Slovak leaders made a second attempt to have the imperial authorities accept their demands. But the Hungarian defeat resulted on 17 October in putting all of Hungary under military control, which lasted until 1851. A little more than a decade would pass before there was another attempt by the Slovaks to make political headway. The enactment of the October Diploma in 1860 and the February Patent in 1861, the latter being the final attempt to create a constitution for the monarchy as a whole, including Hungary, encouraged the Slovak leaders to make new demands; they were known as the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation of June 1861. After the Hungarian Diet refused to receive the memorandum, it was presented in a revised form to the emperor in December of that year. Although the Slovak leaders failed yet again to have their demands accepted by the imperial authorities, they managed to gain imperial support in the opening of three Slovak gymnasia beginning in 1862 in Revuca, in 1867 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin, and in 1869 in Kláštor pod Znievom. A gift from the emperor of 1,000 gold florins also made it possible to open Matica slovenská in August 1863 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. The Prussian victory against Austria at Sadova (Königgrätz) on 3 July 1866 brought about major political and constitutional transformations in the Habsburg Empire. The Hungarians succeeded in obtaining self-government in what is called the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of May 1867. The Slovaks were henceforth entirely under the rule of the Hungarian government and the Habsburgs had no further involvement in Slovak politics. The emperor could not even prevent the closing of Matica slovenská in 1875. Until 1918, the emperor was nothing more than nominal sovereign as far as the Slovaks were concerned.

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HADBAVNÝ, ROMUALD (1714–1780). A Camaldolese monk who in 1763 prepared in Červený Klaštor in Eastern Slovakia a Latin–Slovak dictionary (Syllabus dictionarii Latino-Slavonicus) based on the dialects of the western Slovak integration area. Unfortunately, the Syllabus was never published. When Joseph II banned all contemplative monasteries, including Hadbavný’s, his manuscript was confiscated and later given to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The same fate awaited his translation into Slovak of the Holy Scriptures. See also LANGUAGE. HADRIAN II (POPE) (867–872). Pope who consecrated Methodius bishop, named him archbishop of the new archdiocese of Great Moravia and Pannonia, and approved the use of the vernacular in the liturgy. HAJDUK, ANTON (1933–2005). Astronomer and professor, he was the first rector of the renewed University of Trnava from 1992 to 1996. A graduate of Comenius University in Bratislava, he worked from 1961 on in the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), publishing more than 150 scholarly works on astronomy. He was a member of the International Astronomical Union, which in 2001 named asteroid 11657 Antonhajduk in his honor. Together with Ján Štohl, he published Encyklopédia astronómie (Encyclopedia of astronomy) in 1987. He received many awards from the SAV and also from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). HAJNOCI, JOZEF (1750–1795). Lawyer and revolutionary who published anonymously pamphlets demanding the end of feudal privileges and the recognition of equal rights for all citizens in the Habsburg Empire. He was a member of the Ignác Martinovič conspiracy, was arrested, and sentenced to death. HAJÓSSYOVÁ, MAGDALÉNA (1946– ). Opera singer and a graduate of the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, she was a soloist in the Slovak National Theater’s opera ensemble from 1971 to 1979. In 1978, she became a member of the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin and holds the title of Kammersängerin. She is a permanent guest soloist in many opera houses in Europe. See also MUSIC.

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HAĽAMOVÁ, MAŠA (1908–1995). She was a significant representative of interwar poetry in Slovakia, building on the tradition of symbolism and modernism. Her first collection entitled Dar (The gift) was published in 1928 and was followed in 1932 by a second collection entitled Červený mak (Red poppy), both focusing on personal reality in ballad form. Her third and last collection of poems was published in 1966 and is entitled Smrt tvoju žijem (I live your death). She was also a translator of children’s literature from Czech, Lusatian, Hungarian, German, Russian, and Ukrainian. See also LITERATURE. HAMULJAK, MARTIN (1789–1859). Publisher and cultural organizer who founded the Association of Friends of the Slovak Language and Literature in Pest and launched the publication Zora in 1834. He sought to mediate between the adherents of Anton Bernolák’s literary language and Czech. HARABIN, ŠTEFAN (1957– ). Lawyer and judge who obtained his law degree from Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, he worked first for the regional tribunal in Košice and in 1991 was appointed to the Ministry of Justice. In 1992, he was named to the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic and from 1998 to 2003, was its chief justice. In the elections of June 2006, he ran successfully as a People’s Party-Movement for a Democratic Slovakia candidate for the National Council of the Slovak Republic and was named minister of Justice in the government of Róbert Fico. HATTALA, MARTIN (1821–1903). Linguist who played a major role in the establishment of the modern Slovak literary language. He published in 1850 Grammatica linguae slovenicae, collatae cum proxime cognata Bohemica (The grammar of the Slovak language compared with the closely related Czech language), which sought to find middle ground between Ľudovít Štúr’s and Anton Bernolák’s literary Slovak. The publication of his Krátka mluvnica slovenská (A concise Slovak grammar) in 1852 settled the issue of the Slovak literary language. HAVEL, VÁCLAV (1936– ). Czech playwright and dissident under communism who was the last president of Czecho–Slovakia. See also GENTLE REVOLUTION.

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HELMOLD. Author of the Cronica Slavorum (1172), which suggested that Hungary had the character of a Slavic state at the beginning of the 12th century. However, Helmold is not universally acknowledged as a reliable source. HELSINKI FINAL ACT. Document signed in Helsinki in 1975 by the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, and most European states that guaranteed the borders established at the end of World War II. It also consisted of a series of provisions concerning the respect of human rights by the signatories; these provisions gave Central and East European dissidents, like Charter 77, the basis for their challenge of the Communist regimes. HERDER, JOHANN GOTTFRIED (1744–1803). Romantic German theologian and philosopher whose vision of a bright future for the Slavs as laid out in the 16th chapter of his Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der Menschheit (1784–1791), influenced Ján Kollár. HERKEĽ, JÁN (1786–1835). Linguist who coined the term “panslavism” in a Latin treatise on Slavic philology published in 1826. He was the cofounder with Martin Hamuljak of the Association of Friends of the Slovak Language and Literature. HERODOTUS (484–425 B.C.). Greek historian who is one of the authors from antiquity to mention the Slavs. HLAS (THE VOICE). Monthly periodical for literature, politics, and social issues, founded in 1898 by Pavol Blaho and Vavro Šrobár. It was published in Skalica from 1898 to 1902 and in Ružomberok in 1903 and 1904. HLASISTS. Name given to those Slovak students primarily in Prague, but also in Vienna and Budapest, who identified with the political ideas proposed in the periodical Hlas (The Voice). This group, influenced by the philosophical and political views of Tomáš G. Masaryk, eventually accepted the notion that the future of the Slovaks lay in a union with the Czechs. They opposed the political ideas of

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the leadership of the Slovak National Party in Turčiansky Sväty Martin, rejecting its strategy of political passivity and its Russophile orientation, stressing instead the need for democratic reform and advocating the concept of a single Czechoslovak nation. After the creation of the Czecho–Slovak Republic, the Czech leadership of the state gave the Hlasists every position of responsibility in Slovakia. Hlasists were adamantly opposed to the granting of autonomy to Slovakia as proposed by the Slovak People’s Party and were found in most Czechoslovak parties. HLBINA, PAVOL GAŠPAROVIČ (1908–1977). Priest and poet, a representative of the Catholic modernist school who was influenced by French poetry. Among his publications are Začarovaný kruh (Bewitched circle) (1932), Cesta do raja (Journey to paradise) (1933), Dúha (Rainbow) (1937), Mračná (Clouds) (1947), and Ruže radosti (Roses of joy) (1955). He also translated the works of Paul Claudel, Charles Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Paul Valéry, Paul Verlaine, and others. See also LITERATURE. HLINKA, ANDREJ (1864–1938). Roman Catholic priest, social activist, and politician who cofounded, in 1905, the Slovak People’s Party, of which he became president in 1913. Inactive politically during most of World War I, Hlinka was a cofounder in October 1918 of the Slovak National Council and a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation. In November 1918, he also founded the Catholic Clerical Council and on 19 December he re-created the Slovak People’s Party, whose chairman he remained until his death. In 1925, the party was renamed Hlinka Slovak People’s Party (HSĽS). Hlinka became the most eminent Slovak politician in the First Czechoslovak Republic, vociferously opposing Prague’s centralism and the ideology of Czechoslovakism and demanding unrelentingly that Slovakia be granted autonomy as promised in the Pittsburgh Pact. When he was named to the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly in 1918, he was always reelected and remained a deputy until his death. Hlinka first gained national and international prominence at the time of the Černova massacre in 1907. He came to the attention

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of the world again when he traveled in August 1919 to the Peace Conference in Paris on a Polish passport to try unsuccessfully before the conference to make the case for the autonomy of Slovakia. On his return from Paris, he was interned in Mirov, Moravia, by the Czechoslovak government, despite being a member of the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly and was not released until his election to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in the elections of 1920. A fiery speaker and consummate politician, he fought not only for the autonomy of Slovakia, but also for the rights of the Catholic Church, a democratic system, social justice, and free enterprise and opposed all socialist and Communist theories and policies. At the same time, he remained loyal to the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks, acknowledging often the improvements that Slovakia had undergone since the founding of Czecho–Slovakia. HLINKA ACADEMIC GUARD/HLINKOVÁ AKADEMICKÁ GARDA. Name given to the Hlinka Academic Club in 1938 in honor of Andrej Hlinka. Considered anti-German, it was disbanded in July 1940 when its commander, Jozef Kirschbaum, was thrown out of Slovak politics at the request of the German government. HLINKA GUARD/HLINKOVÁ GARDA (HG). A paramilitary organization created in 1938 and dissolved in 1945, it was originally an organization of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party (HSĽS). Its commanders were Karol Sidor (1938–1939), Alexander Mach (1939–1944), Ferdinand Galan (1940), and Otokár Kubala (1944– 1945). Under Mach’s leadership, it became independent of the HSĽS on 21 December 1939. Initially, membership was obligatory for all males between the ages of 6 and 60 with the exception of Jews. In December 1939, membership became voluntary. A highly structured organization, based on similar institutions in Italy and Germany, it backed the radical wing of the HSĽS that was pro-German, published the daily newspaper Gardista, and intervened in public life despite the absence of a political mandate to do so. Its units were involved in the rounding up and deportation of Slovak Jews in 1942 and in the emergency squads that were created when the 1944 uprising broke out. Its members cooperated with German

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military and SS forces to hunt down the partisans. See also SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. HLINKA SLOVAK PEOPLE’S PARTY/HLINKOVÁ SLOVENSKÁ ĽUDOVÁ STRANA (HSĽS). The name of the Slovak People’s Party as of 1925. HNILICA, PAVOL (1921– ). Roman Catholic priest, secretly ordained in 1950 and one of the two secretly consecrated bishops under communism in 1951. He fled to the West in the fall of that same year. HNUTIE POĽNOHOSPODÁROV SR. See FARMERS’ MOVEMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. HNUTIE ZA DEMOKRACIU. See MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY. HNUTIE ZA DEMOKRACTICKÉ SLOVENSKO. See MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA. HODŽA, MICHAL MILOSLAV (1811–1870). Lutheran pastor and politician, he was one of the leaders, along with Ľudovít Štúr and Jozef Miloslav Hurban, of the 1848–1849 uprising in Slovakia and encouraged the introduction of a new literary language. At a meeting on 14 February 1843, Hodža, Štúr, and Hurban agreed to abandon Czech as a literary language in favor of Slovak. They did not accept Anton Bernolák’s codification, but sought instead to create a language based on central Slovak dialects. Hodža was not entirely happy with the linguistic reform proposed by Štúr in 1846; a year later, in Epigenes slovenicus (A Slovak rejoinder), he criticized Štúr’s orthography for not taking into account other Slavic languages. In the end, he accepted and strongly encouraged the use of the new language. During the 1848–1849 revolution, he was initially active in collecting petitions against the Hungarian Diet’s stand on the nationalities. He participated in the Slavic Congress in Prague in June 1848. He became a member of the Slovak National Council. He was a member of the Slovak delegation that presented a petition to the

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emperor in Olomouc on 20 March 1849. After that, he advocated Austro–Slavism and withdrew from active political life and became involved in church activities. HODŽA, MILAN (1878–1944). Journalist and politician who founded and edited Slovenský tyždenník (Slovak Weekly), which he used to establish his political credentials. He was elected to the Hungarian Diet in 1905 for the Slovak National Party (SNS), along with František Skyčák, and became instrumental in creating a Nationalities Party for the non-Magyar peoples. His approach to the future of the Slovaks was based on their acquiring democratic rights and improving their economic condition through agrarianism. The acquisition of these rights, he argued, would liberate them from Hungary’s feudal oligarchical system. Hodža was reelected in the 1906 elections but did not run in the 1910 contest. In 1908, Hodža moved to Vienna, convinced that the transformation of the empire into a multinational state could be achieved from the top. He became a member of the Belvedere Circle and had contacts throughout the empire. Before World War I, thanks to Czech financial support, he established a Central Cooperative for Economic and Commercial Activity in Slovakia. He supported Czech–Slovak cooperation because of the economic and cultural benefits it would give the Slovaks. During the war, he opted for a common state for the Czechs and Slovaks. He attended the May 1918 meeting in Turčiansky Sväty Martin organized by the SNS; encouraged the creation of the Slovak National Council, of which he became a member; and was one of the signatories of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation on 30 October. In Czechoslovakia, he worked to create a Czechoslovak agrarian party. First, he created the National Republican Farmers’ Party in Slovakia, which, when it formed a coalition with the SNS, became the Slovak National and Farmer’s Party—to fight the 1920 elections. When the coalition broke up in 1921, his party joined the Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party (of Czechoslovakia), of which he became one of the vice presidents. He was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1918 to 1938, minister for the Unification of Laws and Administrative Organization (1919–1920 and 1926–1927), minister of Education and National Culture (1926–1929), minister

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of Agriculture (1922–1926 and 1932–1935), and minister of Foreign Affairs (1935–1936). From 1935 to 1938, he was prime minister of Czechoslovakia. He was the leader of the Agrarians in Slovakia and sought to develop agricultural cooperatives, financial institutions, trade unions, and educational and cultural organizations. He was influential in land reform and other agricultural policies enacted by the government of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Although he held many positions in the Czechoslovak government, he was not an unconditional supporter of the ideology of Czechoslovakism. By the late 1930s, he realized the need to give Slovakia some sort of political autonomy, but he was never able to put into effect the proposals he had worked out. After 1938, he lived in the West, in particular, in France, where he created, in November 1939, a Slovak National Council. Later, he moved to Great Britain and to the United States, where he died in 1944. He was opposed to Edvard Beneš’s Czechoslovakism and proposed the creation of a federation in Central Europe after the war. HOLLÝ, JÁN (1785–1849). Roman Catholic priest and poet, he first caught the attention of his contemporaries by using Anton Bernolák’s newly codified language to translate the classics, including Homer, Horace, Ovid, Theocritus, and Virgil. In 1833, Holly published the first of a series of epic poems that dealt with the past of the Slovaks. Entitled “Svätopluk,” this work in 12 cantos describes the glorious reign of Great Moravia’s most famous ruler. Two years later, he sang the glories and accomplishments of Cyril and Methodius in an epic poem in six cantos entitled Cirilo-Metodiana. The past of the Slavic people, both mythical and real, was celebrated in the six-canto epic poem Slav, beginning in 1839 in the publication Zora, which appeared irregularly between 1835 and 1840. Perhaps his greatest work is Selanky (Idylls), a collection of 21 rhythmic poems about the appeal and meaning of pastoral life in every season of the year, which he published from 1835 on in Zora. These poems are considered by many to be his best creative writing. In 1844, Hollý gave his approval to the creation of a new literary language using central Slovak dialects, although he himself continued to use Bernolák’s language. He is considered to be one of Slovakia’s greatest poets. See also LITERATURE.

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HONT CLAN. One of the two Slavic clans in Hungary that helped King Stephen put down the rebellion of the Koppany clan. They were major landowners in Hont County. HOZA, ŠTEFAN (1906–1982). Singer and writer who studied musicology at Comenius University but also acting and music. As a singer, he was a soloist from 1932 to 1962 and from 1958 to 1962 also a stage manager at the Slovak National Theater. He taught at the State Conservatory from 1953 to 1962 and at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava from 1962 to 1977. During his performing career, he performed in 25 classical operettas and sang over 70 opera characters. He wrote librettos for Slovak operas, in particular Krútňava [The vortex] by Eugen Suchoň and Juro Jánošík by Ján Cikker. He also published a novel entitled Tatári idú! (The Tatars are coming) (1938) and a popular book of biographies of Slovak and world composers entitled Tvorcovia hudby (Creators of music) (1943). HRONSKÝ, JOZEF CIGER- (1896–1960). Writer and secretary of Matica slovenská from 1933 to 1945, he is one of the foremost Slovak prose writers of the 20th century. His novel Jozef Mak (1933) is seen as one of his best works and has been translated into English. Another novel is Pisár Gráč (Gráč the clerk) (1940); it is considered the first fully mature Slovak urban novel and influenced Slovak literature in the 1960s. In 1945, he immigrated first to Italy and then to Argentina, where he wrote a novel on the uprising entitled Svet na trasovisku (The world in a quagmire) (1960). HRUŠOVSKÝ, FRANTIŠEK (1903–1956). Historian, deputy to the Slovak Assembly (1938–1939) and to the Slovak Parliament (1939– 1945), and professor of history at the Slovak University in Bratislava in 1944–1945, he is one of a handful of authors who wrote a history of Slovakia, entitled Slovenské dejiny (History of Slovakia), published in 1939. He immigrated to the United States in 1945. HRUŠOVSKÝ, IGOR (1879–1937). Deputy and Slovak member of the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party in the Czechoslovak National Assembly. He was the party’s sole Slovak representative from 1920 to 1929 and again from 1935 to 1937.

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HRUŠOVSKÝ, PAVOL (1952– ). Deputy of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) and leader of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), he was educated at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University. In 1989, he was co-opted as a member of the Czechoslovak Federal Parliament, to which he was then elected in 1990. In 1992, he won election in the NR SR; in 1994, he was elected deputy speaker of the NR SR and, in 1998, speaker. In the elections of 1998, he was a candidate for the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK), returning to the KDH in 1999. In 2002, he was elected leader when the founder of the KDH, Ján Čarnogurský, resigned and he was also elected speaker of the NR SR. HUBA, MIKULÁŠ (1919–1986). Actor who was a member of the Slovak National Theater and its artistic director on three occasions (1953–1959, 1961–1963, and 1972–1976). He also taught at the State Conservatory and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava. He performed in a total of 49 theatrical seasons that included 149 great characters, including heroic ones like Danton, Hernani, Jánošík, William Tell, and classical ones like Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He also appeared in many films and television productions, including the film Marína (1939) from the poem by Andrej Sládkovič, where he recited the poem and played the character Martin alongside Mária Magdaléna Danihelová, who portrayed Marína. In 1970–1972 and 1982–1986, he was chairman of the Slovak Union of Dramatic Artists. See also THEATER. HUMANISM. European intellectual movement that had a major impact in Slovakia on religious and secular writing in the 14th and 15th centuries, especially with the founding of the Academia Istropolitana. See also LITERATURE. HUŇADY, JÁN (HUNYADI, JÁNOS) (1407?–1456). Hungarian magnate who supported Wladislaw Jagellio I of Poland as successor to Albert I. He was challenged by Elizabeth, mother of Ladislas V Posthumus, who had him crowned with St. Stephen’s crown. He was regent from 1446 until 1453, when the nobles and the Hungarian Diet finally recognized Ladislas V Posthumous as the legitimate king of Hungary. He is the father of king Mathias I “Corvinus.”

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HUNGARIAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT/MAGYAR KERESZTÉNY DEMOKRATA MOZGALOM (MKDM). Political movement of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, founded by Béla Bugár on 19 March 1990. In June 1990, it formed the Hungarian Coalition with Coexistence; in 1992, the coalition included the Hungarian People’s Party. It fought the 1994 election as a member of that coalition and was the biggest party in it. In 1998, it joined the Party of the Hungarian Coalition. Its program concentrates on the development of a market economy, a pluralistic democratic parliamentary system, the rule of law, and Christian principles. It also backs the implementation of all of the demands of the Hungarian minority, in particular autonomy. HUNGARIAN CIVIC PARTY/MAGYAR POLGÁRI PÁRT (MPP). Created in 1989 as the Hungarian part of Public Against Violence, it was organized as the Hungarian Independent Initiative in February 1990 and as the Hungarian Civic Party in 1992, under the leadership of László Nagy. It elected its leader to the Slovak National Council in 1990 but failed to get anyone elected in the 1992 elections. Nagy was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 as a member of the Hungarian Coalition. Its political program stressed cultural and educational autonomy. HUNGARIAN COALITION. It was created for the elections of June 1990 and was composed of the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement and Coexistence. It elected 14 deputies. In the elections of 1992, the coalition was broadened to include the Hungarian People’s Party and elected 14 deputies. In the 1994 elections, the coalition won 17 seats. For the 1998 elections, it was renamed Party of the Hungarian Coalition. HUNGARIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY/MAGYAR NÉPPÁRT. Hungarian political party created in 1895 to which a number of Slovaks adhered, including Andrej Hlinka. In 1905, these Slovaks left to create the Slovak People’s Party. In 1992, as a result of a split in the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, it was re-created by Gyorgy Popély and a group of deputies. It agreed to run under the single ticket of the Hungar-

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ian Coalition in the elections of that year but failed to get anyone elected. HUNGARIANS. The second nationality in the Slovak Republic and the biggest non-Slovak one; it numbers 520,528 people and represents 9.70 percent of the population of Slovakia according to the 2001 census. Most Hungarians live in the south of Slovakia, along the Slovak–Hungarian border. See also HUNGARY. HUNGARY. Name generally given to the state in which the Slovak people lived after the fall of Great Moravia, and most certainly from about 1031 until 1918. Hungary was a kingdom from the time when Pope Sylvester II and German Emperor Otto III granted Prince Stephen the title of king in A.D. 1000 until the breakup of the Austro–Hungarian Empire in 1918. From 1526 until 1699, when the Ottoman Turks occupied much of Hungarian territory, organizing it into elajets and sandjaks, what remained of the state was known as royal Hungary. In the Hungarian kingdom, the Slovak people (known as Slavs until the 19th century) were not recognized as a nation and their political life was defined by various Nationalities Laws passed by the Hungarian Diet. As a result of the Austro–Hungarian Compromise in 1867, the Slovaks were also subjected to a vigorous policy of Magyarization. With the defeat of Austria–Hungary in World War I, the empire was divided into several smaller states, including modern Hungary, which was created by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. As part of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia had no direct relations with modern Hungary. However, during the existence of the first Slovak Republic, Slovak–Hungarian relations were strained not only because of the granting of Slovak territory to Hungary in the Vienna Award in 1938, but also because of the annexation of eastern Slovak territory by Hungary during the Small War in March 1939. Since the proclamation of the second Slovak Republic in 1993, Slovakia has maintained friendly relations with Hungary. Nevertheless, there have been contentious issues, such as the GabčíkovoNagymaros dam complex and the Slovak language law adopted in 1992, which, according to Hungarian activists in Slovakia, does not allow Hungarian Slovaks to use their mother tongue for official business. In addition, on 19 June 2001, the Hungarian Parliament passed

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a Hungarian Status Law that provides benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia. According to the law, which went into effect on 1 January 2002, ethnic Hungarians have the right to work in Hungary for three months each year, and are given social, health, transportation, and education benefits. See also FOREIGN POLICY; OTTOMAN EMPIRE. HUNGARY, ROYAL. The name given to the territory in the Hungarian kingdom that was not under Turkish control during the Ottoman penetration of central Europe; it included most of Slovakia, which was connected to a corridor extending southwest from Bratislava and a point east of Ostrihom to the Adriatic coast, just south of Rijeka (Fiume) down to the other side of Senj. The capital of royal Hungary was Bratislava. See also HUNGARY; OTTOMAN EMPIRE. HUNS. Nomadic warriors from Asia who reached Central Europe during their invasions of Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries; they disappeared with Attila’s death in A.D. 453. HURBAN, JOZEF MILOSLAV (1817–1888). Lutheran pastor, publisher, and one of the leading Slovak political personalities of the 19th century. In 1840, he began editing the almanac Nitra, whose second issue in 1843 was the first in the new Slovak literary language. In 1846, he began publishing Pohľadi na vedi, umenja a literaturu (Perspectives on Science, Art and Literature), a literary and cultural journal that is still published today as Slovenské pohľady (Slovak Perspectives). Together with Michal Miloslav Hodža and Ľudovít Štúr, he was one of the leaders of the Slovak revolution of 1848–1849. He drafted the 1848 national program entitled Demands of the Slovak Nation, attended the Slavic Congress in Prague in June, was chairman of the Slovak National Council, and was a member of the Slovak delegation to Olomouc to present a petition to the emperor on 20 March 1849. Hurban turned to literature after the failure of the 1848–1849 revolution. He wrote novels, literary criticisms, satires, and poems. The epic poem Osudové Nitry (The fate of Nitra) and the collection of verses called Spevy (Chants) are from this period and express his love for his country and the need to fight for its freedom.

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In 1859, he prepared a document on behalf of the Slovak nation that he submitted to Vienna but that became a dead letter when the February Patent of 1860 was issued. He was present at the founding of Matica slovenská in 1863 and was active throughout its existence. Hurban was one of the few to adopt a Czechoslovak orientation in the 1870s after the closing of Matica slovenská in 1875; he published two issues of Nitra in Czech in 1876 and 1877. See also UPRISING. HURBAN-VAJANSKÝ, SVETOZÁR (1874–1916). Lawyer, writer, politician, and son of Jozef Miloslav Hurban, he was one of the leaders of the Slovak National Party in Turčiansky Svätý Martin, editor of Národnje noviny (National News) from 1878 to his death, editor of Slovenské pohľady (Slovak Perspectives) from 1881 to 1890 and owner thereafter. He adopted the pseudonym Vajanský in the mid-1870s. His collection of poems, Tatry a more (The Tatras and the sea), published in 1879, was considered by his contemporaries as marking a new epoch in the development of Slovak poetry and a break with the Romanticism of the Štúrovci. He produced many works of literary criticism and, as editor of Národnje noviny, gained a reputation as a sharp political commentator. He was one of the most outstanding Slovak personalities of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. See also LITERATURE. HUSÁK, GUSTÁV (1913–1991). Lawyer and Communist politician who joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) in 1933. During World War II, he quickly assumed a position of leadership, particularly in the resistance movement. In August 1944, he wrote a report entitled Memorandum on Slovakia in which he advocated a federal solution between Czechs and Slovaks in a renewed Czechoslovakia; he also suggested the incorporation of Slovakia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a Soviet Republic. After the war, Husák was chairman of the Board of Commissioners (1946–1950) but was arrested in 1950 and found guilty in 1954 of “Slovak bourgeois nationalism.” Released in 1960, he was active behind the scenes politically until 1968, when he became first

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secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia and in April 1969, first secretary of the KSČS until 1987. In 1975, he became president of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, a post he held until the “Gentle Revolution” forced him to resign in December 1989. Until his arrest in 1950, Husák was one of the Communist politicians who played an important role in the introduction of totalitarianism in Slovakia. After the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968, he imposed the policy of “normalization” on the people of Czechoslovakia, making it one of the most conservative and repressive countries in Central Europe. See also PURGES; RESISTANCE. HUSSITISM. Movement of religious reform in the 15th century launched by the Czech reformer Jan Hus, whose adherents invaded Slovakia and Hungary beginning in 1428. Opinion is divided, depending on national or religious leanings, on the influence of Hussitism in Slovakia. Hussite armies established garrisons in such towns as Trnava, Skalica, Topolčany, and Žilina, and remained in Slovakia on and off—they left in 1434 but returned in 1440—for about four decades. Their leader was Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa, who, in 1440, became one of the seven captains of Hungary. He was involved in the succession struggles for the Hungarian throne on the death of Albert I, siding with Elizabeth, mother of Ladislas V Posthumus, against Ján Huňady. Jiskra left Slovakia in 1453, exhausted from his struggles with Huňady. Many of his followers, however, remained and became known throughout Slovakia as the Brethren. Jiskra was called back in 1454 to liquidate them. He succeeded partially in doing so when he defeated them at Trebišov in November of that year. They were finally defeated in 1467 by the son of Huňady, Mathias I “Corvinus.” HVIEZDOSLAV, PAVOL ORSZÁGH- (1849–1921). Lawyer and poet, he is one of the outstanding figures of modern Slovak literature. He adopted the pseudonym Hviezdoslav in 1877. He was a prolific poet; his first collection of verse appeared in 1878 and was entitled Jesenné zvuky (The sounds of autumn). Other collections followed, namely, Oblaky (Clouds) in 1879, Sonety (Sonnets) from 1882 to 1886, and his most extensive lyrical collection, presented in three cycles, Letorosty (Growth rings) from 1885 to 1896. He also translated world literature into Slovak, including works by William

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Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Juliusz Słowacki, Adam Mickiewicz, and Sandor Petöfi. He brought the literary convention of realism into Slovak literature. HVIŠČ, JOZEF (1935– ). University professor, specialist in and translator of Polish literature. From 1967 until 1990, he worked as a researcher in the Slovak Academy of Sciences; from 1990 to 1997, he was chairman of the Department of Slavic Philology of the Faculty of Philosophy at Comenius University and professor of Polish literature. Since 2000, he has been the director of Kontakty, a Slovak–Polish publication that is published in Bratislava and Warsaw. Among his major publications are Slovensko-poľské literárne vztahy 1815–1918 (Slovak–Polish relations 1815–1918) (1991), Vzťahy a súvislosti slovenskej a poľskej literatury (Relations and links between Slovak and Polish literature) (1996), Poľská literatúra: Vývin a texty (Polish literature: Development and texts) (2000), and Óda na mladosť: O literárnych súvislostiach slovenského a poľského romantizmu (An ode to youth: On the literary connections between Slovak and Polish Romanticism) (2004). HYKISCH, ANTON (1932– ). Writer, politician, and diplomat, he was one of the foremost writers of the “generation of 1956,” who, during the Communist period, published novels dealing with daily life and sought to restore literature to its ethical foundations. Among his works are Naďa (1964) Námestie v Mähringu (The square in Mähring) (1965), Čas majstrov (Time of the masters) (1977) and Milujte královnu (You must love the queen) (1984). After the fall of communism, he was a deputy to the Slovak National Council for the Christian Democratic Movement in 1990–1992 and ambassador to Canada from 1993 to 1997. Upon his return to Slovakia, he published Mária Terézia–: Život a doba (Maria Theresa: Her life and times) (1999), Nebojme sa sveta: Sprievodca globálnym myslením (Let us not fear the world: A guide to global thinking) (2001), Čo si o tom myslím: Slovensko a svet (These are my thoughts: Slovakia and the world) (2003) and Ako chutí politika: Spomienky a záznamy z rokov 1990–1992 (The taste of politics: Reminiscences and comments from the years 1990–1992) (2004). He is currently the president of the Slovak center of International PEN.

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- CH CHALUPKA, JÁN (1791–1871). Playwright and brother of Samo Chalupka, he studied at the University of Jena. He is best known for writing satirical plays in which he depicted the process of Magyarization of the Slovak middle class. He initially wrote his plays in Czech but when the Slovak language was codified, he translated them into Slovak. Among his well-known plays are Kocúrkovo (Gotham), Dobrovoľníci (Volunteers), and Fuk a huk (Nothing and noise). He was a supporter of the Štúrovci and was also active in Matica slovenská. See also THEATER. CHALUPKA, SAMO (1812–1883). Lutheran pastor and poet, he took part in the Polish rebellion of 1831. He is best remembered for his romantic poetry; his three poems “Janošíková náumka” (Janošík’s meditation) (1845), “Likavský väzeň” (The prisoner of Likava) (1860), and “Kráľohoľská” (The song of Royal Mountain) (1868) celebrate the fight for liberty. This theme is also found in his poems about the Turkish wars on Slovak soil, in particular “Boj pri Jelšave” (The battle near Jelšava) (1861) and “Turčín Poničan” (The Turk from Poniky) (1863) in which he sings of his love for his country. His most famous poem, “Mor ho!” (Vanquish him!) deals with the period of the Roman presence on Slovak soil. See also LITERATURE; ROMANTICISM.

-IILAVA. Town in western Slovakia whose Gothic castle from the 13th century became a prison in 1856, after having been a Renaissance fortification in the 16th century and later a monastery with a hospital. The prison became infamous for the many political prisoners it housed during the Communist period. INDEPENDENCE. Slovakia achieved independence twice in its modern history. On 14 March 1939, Slovak deputies in the Slovak Assembly, on receiving a report from Jozef Tiso of his visit to Berlin the day before, voted unanimously to declare Slovakia independent,

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thus creating the first Slovak Republic. Historians debate whether this independence was achieved freely and also whether it was real or merely a form of subordination of Slovakia to the Third Reich. Nevertheless, 28 states granted the Slovak Republic diplomatic recognition. Slovak independence was put in question when the Allies recognized the Czechoslovak government-in-exile on 18 July 1941 and effectively came to an end when the Slovak National Council and the Board of Commissioners took over the governing of Slovakia on 11 April 1945 on behalf of the Czechoslovak government. Some historians suggest that Slovak independence actually ended with the Declaration of the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1944, while others (in particular in international law) argue that it ended on 8 May 1945, when the Slovak government signed a surrender document and handed it to the commander of XXth Corps of the Third United States Army in Austria. On 1 January 1993, Slovakia achieved independence for the second time in the 20th century, this time without any interference from outside, as a result of a vote in the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly on 25 November 1992 to dissolve the common state of the Czechs and Slovaks on 31 December 1992. The second Slovak Republic was quickly recognized by the international community and admitted to the United Nations Organization and other international institutions. INDUSTRIAE TUAE. Document issued to Svätopluk in A.D. 880 by John VIII in which the Holy See granted Great Moravia its protection. INSTITUTE FOR SCIENTIFIC ATHEISM. Created in 1971 by the Slovak Communist government as an institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, its main task was to offer an alternative to religion. On the 50th anniversary of the 1939 Slovak declaration of independence, Czechoslovak Television in Bratislava showed a six-part series, beginning on 6 March 1989, entitled The Cross in the Shackles of Power prepared by the institute without the collaboration of professional historians. Not only was it an attack on the events of a half century before, but the program clearly indicated that the Catholic Church was responsible for all the evil that had taken place

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not only in the first Slovak Republic but also in the two decades preceding its creation and in the uprising of 1944. The crudity of the message was not repeated in an editorial on the anniversary of Slovak independence in the pages of the Slovak Communist daily Pravda. A response to the series was published in a samizdat by Bishop Ján Chryzostom Korec.

-JJAKOBEUS, JAKOB (1591?–1645). Lutheran pastor and poet of Czech origin who arrived in Slovakia after the battle of White Mountain and settled in Prešov. In 1642, he published in Slovakized Czech Viva gentis Slavonicae delineatio (A live outline of the Slovak nation) and also a poetic work entitled Gentis Slavonicae lacrumae, suspiria et vota (The tears, sighs, and vows of the Slovak nation) (1642), which complements his history of the Slovaks. See also LITERATURE. JAMRICH, DUŠAN (1946– ). Actor who graduated from the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava in 1970 and who upon graduation became a member of the Slovak National Theater (SND). He is well known for his interpretation of leading roles in plays of classical and modern authors, such as King Richard II, King Richard III, Henry, Prince of Wales in Henry IV in William Shakespeare’s plays, Haimon in Antigone by Sophocles, but also such roles as Clitandre in Molière’s George Dandin, Dr. Harry Trent in Widowers’ Houses by George Bernard Shaw, Lord Caversham in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, and many others. He has also appeared on television and in films, and one of his most memorable performances was the role of Ľudovít Stúr in the series Stúrovci. From 1991–1996, he was general director of the SND and he returned to this post in January 1999. For 18 years, he lectured at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava as a docent. He is also one of Slovakia’s prominent reciters of poetry. In 2003, he received the Order of Ľudovít Štúr from the president of the Slovak Republic. See also THEATER.

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JÁNOŠÍK, JURO (1688–1713). Slovak “Robin Hood” who fought local authorities and came to the aid of their victims. He initially served in the royal army, but in 1711 he became leader of a group of brigands who roamed the valleys and mountains of Slovakia, at times going into Poland and Moravia as well. Arrested in early 1713, he was condemned to death by the county tribunal in Liptovský Sväty Mikuláš and executed. The ballads and songs that soon immortalized him recount the miseries and sufferings of the Slovak population at that time. In the 19th century, he became the darling of Romantic writers, and in our time, Ján Cikker composed an opera (1953) and four films were produced about him in 1921, 1936, 1962–1963, and 1977. See also LITERATURE; ROMANTICISM. JANOUŠEK, ANTONÍN (1877–1941). Czech Communist who joined the Hungarian Communist forces of Béla Kun and established a very short-lived Slovak Soviet Republic in eastern Slovakia in June 1919. JÉGÉ, LADISLAV NÁDÁŠI- (1886–1940). Physician and writer, president of Detvan in his student days in Prague, his writings reflect the transition from realism to naturalism. He is best known for his historical novels Adam Šangala (1923) and Svätopluk (1928), the first dealing with the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in the 17th century, the second with Great Moravia’s greatest ruler. Other novels are Cesta životom (Journey through life) (1930) and S duchom času (In the spirit of the times) (1937), a work later severely criticized by Marxist critics for its courageous cry for personal freedom and human rights. See also LITERATURE. JEHLIČKA, FRANTIŠEK (1879–1939). Roman Catholic priest and politician, he was a deputy to the Hungarian Diet in 1906–1907 and a deputy to the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly in 1919. He helped Andrej Hlinka re-create the Slovak People’s Party in 1918 and accompanied him on his trip to the Peace Conference in Paris in 1919. He did not return to Czecho–Slovakia and sought to influence Slovak politics from abroad, mainly from Budapest, Warsaw—where he created a Slovak National Council—and Vienna.

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JESENSKÝ, JANKO (1874–1945). Lawyer, county administrator, writer, poet, and translator, he was a member of the school of literary modernism. Among his writings is the collection of poems Verše (Verses) (1905), the collections of short stories Malomestské rozprávky (Small town tales) (1913) and Zo starých časov (From ancient times) (1913), and the two-volume novel Demokrati (Democrats) (1934, 1938). Irony and satire characterize his writings. He also translated Russian poetry, in particular that of Alexander Pushkin. See also LITERATURE. JESUITS. Male proselytizing order that first appeared in Slovakia in Trnava in 1560, where it established a seminary the following year; the seminary carried on its academic mission until 1567, when its buildings were destroyed by fire. The Jesuits left Trnava and in 1585 established themselves in the Turiec prepositure, in Kláštor pod Znievom, and Šaľa. The Jesuits returned to Trnava in 1615, and as a result of the efforts and activities of Peter Cardinal Pázmaň, they became a leading force on behalf of the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation. They played an important role in the development of schools, administering also the Universitz of Trnava and the University of Košice. The order was abolished by the papacy in 1773 but restored in 1814. The Jesuits returned to Trnava in 1853 and Bratislava in 1855, establishing houses throughout Slovakia in the following years. The order was disbanded in Slovakia in 1950 by the Communist regime; after 1989, when full religious freedom was reestablished in Slovakia, it revived its activities. JEWISH CODEX. Adopted by the Slovak government on 9 September 1941 and based on Germany’s Nuremberg Laws, it deprived the Jewish population of Slovakia of its civil rights. Article 255 allowed the president the right to extend exemptions to individual Jews and their families. JEWS. They probably arrived on the territory of Slovakia with the Roman legions. Throughout the Middle Ages, they were the victims of sporadic persecution, and their legal status was determined by specific decrees. They usually lived together in towns and engaged in commer-

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cial activities and financial transactions. In such towns as Bratislava, Nitra, and Trnava, they formed their own communities; in Bratislava, however, they enjoyed the same civil rights as other citizens. The gradual emancipation of the Jews began in the reign of Joseph II whose Edict of Toleration granted them freedom of worship but not full civil rights. Still, as a result of this freedom, Bratislava became a center of East European Hasidism, a Jewish mystic movement led by Rabbi Nachman, who died in 1811. Finally, in 1867, they received full equality. In the 1910 census, only 3 percent of those 900,000 in Hungary who identified themselves as Jews claimed to be of Slovak origin. With the creation of Czecho–Slovakia, some 140,000 lived in Slovakia and 50,000 declared themselves Slovak. They became active in the political, economic, and social life of Slovakia. Their situation changed, however, with the creation of the first Slovak Republic. They became the targets of anti-Semitic legislation (Aryanization) and were gradually excluded from the Slovak scene and deprived of their property and civil and human rights. In March 1942, the Slovak government adopted a decree that ordered their forced deportation to Poland. The evacuation of what was a total of 57,628 men, women, and children, which represented two thirds of the Jewish population in Slovakia, began on 25 March and continued until 20 October. The deportations were stopped by the Slovak authorities when it was learned what fate awaited the Jews in Germany and Poland. On 15 May 1942, the Slovak Parliament passed legislation to limit the application of the Jewish Codex and specifically confirmed the right of the president to grant exemptions to individuals and to extend them to family members. It is estimated that this saved some 30,000 people from deportation. When the uprising broke out in 1944, Slovak Jews became once again the object of overt persecution. Three special German units were brought in to seek them out; some were executed on the spot, others were rounded up and deported to Poland and Germany. In the period from 30 September 1944 to 31 March 1945, 11 transports carried away 11,532 persons. After the war, many survivors emigrated from Slovakia and those who remained became the victims of official Communist anti-Semitism that was justified not only by the need of the regime to fight Zionism, but also by its official atheism. When

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communism fell in 1989, about 3,000 Jews were left in Slovakia. See also RELIGION; WORLD WAR II. JISKRA Z BRANDÝSA, JAN (1400?–1469). Leader of the Hussite armies that came to Slovakia in the 1440s. In 1440, he became župan of Šariš County and, in 1445, one of the seven captains of Hungary. He was involved in the succession struggles for the Hungarian throne by supporting Queen Elizabeth when Albert I died in 1439. For more than 20 years, he governed extensive parts of Slovakia, fought the Brethren armies, and played an important role in the political life of Hungary. See also HUSSITISM. JOHANIDES, JÁN (1934– ). Writer and political activist, his writings have reflected the philosophy of existentialism and problems of contemporary life, especially under communism. Among his published works are Súkromie (Intimate life) (1963), Podstata kameňolomu (The essence of a quarry) (1965), Nepriznané vrany (Undeclared crows) (1978), Balada o vkladnej knižke (Ballad of a savings book) (1979), Previesť cez most (To lead across the bridge) (1991), Identita v kríze (Identity in crisis) (1996) and Hmla na našej trpezlivosti (Mist on our patience) (2005). His works have been translated into several languages. See also LITERATURE. JOHN VIII (872–882). Roman Pontiff who, by giving Svätopluk the bull Industriae tuae, extended papal protection to Great Moravia. JOHN IX (898–900). Pope who dispatched, around A.D. 900, an archbishop and two bishops to Great Moravia, where they consecrated an archbishop and three bishops from among the native priests. There is no record in any historical source of their names or sees, nor is it known whether John IX approved the use of the Slavonic liturgy. JORDANES. Goth historian who noted the presence of Slavs in Central Europe during the reign of Attila the Hun in the fifth century. JOSEPH II (1741–1790). Habsburg emperor (1780–1790) whose reforms, especially the Edict of Toleration (1781), the Livings Patent (1781), and the Peasant Patent (1785), destroyed the feudal system in the empire and launched it on the road to modernization.

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JUDICIARY. Judicial power in the Slovak Republic is exercised by a system of courts that consist of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, which sits in Bratislava, regional and district courts, the Higher Military Court and military district courts, and a special court that deals with the most serious offenses (for example, organized crime). An independent body to oversee compliance with the constitution is the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic. The courts rule on criminal, commercial, and civil matters and review the legality of decisions made by administrative bodies. Military matters are dealt with by military tribunals. Judges are appointed and recalled by the president of the Slovak Republic on the advice of the Judiciary Council of the Slovak Republic for an unlimited period of time. Judges sit on panels unless the law prescribes that the matter is to be decided by a single judge. The law specifies the cases in which the panels include lay judges as well as professional judges. The judgments are publicly announced in the name of the Slovak Republic. Judges are independent in their decisionmaking and are bound only by law. If so provided by the constitution or the law, judges are also bound by international instruments. The number of judges in courts of all levels in the Slovak Republic, including military and special courts, is approximately 1,329; 85 are judges of the Supreme Court. JUDICIARY COUNCIL OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/SÚDNA RADA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. Created in April 2002, it is composed of 18 members, eight of whom along with the president are elected by all judges in Slovakia, three are elected by the National Council of the Slovak Republic, three are appointed by the president of the Slovak Republic, and three are appointed by the government. The chairman of the Judiciary Council is the chairman of the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Council oversees all activities concerning the judiciary in Slovakia. JURIGA, FERDINAND (FERDIŠ) (1884–1950). Roman Catholic priest, political writer, and politician, deputy to the Hungarian Diet from 1906 to 1918 and the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly and Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1918 to 1929, he was a member of the Slovak People’s Party (SĽS) and a signatory of

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the Declaration of the Slovak Nation. He edited Slovenské ľudové noviny (Slovak People’s News) from 1904 to 1929. In 1929, he was expelled from the SĽS, failed to get elected to the Czechoslovak National Assembly, and withdrew from politics. JURKOVIČ, SAMUEL (1796–1873). Notary and social worker, he founded educational and literary clubs, school libraries, and, together with Jozef Miloslav Hurban, the Nitra Slovak National Theater in 1841. Jurkovič was also a member of the Slovak National Council. He is best known for founding the Spolok gazdovský (Agricultural Union) in 1845 in Sobotište, the first agricultural credit cooperative in Central Europe. JUSTH, JOZEF (1809–1875). Landowner and politician, podžupan of Turiec (1842) and Tekov (1848–1849) Counties, deputy to the Hungarian Diet (1839–1840, 1847–1848), he was present in Turčiansky Svätý Martin in 1861 when the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation was proclaimed but was not one of its signatories. He supported financially the establishment of Matica slovenská.

-KKÁLAL, KAREL (1860–1930). Czech writer and educator, he was one of the Czech Slovakophiles of the Czechoslovak Unity in Prague who believed that the future of the Czechs was bound up with that of the Slovaks. KÁLLAY, JOZEF (1881–1939). Lawyer and politician, he was župan of Liptov County from 1918 to 1920 and minister for Slovakia from 1922 to 1927. KÁLMÁN (c. 1070–1116). King of Hungary from 1095 to 1116. KANÍK, ĽUDOVÍT (1965– ). Economist and politician, he graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava. He first worked in the Ministry of Administration and Privatization of National Property in 1990–1991 and, after a few years in the private sector, was named

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in 1998 president of the National Property Fund. He returned to the private sector in 1999. He joined the Democratic Party in 2000 and became its president in 2002. For the 2002 elections, he formed a coalition with the Democratic Union, but withdrew from the election and advised his supporters to vote for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. He was named minister of labor and social and family affairs, a position he held from October 2002 until October 2005. KAPITULA. See CHAPTER. KARABÍN, MILAN (1949– ). A graduate of the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague, he began his career as judge in the Poprad district court in 1974, moving to the regional court in Košice in 1982. A specialist in penal law, he was elected to the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic (NS SR) in 1982; in 1989, he was elected chairman of the senate of the penal collegium of the NS SR. Elected chief justice of the NS SR by the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1996, he resigned his position in 1997. In 2003, he was elected once again chief justice of the NS SR. KARLOWITZ, PEACE OF (1699). Signed in 1699 by the sultan, it marked the end of the Ottoman occupation of Hungary. See also HUNGARY; OTTOMAN EMPIRE. KARMASIN, FRANZ (1901–1970). German politician, deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly (1935–1939), he was the leader of the German Party in Slovakia, elected to the Slovak Assembly and served as a deputy to the Slovak Parliament. He was a member of the Slovak government as a secretary of state for the Germans in Slovakia. At the end of World War II, he fled to Germany. A Slovak court sentenced him to death in absentia in June 1948. KARVAŠ, IMRICH (1903–1981). Economist and university professor, as governor of the Slovak National Bank in the first Slovak Republic, he put its funds at the disposal of the resistance movement. KARVAŠ, PETER (1920– ). Dramatist and teacher, he has written plays for the radio and the stage that are characterized by intel-

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lectual humor and social criticism. Among his published dramas are Diplomati (The diplomats) (1958), Polnočná omša (Midnight mass) (1959), and Absolútny zákaz (Absolute prohibition) (1970). His prose works include Čert nespí (The devil never sleeps) (1954), Malovať čerta na stenu (To draw the devil on the wall) (1970), and Fascikel S (File S) (1988). Although he is considered to have made a major contribution to Slovak socialist literature in the 1950s, he was forced out of social and literary life during normalization. See also THEATER. KEMPNÝ, JÁN (1912–1997). Lawyer and Catholic politician, he was a deputy for the Democratic Party (DS) to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1945 until 1947 when, together with Jozef Staško, he was accused by the Communist Party of Slovakia of participating in an antistate conspiracy. He was tried and condemned in May 1948 to a six-year prison term. He was one of the signatories of the 1946 April Agreement. He then became one of the secretaries general of the DS. He was rehabilitated in August 1990, and in 1996 President Michal Kováč bestowed on him the Order of Ĺudovít Štúr. KINGDOM OF SAMO. See SAMO. KIRSCHBAUM, JOZEF (JOSEPH M.) (1913–2001). Politician, diplomat, and scholar, he was the leader of the Hlinka Academic Guard in 1938–1940 and secretary general of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party from March 1939 to July 1940, when he was forced out of politics as a result of German intervention and pressure. After completing his military service, he joined the Slovak diplomatic service, serving in Rome, Italy, in 1941–1942 and in Bern, Switzerland, as chargé d’affaires from 1942 to 1945. He remained in Switzerland after the war and, in 1949, he immigrated to Canada. As an émigré, he was a cofounder of the Slovak National Council Abroad and the Slovak Liberation Council and one of the founders of the Slovak World Congress. He was its executive vice president from 1970 to 1988. He was also the founder of the Chair of Slovak Culture and History at the University of Ottawa, Canada, established in 1992. He is the author of numerous scholarly works on Slovak his-

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tory and literature, among which are Náš boj o samostatnosť Slovenska (Our struggle for the independence of Slovakia) (1958), Slovakia: Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe (1960), Slovaks in Canada (1967), and Slovak Language and Literature (1975). KLARISKY. See POOR CLARES. KLEPÁČ, JÁN (1949– ). Leader of the Slovak Christian Democratic Movement, the nationalist branch of the Christian Democratic Movement that broke away shortly before the elections of 1992. The party failed to get anyone elected. He was a deputy to the Slovak National Council and its vice president from 1990 to 1992. KMEŤKO, KAROL (1875–1948). Roman Catholic priest, politician, and educator, he became bishop of Nitra in 1921 and titular archbishop in 1944. He was a cofounder of the Slovak People’s Party, a member of the Slovak National Council, a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, and a deputy to the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly and the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1918 to 1922. When he was elevated to the rank of bishop, he concentrated on Catholic education as president of the Catholic School Council, and on missionary activities. KŇAŽKO, MILAN (1945– ). Actor and politician who, along with Ján Budaj, moderated the public meetings in Bratislava in the first days of the “Gentle Revolution.” He became a member of Public Against Violence, was a cofounder of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, and in 1993 joined the Democratic Union. He was elected to the Slovak National Council in 1990 and 1992 and to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 and 1998. He was minister of international relations in 1990–1991, minister of foreign affairs in 1992–1993, and minister of Culture from 1998 to 2002. KOCEĽ (?–881). Prince of Pannonia (861–881), he sent 50 candidates for the priesthood with Methodius to Rome in A.D. 867. In 869, he asked the Holy See to send him a bishop, and the request was granted when Methodius was named archbishop and plenipotentiary papal

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legate of all the Slavs living in the territories ruled by Rastislav, Koceľ, and Svätopluk. See also GREAT MORAVIA. KOLDER COMMISSION. Created by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in September 1962, under the chairmanship of Drahomír Kolder, it reported on the purges of the 1950s. Although it recommended the rehabilitation of most Czechs, it asked for only the partial rehabilitation of the Slovaks condemned for Slovak bourgeois nationalism. The reaction in Slovakia to the commission’s report brought about the creation of the Barnabite Commission. See also PILLER COMMISSION. KOLLÁR, ADAM FRANTIŠEK (1718–1783). Historian, educator, and political adviser, he was director of the court library archives from 1767 and, from 1774, dean of the faculty of philosophy at the University of Vienna and lecturer in Latin and Greek. He is also known as the “Slovak Socrates” for the breadth of his publications. He was a representative of enlightened absolutism, and in 1764 he published a booklet entitled De originibus et usu perpetuo potestatis legislatoriae circa sacra apostolicum regum Ungariae (About the origins and perpetual use of the legislative power of the Holy Apostolic King of Hungary) that Empress Maria Theresa used to justify taxing the Hungarian nobility. He was influential in the development of the Ratio Educationis of 1777, which changed the educational system in Hungary. KOLLÁR, JÁN (1793–1852). Lutheran pastor and poet, he is best known for his epic poem Slávy dcera (Daughter of Slava), published in 1824. He opposed Ľudovít Štúr’s literary language, argued for the creation of a Czechoslovak language that brought together elements of Czech and Slovak, and was a proponent of Slavic solidarity. In 1849, he moved to Vienna, where, in addition to his professorship at the university, he became an advisor to the imperial government on Slovak questions. He tried unsuccessfully to introduce a corrected form of Czech, which he called “Old Slovak.” See also LITERATURE. KOLLÁR, MARTIN (1852–1919). Roman Catholic priest and politician and deputy to the Hungarian Diet from 1892 to 1896, he was the editor of Katolické noviny (Catholic News) from 1880 to 1904.

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KOMUNISTICKÁ STRANA ČESKOSLOVENSKA. See COMMUNIST PARTY OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA. KOMUNISTICKÁ STRANA SLOVENSKA. See COMMUNIST PARTY OF SLOVAKIA. KONFEDERÁCIA ODBOROVÝCH ZVÄZOV. See CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNION ASSOCIATIONS. KOREC, JÁN CHRYZOSTOM (CARDINAL) (1924– ). Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, dissident, and author, he was secretly ordained bishop on 24 August 1951. He was condemned on 21 May 1960 for his religious activities to a 12–year prison term but was released in 1968. His writings against the regime circulated in samizdat under communism, in particular his response to the six-part series, beginning on 6 March 1989, entitled The Cross in the Shackles of Power. prepared by the Institute for Scientific Atheism. He was made diocesan bishop of Nitra in 1990 and elevated to rank of cardinal in 1991. In June 2005, he resigned as bishop of Nitra. Among his numerous publications is Cirkev v dejinách Slovenska (The church in the history of Slovakia) (1994). KOSSUTH, LAJOS (1802–1894). Hungarian politician who took Hungary down the road to independence in 1848. An ardent Magyar nationalist, he did not concede the Slovaks any national political rights. KOSTKA, PETER (?–1530?) AND NICHOLAS (?–1554). Members of a landowning family who sided with Ján Zápoľský in the struggle for the succession to the Hungarian throne after the battle of Mohács in 1526. They were supporters of the Reformation in Slovakia. KOŠICE. The area around Košice was settled already in the Stone Age. The first document referring to the town dates back to 1230. In 1241, the first German colonists, invited by the king, began to arrive. As a result, Košice became a multilingual town where Germans, Hungarians, and Slovaks lived together, a characteristic that it retained throughout the centuries. In Košice, the first guild in Hungary, a

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guild of leather merchants, was founded in 1307. When King Charles Robert donated the town to palatine Amadei in 1311, the people of Košice rebelled and killed the palatine. The defeat of the Amadei clan at Rozhanovce by Charles Robert on 15 June 1312 ushered in a period of urban development. In 1347, Košice was designated the second town in Hungary after Buda by the king and, in 1369, Košice received the right to have its own coat of arms, the first town in Europe to do so. Košice prospered with the development of viticulture, mining, and smelting. By 1480, with its 10,000 inhabitants, Košice was one of Central Europe’s biggest towns. However, caught in the wars between Ferdinand I and Ján Zápoľský in the first half of the 16th century, Košice began to lose importance. The fire of 13 April 1556 destroyed most of the city, thereby hastening its decline. The Ottoman Turkish occupation of Hungary had further negative consequences for Košice, cutting off the north–south trade routes that had contributed to the town’s wealth and development in the past. During the 150-year occupation of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire after the battle of Mohács in 1526, Košice was, from 1564 on, one of the two military capitancies created to defend against Ottoman incursions. The magnate rebellions of the 17th century added to the misery of the town, as did a second major fire on 22 August 1674. On issues of religion, the town was divided between those who embraced the Reformation, namely the Hungarian magnates, and those who were for the Counter–Reformation, supported by the crown, giving it three martyrs known as the Košice martyrs. Despite these difficulties, Košice maintained its position as a major center of culture in Eastern Slovakia with chapter and monastery schools and their theaters. In addition, the University of Košice was founded in 1657 by Benedikt Kišdy, and like the University of Trnava in Western Slovakia, it was a major intellectual center for the Counter-Reformation in Eastern Slovakia. It was not until the 19th century that Košice’s fortunes were revived with the growth of manufacturing and the renewal of trade in agricultural goods. The first train arrived in Košice on 5 July 1860; economic activity grew, as did the political control of the city by the Hungarians, despite the fact that the Slovaks formed the majority of the population. As a result, Košice’s Slovak population subjected to the full force of Budapest’s policy of Magyarization.

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The 20th century turned out to be an eventful century for Košice. First, it experienced months of chaos and the creation of the Slovak Soviet Republic at the end of World War I; its economy went into decline in the interwar years, resulting in massive emigration; and, in 1937, it saw the creation of the Slovak Technical University, the second one in its history; it was transferred to Bratislava in 1939. On 2 November 1938, as a result of the Vienna Award, Košice found itself in Hungary and remained under Hungarian control until April 1945. Most of the Jews of Košice and surrounding areas were deported to Germany and Poland in April and May 1944. On 5 April 1945, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile made public in Košice the Košice Program. As the first major Slovak city to be liberated by the Red Army, Košice was also the first to experience what later became Soviet domination, which resulted already at that time in the deportation of thousands of Slovaks to Soviet gulags. During the Communist period, Košice was not spared any of the methods of Communist control. Nevertheless, two universities, a Technical University and the University of Veterinary Medicine were founded in 1952 and the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University opened its doors in 1959. In 1970, the Czechoslovak Army opened the Slovak National Uprising Air Force Academy, which became the Gen. M. R. Štefánik Air Force Academy in 1993. In 2004, it was dissolved, transferred to the Technical University and, in 2005, became the Faculty of Aviation of the university. With the fall of communism and the creation of the second Slovak Republic, Košice experienced a renewal, with the historic center renovated in 1995–1996, in great part as a result of the efforts of its mayor, Rudolf Schuster. Today, Košice is Slovakia’s second largest city, which, according to the census of 26 May 2002, has in its agglomeration 236,093 inhabitants of whom 210,340 are Slovaks; 8,940 Hungarians; 5,055 Roma; and the rest represent various nationalities recorded in the census. The city itself encompasses 68,262 inhabitants. Last but not least, Košice is also the major cultural center of eastern Slovakia. KOŠICE MARTYRS. Name given to two Jesuit priests, Štefan Pongrác and Melicher Grodecký and Canon Marek Križin, who were put to death in Košice on 7 September 1619 during the magnate rebel-

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lion of Gabriel Betlen. They were canonized by Pope John Paul II on 2 July 1995. KOŠICE PROGRAM. Name given to the Czechoslovak government program agreed to by representatives of the Slovak National Council and the Czech political parties present in Moscow on 22–25 March 1945. Proclaimed in Košice on 5 April 1945, it outlined the social, economic, and political measures that would be enacted in a renewed Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II. The leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Klement Gottwald, dubbed it the “Magna Charta” of the Slovak nation. KOŠICE, UNIVERSITY OF. Created by the Jesuits, led by Benedikt Kišdy, on 26 February 1657, it was the second institution of higher learning created during the Counter-Reformation in Slovakia and made the city of Košice a major learning and cultural center in eastern Slovakia. It offered a studium generale, with three faculties, languages, philosophy (humanities), and technology, opening in 1658. It received its royal charter on 7 August 1660 and among its faculty was Samuel Timon. When the Jesuit order was dissolved in 1777, it became a royal academy and a branch of the University of Buda. See also UNIVERSITIES. KOVÁČ, MICHAL (1930– ). Banker and politician, he was one of the founders of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. He was Slovak minister of finance from 1989 to 1991, a deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly for Public Against Violence in 1990, and speaker of the House of the People of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in 1992. He was elected president of the second Slovak Republic for a five-year term on 17 February 1993 by the National Council of the Slovak Republic. He ran unsuccessfully for a second term in 1999. KRÁĽ, JANKO (1822–1876). Lawyer and writer, he was involved in the revolution of 1848–1849 and jailed for his activities. After the revolution, he found employment in the civil service in Zlaté Moravce until 1867, when he was dismissed by the Magyars. Many of his creative writings were not published until after his death. Initially, he wrote in Czech but then switched to the new Slovak literary

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language and published in Nitra ballads, such as “Zakliata panna vo Váhu a divný Janko” (The bewitched virgin in the Vah and eccentric Janko) (1844) in which he romantically describes his place of birth and the peregrinations of Crazy Janko along the Váh. However, he is best known for his epic poem Výlomky z Jánošíka (Excerpts from Jánošík) (1844–1847) in which he expresses openly his antifeudal feelings. See also LITERATURE. KRÁLICKA BIBLIA. See BIBLE OF KRALICE. KRAĽOVIČOVÁ, MÁRIA (1927– ). Actress who was a member of the Martin Chamber Theater and since 1948 of the Slovak National Theater. Recognized as a national artist, she has also appeared on television and in films. See also THEATER. KRASKO, IVAN (1876–1958). Poet and politician (born Ján Botto), he was a noteworthy representative of symbolist poetry. An Agrarian, he was a deputy to the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly and Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1919 to 1929, its vice president from 1920 to 1925, and a senator from 1929 to 1939. Among his collections of poetry are Nox et solitudo (Night and solitude) (1909) and Verše (Verses) (1912). He ceased writing poetry after he entered politics in 1918. See also LITERATURE. KREJČI, GUSTÁV (1951– ). A graduate in education and law, he began his political career in 1990 as a member of Public Against Violence (VPN), joining the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) after a split in the VPN. He was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1992 for the first time; in 1996, he was named minister of the Interior. Reelected in 1998 and in 2002, he left the HZDS in February 2003 and in October 2004, he was elected leader of the People’s Union. KRESŤANSKODEMOKRATICKÉ HNUTIE. See CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT. KRIŠTOF-VESELÝ, FRANTIŠEK (1903–1977). Born František Veselý, this extremely popular actor and singer studied acting in a

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drama school in Budapest, as a result of which he had a slight Hungarian accent in Slovak. He was a musical comedy actor from 1931 to 1938 at the Slovak National Theater, again from 1940 to 1946, and its director in 1932–1933. He also appeared in eleven films while in Prague from 1938 to 1940. In 1946, he was a cofounder of the theater Nová scéna, director of its musical comedy, and from 1964 also actor and director. He acted in operettas and became famous as a performer of Slovak dancing songs, especially the music of Gejza Dusík. He was considered by many to be a Slovak Maurice Chevalier. He published an autobiography entitled S úsmevom a veselo (Smiling and happy). KRUŽLIAK, IMRICH (1914– ). Political writer, poet, editor of the periodicals Bojovník (Fighter) and Národné noviny (National News) in 1945–1946, and one of the Catholic intellectuals involved in the discussions that produced the April Agreement. After escaping to West Germany, he worked for Radio Free Europe from 1951 to 1980 as a cultural editor; he returned to Slovakia in 1990. He was also active in the Slovak World Congress, president of the Association of Slovak Writers and Artists Abroad, and editor of the monthly Horizont. Among his published works is the collection of poems Piesne a smútky (Songs and sorrows) (1974). See also LITERATURE. KUKAN, EDUARD (1939– ). Diplomat and politician, he was Czecho– Slovakia’s last and Slovakia’s first ambassador to the United Nations. He became minister of foreign affairs in the Jozef Moravčík government in 1994. He was elected a deputy to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 for the Democratic Union (DÚ), and from 1995 to 1998 he was its chairman. For the 1998 elections, the DÚ joined four other parties to form the Slovak Democratic Coalition; for the 2002 elections, he was a candidate for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. From 1998 to 2006, he was minister of foreign affairs. In 2004, he was a candidate for president of the Slovak Republic but failed to get past the first ballot. KUKUČÍN, MARTIN (1860–1928). Physician and writer, he was born Matej Bencúr; his writings reflected the other side of Slovak life toward the end of the 19th century, namely, immigration to foreign lands. Among his writings are Mladé letá (The early years) (1889),

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Dies irae (1893), Dom v stráni (House on a hill) (1904), Lukáš Blahosej Krasoň (1929), and Bohumil Valizlosť Zábor (1930), the last two dealing with the period of Ľudovít Štúr. He lived in Croatia and Argentina, where he died. See also LITERATURE. KUKURA, JURAJ (1947– ). Actor who is a graduate of the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, he became a member of the Slovak National Theater in 1976 and has appeared in many films, especially in Germany. He is currently director of the Arena theater in Bratislava. See also THEATER. KUN, BÉLA (1886–1938). Hungarian Bolshevik leader whose troops in 1919 invaded parts of eastern Slovakia and proclaimed a shortlived Slovak Soviet Republic. KUSÝ, MIROSLAV (1931– ). Marxist philosopher and academic, he is the author of numerous works on Marxism. Member of the Communist Party of Slovakia, he fell out of grace with the regime after the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. He was one of the Slovak members of Charter 77, professor of political science, rector of Comenius University in 1990, and head of the Bratislava Office of the President of the Republic in 1991–1992. KUZMÁNY, KAROL (1806–1866). Lutheran pastor and writer, he proposed a cultural organization like Matica slovenská in 1851 and attended its inauguration in 1863 as cofounder. He was elected one of its vice presidents. He was a member of the delegation to the emperor in Olomouc in March 1849 and was appointed superintendent of the Lutheran Church in Slovakia in 1860. He was a representative of Slovak pre-Romantism and the author of patriotic and idyllic poetry. See also LITERATURE. KVETKO, MARTIN (1912–1995). Politician who participated in the planning of the uprising of 1944, he was a member of the Democratic Party (DS), deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly (1945–1948), and commissioner for agriculture and land reform (1945–1947). He immigrated to the West after the Communist takeover, worked for Radio Free Europe, and was the leading representa-

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tive of the Permanent Conference of Slovak Democratic Exiles; in 1984, he also became vice chairman of the Assembly of Oppressed European Nations. He returned to Slovakia in 1989 and became honorary chairman of the renewed DS.

-LLABOR PARTY/STRANA PRÁCE (SP). This party was created on 20 January 1946 to offset the penetration of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) in Slovakia. Its leader was Ivan Frlička. In the elections of 26 May 1946, it obtained 3.11 percent of the popular vote and three seats in the Slovak National Council. On 28 September, it changed its name to Social Democracy in Slovakia/Sociálna demokrácia na Slovensku and on 19 October became a member of the ČSSD. It was a member of the National Front but was dissolved under communism. ĽACH, MICHAL (1948– ). A graduate of the University of Economics, he began his managerial career in 1972 in the state enterprise Chemosvit Svit, and was appointed managing director in 1989. When the enterprise was transformed into a private joint-stock company, he remained in the management of the company in the position of managing director and chairman of Board of Directors. He joined the Federation of Employer Unions and Associations in 1990 and was its president from 1990 to 2004. LADISLAS I (LÁSZLÓ) (1040–1095). King of Hungary (1077–1095) who established a legal system and introduced a code of laws dealing with criminal offenses and commercial transactions. It was also during his reign that Nitra regained its status as the seat of a bishopric. LADISLAS V POSTHUMOUS (1440–1457). King of Hungary (1453–1457) whose claim to the throne was disputed by the Magyar nobles led by Ján Huňady. They supported Wladislaw Jagellio I of Poland. Ladislas had the support of Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa. The Hungarian Diet and the nobles finally recognized him as the legitimate king of Hungary in 1453.

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LANGOBARDII. Germanic tribe who evicted the Quadi and Marcomanni from the territory of contemporary Slovakia and who, in turn, were chased away by the Avars around the middle of the sixth century. LANGOŠ, JÁN (1946– ). Physicist and politician, he was involved in dissident publications under communism with Ján Ćarnogurský. In 1989, he was appointed to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly; in 1990, named deputy speaker of the Chamber of the People. In the elections of 1990, he was elected a deputy to the assembly for the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) and named federal minister of the interior. In the elections of 1994, he was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic for the KDH; in November 1995, he became the chairman of the Democratic Party, which joined the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK). In the elections of 1998, he was elected for the SDK. On 25 April 2003, he became chairman of the Nation’s Memory Institute. LANGUAGE. The Slovak language evolved from the original Slavic language spoken by the Slavs in Great Moravia and now belongs to the family of West Slavic languages. It accepted over the centuries contributions from Czech, German, Hungarian, Latin, and more recently from English. Although its codification as a literary language did not occur until the end of the 18th century, it had a written form based on Czech since the 15th century known as Cultural Slovak, which was divided into three geographical areas: western, central, and eastern. The Czech literary language was also used, especially after Slovak Lutherans adopted the Bible of Kralice. The translation into Cultural Western Slovak of the Bible and the Latin–Slovak dictionary by Romuald Hadbavný (they were never published) in the 1760s indicated the importance that Cultural Western Slovak had acquired; it became the basis for the codification published by Anton Bernolák in 1790. This codification ran against two major obstacles and provoked a debate that lasted for half a century. First, it was not accepted by many Lutherans who insisted on using a literary form of Czech known as bibličtina. Second, despite the creation of the Slovak Learned Society to propagate the use of the

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new language, it did not gain wide acceptance. In addition, there was the support for a Czechoslovak language by two distinguished men of letters, Ján Kollár and Pavol Jozef Šafárik. As a result, a group of writers led by Ľudovít Štúr, a Lutheran, decided to prepare a new codification based on Central Slovak dialects. His codification was published in 1847 and finally accepted by Catholics and Lutherans in 1852. At the same time, Kollár tried but failed to have his language accepted, which he called “Old Slovak.” The new literary language underwent two major modifications, one by Samo Czambel at the turn of the century and the other by Henrich Bartek in 1940. LAŠČIAKOVÁ, DARINA (1931– ). Contralto singer and a graduate of the faculty of philosophy at Comenius University, she served from 1961 to 1991 as editor of folk music for Slovak Radio, where she prepared many special programs on folk music, such as Hory, ľudia a pieseň (Mountains, people and song). She has many records of Slovak folk songs, especially from the Orava region, which she also interpreted on the radio and in concert in Slovakia and abroad. She was a gold medal winner of the Prix Radio Bratislava in 1970, 1971, 1973, and 1976. LEARNED SOCIETY OF THE MINING REGION/UČENÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ BANSKÉHO OKOLIA. Founded in 1810 by Bohuslav Tablic with an ambitious program of general education, it concentrated primarily on religious problems and supported a chair of bibličtina at the lyceum in Banská Šťiavnica. It ceased to exist in 1832 after the death of Tablic. LECHFELD. Name of the battlefield near Augsburg, where the Magyars were defeated by the Germans in A.D. 955. LENÁRT, JOZEF (1923– ). Communist politician who was chairman of the Slovak National Council in 1962–1963, first chairman of the Barnabite Commission, prime minister of Slovakia from 1963 to 1968, and first secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia from 1970 to 1987. He was one of the leading representatives of Gustáv Husák’s policy of normalization in Slovakia.

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LEOPOLD I (1640–1705). Habsburg emperor who ruled over Hungary from 1657 to 1705. He defeated the Ottoman Turks near St. Gotthard, on the Austrian frontier, on 1 August 1664 and again near Vienna on 12 September 1683 with the help of Polish, Italian, German, French, and Spanish forces. He also faced two magnate rebellions, those of Imrich Tököli and František II Rákoci. In his support of the Counter-Reformation, he allowed 24 Protestant supporters of Tököli, charged with suspicion of preparing a new uprising, to be executed in public in Prešov beginning 5 March 1687, an event that is remembered as the Prešov Slaughter. LEOPOLD II (1747–1792). Habsburg emperor who was determined to transform the monarchy into an enlightened polity with the emperor at its head and the main agent of transformation; however, his reign (1790–1792) was too short to have any real impact. LEOPOLDOV. Town in western Slovakia whose fortress on the right bank of the Váh River was ordered built by Leopold I between 1665 and 1669. It became a prison in 1854, where many political prisoners, in particular, Catholic clergy, such as bishops Michal Buzalka, Pavol Gojdič, and Ján Vojtaššák, were held during the Communist period. LESKA, ŠTEFAN (1757–1818). Lutheran superintendent and journalist who edited Prešpurské noviny (Bratislava News), published in biblical Czech from 1783 to 1788. LETOPIS MATICE SLOVENSKEJ. See ANNALS OF MATICA SLOVENSKÁ. LETTRICH, JOZEF (1905–1968). Lawyer and politician, he helped organize the 1944 uprising. He was chairman of the Slovak National Council and chairman of the Democratic Party from 1945 to 1948, when he immigrated to the United States. LIBERALIZATION. Name given to the eight-month period in 1968, from January to August, when the Communist regime, under the leadership of Alexander Dubček —who had become first secretary

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of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia —introduced political reforms in order to achieve “socialism with a human face.” This period is also known as the “Prague Spring.” The regime introduced through its Action Program a series of reforms that quickly gained popular support. Press censorship was lifted; spontaneous public meetings were allowed and held regularly in Prague, Bratislava, and other cities; and discussions and negotiations took place to transform the state into a federation of two nations. The tenor of political life and the direction in which the regime was taking the country was unacceptable to the other socialist states in the Soviet bloc, and the Czechoslovak government soon found itself pressured to curb the reform movement. In the end, the period of liberalization came to an abrupt end with a Warsaw Pact invasion in August that halted all of the reforms except one: the federalization of Czechoslovakia. When Dubček was replaced by Gustáv Husák as first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in April 1969, liberalization was replaced by normalization. LIBERTY PARTY/STRANA SLOBODY (SS). This party, meant to appeal to Catholic Slovaks and draw them away from the Democratic Party, was created with the help of the Communist Party of Slovakia on 1 April 1946 by Vavro Šrobár. In the elections of 26 May 1946, it obtained 3.71 percent of the popular vote and three seats in the Slovak National Council. It was a member of the National Front and, under communism, sent four deputies to the Slovak National Council. LICHARD, DANIEL (1812–1882). Lutheran pastor and journalist who, under imperial sponsorship, edited in Vienna Slovenské noviny (Slovak News) from 1849 to 1861 in Czech. He was also an editor of economic publications. LICHARDUS, BRANISLAV (1930– ). Physician, scientist, specialist in physiology and pathophysiology, academic, and diplomat, he was the first Slovak Republic’s first ambassador to the United States (1994–1998). Educated at Comenius University, he was elected in 1977 to the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), where, as a

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researcher, he worked since 1957 in the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology. In 1968–1970 and 1989–1990, he was named vicedirector of the SAV. In 1990–1993, he was president of the Slovak Medical Society and, from 1992 to 1995, president of the SAV. In 1999, he was named first rector of the City University—Vysoká škola manažmentu (University of Management) in Trenčin. In 2003, he was the founding president of the Learned Society of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Together with László Kovács, he is the author of Vasopressin: Disturbed Secretion and Its Effects (1989). He is a member of many international scientific societies and the recipient of many awards. LICHNER, JÁN (1897–1979). Notary and politician, as an Agrarian he was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1935–1939 and a member of the Democratic Party from 1945–1948. During World War II, he served in the Czechoslovak governmentin-exile in London. LINZ, PEACE OF (1645). Peace signed in 1645 between Ferdinand III and Juraj I Rákoci, leader of the third magnate rebellion in royal Hungary. LITERATURE. The history of literature in Slovakia and Slovak literature can be divided into seven periods. The first period encompasses medieval literature from approximately A.D. 800 to 1467. It begins with the translations of religious texts and the Holy Scriptures by Cyril and Methodius into the Slavic vernacular and includes later texts, especially legends, in Latin, as well as Slovakized Czech. The Renaissance, from 1467 to 1636, defines the second period, and its publications are primarily in Latin. Since this was the period of humanism, classical authors were read. It is also a period of religious poetry and historical songs relating events linked to the Turkish occupation of Hungary. Among the best-known writers from this period are Jakob Jakobeus, Martin Rakovský, and Ján Sambucus. The most famous publication of this period is the Lutheran hymnal by Juraj Tranovský, Cithara Sanctorum. The Baroque represents the third period, from 1636 to 1780, which was ushered in by Benedikt Sölöši’s Cantus Catholici, a Catholic

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hymnal that celebrates the Cyrillo–Methodian tradition. The Turkish wars were a theme that produced Štefan Pilárik’s Sors Pilarikiana (The Lot of Pilárik), the most famous epic poem of this period. This is also the period that saw Hugolín Gavlovič write his Valaská škola (Shepherd’s storehouse of wisdom) (it was not published until 1830–1831) and the execution of Juro Jánošík in 1713, who became the object not just of ballads and legends but also of major writings in the period of Romanticism. Last but not least, this period also produced the first defenses of the Slovak language and nation by such people as Jakob Jakobeus, Matej Bel, Ján Balthazar Magin, Samuel Timon, Juraj Papánek, and Juraj Sklenár. The fourth period, that of Classicism, from 1780 to 1828, begins with the publication in Cultural Western Slovak of Jozef Ignác Bajza’s novel René mláďenca príhodi a skusenosťi (Adventures and experiences of a young man called René) in 1783. It is the period of the first codification of the Slovak language by Anton Bernolák and the writings of Ján Hollý, who also translated classical authors in that language. It is also a period of linguistic debate that was resolved only a quarter century later and that prepared the ground for the next period, whose literature is considered to be unsurpassed to this day: Romanticism. The influence of European Romanticism was felt from 1828 to 1871, the fifth period. Ľudovít Štúr not only codified the Slovak language, but also contributed directly to the literary output of the period along with such authors as Ján Botto, Samo Chalupka, Janko Kráľ, and Andrej Sládkovič. The founding of Matica slovenská in 1863 and the poetry of Karol Kuzmány gave additional impetus to Slovak literature. Other writers of note were Ján Palárik and Jonáš Záborský. Poetry predominated during this period, but other genres were also published. The sixth period, from 1871 to 1918, is one of realism but also one of symbolism that depicts especially the life of the Slovak countryside or else that of Slovak emigrés at a time when Budapest’s policy of Magyarization was in full swing. It brought forth the writings of Svetozár Hurban-Vajanský, Pavol Országh-Hviezdoslav, Martin Kukučín, Josef Gregor-Tajovský, Janko Jesenský, Ladislav Nádaši-Jégé, Ivan Krasko, and the women writers Terézia Vansová, Elena Maróthy-Šoltésová, Ĺudmila Riznerová-Podjavorinská, and Božena Slančíková-Timrava.

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The seventh period encompasses the years of the Czechoslovak Republic, the short-lived period of the first Slovak Republic, and also the period of communism. It includes many literary schools and genres and a great deal of experimentation. There is also the influence of many European schools and trends. Among the interwar writers are Milo Urban, Gejza Vámoš, Vladimír Roy, Jozef Cíger- Hronský, Ján Smrek, Margita Figuli, Maša Haľamová, Valentin Beniak, Tido J. Gašpar, and Emil Boleslav Lukáč. Among the writers who published under communism, were influenced by it, or reacted to it are Milan Ferko, Ladislav Mňačko, Ladislav Novomeský, Alfonz Bednár, Dominik Tatarka, Ladislav Ťažký, Viliam Turčány, Anton Hykisch, Milan Rúfus, Ľubomír Feldek, Oĺga Feldeková, Ján Johanides, and Ladislav Ballek. This period also includes émigré writers, many of whom began their literary careers in Slovakia, such as Hronský. Among them are Rudolf Dilong, Imrich Kružliak, Karol Strmeň, Mikuláš Šprinc, Ján Okáľ, Andrej Žarnov, and Gorazd Zvonický. LÖBL, EUGEN (1907–1987). Economist and Communist politician, he was appointed first deputy minister of trade in 1948 but arrested in 1949 and tried along with 13 other leading Communists on a charge of antistate conspiracy in the Slanský trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but amnestied in 1960 and rehabilitated in 1963. He wrote two books on his experiences, Svedectvo o procese s vedením protištátneho sprisahaneckého centra na čele s Rudolfom Slánskym (Testimony on the trial of the leadership of the anti-state conspiratorial center led by Rudolf Slánsky) (1968) and My Mind on Trial (1976). He left Czechoslovakia in 1968, rejected communism, and became vice president of the Slovak World Congress. See also PURGES. LOUIS I (1326–1382). King of Hungary (1342–1382) who gave the Slovak inhabitants of many towns the same voting privileges that his predecessors had granted German colonists. He granted the Privilegium pro Slavis (Privilege for the Slavs) to the town of Žilina in 1381. LOUIS JAGELLIO II (1506–1526). King of Hungary (1516–1526) who fell on the battlefield at Mohács, where the Ottoman Turkish forces defeated the Hungarian ones.

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LOUIS THE GERMAN (804–876). Grandson of Charlemagne, he inherited the eastern (Francia orientalis,) or Germanic, part of the Carolingian Empire. He decided to expand eastward and encouraged the Christianization of the Slavs. He often came into conflict with the rulers of Great Moravia. LUBY, ŠTEFAN (1941– ). Professor of physics at the Slovak Technical University, and researcher at the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), he is one of Slovakia’s outstanding scientists in the field of physical engineering. He has been awarded a number of honorary doctorates and prizes for his research by foreign institutions. In 2005, he received Slovakia’s highest honor, the Cross of Pribina, 1st Class from the president of the Slovak Republic. He has published 285 original research papers and four books, including, in coauthorship with V. Hajko et al., Physics in Experiments (1997). In 1995, he was elected president of the SAV. LUDANICKÝ FAMILY. Slavic landowning family that supported Matúš Čák. ĽUDOVÁ STRANA. See MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA. ĽUDOVÁ ÚNIA. See PEOPLE’S UNION. LUKÁČ, EMIL BOLESLAV (1900–1979). Poet, translator, and politician, he was a deputy for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1936 to 1939 and to the Slovak Assembly and the Slovak Parliament from 1939 to 1945. As a poet, he is a representative of neosymbolism and transcendentalism in Slovak poetry. In collections of poems, such as Spoveď (The confession) (1922), Hymny k sláve Hosudárovej (Hymns to the glory of the Lord) (1926), O láske neláskavej (About unloving love), and Križovatky (Crossroads) (1929), the accent is on love and the personal. In Elixir (1934), Moloch (1938), and Babel (1944), his poetry reflects the deepening political crisis in Europe. He was initially silenced by the Communist regime but in 1967 was permitted to reissue old poems and publish Óda na poslednú a prvú (Ode to the last

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and first) (1967). He translated works by Claudel, Petöfi, and other French and Hungarian authors. See also LITERATURE. LUTHERAN CHURCH. It is officially known as the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession/Evanjelická cirkev augsburského vyznania (ECAV) in Slovakia. The Lutheran movement appeared in Slovakia at the beginning of the Reformation, particularly in mining towns of central Slovakia, where Germans predominated and adopted the Augsburg Confession of 1530, which served as the basis for three domestic confessions of faith, the Confessio Pentapolitana, the Confessio Montana, and the Confessio Scepusiana. It was formed as a church in Žilina in 1610. The Lutheran Church experienced persecution during the Counter-Reformation, and it was not until the Edict of Toleration in 1782 that it finally received full rights in the Habsburg Empire. By adopting the Czech Bible of Kralice in the 16th century, the Lutheran Church contributed to the debate on a literary language in Slovakia until the 19th century when Ľudovít Štúr, himself a Lutheran, codified it on the basis of central Slovak dialects. Until 1921, there was no independent superintendency in Slovakia, and the Slovak national struggle in the 19th century was mirrored within the church itself. It was at the synod of Trenčianské Teplice in 1921 that a new constitution was adopted and the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession with a German seniorate was legally established. Between 1918 and 1938, the Church actively worked and developed in many fields. After the Communist coup d’etat in 1948, the Lutheran Church lost control over its schools and diakonia (social services), and many church periodicals ceased publication. More than 100 clergy were persecuted; many were imprisoned and restrained from exercising their ministry. Until 1989, the church lived under the strict control of the totalitarian regime. On 24 November 1990, the Reverend Pavel Uhorskai was sworn into office as general bishop of the ECAV, and in 1993 the synod adopted a new constitution. The church runs a Lutheran Seminary in Bratislava (at the Evangelical theological faculty of Comenius University) and the Tranoscius Publishing House in Liptovský Mikuláš has a tradition of producing worship and religious literature, fiction, and several periodicals going back more than 100

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years. The church has 326 congregations and 657 churches and chapels and the current general bishop is the Reverend Július Filo. See also RELIGION.

-MMACH, ALEXANDER (1902–1980). A journalist and politician, he was an influential member of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party. He was head of the propaganda office (1938–1940), commander of the Hlinka Guard (1939–1944), minister of the interior (1940–1945), and deputy prime minister (1940–1944) of the first Slovak Republic. He belonged to the radical wing of the party and owed his ministerial position to direct German intervention in Slovak politics in 1940. MAGIN, JÁN BALTHAZÁR (1681–1735). Roman Catholic priest and writer, he published the first defense of the Slovak nation in 1723 in Murices nobilissimae et novissimae diaetae Posoniensis scriptori sparsi, sive Apologia (The leg traps which a writer of the most distinguished and most recent diet in Bratislava laid out here and there or A Defense), a reply to the allegations of Michal Benčík. See also LITERATURE. MAGNATE REBELLIONS. These rebellions with political and religious overtones were led by Hungarian magnates at a time when the Reformation was making inroads in royal Hungary and the Ottoman Turks controlled the rest of the Hungarian kingdom. The five magnate rebellions during the 17th century were those of Štefan Bočkai (1604– 1606), Gabriel Betlen (1619–1622), Juraj I Rákoci (1644–1645), Imrich Tököli (1678–1681), and František II Rákoci (1703–1711). See also OTTOMAN EMPIRE; VIENNA, PEACE OF. MAGYAR KERESZTÉNY DEMOKRATA MOZGALOM. See HUNGARIAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT. MAGYAR KOALÍCIÓ PÁRTJA-STRANA MAĎARSKEJ KOALÍCIE (MKP–SMK). See PARTY OF THE HUNGARIAN COALITION.

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MAGYAR NÉPPÁRT. See HUNGARIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY. MAGYAR POLGÁRI PÁRT. See HUNGARIAN CIVIC PARTY. MAGYARIZATION. Policy of the Hungarian government beginning in the late 18th century that aimed at assimilating the Slovaks and other non-Magyar nationalities in the kingdom. The first Magyarization law was passed by the Hungarian Diet in 1790; Magyar replaced Latin as the official language of the kingdom. Other laws were enacted in the 1840s. With the help of such associations as the Upper Hungarian Educational Association, Magyarization was intensively pursued after the Austro–Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and maintained until the breakup of the Austro–Hungarian Empire. See also COMPROMISE; HUNGARY. MAGYARS. An Ugro–Finnish people who appeared in Central Europe in A.D. 896. They helped defeat and take over the Empire of Great Moravia and, after their defeat on the Lechfeld in 955 by the Germans, settled permanently in the Danubian plain and formed a kingdom under the Árpád dynasty called Hungary. Today, they are generally known as Hungarians. MAJSTER PAVOL (1470?–1542?). Wood carver who is considered one of the greatest European artists who lived in Slovakia. He settled in Levoča around 1500 and sculpted the main altar in the Church of Sv. Jakub, which is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic art in Europe. His workshop produced altars for other churches in Banská Bystrica, Spišská Sobota, Bardejov, and elsewhere. MALÁ VOJNA. See SMALL WAR. MALÁR, AUGUSTÍN (1894–1945). Military officer who played a key role in the army of the first Slovak Republic. He led the Slovak forces during the Small War in March 1939. In 1941–1942, he commanded the rapid division that fought in the Soviet Union. Promoted to the rank of general in 1942, he was military attaché in Rome, Budapest, and Berlin until 1944. He was made commander of the army in eastern Slovakia in 1944. Although in touch with representatives

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of the resistance, in the end he opted for the plan of General Ferdinand Čatloš. When the uprising started, he went on Slovak radio to discourage the population from joining it. He was arrested by the Germans and died in Mathausen concentration camp. MALATINSKÝ TOMÁŠ (1959– ). He graduated from the Slovak Technical University in 1983 in geodesy and cartography. From 1983 to 1986, he worked for Stavoprojekt Bratislava, from 1986 to 1998 in Elektrovod Bratislava in senior management positions. Since March 2000, he has been the president of Elektrovod. In May 2004, he was elected president of the Federation of Employer Unions and Associations. MALÍKOVÁ, ANNA (1959– ). Teacher and politician, she graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University, where she obtained her doctorate in 1983. For 10 years, she worked as a teacher in Čadca. She was one of the founders of the Slovak National Party (SNS), its vice president from 1994 to 1999. From 1999 to 2003, she was president. She was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic for the SNS in 1998 but failed to get reelected in 2002. In January 2003, she resigned from the presidency of the SNS in order to facilitate the reunification of the SNS with the True Slovak National Party (PSNS), created in October 2001 by Ján Slota. The SNS and the PSNS reunited as the SNS on 31 May 2003 at a joint conference held in Žilina and elected Slota chairman, with Malíková as first deputy chairwoman. Since 1991, she has been married to Alexander Vasiljevič Belousov, a citizen of the Russian Federation. MALOHONT LEARNED SOCIETY/UČENÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ MALOHONTSKÁ. Scientific and educational association created in 1808 by Ján Feješ and other prominent Lutherans in Malohont County. Its goal was to educate its members in various disciplines. It published the Solennia Bibliothecae Kis-Hontanae (Yearbook from the Kis-Hont County Library) from 1810 to 1832. It was dissolved in 1842. MANIFESTO OF THE SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL. Declaration made by the Slovak National Council on 4 February 1945 in Košice that demanded that the relations between the Czechs and the

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Slovaks in postwar Czechoslovakia be based on total equality, that is to say, that the state become a federation. MARCOMANNI. A Germanic people who fought Roman legions at the beginning of our era. The Marcomanni wars of A.D. 166–172 and 177–180 were fought mostly on Slovak territory. MARCUS AURELIUS (161–180). Roman emperor who led the Roman legions that fought the Marcomanni on Slovak territory. It is during the second Marcomanni wars that he wrote his philosophical Meditations. MARIA THERESA (1717–1780). Habsburg empress (1740–1780) who imposed absolutism on the empire but who also introduced such reforms as the Urbarial Law of 1767. MARKUŠ, JOZEF (1944– ). Economist and politician, he was deputy prime minister of Slovakia in 1989–1990. Since 1990, he has been president of Matica slovenská. MAROBUD. King of the Germanic Quadi tribe whom the Romans defeated in A.D. 19. MARÓTHY-ŠOLTÉSOVÁ, ELENA. See ŠOLTÉSOVÁ, ELENA MARÓTHY-. MARSINA, RICHARD (1923– ). Historian, archivist, researcher at the Historical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and professor and chairholder of history from 1992 to 1998 at the University of Trnava, he is the author of over 200 studies on medieval Slovak history. Among his major publications are Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris Slovaciae I–II (The code of letters and documents of Slovakia) (1971), Študie k slovenskému diplomatáru I 1–2, II (Studies in Slovak documents) (1971, 1973, and 1989), Metodov boj (Methodius’s struggle) (1985), Vývoj správy miest na Slovensku (The development of civic administration in Slovakia) (1984), Legendy stredovekého Slovenska (Legends of Slovakia from the Middle Ages) (1997), and V kráľovstve svätého Štefana (In the kingdom of St. Stephen) (2003).

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MARTIN DECLARATION. See DECLARATION OF THE SLOVAK NATION. MARTIN GROUP. Name given to members of the Slovak National Party in Turčiansky Sväty Martin in the early 20th century who adhered to the policies of the Old School and opposed the political options of the Hlasists. MARTINÁKOVÁ, ZUZANA (1961– ). Journalist and politician who was elected deputy of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) in 2002; she served as deputy speaker of the NR SR from 2002 to 2004. In March 2004, she became president of a new movement within the SDKÚ called Free Forum. MARTINOVIČ, IGNÁC (?–1795). A former Franciscan from Pest, of Serbian origin, who became involved in revolutionary activity in Hungary during the time of the French Revolution. He created two societies, the Societas reformatorum (Society of Reformers) for the nobility and the Societas libertatis atque equalitatis (Society of Freedom and Equality) for radical democrats and Jacobins. For each society, he prepared and published a catechism. His conspiracy included a number of Slovak participants, among them Jozef Hajnoci, a lawyer from Modra. Martinovic who worked out a democratic constitution that included the nationality principle; its application would have turned Slovakia into an independent administrative unit called Slavonica. The conspiracy cost the lives of five conspirators, including Martinovič and Hajnoci. MASÁR, VLADIMÍR (1958– ). A graduate of the University of Economics in Bratislava, he worked for the Czechoslovak State Bank in Bratislava from 1981 to 1990. In 1990, he became deputy director of the Všeobecná úverová banka in Bratislava and in 1992, first deputy minister in the Ministry of Finance. From July 1993 until January 2000, he was governor of the National Bank of Slovakia. MASARYK, TOMÁŠ G. (1850–1937). Czech academic and politician, he was the first president of Czecho–Slovakia (1918–1935).

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He began working for the independence of the Czechs and Slovaks from Austria–Hungary during World War I. In 1915, he submitted a memorandum to the Foreign Office claiming that “the Slovaks are Bohemians [Czechs] in spite of their using their dialect as their literary language.” He became president of the Czecho–Slovak National Council in 1916, founded the Czecho–Slovak Legion in Russia, signed the Pittsburgh Pact, and became one of the three founders of the Czecho–Slovak Republic. As president of Czechoslovakia, he refused to acknowledge the validity of the Pittsburgh Pact or to consider the autonomy of Slovakia. He is considered by some historians to be the originator of the ideology of Czechoslovakism. MATHIAS I “CORVINUS” (1440/43–1490). King of Hungary (1458–1490) and son of Ján Huňady, he chased the last of the Brethren out of Slovakia and founded in 1465 (with the official opening taking place in July 1467) the Academia Istropolitana in Bratislava under the jurisdiction of Ján Vitez, archbishop of Ostrihom. MATICA SLOVENSKÁ (MS)/SLOVAK CULTURAL INSTITUTE. Slovak cultural institution founded in August 1863 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin. Its activities were divided into six research departments—language, history, ethnography, law and philosophy, mathematics and natural science, and economics and industry—and two arts departments, music and theater. In 1864, it began publishing the Letopis Matice slovenskej (Annals of Matica slovenská) under the editorship of František Sasinek. It was supported financially by all Slovaks with periodic fund-raising campaigns made throughout Hungary. In 1875, the Hungarian government closed it down and confiscated its property. MS was reestablished on 1 January 1919 and resumed its social, scientific, and literary activities. In 1932, it rejected a new grammar that sought to bring the Czech and Slovak languages closer together. Under communism, it came under strict ideological control of the Communist Party of Slovakia. It regained its independence with the fall of communism in 1989. Its president since 1990 is Jozef Markuš.

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MAZÁK, JÁN (1954– ). A graduate of the faculty of Law of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, he began his career at the Regional Court in Košice, where he was elected a professional judge in 1980. From 1983 on, he worked as vice president of the Court in the criminal department; from 1987 on, he was vice president of the Court in the civil law department; finally, in 1990, he became the president of the City Court. From 1990 until 1998, he also practiced law. In addition, he holds an appointment in the faculty of Law at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, was named docent (associate professor) in 1998, and professor of civil law in 2003. In 1993, he worked as an advisor at the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and, in November 1998, he was appointed state secretary in the Ministry of Justice and vice president of the Legislative Council of the Government of the Slovak Republic. He is author of the first Slovak textbook on civil procedure law and the author or coauthor of 12 monographs. He was appointed president of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic on 22 January 2000. MEČIAR, VLADIMÍR (1942– ). Lawyer and politician, persecuted under communism, he became the first prime minister of the second Slovak Republic. After the fall of communism, he became minister of the interior in 1990 and prime minister in 1990–1991, after the party he was leading, Public Against Violence (VPN), won the elections of June 1990. He was ousted from power as a result of a vote of no confidence in the presidium of the Slovak National Council in April 1991. He then left the VPN and created the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). He won the June 1992 elections, negotiated the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia, and thus became the last Slovak prime minister in Czecho–Slovakia and the first prime minister of independent Slovakia. In March 1994, he was once again voted out of power in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR); in October 1994, he won the elections and became once more prime minister and head of a coalition government. However, in the elections of September 1998, although his party won a plurality of seat in the NR SR, he was unable to form a coalition government; he was in opposition until 2006. From 3 March to 29 October 1998, after the NR SR failed to elect a new president, he was acting president. In May 1999, he was a candidate to become president of

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the Slovak Republic, which he lost to Rudolf Schuster. In April 2004, he was again a candidate and lost in the second ballot to Ivan Gašparovič. As leader of the HZDS and prime minister of independent Slovakia, Mečiar sought to encourage economic development and give the country its own economic and social structures. However, his style of government has brought him criticism, not only from other parties, but also the European Union (EU) for being too authoritarian, intolerant of opposition views, and too partisan, especially in the privatization process. He failed to have Slovakia accepted among the first countries to be invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1997 and Slovakia was also dropped from the list of states invited to negotiate admission in the EU. He was also severely criticized for his political style, which was at times acerbic and personal, often pandering to popular sentiment rather than being based on rational argument. Both of his dismissals from power were brought about as a result of members of his party withdrawing their support. However, as elections have shown, his charismatic leadership has enabled him to regain power until the 1998 elections and after that to ensure that his party, the HZDS, won pluralities in the 1998 and 2002 elections. He was unable, however, to form a government. MEDIA. Television is the most frequently used media and is available in the public and private sectors. Public Slovak channels broadcasting throughout the country are STV 1 (Slovak Television) with 33 percent of the viewing public and STV 2 with 6 percent; private television stations are TV Markíza with 63 percent, JOJ with 23 percent, and Ta3 with 3 percent. There are four Czech channels, Česka televízia (Czech Television) 1 and 2, Nova, and Prima, that are accessible to all cable and satellite subscribers, but otherwise offered only to viewers in western Slovakia. Also, 77 stations broadcast local and regional programs. In addition, Austrian, German, and Hungarian television stations are available in certain areas of Slovakia. The most important radio stations are also divided into public and private radio. Public Slovak radio stations are Rádio Slovensko (Radio Slovakia), Rádio Devín, Rádio FM, Rádio Regina, Rádio Patria, and Rádio Slovakia International. Available statistics indicate the following distribution of listeners: Rádio Slovensko with 20 percent

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of listeners, and Rádio Regina with 6 percent, and the private stations Rádio Expres with 22 percent, Rádio Okey with 9 percent, and Fun Rádio with 7 percent; other private stations are Rádio Lumen and Rádio Twist. Many of these stations have regional and district affiliates. In addition, there are 16 regional radio, and three local stations. There are in total 13 dailies published in Slovakia, the most important of which are SME, Pravda, Nový čas (New Time), Šport, Hospodárske noviny (Economic News), and Korzár. Their readership is estimated for Nový čas at 26 percent, Pravda at 10 percent, SME at 9 percent, Šport at 6 percent, Korzár at 5 percent, and Hospodárske noviny at 3 percent. SME is considered a right-of-center daily, whereas Pravda is left-leaning. Nový čas is a tabloid and enjoys the greatest readership. There is also a Hungarian daily Új Szó (New Word) and 14 publications are published weekly, the most important of which are Nový Čas pre ženy (New Time for Women), Plus 7 dní (Plus 7 Days), Život (Life), Báječná žena (Wonderful Woman), and Eurotelevízia (Eurotelevision). Last but not least, there is Slovak Spectator, an English-language paper, which is also published weekly. Finally, there is the Internet; newspapers like Pravda, Slovak Spectator, and SME are accessible on the Internet, often with paid access service. Rádio Slovak International is also available on the Internet through the World Radio Network. MEDVEDCKÝ, KAROL (1875–1937). Roman Catholic priest and historian, he was a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation and was elected secretary of the Slovak National Council on 30 October 1918. He was a member of the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly from 1918 to 1920. Thereafter, he dedicated himself to scholarly research and writing. MELIČKOVÁ, HANA (1900–1978). Actress, member of the Slovak National Theater from 1926 to 1976, and the wife of Daniel Rapant. She created some 180 parts during her acting career, playing tragic roles in the classical repertoire of drama that included William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, and Oscar Wilde. During 1939–1945, she performed at the Slovak People’s Theater in Nitra. She was also a radio and television performer. See also THEATER.

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MELNÍK, MILAN (1938– ). Researcher and university professor, he is one of Slovakia’s outstanding biochemists, a pioneer of bioinorganic chemistry. He is the author or coauthor of 52 studies, among them Crystallographic and Structural Analysis of Iron Carbonyls (2000). In 2002, he was proclaimed scientist of the year in the Slovak Republic and, in 2005, he was awarded the prize Research Scientist of the World by Cambridge University. MEMORANDUM OF THE SLOVAK NATION/MEMORANDUM SLOVENSKÉHO NÁRODA. A document prepared in June 1861 based on a brochure of Štefan Marko Daxner that outlined Slovak demands, namely equal rights with the Magyars, the recognition of Slovak national individuality by law, the formation of a North Hungarian Slovak District (Okolie in Slovak), Slovak as the official language of administration of this district, a Slovak Academy of Law and a chair of Slavonic studies in Pest, and the repeal of all Hungarian laws that infringed on the principles of the equality of the nationalities. Although, for many of the same reasons as in 1848 in the Demands of the Slovak Nation, they met again with failure, the Slovak leaders nonetheless served notice of their nation’s continued determination to pursue its own development. MEMORANDUM ON SLOVAKIA. Document prepared by Gustáv Husák in the summer of 1944 that he had delivered to Moscow in August of that year. It depicted positively the political, social, and economic situation in the first Slovak Republic but advocated the re-creation of Czechoslovakia and its reorganization into a federation. He also suggested the incorporation of Slovakia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a Soviet Republic. When the document was published by the Communist regime in 1965, the passage dealing with the incorporation into the Soviet Union was deleted and published only in 1979 in Paris in a Czech émigré review. A second document, also entitled “Memorandum on Slovakia,” is an internal document of the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party that was prepared in 1946 and made public only on 29 March 1968 in the Slovak Communist daily Pravda; it outlined a policy to achieve the “spiritual assimilation of the Slovak people” through the church

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and their “forceful assimilation” by economic, political, military, national, and preventive means. METHODIUS (813?–885). Brother of Constantine, later known as Cyril, he first studied law and then joined a monastery before going to Great Moravia in A.D. 863. He helped his brother create a basic alphabet for the Slavs called glagolitic and run a seminary. In 867, he accompanied his brother to Rome to have their translations of the Holy Scriptures and liturgical texts approved by the Holy See. After Cyril’s death, Methodius was consecrated bishop and named archbishop of the new archdiocese of Great Moravia and Pannonia, as well as plenipotentiary papal legate of all the Slavs living in the territories ruled by Rastislav, Koceľ, and Svätopluk. On his way back to Great Moravia, he was arrested by order of the Frankish clergy and released only in 873. Methodius went into retirement in 882 after a journey to Bulgaria and Constantinople. In the three years after his retirement, he spent time completing the translations of the Holy Scriptures, the lives and teaching of Christian ascetes called Paterikon, and the collection of canon law acts entitled Nomokanon, which he had begun around 873. In 885, he set out once again for Rome to defend himself against accusations by his suffragan Wiching but died shortly after his departure. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH; NITRA, PRINCIPALITY OF. MICHAEL III (842–867). Emperor of Byzantium who responded favorably to Rastislav’s request in A.D. 862 that teachers and a bishop familiar with the Slavic tongue be sent to Great Moravia. He sent the brothers Cyril and Methodius. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. MIČURA, MARTIN (1883–1946). Lawyer and politician, he was župan of Tekov County and Nitra County (1919–1920), minister for Slovakia from 1920 to 1922, president of the main court in Bratislava from 1931 to 1939, and president of the Supreme Court from 1939 to 1943. He was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly for the Czechoslovak People’s Party from 1925 to 1939 and vice president of the State Council of the first Slovak Republic from 1943 to 1945. He died in a Soviet prison.

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MIKLOŠKO, FRANTIŠEK (1947– ). Catholic dissident and politician, he organized the candlelight demonstration in March 1988 in Bratislava that was brutally repressed by the Communist regime. After the fall of communism, he was elected to the Slovak National Council (SNR) as a member of Public Against Violence. He was SNR chairman from 1990 to 1992. Prior to the elections of June 1992, he joined the Christian Democratic Movement and was elected to the SNR in the elections of 1992 and to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994, in 1998, 2002, and in 2006. In 2004, he was a candidate for president but did not get past the first ballot. MIKUŠ, JOSEPH A. (1909–2005). Slovak diplomat and scholar, he began his career in the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry, served as chargé d’affaires in Madrid in 1940–1941 for the first Slovak Republic, and from 1942 as head of protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bratislava. He served again in the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry after the war until he immigrated to the United States in 1948, where he taught university and published extensively on Slovak history and politics. Among his publications are Slovakia: A Political History 1918–1950 (1963), Slovakia: A Misunderstood History (1979), Slovakia: Political and Constitutional History (1995), and with his wife Renée Perréal, La Slovaquie: une nation au coeur de l’Europe (1992). MINING ACADEMY. See BERGAKADEMIE. MINISTRY FOR SLOVAKIA. Ministry created in 1918 whose full title was Ministry with Full Power for the Administration of Slovakia. Initially, it enjoyed total power in Slovakia when Vavro Šrobár was its minister (1918–1920), but its importance and power declined after the adoption of the constitution of 1920. From 1920 to 1922, its minister was Martin Mičura and, from 1922 until 1927, when it was abolished, Jozef Kállay. MŇAČKO, LADISLAV (1919–1994). Writer and journalist, he was popular during the Communist era, first with his novel on the 1944 uprising Smrť sa volá Engelchen (Death is called Engelchen) (1959), which was also made into a movie, and later with his serialized reports Oneskorené reportáže (Delayed reports) (1963) and his novel

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Ako chutí moc (translated into English and published as The taste of power) (1967) that were critical of Communist politics. He left Slovakia in 1967 and returned in 1990. While living in West Germany, he published Súdruch Münchhausen (Comrade Münchhausen) (1972). See also LITERATURE. MOJMÍR I (?–846). Prince of Morava (833–846) who managed to drive Pribina out of Nitra and unite the two principalities to form a new state—the Empire of Great Moravia—and become its first ruler, as Mojmir I. He was deposed by Louis the German in connivance with Prince Rastislav of Nitra. MOJMÍR II (?–906). Successor of Svätopluk as ruler of Great Moravia from 894 to 906, he sought to reestablish the ecclesiastical province of Great Moravia. Rome dispatched around A.D. 900 an archbishop and two bishops to Great Moravia, where they consecrated an archbishop and three bishops from among the native priests. There is no record in any historical source of their names or sees, nor is it known whether John IX approved the use of the Slavonic liturgy. With his death in an engagement against the Magyars, the Empire of Great Moravia ceased to exist. MONGOLS. Nomadic Asiatic warriors who attacked Central Europe in the 13th century. By their European contemporaries, they were called Tartars, and in Slovak folklore and historiography they are referred to as Tatars. They defeated the Magyars at Muhi on 11 April 1241, pillaged Hungary and Slovakia for a year, taking thousands of people as slaves, and returned to Asia in 1242, when they learned of the death of Kaghan Omodei. MORAVA, PRINCIPALITY OF. An independent Slavic principality until it was united with the Principality of Nitra to form the Empire of Great Moravia in 833. It then became one of the empire’s two main centers of political power. MORAVČÍK, JOZEF (1945– ). Lawyer and politician, dean of the faculty of law at Comenius University in 1990–1991, he was elected to the Slovak National Council in 1990 for Public Against Violence,

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joined the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, and was elected a deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in 1992. Moravčík was Czecho–Slovak minister of foreign affairs in 1992 and minister of foreign affairs of the second Slovak Republic in 1993–1994. As a result of the parliamentary crisis of March 1994, he became prime minister until the election of October of the same year. He was elected a deputy to the National Council of the Slovak Republic for the Democratic Union in 1994. In 1998–2002, he served as mayor of Bratislava; in 2002, he left politics to practice law. MÓRIC, VÍŤAZOSLAV (1946– ). Chemical engineer, he was the first leader of the Slovak National Party from its renewal in 1990 until March 1991 and deputy to the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly from 1990 to 1992. In the 1994 and 1998 elections, he was elected a deputy for the Slovak National Party. MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA/HNUTIE ZA DEMOKRATICKÉ SLOVENSKO (HZDS). Political movement that was created as a result of a split in Public Against Violence and the dismissal of Vladimír Mečiar as Slovak prime minister in April 1991. It was formally constituted on 3 May 1991 by Mečiar, Milan Kňažko, and Michal Kováč. It won the June 1992 elections under the leadership of Mečiar and again those of October 1994. In March 1994, Kňažko and Kováč left the movement, the former to form the Alternative of Political Realism, thereby precipitating a governmental crisis that saw Mečiar replaced by Jozef Moravčík and the call for early elections. In December 1994, Mečiar, who won the elections, was sworn in as prime minister after he formed a coalition government with the Slovak National Party and Association of the Slovak Workers. The HZDS’s program has stressed the development of a stable parliamentary system, economic policies that encourage foreign investment, and Slovakia’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). It has also favored the need to maintain social services and a safety net during the transformation phase of the economy from a command to a market system, the respect for human rights and liberties, and the construction of a pluralistic democratic society. However, Slovak

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opposition parties, as well as foreign observers and politicians, have often criticized the HZDS, and especially Mečiar, of not fulfilling the movement’s political program and of ruling Slovakia in an authoritarian manner. As a result of this criticism, Slovakia was dropped in 1996 from the initial list of Central European states to be invited to begin accession talks to join NATO and, as a result, was not invited to do so at the Madrid Summit in July 1997. Similarly, in December 1997, the EU announced that Slovakia was not on the list of countries that would be invited to begin accession negotiations. In the 1998 elections, although the HZDS came first and obtained 43 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Mečiar was unable to form a government and went into opposition. Prior to the elections of 2002, a split occurred when Ivan Gašparovič, a long-standing member, left the party and founded the Movement for Democracy. Still in the September 2002 elections, the HZDS again came in first but with only 36 seats and again was unable to form a government. In February 2003, 11 HZDS deputies, led by Vojtech Tkáč, former deputy chairman of the HZDS, left the party and created an independent party, the People’s Union. At a party conference in June 2003, the party modified its name to People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia/Ľudová strana-Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko (ĽS–HZDS). MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY/HNUTIE ZA DEMOKRACIU (HZD). A political party created by Ivan Gašparovič in July 2002, when he left the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. In the September 2002 election, the HZD obtained only 3.3 percent of the vote and no seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. MOYSES, ŠTEFAN (1797–1869). Roman Catholic priest and public figure, he was professor of philosophy and Greek at the Royal Academy in Pest from 1829 to 1847. He was elected, along with Ľudovít Štúr, to the Hungarian Diet in 1847. From 1851 to 1869, he was bishop of the diocese of Banská Bystrica. In December 1861, he led the Slovak delegation that presented the revised version of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation to the emperor in Vienna. He was present at the founding of Matica slovenská in August 1863 and was elected president, a position he held until his death.

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MOYZES, ALEXANDER (1906–1984). Slovak composer who studied music in France and Germany and who taught at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava between 1928 and 1948 and at the newly created Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts from 1949 to 1972. From 1952 to 1954, he was also the artistic director and manager of the Slovak Folk Art Ensemble (SĽUK). His later compositions found inspiration in Slovak folk songs. His 1. symfónia [First symphony], composed in 1929, is considered to mark the beginning of Slovak musical modernism. Other compositions are Kvinteto pre dychové nástroje [Quintet for woodwinds] (1933), the symphonic prelude Jánošíkovi chlapci [Janošík’s boys] (1934), Tance z Gemera [Dances from Gemer County] (1956), and Koncert pre husle a orchester [Concert for violin and orchestra] (1972). In addition, he composed music for SĽUK like Zbojnický tanec [Dance of the bandits] and Piesne z Detvy [Songs from Detva County] and major symphonic works from historical themes: Partita na poctu Majstra Pavla z Levoče [A partita in honor of Majster Pavol from Levoča] and Vatry na horách [Bonfires in the mountains]. MUDROŇ, PAVOL (1835–1914). Lawyer and politician, he became the president of the Slovak National Party in 1877. In 1881, he renewed the publication of Slovenské pohĺady (Slovak Perspectives) and participated in the Nationalities Congress in Budapest in August 1895 as one of its three chairmen. He was one of the leading personalities of Slovak political life at the height of Magyarization in Slovakia. MUNICH AGREEMENT. As a result of a conference held on 28–30 September 1938 in Munich, Germany, an agreement between British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was signed that gave Germany the area in the Czech Lands inhabited by Germans, known as the Sudetenland. Germany also occupied Devin and Petržalka in Slovakia, which gave it strategic control over the area where the Morava and Danube rivers meet near the Austrian (by that time German) border. This agreement marked the end of the First Czechoslovak Republic.

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MURÍN, KAROL (1913–2000). University professor, he was personal secretary to President Jozef Tiso in the first Slovak Republic. He published a memoir of his experiences in Slovakia entitled Spomienky a svedectvo (1987), translated into English and published under the title of Remembrances and Testimony (1992). He immigrated to Canada after World War II and taught philosophy at the University of Montreal. He is the author of an authoritative study on the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche entitled Nietzsche problème: Généalogie d’une pensée (1979). MUSIC. Slovakia’s musical tradition is very old. Thanks to the Catholic Church, religious music has always played an important role in the social as well as the religious life of the Slovak people. In the Jednotný katolický spevník (United Catholic hymnal), compiled by Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský, 400 hymns have come down throughout the centuries, often as adaptations of folk songs. Slovak folk music is also very rich, reflecting the joys and sorrows of daily life, celebrating heroes and decrying tragedies; most of its composers are anonymous. Love, courtship, and the land are also celebrated in song and dances and musical styles as well as accompanying folk dances vary from county to county. The Roma have also made an important contribution to Slovak folk music. Three musical instruments are specific to certain regions in Slovakia and are used in performances of folk music and dances: the fujara, a deep-bass folk flute of Slovak shepherds, over five feet long, played vertically, that gives a very characteristic sound, and that is a descendant of the Gothic three-hole bass whistle; the pišťala, a simple wooden flute and its cousin, the dvojička, basically a double-barreled flute; and the cymbal, a percussion instrument, not unlike a very small horizontal piano, whose strings are struck by felt-tipped batons. Along with these instruments, violins, basses, and accordions are favored by musical folk ensembles. To this day, folk dances and folk music are very popular in Slovakia and especially among Slovaks abroad. Of the many groups created to perform Slovak folk music and dance, the best known is the Slovak Folk Art Ensemble. In addition to folk music, there is a broad spectrum of compositions in other genres. The first professional Slovak composer was

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Ján Levoslav Bella, whose musical heritage was carried on by composers like Ján Cikker and Eugen Suchoň, while Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský distinguished himself in the realm of religious music and Alexander Moyzes and Gejza Dusík became well known composers of folk songs. Bella, Cikker, and Suchoň also wrote operas that have been performed in the Slovak National Theater. Musical training and musical education became available with the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic when the privately owned Academy of Music and Drama was created in 1919. In 1941, it became the State Conservatory. In 1949, the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts was created as an institution of higher learning; in addition, many universities offer degree programs in music and musicology. MUZEÁLNA SLOVENSKÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ. See SLOVAK MUSEUM SOCIETY.

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NÁDÁŠI-JÉGÉ, LADISLAV. See JÉGÉ, LADISLAV NÁDÁŠI-. NAGY, LÁSZLÓ (1948– ). Psychologist and Hungarian politician, he helped found the Hungarian Independent Initiative within Public Against Violence, which became, in 1992, the Hungarian Civic Party, with him as president. He was elected a deputy to the Slovak National Council in 1990 and its vice president from 1990 to 1992. He was elected a deputy to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 as a member of the Hungarian Coalition and in the elections of 1998 and 2002 as a member of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition. NAJVYŠŠÍ SÚD SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. See SUPREME COURT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. NÁRODNÁ BANKA SLOVENSKÁ. See NATIONAL BANK OF SLOVAKIA.

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NÁRODNÁ RADA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. See NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. NÁRODNÁ REPUBLIKÁNSKA STRANA ROĹNICKA. See NATIONAL REPUBLICAN FARMERS’ PARTY. NÁRODNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA-NOVÁ ALTERNATÍVA. See NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY–NEW ALTERNATIVE. NATIONAL ANTHEM. See STATE SYMBOLS. NATIONAL BANK OF SLOVAKIA/NÁRODNÁ BANKA SLOVENSKA (NBS). Established by an act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) in the fall of 1992, it began its activities with the creation of the Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993. It is an independent financial institution composed of a governor elected by the NR SR, two deputy governors, and five other members approved by the minister of finance. It introduced a Slovak currency, the Slovak crown (Slovenská koruna) on 8 February 1993. The primary objective of the NBS is to maintain price stability, but also to formulate and implement the country’s monetary policy; to issue banknotes and coins; to control, coordinate, and provide for the circulation of money, interbank payments, and the settlement of payment data; and to supervise the sound development of the banking sector and the performance of banking activities. The NBS also represents the Slovak Republic in international financial institutions and in international money market transactions related to monetary policy performance. Its governors have been Vladimír Masár (1993–2000) and Marián Jusko (2000– 2005); its present governor is Ivan Šramko. See also BANKING. NATIONAL COMMITTEES. Organs of state administration between 1944 and 1990, they first appeared as organizations of the resistance. During the uprising, they assumed local and regional authority. They were first defined in the Košice program and appear in the constitutions of 1948, 1960, and 1968, as well as in special acts and statutes of the government and the Slovak National Council. They were formed at the local, district, and regional levels and were composed of representatives of the Communist Party of Slovakia

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and Democratic Party. Elections to the committees took place at the same time as parliamentary elections. Under communism, they were local transmission belts for the Communist Party of Slovakia. They were abolished after the fall of communism in 1990. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/NÁRODNÁ RADA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (NR SR). It is the sole constitutional and legislative body of the second Slovak Republic. As an elected body, it represents the sovereignty of the state and of the citizens. When the Slovak National Council adopted a new constitution on 1 September 1992, its name was changed to National Council of the Slovak Republic; on 1 January 1993, it became the parliament of the second Slovak Republic. It is a unicameral parliament of 150 deputies who are elected by secret ballot and by universal suffrage and where party representation is proportional. Elections are held every four years or earlier (in the event of a political crisis). The constituent session is convened by the president of the Slovak Republic as soon as elections results are known and no later than 30 days following the announcement of the results. At this session, the NR SR elects its validators, the speaker and deputy speakers and establishes its committees—except for the ones established by the law—and elects their chairmen and members. It also passes laws establishing or abolishing ministries and other central bodies of the state administration, elects candidates for the position of justice of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and the prosecutor general, and elects and recalls other officials if so stipulated by law. The activities of the NR SR are presided over and organized by the speaker and the deputy speakers. The NR SR is continually in session. A session ends as a result of the termination of the electoral term or by its dissolution. The NR SR may also resolve to adjourn its session; the time of adjournment may not exceed four months within a period of one year. Parliamentary sessions are public. Closed meetings or portions thereof may take place in cases when matters subject to state, service, or trade confidentiality are discussed, or if stipulated by law, or if a three-fifths majority of deputies resolves so. The NR SR may only vote when a simple majority of all its members (76 deputies) are present and are taking part in the voting. To pass

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a decision, the approval of a simple majority of all deputies present is required, that is to say a minimum of 39 votes. Ordinary laws are adopted by a majority vote. An absolute majority (a minimum of 76 votes) is required to pass a vote of no-confidence in the government or its members, or to elect and recall the speaker or the deputy speakers or by the adoption of other proposals, as laid down by the constitution or by law. A qualified majority of three-fifths of all deputies (at least 90 deputies) is required for the adoption of a constitution, constitutional statute, a resolution on a closed session of the NR SR, as well as in other cases foreseen by the constitution or by law. The NR SR is organized into 18 committees whose duty and responsibility it is to prepare the legislation that the NR SR has given it. These committees also have the right of legislative initiative and they may call as witness members of the government and senior state officials, and may demand of them reports, explanations, and any necessary documentation. Only deputies of the NR SR may be members of these committees and generally most deputies are members of at least two committees. The composition of the committees is determined by party representation in the NR SR. Minutes are taken of every session of the NR SR. After verification, they are the authentic record of the meeting. NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY–NEW ALTERNATIVE/ NÁRODNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA–NOVÁ ALTERNATIVA (NDS–NA). Political party created by Ľudovít Černák in March 1994, after he was expelled from the Slovak National Party, of which he had been president. It failed to have any deputies elected in the elections of 1994. In March 1995, the NDS–NA united with the Democratic Union. NATIONAL EMBLEM. See STATE SYMBOLS. NATIONAL FLAG. See STATE SYMBOLS. NATIONAL FRONT. Association of political parties between 1945 and 1990. It was officially established in March 1945. After the Communist takeover in February 1948, it included all social and mass organizations but also recognized the leading role of the Com-

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munist Party of Czechoslovakia. It was dissolved after the fall of communism. NATIONAL REPUBLICAN FARMERS’ PARTY/NÁRODNÁ REPUBLIKÁNSKA STRANA ROĹNICKA. It was formed on 16 September 1919 in Bratislava under the leadership of Milan Hodža as the first Slovak agrarian party in Czecho–Slovakia. In an attempt to be successful in the 1920 elections, it formed a coalition with the Slovak National Party (SNS) and changed its name to Slovak National and Farmers’ Party. When the SNS left the coalition in 1921, members of this party joined the Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party and became known as Agrarians. NATIONAL SEAL. See STATE SYMBOLS. NATIONALITIES CONGRESS. It was held in Budapest in 1895 and produced a joint program demanding that Hungary become a multinational state, where the counties were delimited along national lines with the language of administration and justice in the national language. The representatives of the nationalities also demanded universal suffrage and other democratic reforms. NATIONALITIES LAWS. Laws passed by the Hungarian Diet in 1844 and 1868 that severely curtailed the national rights of the nonMagyars in Hungary. In the 1868 law, all inhabitants of Hungary were declared equal members of the Hungarian political nation, nonMagyars were given the status of a nationality with educational and cultural rights, and Magyar was the official language of the state, although non-Magyar languages could be used in county offices. NATIONALITY. Like all other Central European states, Slovakia’s population is composed of various groups that by language are different from the numerically dominant one. If there is a taxonomy issue in the English language with regards to concepts like ethnic group, nation, nationality, national minority and minority, the terms nationality and ethnic group are used officially to identify all citizens in Slovakia, including those from the dominant group. According to the 26 May 2001 census, out of a total population of 5,379,455, the Slovaks numbered

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4,614,854 and constituted 85.8 percent; the Hungarians 520,528 and 9.7 percent; the Roma 89,920 and 1.7 percent; the Czechs 44,620 and 0.8 percent; the Ruthenians 24,201 and 0.4 percent; and the remainder totaled 85,332 and represented 1.6 percent of the population. The constitution of the second Slovak Republic states that the state language is Slovak and that the use of other languages in dealings with the authorities is regulated by law (Article 6). However, it also states that every citizen has the right to decide freely on his or her nationality and that any influence on this decision and any form of pressure aimed at assimilation are forbidden (Article 12). The members of national minorities or ethnic groups are expected to master the state language, but they also have the right to education in their own language (Article 34). In addition, the constitution specifies that the full development of the members of a national minority or an ethnic group is guaranteed, in particular, the right to develop their own culture, together with other members of the minority or ethnic group, the right to disseminate and receive information in their mother tongue, the right to associate in national minority associations, and the right to set up and maintain educational and cultural institutions. Of all of the non-Slovak nationalities and groups, the Hungarians are the only ones who are politically organized and whom the Party of the Hungarian Coalition represents in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Since 1999, the Roma, for their part, have a Plenipotentiary of the Government of Slovak Republic for Roma Communities responsible for the formulation and practical implementation of a government strategy for addressing Roma issues and the social integration of the Roma. In terms of political activity, the constitution does specify one limitation on all nationalities and ethnic groups, namely that the exercise of the rights of citizens belonging to national minorities and ethnic groups that are guaranteed in the constitution cannot be conducive to jeopardizing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Slovak Republic or to discrimination against its other inhabitants (Article 34). NATION’S MEMORY INSTITUTE/ÚSTAV PAMÄTI NÁRODA. Created by the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) in 2002, it is a public institution whose principal task is the disclosure to individual applicants of documents about the persecutions carried

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out by Nazi or Communist security agencies during the years 1939– 1989. The Board of Directors of the Nation’s Memory Institute has nine members. The chair and four other members are elected by the NR SR, two members are appointed by the president of the Slovak Republic and two by the government. Their tenure is six years. After the first election, as prescribed by law, two members elected by parliament, one appointed by the president and one by the government were chosen by lot for a shortened tenure of three years. Ján Langoš was elected chair on 25 April 2003. NEPELA, ONDREJ (1951–1989). Slovak athlete who excelled in figure skating, he represented Czechoslovakia at all world figure skating championships from 1964 to 1973. He was world champion three times in 1971, 1972, and 1973, and he also won the silver medal in 1969 and 1970. In addition, he was five times European champion and gold medal winner at the Olympic Games in Sapporo in 1972. NEW SCHOOL/NOVÁ ŠKOLA. Name given to a group of Slovaks in Pest led by Ján Bobula, who advocated cooperation with Magyar liberals. It was formed in 1868 with the publication of a newspaper called Slovenské noviny (Slovak News), in which they proposed the abandonment of the idea of a Slovak Okolie and the acceptance of the integrity of the Hungarian state in exchange for language rights. On 23 October 1872, they took on the name of Slovak Party of Settlement. The group was dissolved in 1875 when the newspaper folded. NICHOLAS I (858–867). Roman pontiff who did not reply to Rastislav’s A.D. 861 request for teachers familiar with the Slavic tongue but who invited Cyril and Methodius to Rome to defend their use of the Slavic vernacular in the liturgy. He passed away before their arrival, and they were received by his successor, Pope Hadrian II. See also GREAT MORAVIA. NITRA. The area around Nitra was densely populated already some 30,000 years ago. The first peasant settlements were on the territory of the town 6,000 years ago. In the fourth century B.C., the territory was inhabited by the Celts, who remained here until the Avars arrived. The Celts were skillful smelters and smiths whose huts and

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workshops were found at the foot of Martinský vrch (Martin hill). The importance of Nitra, however, became evident when it became the center of the Principality of Nitra, one of the two centers of the Empire of Great Moravia. The first Christian church on Slovak territory, built by Prince Pribina, was consecrated in 828 in Nitra by Adalram, the archbishop of Salzburg. The Pribina church is the first historically documented witness to the Christianization of the Slavs on the territory of Slovakia. Unfortunately, the exact site of the shrine has not been located. It is also in Nitra that Cyril and Methodius carried on their apostolic work among the Slavs of Great Moravia and Nitra, as the seat of the Principality of Nitra, was also the seat of the archdiocese of Great Moravia. Until the beginning of the 14th century, Nitra remained the residential town of the principality that was an apanage duchy in the newly formed Hungarian kingdom. Over the centuries, it was often plundered by various armies. The Benedictines took up the organization of ecclesiastical life, their monastery of St. Hyppolite on the slope of Zobor hill was the oldest in Slovakia. Nitra was also the seat of a diocese. In 1248, Béla IV, in appreciation for the town’s defense against the Tatars, promoted Nitra to the status of a free-royal town. However, in 1284, Nitra lost its status when it was gifted by Ladislas IV to the bishopric of Nitra; nevertheless as an episcopal seat, it continued to play an important role for the Catholic Church in Slovakia. It also became the seat of Nitra County. During the 150-year occupation of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire after the battle of Mohács in 1526, Nitra was, from 1564 to 1568, one of the two military capitancies created to defend against Ottoman incursions. Its urban development began in the second half of the 18th century and included the renovation of the castle and the cathedral. Its status as a city was confirmed in 1873 with the election of a mayor and city councilors. In the 20th century, Nitra underwent further development. The University of Agriculture that had been founded in Košice in 1946 was transferred there in 1952 and the Pedagogical Academy was founded in 1992, renamed Constantine the Philosopher University in 1996. Nitra is today a city of 86,138 inhabitants according to the latest census, whose historic monuments in the upper town make it a major historic center and, with its schools and academic institutions, also a major center of agricultural sciences in Slovakia.

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NITRA, PRINCIPALITY OF. An independent Slavic principality until it was united with the principality of Morava to form the Empire of Great Moravia in 833. It became one of the empire’s two main centers of political power. When Pope Hadrian II named Method archbishop of Great Moravia, Nitra became the seat of the archbishopric. Method’s successor was named only in 900, 15 years after Method’s death but the new situation created by the Magyar invasions resulted in an uncertain situation about the archdiocese. In the Hungarian kingdom, the principality became the object of a royal donation and later it became a county. As for the archdiocese of Nitra, it was transferred to Ostrihom, where the royal court was resident, leaving the former diocese of Nitra in a continued state of uncertainty that lasted until the reign of Ladislas I in the second half of 11th century, when the bishopric was renewed. Throughout the centuries, Ostrihom remained the center of the archdiocese of which the diocese of Nitra was a part. As Ostrihom found itself in Hungary when Czecho–Slovakia was created in 1918, the Holy See had to find a solution that was satisfactory to both new states. It was only in 1977 that Rome offered a solution with the creation of a Slovak ecclesiastical province in which all Slovak dioceses, including Nitra, were made suffragant dioceses of the new archdiocese of Trnava, also declared a metropolitan seat. From 1990 until 2005, the bishop of Nitra was Ján Chryzostom Korec, elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1991. The current bishop of Nitra is Viliam Judák. NORMALIZATION. Name given to the policies and political process imposed on the people of Czechoslovakia after the Warsaw Pact invasion, when Gustáv Husák became first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) in April 1969. All those who had been identified with the Prague Spring were expelled from their posts, and political life was once again tightly controlled by the KSČS. The regime became one of the most conservative and repressive in Central Europe. See also LIBERALIZATION. NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO). When the United States Congress first published its “NATO Participation Acts of 1994,” Slovakia figured among the states mentioned that would be the first invited to join the Atlantic Alliance. In 1995, a

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similar act still included Slovakia, but in 1996 the “NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996” dropped Slovakia from the list. At the NATO summit in Madrid in July 1997, Slovakia was not among the states invited to join the organization. Criticism by the Western media and the U.S. Congress of Slovak political life—in particular certain decisions taken by the government of Vladimír Mečiar—was the main reason for dropping Slovakia from the initial list. The Slovak government reacted to this decision by announcing that it would do what was necessary to ensure that Slovakia was on the next list of candidates. The results of the 1998 elections brought Mikuláš Dzurinda to power and his government proceeded to bring about the necessary changes that would place Slovakia on the second enlargement list. It was only after the 2002 elections, on 21 November 2002, at the NATO Summit in Prague, that Slovakia was invited, along with six other Central European states, to join the organization. It became a member of NATO on 2 April 2004 at a Ceremonial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels. See also REFERENDUM. NOVÁ ŠKOLA. See NEW SCHOOL. NOVÁK, ĽUDOVÍT (1908–1992). Linguist who pioneered new trends in linguistic research, namely structuralism and phonemics. He studied the history of the Slovak language and the problems of literary Slovak. Among his main publications are Jazykovedné glossy k československej otázke (Linguistic glosses on the Czechoslovak question) (1935), Čeština na Slovensku a vznik spisovnej slovenčiny (The Czech language in Slovakia and the origin of literary Slovak) (1938), and K najstarším dejinám slovenského jazyka (Concerning the oldest history of the Slovak language) (1980). He also held appointments at the Slovak University, where he was dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in 1944–1945, at Šafárik University in Prešov, and in the Slovak Academy of Sciences. NOVOMESKÝ, LADISLAV (1904–1976). Writer and Communist politician who was involved in the preparations of the uprising of 1944, he was a vice chairman of the Slovak National Council during the war. Among the works he published in the interwar period

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are Nedeĺa (Sunday) (1927), Romboid (1932), and Sväty za dedinou (The saint at the end of the village) (1939). From 1945 to 1950, he was commissioner for schools and education. In 1950, he was accused of Slovak bourgeois nationalism, jailed in 1951, and tried in 1954 along with Gustáv Husák; he was condemned to 10 years in prison. He was released in 1956 and fully rehabilitated in 1963. From 1968 to 1974, he was president of Matica slovenská. See also LITERATURE; PURGES. NOVOTNÝ, ANTONÍN (1904–1975). Czech Communist politician, deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1948 to 1957, first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968, and president of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968. He was negatively disposed toward the Slovak nation. He refused initially to accept the rehabilitation of those accused of Slovak bourgeois nationalism and was adamantly opposed to a federal solution in the relations between Czechs and Slovaks. See also FEDERATION.

-OOBRANA NÁRODA. Name of one of the resistance groups that were active in the preparations for the 1944 uprising. OKAĽ, JÁN (1915–1990). Poet and political writer, he worked in Matica slovenská before immigrating to Austria and then the United States in 1945, where he was an editor of the newspaper Slovák v Amerike (Slovak in America), and, after 1979, editor of the official bulletin of the Slovak World Congress. Among his published works are Nehnem sa (I will not move) (1942), Ľubosť (Love) (1944), and Vypredaj ľudskosti (The sale of humanity) (1989). See also LITERATURE. OKOLIE. Name given to the territory of Slovakia in the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. OLÁH, MIKULÁŠ (NICHOLAS) (ARCHBISHOP) (1493–1568). Archbishop of Ostrihom from a Wallachian family who is identified

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with the beginnings of the Counter-Reformation in Hungary and Slovakia. In 1556, he invited the Jesuits to Trnava, where they established a seminary the following year. OLD SCHOOL/STARÁ ŠKOLA. Name given to those members of the Slovak National Party who adhered to the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation during the latter part of the 19th century. Among its more prominent members were Ján Francisci, Štefan Marko Daxner, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Viliam Pauliny-Tóth, the only one to be elected to the Hungarian Diet in the 1869 elections. Their political adversaries in Slovakia were known as the New School. In 1871, the members of the Old School formed the Slovak National Party under the leadership of Pauliny-Tóth and Svetozár Hurban-Vajanský. As they came from the town of Turčiansky Svätý Martin, they became known as the Martin group in the 20th century. OLD SLOVAK/STARÁ SLOVENČINA. It is the name given to the Czech literary language of Ján Kollár, to which he added specific elements. It was proposed in opposition to the codification of the Slovak language by Ĺudovít Štúr and used for a short time as the language of instruction in Slovak elementary schools. It became extinct after Štúr’s codification was accepted by Catholics and Lutherans. One of the few writers to use this language was Jonáš Záborský. ORSZÁGH, JÁN (1816–1888). Roman Catholic priest and activist, he was involved in the preparation of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, a member of the Slovak delegation to the emperor in December 1861, founding member of Matica slovenská, and one of its two vice presidents (for the Catholics) from 1863 to 1866. ORSZÁGH, JOZEF (1883–1949). Lawyer and administrator, he was župan of Turiec County in 1919–1920, of Zvolen and Hont Counties in 1920–1922, of Považie County in 1923–1927, and president of the Slovak Province from 1931 to 1938. OSUSKÝ, ŠTEFAN (1889–1973). Lawyer and diplomat, he was sent by the Slovak League of America in 1916 to support the creation of a common state of the Czechs and Slovaks on the basis of the

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Cleveland Agreement. He became a member of the Czecho–Slovak National Council and, under the influence of Edvard Beneš and Tomáš G. Masaryk, a supporter of Czechoslovakism. He was secretary and, after the departure of Edvard Beneš, head of the Czecho– Slovak delegation at the Paris Peace Conference. From 1920, he was the Czechoslovak representative to the League of Nations. He was also Czechoslovak minister to France (1920–1940) and a member of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile from 1940 to 1942. OTTO III (EMPEROR) (980–1002). Emperor of the Holy Roman Germanic Empire who acknowledged Stephen king of Hungary. OTTOMAN EMPIRE. Formed in the 14th century by the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor, it expanded into the Balkans and, with the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the empire began its expansion in Europe, advancing steadily northward, taking Belgrade in 1521, defeating Hungary in 1526 at the battle of Mohács, and besieging Vienna in 1529; Transylvania became a tributary principality, as did Walachia and Moldavia. The Ottoman Empire was a formidable power, whose further attempts at expanding into Europe were stopped by the Habsburg Empire during the century and a half that Ottoman troops were in Hungary. Initially, however, the sultan sought to interfere in Hungarian politics, particularly in the succession of King Louis II, who had died on the battlefield of Mohács. Only with the Treaty of Zsitvatorok with Austria in 1606 that the Habsburg monarch was recognized as the sultan’s peer. Hostilities resumed, however, in the 1660s and, after their defeat at the battle of Vienna in 1683, it was clear the Ottoman Empire was no longer a superpower in Europe. In 1699, the Ottomans signed the Peace of Karlowitz. In this treaty, they handed over to the Habsburgs the provinces of Hungary and Transylvania, leaving only Macedonia and the Balkans under Ottoman control. During their presence on Hungarian soil, the Turkish administration was composed of elajets and sandjaks and Ottoman armies were also involved in the magnate rebellions, in particular, in the one led by Štefan Bočkai. For the Slovaks and other inhabitants of royal Hungary, their prolonged misery during the Ottoman presence in the Hungarian plain came primarily from the fact that the Hungarian–Ottoman frontier was located in their southern region, which

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the Ottomans occupied during the years 1541 to 1568. To achieve some coordination of defense activities, Slovakia was divided into two military capitancies, one in the east, in Košice (from 1564 on), covering the northeast of Slovakia, and the other one in the west, covering primarily the southwest, whose headquarters changed with the fortunes of war. Nitra served as headquarters, for example, from 1564 to 1568. In 1663, when Ottoman forces invaded central Slovakia, Nové Zámky, Nitra, and Levice became sandjaks and were unified in the westernmost elajet of the Ottoman Empire. A year later, the Ottoman forces were beaten back. The memory of the Ottoman presence in Slovakia is found today in ballads, songs, and legends, but above all in the epic poem Sors Pilarikiana (The plight of Pilárik) by Štefan Pilárik, written in Slovakized Czech, which describes his two-month incarceration in a Turkish jail, his sale into slavery to a Romanian, and his escape.

-PPACEM IN TERRIS (PEACE ON EARTH). Organization of Catholic clergy founded by the Communist regime in 1971 to replace the Peace Movement of the Catholic Clergy that it had created in 1951. It was dissolved in December 1989. PALÁRIK, JÁN (1822–1870). Roman Catholic priest, politician, and writer, founder of the publication Cyrill a Method (Cyril and Methodius) in 1850, and editor of Katolícke noviny (Catholic News) from 1852 to 1856, he was cofounder with Ján Bobula and one of the ideologists of the New School, which sought to cooperate with Hungarian liberals. He is also known for the plays he wrote, among which are Inkognito (Incognito) (1858), Drotár (The tinsmith) (1860), and his most successful comedy, Zmierenie alebo Dobrodružstvo pri obžinkoch (Reconciliation, or an adventure at a harvest festival) (1862). See also LITERATURE. PALATINE (COMES PALATINUS). This was the highest office in Hungary after the king, established by King Stephen. From the 12th century on, the palatine was in charge of all administrative, judicial,

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and military matters. His role as a representative of the nobles estates was incorporated in the Golden Bull. The Palatine Law of 1485 promulgated by King Mathias I “Corvinus” limited his constitutional competence. PALKOVIČ, JUR (CANON) (1763–1835). Roman Catholic priest and educator, he taught church law and ethics at the Trnava seminary, was named a canon of Ostrihom in 1816, and became provost of the chapter in 1825. After Anton Bernolák’s death, he worked toward the preparation and publication of Bernolák’s Slowár slovenskí česko-laťinsko-ňemecko-uherskí (Slovak Czech–Latin–German–Hungarian dictionary). He himself published a translation of the Bible (Ostrihom, 1829–1832) and gave Ján Hollý financial assistance to publish his poetry. PALKOVIČ, JURAJ (1769–1850). Writer and publisher, he became in 1801 president of a society founded by Lutherans, the Society for the Study of Czechoslovak Literature, and, from 1812 to 1818, was editor of Týdenník, a Slovak weekly periodical. When he was appointed in 1803, he was the first holder of the chair of Czechoslovak language and literature at the Protestant lyceum in Bratislava. He influenced profoundly the generation of Ľudovít Štúr and was one of the first Slovak deputies to the Hungarian Diet (1832–1836). PANNONIA. Initially created by the Romans as a province, by the ninth century, it was a Slavic principality south of the Danube whose princes, in particular Koceľ, interacted with the rulers of the Empire of Great Moravia. PANSLAVISM. The term was coined by Ján Herkeľ to encourage the creation of a common Slavic literary language. However, it soon became an ideology whose objective was to develop a Slavic consciousness and cultural community. In the third quarter of the 19th century, under Russian influence, it also sought to become a political force. Among Slovaks, Ján Kollár and Pavol Šafárik—the first through his poetry, the second his scholarship—influenced greatly the development of Slavic consciousness, but it was Ľudovít Štúr who sought to pursue political objectives as outlined in his essay

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Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (The Slavs and the world of the future), which was published in Russia after his death in 1867. During the height of Magyarization, Panslavism was the catch-all accusation against all those pursuing Slovak national objectives. PAPÁNEK, JURAJ (1738–1802). Roman Catholic priest and historian, he published in 1780 the first history of the Slovaks entitled Historia gentis slavae—De regno regibusque Slavorum (History of the Slavic people—About the kingdom and kings of the Slavs). He traced their history back to Great Moravia and Cyril and Methodius and refuted Magyar interpretations of the origin of the Slovaks. See also LITERATURE. PARES, PETER (1908– ). British diplomat who served as consul in Bratislava in 1938–1939. His reports on the events surrounding the creation of the first Slovak Republic are among the most valuable testimony of the beginnings of that state from a foreign observer. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE (1919). Conference of the victorious Allied and Associated Powers that was convened in Paris, France, from 18 January to 28 June 1919 at the end of World War I to draw up the peace treaties and, in the process, also redraw the map of Central Europe. The conference convened in plenary session, but the major decisions were taken either by the Supreme Council (also known as the Council of Ten), composed of two representatives each from Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States of America, or by the Council of Four, composed of the heads of state or government of Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States. Numerous commissions were also created that reported to the Supreme Council. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany on 28 June, while the Treaties of St. Germain-en-Laye and Trianon, which created Czecho–Slovakia, were signed with Austria and Hungary on 10 September 1919 and 4 June 1920, respectively. PARTISANS. Name given to those who fought actively in the 1944 uprising against the first Slovak Republic. Most were politically active and linked either to the Communist Party of Slovakia or to the Democratic Party. Many were soldiers from the Army of the

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Slovak Republic who had crossed to the Allied Soviet side, escapees from Nazi concentration camps, and antifascists who were threatened with arrest. Some partisan units were led by Soviet military or NKVD officers. It is estimated that they numbered between 8,000 and 14,000, and they included people from other European nations, such as France and Hungary. They not only engaged the German forces that entered Slovakia on 29 August but also sought to control the territory they held, often using violence wantonly against real and falsely accused enemies among the civilian population. Mass graves of people executed by the partisans were found in Handlová, Nováky, Sklené, Mičiná, Kováčová, and elsewhere in Slovakia. After the defeat of the uprising, many units waged guerrilla warfare until the end of the war. See also RESISTANCE. PARTY OF CIVIC UNDERSTANDING/STRANA OBČIANSKÉHO POROZUMENIA (SOP). Created in May 1998 by Rudolf Schuster, the party platform proposed a left-wing liberal program. In the 1998 September elections, it won 14 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and was awarded two portfolios in the coalition government led by Mikuláš Dzurinda. Rudolf Schuster became president of the Slovak Republic in June 1999. It failed to get any deputies elected in the 2002 elections. PARTY OF THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT/STRANA DEMOKRATICKEJ ĽAVICE (SDĽ). Created by former members of the Communist Party of Slovakia in December 1991, it appeared under that name in the 1992 elections and won 29 seats and 14.7 percent of the popular vote. Its leader was Peter Weiss. The party participated in the recall of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar in March 1994 and was awarded seven portfolios in the government of Jozef Moravčík. In the 1994 elections, it joined other parties to form Common Choice, which won 17 seats and 10.41 percent of the popular vote under the leadership of Jozef Migaš. In the 1998 elections, the party achieved 14.66 percent of the vote and 23 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and, with six portfolios, was a member of the coalition government led by Mikuláš Dzurinda. It failed to get any deputies elected in 2002. In December 2004, the SDĽ membership voted to merge with the party Direction–Social Democracy.

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PARTY OF THE HUNGARIAN COALITION/STRANA MAĎARSKEJ KOALICIE-MAGYAR KOALÍCIÓ PÁRTJA (SMK–MKP). It was created in June 1998 to circumvent an electoral law that imposed a minimum of 5 percent of the vote on all parties in a coalition, in contrast to the previous law that set limits only on coalitions, not the parties within them, with 7 percent for a two-party coalition and 10 percent for a three-party one (the 5 percent threshold was maintained for all other parties). The SMK brought together the three Hungarian parties that previously made up the Hungarian Coalition. In the 1998 elections, it won 15 seats; in the 2002 elections, it had 20 seats elected and four portfolios in the coalition government of Mikuláš Dzurinda in the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Its leader is Béla Bugár. PARTY OF SLOVAK NATIONAL UNITY/STRANA SLOVENSEJ NÁRODNEJ JEDNOTY (SSNJ). Name added to the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party on 8 November 1938 when representatives of other parties in Slovakia, except for the Communists and the Social Democrats, agreed to join the HSĽS to form a single party. PASTRNEK, FRANTIŠEK (1853–1940). Czech Slavist who founded in Prague an association called Czechoslavic Unity that had an influence on the development of Czech–Slovak relations and the creation of Czecho–Slovakia. PATENT. An edict or law passed by the emperor. The most important patents were the Toleration (also known as the Edict of Toleration), Livings, and Peasants patents. All three were passed by Joseph II. The Livings Patent of 1782 dissolved a number of contemplative monasteries and founded new schools. PAUČO, JOZEF (1914–1975). A journalist, he was editor of the Bratislava daily Slovák from 1940 to 1944. He immigrated in 1945 to the United States, became a member of the Slovak Action Committee, secretary of the Slovak National Council Abroad from 1955 to 1961, and secretary of the Slovak League of America in 1962. He was also editor of the Slovak–American weekly Jednota from 1953 to 1958 and, from 1959, editor of Slovák v Amerike (Slovak in America), whose owner he became in 1964. From 1964 until his death, he

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was also editor of the scholarly journal Slovakia. He is the author of several books on the Slovaks published in the United States. PAULINIANS. Roman Catholic male order, the first to be founded in Hungary in 1250 in Ostrihom. The first monastery was founded in Lefantovce in 1369. The Paulinians were dedicated to teaching and the spiritual care of country folk. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH. PAULINY, EUGEN (1912–1983). He was a philologist who worked in the field of contemporary Slovak language, specializing in its history and dialectology. He was professor of Slovak at Comenius University in Bratislava and author of many scholarly studies, including Dejiny spisovnej slovenčiny (History of literary Slovak) (1948), Slovenská fonológia (Slovak phonology) (1963), and Dejiny spisovnej slovenčiny od začiatkov po súčasnosť (History of literary Slovak from its beginnings to the present) (1983), among others. He was also the editor of many scholarly journals. PAULINY, VILIAM (1877–1945). Slovak banker who was involved in the resistance movement in London and also in Slovakia when the 1944 uprising broke out. PAULINY-TÓTH, VILIAM (1826–1877). Political writer and politician, he helped prepare the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. He was the leader of the Old School and a deputy to the Hungarian Diet from 1869 to 1872. He was a cofounder in 1871 and first chairman of the Slovak National Party and, from 1866 to 1875, vice president of Matica slovenská. PAVOL OF LEVOČA. See MAJSTER PAVOL. PÁZMAŇ, PETER (PÁZMÁNY, PÉTER) (CARDINAL) (1570– 1637). Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order, he was a Hungarian convert to Catholicism from Calvinism who became archbishop of Ostrihom in 1616 and cardinal in 1629. He was one of the most influential leaders of the Counter-Reformation in Hungary and founder of the University of Trnava. He concentrated on the conversion of the Magyar nobility.

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PEACE MOVEMENT OF THE CATHOLIC CLERGY. Organization created by the Communist regime and funded by the state to which Roman Catholic priests were expected to belong. It was dissolved in 1971 and replaced by Pacem in Terris. PEASANTS (PEASANTRY). The peasantry played an important role in Slovak history. They were the workers on the properties of the landed nobility and gentry—which was mostly Magyar—the inhabitants of the villages, and, at the beginning of industrialization, the inhabitants of towns and cities. The richness of Slovak folklore comes from the diversity in peasant life, which varied from county to county, village to village. One of the writers to immortalize their way of life in the latter part of the 19th century was Martin Kukučín. The lot of the peasant was never easy. In the Middle Ages, most were free to move as long as they had fulfilled their obligations to their lord. Over time, they also acquired the right to own property lots. With the Ottoman occupation of Hungary, however, the obligations of the peasants became greater as landowners sought to preserve their wealth. Laws were introduced that curtailed the migration of the indentured population on the land. In some of the border counties, peasants created peasant committees to help defend against the Turks. These peasant committees disappeared once the Turks left Hungary. Peasants often revolted; over time, this brought about a change in their status. As a result of the revolts of 1735 and 1753, Maria Theresa passed the Urbarial Law of 1767 that somewhat modified their status. Joseph II enacted the Peasant Patent in 1785, which gave the peasantry the liberty to leave their land holding on payment of their dues and forbade the expropriation of their land without adequate compensation. Revolts in 1831, especially in eastern Slovakia, resulted in the Hungarian Diet of 1839–1840 passing a new urbarial law that allowed peasants to become landowners by the payment of a fixed sum as manumission compensation. Although this law did not free all peasants from their obligations, or robot, to give some of their time to the lord, it made it possible for some to acquire their freedom. The condition of the peasant became the focus of the revolutionary movements of 1848–1849. During his tenure as a member of the

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Hungarian Diet, Ľudovít Štúr spoke on behalf of the Slovak peasant, advocated the end of all forms of serfdom, and emphasized the need for social and economic reform. In the Demands of the Slovak Nation, among the issues raised were the total abolition of serfdom and the return of the land to the peasants from whom it had been taken away. In March 1848, the robot was abolished by the Hungarian Diet. An imperial decree officially ended it in 1853. The life and work of the Slovak peasant did not truly begin to change until mechanization appeared on the land in the 20th century. The traditional way of life of the peasantry was changed forever by the Communist regime when it imposed collectivization. Ownership of the land was abolished, and peasants were driven either into collective farms or to towns and cities to join the growing labor force. Today, the term is not used anymore for those who work on the land in Slovakia, rather they are known as farmers. After the fall of communism, the land taken under communism was returned and the former collective farms are now jointly owned. PEOPLE’S PARTY. See MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA. PEOPLE’S UNION/ĽUDOVÁ ÚNIA (ĽÚ). This party was created in May 2003 after 11 deputies for Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), led by Vojtech Tkáč, former deputy chairman of the HZDS, left the party. In October 2004, the ĽÚ elected Gustáv Krajči as its leader. The ĽÚ defines itself as a political party of centrist orientation that is based on civic, Christian, national, and social principles. PIARISTS. Roman Catholic male religious order that taught in elementary and secondary schools. They appeared in Slovakia in the 17th century to work for the Counter-Reformation, establishing schools and monasteries in central and western Slovakia. In Senec, they taught at the Collegium oeconomicum. PILÁRIK, ŠTEFAN (1615–1693). Lutheran pastor and writer, he is known mainly for his epic poem Sors Pilarikiana (The Lot of

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Pilárik), which in Slovakized Czech describes Pilárik’s two-month incarceration in a Turkish jail, his sale into slavery to a Romanian, and his escape. See also LITERATURE. PILLER COMMISSION. Commission created by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in April 1968 and headed by Jan Piller. Its task was to examine the political trials of the 1950s, to assess the responsibilities of individual party leaders, and complete the rehabilitation of members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia who had been condemned but not yet cleared. An initial report was submitted in May 1968 to the Central Committee but not published; the report was not ready at the time of the Warsaw Pact invasion. It was published abroad several years later. See also BARNABITE COMMISSION; KOLDER COMMISSION; PURGES; SLOVAK BOURGEOIS NATIONALISM. PIŠÚT, MILAN (1908–1984). Literary historian who taught at the Faculty of Philosophy of Comenius University in Bratislava. Among his published works are Počiatky básnickej školy Štúrovej (The beginning of the Štúr poetic school) (1938), Dejiny slovenskej literatúry (History of Slovak literature) (1960), and Hodnoty a čas (Values and time) (1983). He is also the author of many studies on Slovak authors, such as Janko Kraľ, Ľudovít Štúr, Andrej Sládkovič and other Slovak Romantics. See also LITERATURE; ROMANTICISM. PITTSBURGH PACT. A document signed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 30 May 1918, by representatives of Slovak–American and Czech–American organizations. The document was drafted by Tomáš G. Masaryk, leader of the Czecho–Slovak National Council, who also signed it. The pact proposed “a political program aiming at the union of the Czechs and Slovaks in an independent state comprising the Czech Lands and Slovakia.” The document also indicates that “Slovakia shall have its own administration, its own Diet, and its own courts. The Slovak language shall be the official language in the schools, in government offices, and in public life generally.” However, once the Czecho–Slovak Republic was created, Masaryk refused to honor the terms of the pact as he wrote in his memoirs: “I signed the Convention [the Pittsburgh Pact] unhesitatingly

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as a local understanding between American Czechs and Slovaks upon the policy they were prepared to advocate.” Czecho–Slovakia became a centralized state called Czechoslovakia. Slovak leaders in Slovakia became aware of the pact only in the summer of 1919. Its implementation became the rallying point for all Slovaks opposed to the centralism of the Czechoslovak state and to Czechoslovakism. In the summer of 1938, a massive demonstration was organized in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Pittsburgh Pact. The original copy from the United States was brought to Slovakia for the first time and displayed to the assembled throng. Andrej Hlinka, leader of the Slovak People’s Party gave what was to be his last public speech; with the document in hand, he demanded that Prague honor this agreement, which Masaryk himself had signed. The original copy of the pact was brought a second time to Slovakia in October 1991 by representatives of the Slovak League of America. It is housed in the archives of the Slovak Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. PODJAVORINSKÁ, ĽUDMILA RIZNEROVÁ- (1872–1951). Best known as a writer of short stories and children’s literature and poetry, she is also considered the first important Slovak woman poet. In addition to the collections of verses entitled Z vesny života (From Life’s Spring) (1895) and Balady (Ballads) (1930), among her writings are the novels V otroctve (In slavery) (1905) and Žena (Wife) (1909) and collections of children’s poetry entitled Kytka veršov pre slovenské dietky (A bouquet of poems for Slovak children) (1920), Veršíky pre maličkých (Verses for little ones) (1930), Medový hrniec (Pot of honey) (1930), and Klásky (Ears of grain) (1930). Humor, playfulness, optimism, and rhythm characterize her children’s poetry. She was also a member of Živena, a regular contributor to Slovak periodicals, and a translator of Russian poetry. Some of her books were sources of inspiration for music and films. POLAKOVIČ, ŠTEFAN (1912– ). Philosopher and university professor, he was one of the main ideologists of the first Slovak Republic. He immigrated to Argentina in 1949 and authored many essays on Slovak nationalism.

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POLITICAL PARTIES. There are five periods in modern Slovak politics: the period in Hungary from 1848 to 1918, in the Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1939, in the first Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945, again in the Czechoslovak Republic from 1945 to 1992, and in the second Slovak Republic from 1993 to the present. In each period, political parties have sought to represent the interests of the inhabitants of Slovakia, in particular the Slovaks. But these five periods can also be divided into two politically defined eras, namely when the inhabitants of Slovakia shared a state with another nation and when they governed themselves. Three of the five periods belong to the first era: the period in the Hungarian kingdom from 1848 to 1818, the period in the Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1939, and again from 1945 to 1992; the other two belong to the second era. The difference between these two politically defined eras is found in the degree of self-government granted to Slovakia and the options that this represented. When Slovakia was a partner with another nation in a state, whether with the Hungarians in the first period or with the Czechs in the second and fourth, Slovak politics was defined by two options. The first was to cooperate with the majority nation (the Hungarians or the Czechs) and get as much for the inhabitants of Slovakia as this cooperation could afford; the second was to fight primarily for the rights and needs of Slovakia and also maximize the degree of self-government. In the two periods of the second era, Slovak politics revolved around domestic and international issues and whether they were right for the security and further development of Slovakia. In the first period, in the Hungarian kingdom from 1848 to 1918, four parties made their appearance in Slovakia. The first was the Slovak National Party (SNS), founded in 1871 to fight for the objectives defined in the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation. It had to compete with a group in Pest initially called the New School that advocated cooperation with the Hungarians. In 1872, they renamed themselves the Slovak Party of Settlement. By the mid-1870s, they had ceased to be a political force. The third party was the Slovak People’s Party (SĽS), announced in 1905 but not created until 1913; the Slovak Social Democratic Party was also created in 1905, but dissolved a year later when it joined the Hungarian party. Given the restrictions placed on Slovak politics in this period, none of these

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parties achieved any level of success apart from the election of an occasional deputy or two to the Hungarian Parliament. In fact, from 1884 until the end of the 19th century, the SNS embarked on a course of political passivity. It became active again in the 20th century and was the only constituted Slovak party when Slovakia left Hungary to create Czecho–Slovakia. The two periods during which Slovakia found itself in the Czechoslovak Republic, the existence and activity of Slovak political parties depended on whether the regime was democratic or totalitarian. In the second period, regarded as democratic, in the Czechoslovak Republic from 1918 to 1939, party politics reflected the options that were available to Slovakia. One group of parties, defined as “Czechoslovak,” either cooperated with the government in Prague or were extensions of Czech parties in Slovakia. In addition, the “Czechoslovak” parties were divided along political lines, each appealing to a different constituency. Their electoral results are found in the entry of each party. One of the first to be active in Slovakia after 1918 was the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party, in effect, a Czech party that never got more than two deputies elected in Slovakia. Another Czech party seeking to expand in Slovakia was the Czechoslovak People’s Party and it managed to get only one deputy elected. More successful were parties with well-defined political programs. On the left of the political spectrum were the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS). On the right of the political spectrum was the Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party (usually known as Agrarians). In the elections of 1920, 1925, 1929, and 1935, these were the “Czechoslovak” parties in Slovakia that, with the exception of the Communists, also participated in the government, depending on their electoral success. In addition, they ensured the social and economic development of Slovakia, but only within the context of the overall development of Czechoslovakia. They opposed, on the other hand, the honoring of the Pittsburgh Pact and the granting of autonomy to Slovakia. Two Slovak parties fought for autonomy and for this reason found themselves in opposition. They were the SĽS, re-created in 1918, and the SNS. They demanded that Prague honor the clauses of the Pittsburgh Pact. In the elections of 1920 both parties merged with a

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Czech party only to stand on their own shortly thereafter. The SĽS was the more successful of the two, obtaining more seats in subsequent elections than any other party, proving thereby to be the most popular Slovak party in the interwar period. In 1925, it changed its name to the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party (HSĽS) in honor of its founder, Andrej Hlinka. In 1927, it agreed to join the government and two deputies were given ministerial portfolios. However, by 1929, the party was back in opposition and would remain there for the balance of the life of the First Czechoslovak Republic. It continued to fight for the autonomy of Slovakia. German and Hungarian parties also represented the Germans and Hungarians in Slovakia and they regularly sent a small number of deputies to the Czechoslovak Parliament. With the signing of the Munich Agreement in October 1938 and the creation of the second Czechoslovak Republic, political life in Slovakia slowly began to move away from democratic norms and to adopt the characteristics of an authoritarian regime. On 6 October 1938, when Slovakia achieved autonomy, the HSĽS became the dominant party by merging with some of the other parties to form the Party of Slovak National Unity (SSNJ). All other parties were eventually banned. In the elections of December 1938 to the Slovak Assembly, it was the only Slovak party in parliament (there were deputies from the German and Hungarian parties) and on 14 March 1939, its members voted for the independence of Slovakia. The HSĽS–SSNJ dominated the politics of the first Slovak Republic. It was banned in 1945, as was the Agrarian party. In the third period, except for a brief interlude of three years, from 1945 to 1948, the only political party in Slovakia was the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). It was neither an independent nor an autonomous party rather it was subordinated to the KSČS and acted as its transmission belt in Slovakia. Nevertheless, even under the constraints of a one-party totalitarian state, the KSS managed to defend Slovak interests, especially after Alexander Dubček became first secretary in 1963. It successfully pushed for the transformation of Czechoslovakia into a federation, which happened on 28 October 1968. It was the KSS that dominated the Slovak National Council (SNR) and governed Slovakia until November 1989. During the years 1945 to 1948, when there was a battle between democracy

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and communism in Czechoslovakia, two political parties competed with one another in Slovakia, the Democratic Party (DS) and the KSS. However, in an effort to split the non-Communist vote, two additional parties were created at this time, the Liberty Party and the Labor Party, each achieving token representation in the SNR. When the Communists took power in their coup d’etat of February 1948, they became parties in the National Front. The fall of communism in November 1989 ushered in three years of democratic development in Czecho–Slovakia and with it the appearance of some old parties and the creation of new ones. The SNS and the DS were the first ones to reappear with the DS getting seven deputies elected in 1990 but none thereafter. Only the SNS succeeded in getting deputies elected in all elections until it broke into two factions in 2001 and failed to get any deputies elected in 2002. Until the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia on 31 December 1992, the SNS was the only party to advocate the independence of Slovakia. The new parties that were created at this time basically favored a new solution in the constitutional relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The Czech option was to retain the existing federal system with political power primarily in Prague whereas the Slovak option was to decentralize the federal system and give the two constituent republics greater powers, in effect to turn Czecho–Slovakia into a confederation. The new parties that articulated variations on this theme were Public Against Violence (VPN) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), the two biggest parties to get deputies elected to the SNR in June 1990. Other parties to have representation in the SNR were the Green Party of Slovakia (SZS), the KSS, and the parties in the Hungarian Coalition. The VPN had the task of forming a coalition government but soon broke up as a result of an internal split; when Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar of the VPN was voted out of power in the presidium of the SNR in April 1991, he formed a new party called the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). The new prime minister was Ján Čarnogurský of the KDH. The HZDS, however, won the elections of June 1992 and together with the SNS formed a coalition government. The KDH and the KSS also had deputies elected, with the latter having transformed itself into the Party of the Democratic Left (SDĽ); the SZS failed to get anyone elected, and the Hungarians were represented

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by parties called Coexistence and the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement (MKDM). Mečiar negotiated the independence of Slovakia that took effect on 1 January 1993. Prior to independence, the SNR had changed its name to National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR). Crises within the HZDS in 1994 brought about the formation of a government under the leadership of Jozef Moravčik, early elections, and also the formation of new parties, the Alliance of Democrats in the Slovak Republic and the Alternative of Political Realism. These two parties eventually united to form the Democratic Union. The 1994 elections brought the HZDS back to power and together with the SNS and the Association of Workers of Slovakia (ZRS), a left-wing party formed prior to the elections, it formed a coalition government that governed Slovakia for the next four years. Although Slovakia enjoyed economic growth in this period, the Mečiar government failed to have Slovakia invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the first round. The September 1998 elections were fought on the question of NATO membership and the record of the Mečiar government. He had sought to control the results by introducing changes in the electoral laws; however, the results confirmed his and the HZDS’s decreasing popularity. Although he obtained a plurality of seats in the NR SR, Mečiar was unable to form a government with other parties. Prior to the elections, new parties appeared, one called the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK), which was formed when the KDH, the DU, the DS, the SDSS, and the SZS came together, another called Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) when the Hungarian parties joined forces, and a new party called the Party of Civic Understanding (SOP). The SNS had representation while the ZRS failed to get deputies reelected to the NR SR; the three new parties together with the SDĽ formed a coalition government that governed until the elections in 2002. Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda of the SDK pursued policies that would enable Slovakia to join NATO in the second enlargement round and also to be among the first Central European states to be invited to join the EU. Economic difficulties rendered his re-election uncertain in September 2002 and there were also fears that Mečiar, whose HZDS was leading in public opinion polls, would come back. There was also a realignment of parties; after the defec-

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tion of the KDH and the DS in January 2000, the SDK renamed itself the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU); in April 2001, the chairman of the private television station Markísa, Pavol Rusko, created a new party, the Alliance for a New Citizen (ANO); Róbert Fico defected from the SDĽ and formed a new party called Direction; and the HZDS, the SNS, and the SDĽ split with only the HZDS succeeding in getting deputies elected to the NR SR. The 2002 elections were won once again by the HZDS, but Mečiar was unable to form a coalition government and Dzurinda, now leading the SDKU, formed one with the support of the SMK, the KDH, and ANO. In opposition were the HZDS, Direction, and the KSS, which managed to get back on the parliamentary scene with 11 deputies. In the meantime, the political situation continued to experience change: in February 2003, the People’s Union was created when 11 deputies left the HZDS. In March 2003, the SOP merged with Direction and, on 1 January 2005, Direction merged with the SDĽ and the SDSS. It also changed its name to Direction–Social Democracy. The two factions of the SNS came together in May 2003 and the HZDS changed its name to People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS–HZDS) in June 2003. The 2006 elections were won by Direction–Social Democracy, which formed a government with the SNS and the ĽS–HZDS. Since the fall of communism and the creation of the second Slovak Republic, despite a relatively high turnover of political parties, there has been a surprising degree of political stability. The parties that have had representation in the NR SR are located on the left, in the center, or on the right wing of the political spectrum, although some are considered to encompass the entire spectrum: this is the case of the HZDS—especially when it was in power and also the KDH initially. Otherwise, on the left are the KSS, the ZRS, the SDĽ, the SOP, and Direction; in the center, the KDH, the SZS, the SDK, the SMK, and the SDKU; and on the right, the DU and the SNS. In 1992 and 1994, the voters favored a center-right orientation (HZDS and SNS), but as a result of problems of governance and Mečiar’s failure to have Slovakia invited in the first round of NATO enlargement in 1997, the electorate favored center parties both in 1998 and 2002. As left-wing parties have usually been elected in areas of high unemployment, their participation in a government coalition has usu-

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ally been the result of a political calculation by the parties forming the government. The ZRS was one of the parties that helped form a coalition government under Mečiar from 1994 to 1998 and the SDĽ did so in the short-lived Moravčik government in 1994 and again in the Dzurinda government from 1998 to 2002. The right to create political parties is guaranteed in the constitution in Article 29: “Citizens have the right to establish political parties and political movements and to associate in them.” A political party is established when three citizens older than 18 years of age propose its creation, prepare party statutes, define the party program, obtain the signature of at least 1,000 citizens who wish to join this party, and register it with the Ministry of the Interior. A party must have a membership of 10,000 members in order to field candidates in an election. A party that does not have this number of members must make up the difference with petitions containing the signature of citizens. At election time, each party prepares a list of candidates 21 years of age or older, not exceeding 150 names (the number of seats in the NR SR), in an order determined by the party leadership. In order to have representation in the NR SR, a party must have received at least 5 percent of the vote and the number of deputies is then determined by the percentage obtained. According to a law passed in 2004, in the case of party coalitions, two- and three-party coalitions must receive 7 percent of the vote; for coalitions of four or more parties, 10 percent to have parliamentary representation. The persons chosen to be deputies are decided by the ranking on the party or coalition list. A deputy may resign from his party and join another party without losing his parliamentary mandate. A party ceases to exist when its dissolution or its merger with another party is registered with the Ministry of the Interior. Last but not least, the constitution specifies that the right to establish a political party may be restricted only in cases specified by law, if this is unavoidable in a democratic society for reasons of state security, to protect public order, to forestall criminal acts, or to protect the rights and freedoms of others. PONIČANOVÁ, ALŽBETA (1908–1987). Actress who studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava from 1929 to 1933 and was a member of the dramatic ensemble of the Slovak National

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Theater from 1938 to 1980. She excelled in comedy roles but in the end became best known for her portrayal of lonely, embittered, domineering, or even despotic characters. She mostly played roles from the Slovak repertoire. She also appeared in many Slovak films. POOR CLARES/KLARISKY. A female branch of the Franciscan Order founded by Clare of Assisi in 1212, a contemporary of Francis of Assisi. They built the first urban monastery in Trnava in 1239 and another one in Bratislava in 1297. They dedicated their lives to contemplation, literature, manual tasks, music, and translation. Both monasteries were dissolved by Emperor Joseph II in 1782. See CATHOLIC CHURCH. POPPOVÁ, LUCIA (1939–1993). Soprano and opera singer, she studied at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava. In 1963, she became a member of the Vienna State Opera and a guest artist in the best opera houses of Europe and North America. She also had the main female role in the film production of Jánošík of 1962–1963. See also MUSIC. POPULISTS. Name often given in the literature to the members of the Slovak People’s Party. POSPÍŠIL, JOZEF (1897–1976). Sculptor who was famous for his busts of famous Slovaks and for his monumental memorials. He was a graduate of the Pedagogical Institute in Modra and the Academy of Graphic Arts in Prague. Among his famous sculptures are the memorials to First and Second World War soldiers in Trenčianske Teplice, to war victims in Bánovce nad Brebavou, to Ľudovit Štúr in Uhrovec and Anton Bernolák in Nové Zámky, and his busts of Jozef Miloslav Hurban, Pribina, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, and many others. POZNAN CLAN. Slavic landowners who helped King Stephen consolidate his kingdom. PRAGUE AGREEMENTS. Name given to a series of three agreements in 1945 and 1946 that defined the powers of and the relations

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between the Czechoslovak government, the Slovak National Council (SNR), and the Board of Commissioners (ZP). The First Prague Agreement of 2 June 1945 defined 20 areas of central competence. The remaining areas were reserved for the SNR. The Constituent National Assembly ratified these arrangements in April 1946, pointing out that the SNR was also competent to issue regulations in Slovakia, except when the assembly decided otherwise. The Second Prague Agreement of 11 April 1946 stated that consultation with the concerned minister of the Czechoslovak government was mandatory on all resolutions of the SNR and the ZP. It also gave the president of the republic the right to nominate all university professors, high-ranking judges, and public servants in Slovakia. In the Third Prague Agreement of 27 June 1946, the Czechoslovak government was given the right to decide what the SNR was empowered to discuss and could also order it to pass resolutions. Likewise, the ZP was seriously weakened: a government minister could bypass his colleague in the board by acting directly through his ministry; the government had final say in the composition of the board; and the government could suspend the execution of a decision by the board. These agreements in effect subordinated the Slovak national organs to the central government and defined the parameters of the asymmetrical model that existed until 1968. PRAGUE SPRING. Name given to the eight-month period from January to August 1968 when the Communist regime, under the leadership of Alexander Dubček—who became first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia—introduced liberal reforms that were to bring about “socialism with a human face.” See also LIBERALIZATION; NORMALIZATION; WARSAW PACT INVASION. PRAVÁ SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ STRANA (PSNS). See TRUE SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY. PREMONSTRATENSIANS. Roman Catholic male order of monastic canons that was dedicated to secondary education and pastoral work. They arrived in Slovakia toward the end of the 12th century and

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established their provost residence in Jasov near Košice in 1220 and a monastery in Kláštor pod Znievom in 1251. During the Reformation, their monasteries were closed but were reopened later. They were closed again by the Communist regime in 1950. PŘEMYSLIDES. Czech royal family, kings of Bohemia that laid claim to the thrones of Austria and Hungary in the 13th century. In Hungary, the Přemyslide Václav III reigned briefly (1301–1305) under the name of Ladislas (László). PRESIDENT. Title given to the head of state of the first Slovak Republic. Jozef Tiso was elected to this position on 26 October 1939; he was the first Slovak Republic’s only president. This title is also given to the head of state of the second Slovak Republic. From 1993 to 1999, he was elected by secret ballot for a five-year term by a three-fifths majority in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR), and was allowed to serve a maximum of two successive terms. He is commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, declares referenda, appoints and promotes generals, appoints Supreme Court justices, names university rectors and professors, grants pardons, and awards distinctions. In addition to having certain residual powers, including the right to appoint the prime minister and other heads of agencies and the power to convene and dissolve the NR SR under certain specified conditions, the president has the right to submit a report on the state of the nation; to submit other issues, bills, and decrees to the NR SR; to attend parliament; to attend sessions of the government and chair them; and to ask for reports from the prime minister and government ministers. The NR SR passed constitutional law 9/1999 in January 1999, which paved the way for the direct election of the president for a fiveyear term by the people rather than by the NR SR; it also strengthened his political independence. Parliament is no longer able to dismiss the president by a two-thirds majority and the president has the power to dissolve parliament if it can no longer enact decisions or if the government falls and no new government can be formed. The NR SR dealt with the issue of the presidency again in March 2001 with con-

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stitutional law 90/2001, which came into effect on 1 July 2001. Some presidential powers were curtailed, for example, the presidential right to dissolve parliament in time of war or exceptional circumstances, while other ones were expanded, for example, the right to turn to the Constitutional Court for a judgment on a referendum matter. The president can be removed from his post only by the NR SR on the proposal of the majority and the vote of three-fifths of the deputies. On 18 February 1993, Michal Kováč was elected president by the NR SR; his inauguration took place on 2 March 1993. Rudolf Schuster was elected by popular ballot on 29 May 1999 and sworn in on 15 June. The third election to the presidency took place on 17 April 2004 and was won by Ivan Gašparovič. His term of office began on 15 June 2004. See also CONSTITUTION. PREŠOV SLAUGHTER. Name given to the execution of 24 Lutherans involved in the magnate rebellion of Imrich Tököli. The trials began on 5 March and ended on 12 September 1687 with the approval of Emperor Leopold I; the putative leaders were arrested, tried, and condemned on suspicion of preparing a new uprising. PRIBINA (800?–861). Second or third prince of the Principality of Nitra, he was expelled from his principality in A.D. 833 by Mojmír of Morava. Although he was prince of Nitra, Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg consecrated a church in Nitra in 828. After first finding refuge with Margrave Ratbod, who presented him to Louis the German in Regensburg, he and his followers accepted Christianity and for a number of years wandered in central and southeastern Europe before settling in Pannonia in 839. He set up a principality there, was its ruler from 839 to 861, and undertook to Christianize the population and build churches. See also GREAT MORAVIA. PRÍDAVOK, PETER (1902–1966). Journalist and politician, he created the Slovak National Council in London in 1942. It was transformed in 1948 into the Slovak National Council Abroad with Karol Sidor as president and Prídavok as secretary. PRIME MINISTER. This position designates the head of government in Slovakia. The first person to hold it was Jozef Tiso when he was

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appointed head of the autonomous Slovak government on 8 October 1938. Two other prime ministers of the autonomous government were Jozef Sivák and Karol Sidor. When Slovakia became independent in March 1939, Jozef Tiso became its first prime minister until he was elected president on 26 October. His successor was Vojtech Tuka, who was prime minister from October 1939 to September 1944; the last prime minister of the first Slovak Republic, successor to Tuka, was Štefan Tiso. The position of prime minister was reestablished on 1 January 1969 when Czechoslovakia became a federation. The prime ministers of the Slovak Socialist Republic were Štefan Sádovský, Peter Colotka, Jozef Knotek, and Peter Hrivnák. After the collapse of communism and until the elections of June 1990, the prime minister was Milan Čič. The first prime minister elected in the post-Communist period was Vladimír Mečiar, leader of Public Against Violence; he was ousted in a vote of no confidence in the presidium of the Slovak National Council in April 1991 and succeeded by Ján Čarnogurský. The elections of June 1992 were won by the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) founded and led by Mečiar; he remained prime minister until March 1994, when he lost the support of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. He was succeeded by Jozef Moravčík. Elections were held in September 1994 and were won by the HZDS; Mečiar was appointed prime minister three months later and stayed in office until the elections of September 1998. As a result of these elections, a new prime minister, Mikuláš Dzurinda, came into office in October 1998; he was reelected in 2002. See also CONSTITUTION. PRIVATIZATION. The process of privatization in Slovakia began after the fall of communism when the federal government of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic abandoned the command economy of the previous regime and proceeded with the transformation of the economy into a market marked by the freeing of prices, the convertibility of the currency, the liberalization of the trade, and opening the door to foreign investment. The federal privatization law of 1991 introduced the voucher system, which gave every adult citizen the opportunity to purchase a book of vouchers at a nominal fee

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and these vouchers could be exchanged for shares in state enterprises to be privatized. In addition, in 1991, the Slovak National Council passed a law creating the National Property Fund to oversee the sale of state property to private investors based on legislation proposed by the government through the Ministry of Privatization. According to available statistics, prior to independence, around 80 percent of Slovaks took part in voucher privatization, the majority of whom invested their vouchers in 165 privatization funds. However, in 1995, the National Council of the Slovak Republic abandoned voucher privatization in favor of the issuance of bonds and existing vouchers became exchangeable for these bonds. Unfortunately, the process of privatization became early on the object of political interference. Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar had sought to slow down privatization, in particular the privatization of state enterprises, which had begun before independence through the voucher system. During his first tenure in office, from June 1992 to March 1994, his government privatized a limited number of enterprises for a value of 21.8 billion Sk, whereas the government of Jozef Moravčík, in its six months in office from March to October 1994, privatized 250 enterprises for a value of 130 billion Sk. Although he continued to apply the brakes on voucher privatization after his return to power in October 1994, Mečiar did initiate two privatization campaigns whose aim it was, according to a Western observer, to “create a genuine entrepreneurial group, which the vouchers had not been able to do.” But there were also allegations of corruption, of the selling of enterprises to friends, relatives, and close political allies at bargain-basement prices. Not surprisingly, Mečiar ran into difficulties when he tried to privatize banks and, by 1997, he had to content himself with only a partial privatization. The election of Mikuláš Dzurinda launched anew the process of privatization and, by 1999, banks, as well as many strategic enterprises in the energy, telecommunications, and transportation sectors, were up for sale. The government also ordered a study of the privatization process for the period 1991–1998 and, as a result, created advisory agencies and commissions in the Ministry of Privatization. The government cleaned up the process to avoid the allegations of corruption heard during the Mečiar era and made it open and transparent, including the creation of a public register of privatized property.

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PROKEŠ, JOZEF (1950– ). Cofounder and second leader of the Slovak National Party in 1991–1992. In 1990, he was elected to the Slovak National Council, served as its vice president in 1991–1993, and was deputy prime minister in 1993–1994. He was elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 and again in 1998, but not in 2002. He was also the mayor of Nitra from 1998 to 2002. PROTECTORATE OF BOHEMIA–MORAVIA. Name given by Germany to the Czech Lands to designate their status in the Third Reich when they were occupied by the Wehrmacht on 15 March 1939. PROTESTANTISM. See ANABAPTISTS; ANTITRINITARIANS; LUTHERAN CHURCH. PTOLEMY, CLAUDIUS (?–148). Egyptian geographer who indicated on one of his maps that the Slavs, whom he called Wends, inhabited the Carpathian Mountains. He is one of the few authors of antiquity to note their presence in Europe. PUBLIC AGAINST VIOLENCE/VEREJNOSŤ PROTI NÁSILIU (VPN). The first political movement to arise in Slovakia during the “Gentle Revolution,” it was founded on 20 November 1989. It initiated and organized mass demonstrations throughout Slovakia that, along with those in the Czech Republic, brought an end to communism in Czechoslovakia. It was the first post-Communist group to demand the abolition of the leading role of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia that was enshrined in the constitution of 1960. Among its founders were Ján Budaj, Fedor Gál, and Milan Kňažko. In its political program leading to the June 1990 elections, it stressed the establishment of the rule of law, the transformation of the Communist command economy into a market one, pluralistic democracy, a parliamentary system, and the resolution of Slovakia’s position in Czechoslovakia’s federation. It was a coalition that included, among others, the Hungarian Independent Initiative and such individuals as Alexander Dubček and Milan Čič. It won the elections with 29.34 percent of the vote and 48 seats in the Slovak National Council and formed the government under Vladimír Mečiar.

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Differences of opinion between Mečiar and some of the founders of the movement—namely Fedor Gál—led to a split in April 1991, with Mečiar creating the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, but also being forced out of office. The VPN never recovered from this split, failed to get anyone elected in the June 1992 elections. By November 1992, it had disappeared from the Slovak political scene. See also GENTLE REVOLUTION. PURGES. Political process that resulted in physical liquidation or incarceration by legal means used by the Communist regime in the early 1950s against real or alleged enemies of the regime, especially in the ranks of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS). The purges in Czechoslovakia were a part of a greater series of purges in Central and Eastern Europe ordered by the Soviet leaders. They were also the most far-reaching. The Slánský trial of November 1952 in Prague, at which 14 top-ranking officials appeared, was turned into a showcase for the entire Communist world. Eleven of the 14 accused, including KSČS First Secretary Rudolf Slánský, were executed after being convicted of partaking in a conspiracy against the state and of Zionism. There were only two Slovaks among the condemned: Vladimír Clementis, who was executed and Eugen Löbl, who was given a life sentence. The minister of national security responsible for the purges was Karol Bacílek. A second series of purges took place in April 1954 in Bratislava when Gustáv Husák, Ladislav Novomeský, and others were found guilty of Slovak bourgeois nationalism. They were condemned to prison sentences. See also BARNABITE COMMISSION; KOLDER COMMISSION; PILLER COMMISSION.

-QQUADI. Germanic tribe that settled in southwestern Slovakia during the Roman period. In A.D. 6, the Romans attacked the Quadi kingdom of Marobud but did not defeat it until around 19. Two years later the Romans made peace with the Quadi, supporting Vannius, a Quadi king who established the “Regnum Vannianum,” which lasted until A.D. 50.

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-RRADA HOSPODÁRSKEJ A SOCIÁLNEJ DOHODY SR. See COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. RADLINSKÝ, ANDREJ (1817–1879). Roman Catholic priest and political writer, he was one of the founders of the Tatra Society and from 1855 on, coeditor of Katolicke noviny (Catholic News). During the 1850s, he traveled throughout Slovakia to see how the literary language codified by Ľudovít Štúr was being received. On his recommendation, it was adopted as the administrative language of the city of Košice in eastern Slovakia. He was also the founder of the Society of St. Adalbert. RADVANSKÝ FAMILY. Led by Juraj (1645–1687), podžupan of Zvolen County, this family belonged to the landed gentry that encouraged the spread of the Reformation in Slovakia. Juraj was one of the Lutherans executed in Prešov in 1687. His son Ján (1666–1738), also podžupan of Zvolen County (1697–1711), fought in the Imrich Tököli and František II Rákoci magnate rebellions. RÁKOCI, FRANTIŠEK II (RÁKÓCZI, FERENC) (1676–1735). Župan of Šariš County, he led the fifth magnate rebellion from 1703 to 1711. See also MAGNATE REBELLIONS. RÁKOCI, JURAJ I (RÁKÓCZI, GYÖRGY) (1593–1648). Prince of Transylvania, he led the third magnate rebellion. See also MAGNATE REBELLIONS. RAKOVSKÝ, MARTIN (1535–1579). Philosopher, poet, and podžupan of Turiec County in 1574, he is considered one of the most outstanding writers in Slovakia of the 16th century. He wrote poetry as well as philosophical treatises in Latin. See also LITERATURE. RAPANT, DANIEL (1897–1988). Professor of Slovak history (1933– 1950) and rector of Comenius University in 1945, he was one of the most outstanding Slovak historians of the 20th century who was

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silenced by the Communist regime, although he was allowed to do research. His greatest work is a history of the 1848–1849 uprising, which he published in 13 volumes. RASTISLAV (?–870). Prince of the Principality of Nitra, he connived with the Franks to have the first ruler of Great Moravia, Mojmír I, deposed so that he could rule. During his reign Great Moravia underwent a process of expansion and consolidation. First, he acquired more territory in the east—namely the Slanské Mountains near Košice—and established a border with the Bulgarian kingdom. He also asked the Holy See in A.D. 861 and Byzantium in 862 for teachers who were familiar with the Slavic tongue and also for a bishop. The request was granted when Byzantium sent the Greek brothers Cyril and Methodius in 863. He also sought to establish an independent ecclesiastical province in Great Moravia. He was in constant conflict with the Franks, and when Frankish armies led by Carloman invaded Great Moravia in 870, Rastislav was arrested by Svätopluk, prince of Nitra who became the next ruler of Great Moravia. Rastislav was handed over to the Franks; he died in prison. RATBOD. Margrave of the Ostmark, he not only encouraged missionary activity in the principalities of Nitra and Morava, but may also have played the rulers of these Slavic principalities against each other. In 833, Mojmír I of Morava managed to drive Pribina out of Nitra and unite the two principalities to form a new state—the Empire of Great Moravia—and become its first ruler. RATIO EDUCATIONIS. Educational reform enacted on 22 August 1777 in Hungary on the initiative of Empress Maria Theresa with the assistance of Adam František Kollár. It modified the elementary school system to include teacher’s colleges and also made changes to secondary education. Its aim was to promulgate the principle of compulsory education. The reform was updated in the Ratio Educationis of 1806. RATKOŠ, PETER (1921–1987). Historian, a specialist on Great Moravia, he is the author of Pramene k dejinám Veľkej Moravy

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(Sources on the history of Great Moravia) (1964, 1968), Slovensko v dobe veľkomoravskej (Slovakia in the era of Great Moravia) (1988), and many articles on that era. He also published Povstanie baníkov na Slovensku 1525–1526 (The miners’ uprising in Slovakia 1525–1526) (1963). RÁZUS, MARTIN (1888–1937). Writer, politician, and Lutheran pastor, he was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly and leader of the Slovak National Party from 1929 to 1937. Among his writings are the antiwar verses “Z tichých a búrnych chvíľ” (From silent and stormy moments) (1917), the social and historical novel Svety (Worlds) (1929), and an autobiography entitled Maroško (1932). REFERENDUM. When Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993, many observers suggested that if a referendum had been held in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic in 1992 on the maintenance or dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia, the dissolution would not have taken place. In fact, no referendum on either the creation or the dissolution of Czechoslovakia was ever held in the history of that country, especially not during the critical years of 1918–1919, the creation of Czecho–Slovakia, 1938–1939, the autonomy and the independence of Slovakia, 1945, the re-creation of Czechoslovakia, and 1992. Referenda, however, have been held in the second Slovak Republic on issues of public concern. According to article 93 of the constitution, a referendum will be used to confirm a constitutional law on entering into an alliance with other states or on withdrawing from that alliance and to decide also on other important issues of public interest. A referendum is called by the president of the Slovak Republic if requested by a petition signed by a minimum of 350,000 citizens or on the basis of a resolution of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) within 30 days after the receipt of the citizens’ petition or the resolution of the NR SR. Provision is also made for the president to ask the Constitutional Court whether the subject of the referendum is in compliance with the constitution or a constitutional law. The results of the referendum are valid if more than one-half of eligible voters participated in it and if the decision was endorsed by more than 50 percent of the participants in the referendum.

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The first referendum was held on 23–24 May 1997 on two issues: the direct election by the people of the president of the Slovak Republic and Slovakia’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The referendum was declared invalid for a number of reasons, including a low turn-out, less than 10 percent. Another referendum was held on 11 November 2000 on early elections to the NR SR and failed to pass when just a little more than 20 percent voted. In the referendum on entry into the European Union on 21 January 2003, 52.15 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot, with 92.46 percent who voted in favor. The referendum held on 13 January 2004 on early elections to the NR SR failed to pass when only 35.86 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. REFORMATION. Religious, social, and political movement in Europe in the 16th century, it spread in Slovakia first in the mining towns of Central Slovakia, where there was a strong German population. Although many Protestant sects appeared in Slovakia, the Lutheran Church gained the upper hand. By 1570, the Reformation had broad support in Slovakia. The magnate rebellions in the Habsburg Empire also belong to its history in Slovakia. In the 17th century, the Counter-Reformation reversed the gains made by the Reformation. REHABILITATION. This is a process whereby the sentences meted out to the Slovak bourgeois nationalists in the 1950s were found unjust and those accused were given back their full civic and political rights, including membership in the Communist Party of Slovakia. See also BARNABITE COMMISSION; KOLDER COMMISSION; PILLER COMMISSION. RELIGION. Considered an overwhelmingly Catholic country, Slovakia is nevertheless a state where its citizens are members of other Western religions and can adhere to other faiths. According to Article 12 of the constitution, the freedom of religion is guaranteed to all citizens and according to Article 24 everyone has the right to express freely his religion or faith on his own or together with others, privately or publicly, by means of divine and religious services, by observing religious rites, or by participating in the teaching of religion.

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Religious affiliation has played an important role in the history of Slovakia and accounts for the importance of religiosity in the population. According to the census of 26 May 2001, 3,708,120 citizens (68.93 percent) declared themselves to be of the Roman Catholic faith; 372,858 (6.93 percent) of the Augsburg Lutheran faith; 219,831 (4.08 percent) of the Greek Catholic faith; 109,735 (2.04 percent) of the Reform Christian faith; 50,363 (0.94 percent) of the Orthodox faith; 7,347 (0.14 percent) of the Methodist faith; 697,308 (12.96 percent) did not declare a religious affiliation; and for 160,598 citizens (2.99 percent) the religious affiliation was unknown. Also, 2,310 Jewish religious communities were counted. See also JEWS. RELIGIOSITY. The most meaningful consequence of the CounterReformation’s significant enrichment of the cultural life of Slovakia was the acceptance and development of religiosity in the population. This characteristic remained with the Slovaks right up to the 21st century. Its strength and importance can be gauged by the fact that religiosity was, during the Communist regime, one of the more successful ways to express individual as well as national opposition to a totalitarian regime. It deeply influenced the social and political life of the Slovaks, even in the age of modern mass communication. From the time of the Counter-Reformation until the advent of modern government in the 20th century, the religiosity of the population testified to the Catholic Church’s ability, with its organizational structure and the social, medical, educational, and charitable activities of its various orders, to sustain not only social but also national cohesion. In different ways, this was also the case of the Lutheran Church. See also RELIGION. RELIGIOUS ORDERS. They played a fundamental role in the education, health, and welfare, as well as in the religiosity of the Slovak people throughout the centuries. Among the most active orders were the Benedictines, the Capucins, the Cistercians, the Franciscans, the Jesuits, the Paulinians, and the Premonstratensians. There were also female orders, most were branches of male orders, and the most famous in Slovakia were the Poor Clares, the Sisters of Notre Dame, and the Ursulines. The role of the religious orders in Slovakia came to an abrupt end during the Communist regime; on 13–14 April

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1950, the security forces and people’s militia invaded all male monasteries, rounded up the monks and brothers, and held them first in selected monasteries and then in camps. All 19 male religious orders were dissolved and their members sent to various places of work in Slovakia or in the Czech Lands. They were forbidden to exercise their vocation and many were condemned to manual work and subjected to personal humiliation. Those who refused to cooperate were arrested and 171 people were brought to trial. The same fate was reserved for the 21 female orders; on 28–30 August, the convents and nunneries were closed and 244 nuns were brought to trial. After the fall of communism in November 1989, all religious orders were permitted to resume their activities and their property was returned to them. However, their role in Slovak life is not as great now as it was in the past, as a result in part of the laicization of Slovak society that took place under communism and in part because of the role of the state in education and in other areas such health and welfare. RENAISSANCE. European cultural movement that reached Slovakia during the reign of Mathias I “Corvinus” in the second half of the 15th century. It was based on the ideals of humanism and influenced all walks of life, especially architecture and literature, as the writings of Martin Rakovský and Jakob Jakobeus testify. REPUBLICAN AGRICULTURAL AND FARMERS’ PARTY/REPUBLIKÁNSKA STRANA ZEMEDELSKÉHO (POĽNOHOSPODÁRSKEHO) A MALOROĽNÍCKEHO ĽUDU (RSZMĽ). This party was created on 28–29 June 1922 in Prague when a Czech agrarian party fused with the Slovak National and Farmer’s Party, led by Milan Hodža, to form a single Czechoslovak agrarian party under the leadership of the Czech political leader Antonín Švehla. Hodža was one of its vice presidents. Its political program emphasized agricultural development and sought to gain the support of peasants and farmers. It accepted the official state ideology of Czechoslovakism and was the second strongest party in Slovakia after the Slovak People’s Party. It was dissolved in Slovakia when its representatives agreed with other parties in Slovakia to form the Party of Slovak National Unity.

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REPUBLICAN UNION OF EMPLOYERS/REPUBLIKOVÁ ÚNIA ZAMESTNÁVATEĽOV (RÚZ). It is one of the two associations that represent the interests of employers and entrepreneurs in Slovakia. It was created in 2004 as the result of a split in the Federation of Employer Unions and Associations. Its members employ approximately 300,000 persons and the union participates in the Tripartite. The president is Anton Jura. REPUBLIKÁNSKA STRANA ZEMEDELSKÉHO (POĽNOHOSPODÁRSKEHO) A MALOROĽNÍCKEHO ĽUDU (RSZML). See REPUBLICAN AGRICULTURAL AND FARMERS’ PARTY. REPUBLIKOVÁ ÚNIA ZAMESTNÁVATEĽOV. See REPUBLICAN UNION OF EMPLOYERS. RESISTANCE. The first Slovak Republic, as a result of the conditions surrounding its creation in March 1939, brought with it the appearance of a resistance movement abroad composed of Slovaks dedicated to ending Slovak independence and restoring Czechoslovakia. Initially in 1939–1940, the movement was not organized; rather, groups formed around certain personalities like Milan Hodža, who created a Slovak National Council in Paris, and Štefan Osuský. When a provisional Czechoslovak government-in-exile led by Edvard Beneš was formed in London in 1940, other Slovaks joined it. When it was recognized by the Allies in July 1941, it assumed authority over the Slovak resistance groups with the exception of the Slovak National Council created in London by Peter Prídavok. As a result of serious differences in objectives and approach, Hodža and Osuský broke with Beneš and left for the United States. Slovak resistance became in effect part of the Allied war effort against Germany under the authority of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. In Slovakia, the resistance was for a long time disorganized and began to grow only after the German defeat at Stalingrad in February 1943 and, in particular, in 1944. Vavro Šrobár created a national committee, and the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS), after initially backing Slovak independence, also organized its own national committees to fight for the restoration of Czechoslovakia. Non-Communist members of the resistance eventually came together in the Democratic Party.

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Together with the KSS, they formed the Slovak National Council (SNR) and signed the Christmas Agreement, which gave the SNR full authority over the resistance movement in Slovakia. While in touch with the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, the SNR made preparations for a military uprising to overthrow the Slovak government and take polotical power in Slovakia. See also WORLD WAR II. RESOLUTIO CAROLINA. Decreed by Charles III on 21 March 1731, it settled the status of the Protestants upholding the restrictions imposed by Leopold I; it limited worship, allowed only Lutheran grammar schools, forbade conversion, and required the swearing of a Catholic oath on entry into the public service. It was superceded in 1781 by the Edict of Toleration. RÉVAI (RÉVAY), FRANTIŠEK (1489–1553). Major feudal landowner and župan of Turiec County, he was one of the earliest supporters of the Reformation in Slovakia. RÉVAI (RÉVAY), PETER (1568–1622). Historian and župan of Turiec County, he wrote in 1615–1619 De monarchia et sacra corona regni Hungariae centeniae septem (Seven centuries of the Hungarian kingdom and holy crown), a work that looked at the history of the Slavs in Hungary and throughout Europe and was the first to make specific reference to Slovak history. It was published, after his death, in 1656. RÉVAY, ŠIMON (BARON) (1820–1880). Member of the landed nobility, he was a deputy to the Hungarian Diet (1848–1849, 1861) and župan of Turiec County from 1867 on. He was present at the meeting in Turčiansky Svätý Martin that proclaimed the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation and also when Matica slovenská and the two gymnasia in Turčiansky Svätý Martin and Kláštor pod Znievom were ordered closed by the Hungarian government. REVOLUČNÉ ODBOROVÉ HNUTIE (ROH). See REVOLUTIONARY TRADE UNION MOVEMENT. REVOLUTIONARY TRADE UNION MOVEMENT/REVOLUČNÉ ODBOROVÉ HNUTIE (ROH). Organization created in May 1945

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to coordinate the activities of the trade unions. Under the Communist regime, its role was to enforce the party line and raise production levels. It was dissolved on 3 March 1990. RIBAY, JURAJ (1754–1812). A Lutheran pastor and scholar, he proposed in 1792, after Anton Bernolák codified the Slovak language, the creation of a society to study bibličtina, the name given to the language of the Bible of Kralice. His efforts resulted in the creation of a chair of Czechoslovak language and literature at the Protestant lyceum in Bratislava in 1803. RIZNEROVÁ–PODJAVORINSKÁ, ĹUDMILA. See PODJAVORINSKÁ, ĹUDMILA RIZNEROVÁ-. ROBOT. Name given to the obligation peasants had to give to their lord, namely one ninth of their products and 52 days of compulsory labor service if animals were to be used; otherwise, 104 days per year. It was abolished in Hungary by the Hungarian Diet in March 1848; an imperial decree officially ended it in 1853. RODOBRANA. Paramilitary organization of the Slovak People’s Party created by Vojtech Tuka in January 1923 to protect party members at public rallies. Its activities were initially curtailed, and later it was prohibited by the Czechoslovak government. ROHOŽNÍK-MOŠOVSKÝ, ZACHARIÁŠ (1542–1587). Roman Catholic priest and church administrator, as bishop of Nitra and župan of Nitra County, he was a patron of the arts and author of biographies of Hungarian kings and Nitra bishops. ROMA (ROMANI). Name given to an ethnic community, officially recognized as an ethnic group in 1991, that makes up less than 2 percent of the population of Slovakia and that is dispersed throughout the country. It is difficult to know the actual number as many are assimilated into Slovak society. Estimated at about 300,000, even if the 2001 census lists only 89,920 who declared themselves members of this group, the Roma (often called Gypsies) had been the object of a policy of neglect under socialism. The result was not only inferior social con-

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ditions for many members of this community, but Roma settlements as such, of which there are 620, were beset with such serious problems as high unemployment, low levels of education, and inadequate hygiene. They also lacked political representation at the national level, but since 1998, the Roma have had political success at the civic level with the election of six mayors and 86 municipal representatives. In addition, since 1999, the Roma have a Plenipotentiary of the Government of Slovak Republic for Roma Communities responsible for the formulation and practical implementation of a government strategy for addressing Roma issues, and facilitating the social integration of the Roma. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. See CATHOLIC CHURCH. ROMAN, ŠTEFAN BOLESLAV (1921–1988). Canadian entrepreneur born in Slovakia and an active member of Slovak Canadian organizations, he was one of the founders and first president (1970–1988) of the Slovak World Congress. ROMANS. Their presence on Slovak territory lasted from the first to the fourth centuries A.D. During that time, they first fought and then made peace with the Quadi, supporting Vannius, a Quadi king who established the Regnum Vannianum, which lasted until A.D. 50 but who also fought the Marcomani wars. The Romans penetrated as far north as Trenčín during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. ROMANTICISM. An artistic and literary movement, it was introduced in Slovakia in the 1830s and strongly influenced in particular a generation of Slovak writers who expressed their national individuality by concentrating on folk art and tradition. Using the literary language codified by Ľudovít Štúr, they produced a literature of unparalleled quality and scope. Among the best known writers are Ján Botto, Samo Chalupka, Janko Kráľ, and Andrej Braxatoris-Sládkovič. One of the heroes of this literature is Juro Jánošík. See also LITERATURE. ROTARIDES, JÁN (1822–1900). Teacher and poet, along with Janko Kráľ, he led a peasant revolt in Hont County in 1848 for which they were both jailed; his name appears in the Demands of the Slovak Nation.

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ROY, VLADIMÍR (1885–1936). Lutheran pastor, poet, and translator, he was a member of the modernist literary group. He is best known for his collections of poems, Keď miznú hmly (When the mists depart) (1920), Rosou a tŕním (Through the dew and thorns) (1921), and Cez závoj (Through the veil) (1927), and his translations of works by Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rainer Maria Rilke, and authors from other languages. See also LITERATURE. ROYAL DONATION. See APANAGE DUCHY. ROYAL HUNGARY. See HUNGARY, ROYAL. RUDNAY, ALEXANDER (CARDINAL) (1760–1831). Roman Catholic priest, titular bishop of Trnava, and member of the Slovak Learned Society, as a prince of the church, he gave financial assistance for the publication of Anton Bernolák’s Slowár slovenskí česko-latinsko-ňemeckouherskí (Slovak Czech–Latin–German–Hungarian dictionary). RUDOLF II (1552–1612). Habsburg emperor (1576–1612) who sued for peace with the Ottoman Turks in 1606, but also mounted a strong offensive against adherents of the Reformation. He faced the first of the magnate rebellions led by Štefan Bočkai. RÚFUS, MILAN (1928– ). One of the main representatives of 20thcentury Slovak poetry, he developed a symbolist tradition that emphasized moral pathos and expressed the experiences of nation and mankind. Among his works are Až dozrieme (After we mature) (1956), Zvony (Bells) (1968), and Prísny chlieb (Severe bread) (1987). His more recent collections of poems are entitled Neskorý autoportrét (Late self-portrait) (1992), Čítanie z údelu (Reading by lot) (1996), and Palmy o nevinnej (Psalms of innocence) (1998). His poems have been translated into Polish, Hungarian, Russian, German, Italian, and other languages. See also LITERATURE. RUSKO, PAVOL (1963– ). A graduate in journalism from Comenius University, he had a career in Slovak television before founding the television station Markíza in 1995. In 2001, he created a new political

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party called Alliance for a New Citizen and ran successfully in the 2002 elections, joined the ruling coalition, and was deputy speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic until September 2003, when he was appointed deputy prime minister and minister of the economy. He resigned in August 2005. RUTHENIANS. This Slavic nation (some consider them to be only an ethnic group) makes up 0.32 percent of the population of Slovakia and is found mostly in northeastern Slovakia, near the Ukrainian border. Most Ruthenians also belong to the Greek Catholic (Byzantine) Church.

-SSAKTOR, IVAN (1954– ). A graduate of the Faculty of Education of Comenius University in social work, he worked in the machinery and construction industry and was very active in the Czechoslovak and Slovak trade union movement. Since 1996, he has been president of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic. SAMBUCUS, JÁN (1531–1584). Historian, university professor, and poet born in Trnava, he was one of the first well-known humanists from Central Europe at the time of the Reformation. He published secular poetry in Latin. See also LITERATURE. SAMO (623–658). Frankish merchant whose bravery against the Avars was noticed by the Slavic tribes subjugated by the Avars. In order to defend himself and other Frankish traders against Avar attacks, he organized the Slavs in the western part of Slovakia, parts of Moravia, and Lower Austria and ruled over them for 35 years. His authority was challenged by the Frankish king Dagobert, who attacked him in A.D. 631 and 632. Little is known about Samo’s rule. We can infer from the Chronicle of Fredegar that it was successful. His kingdom disappeared after his death. SANDJAK. A military administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire. During the Turkish occupation of Hungary, border towns, such as

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Filakovo, were turned into sandjaks. During the Ottoman occupation of Central Slovakia in 1663 Nové Zámky, Nitra, and Levice also became sandjaks. See also ELAJET. SASINEK, FRANTIŠEK VÍŤAZOSLAV (1830–1914). Roman Catholic priest and historian, he was secretary of Matica Slovenská from 1869 to 1875 and editor of its publication Letopis Matice slovenskej (Annals of Matica slovenská). He was a prolific scholar, author of over 2,500 articles and many books, and wrote a history of the Slovaks entitled Slováci v Uhorsku (The Slovaks in Hungary), which was published in 1904. SCHMÖGNEROVÁ, BRIGITA (1947– ). Researcher, lecturer, and politician, she earned a doctoral degree at the University of Economics and worked as a researcher at the Institute of Economics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and as a lecturer at the University of Economics in Bratislava. In 1993, she served as economic adviser to the president of the Slovak Republic, was deputy prime minister in 1994, and finance minister from 1998 to 2001. From 1995 to 1998, she served as a deputy in the National Council of the Slovak Republic for the Party of the Democratic Left. On 28 February 2002, the secretary-general of the United Nations announced her appointment as executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), a position that is at the undersecretary-general level. SCHNEIDER-TRNAVSKÝ, MIKULÁŠ (1881–1958). Composer and choir director who studied music at the Hungarian Royal Academy and the conservatory in Vienna, he composed religious and secular music and compiled the Jednotný katolický spevník (United Catholic hymnal), which contains over 600 hymns of which he himself composed 226. It was published in 1937. He was inspector general of music schools from 1919 to 1939 and a music teacher and choirmaster throughout his career. Among his compositions are Slovenská sonata pre klavír [Slovak piano sonata], Prelúdia pre organ [Preludes for the organ], the Slovak suite Keď sa pieseň rozozvučí [When the song breaks out], and the operetta Bellarosa. He wrote an autobiography entitled Úsmevy a slzy (Smiles and tears) (1959).

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SCHOMBERG, JURAJ (?–1486). Roman Catholic priest and provost of the Bratislava chapter of canons, he was vice chancellor and administrator of the Academia Istropolitana. SCHUSTER, RUDOLF (1934– ). Politician who graduated in civil engineering from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava in 1959 and obtained a doctorate in ecology from the same institution in 1984. In 1964, he became a member of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS); in 1974, he worked in the civic administration of Košice; and, in 1986, he became a member of the Central Committee of the KSS and also president of the Regional Council of Eastern Slovakia. In November 1989, he became speaker of the Slovak National Council to which he had been elected. In June 1990, he was named Czechoslovak ambassador to Canada, a post he held until 1992. He returned to Slovakia and was elected mayor of Košice on 18 November 1994. He created the Party of Civic Understanding on 5 April 1998 and ran successfully in the September 1998 elections for the National Council of the Slovak Republic; he resigned his parliamentary seat and his position as mayor of Košice upon his election as president in May 1999. Schuster, like his predecessor Michal Kováč, was a proactive president and in April 2001 found himself in conflict with Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda. He ran unsuccessfully for a second term in 2004. SCITOVSKÝ, JÁN (CARDINAL) (1785–1866). A Roman Catholic priest who, before being named cardinal, gave support to the members of the Slovak Learned Society in Rožňava. He also contributed financially to the Trnava gymnasium. He later became a supporter of the Magyarization of the Catholic Church in Hungary. SECOND CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC. See CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. SECOND SLOVAK REPUBLIC. See SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. SENTIVÁNI (SZENTIVÁNYI), MARTIN (1633–1705). Roman Catholic priest, university professor, and rector of the University

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of Trnava, he was the author of 56 books; his most important publication, Curiosa et selectiora variarum scientiarum miscellanea (An assortment of interesting and rather select items of general and academic knowledge) (1689–1702), was a major work in astronomy, meteorology, botany, zoology, geography, history, and geology. SETON-WATSON, ROBERT W. (1897–1951). British academic who brought the plight of the Slovaks in the early 20th century to the attention of the world with the publication of Racial Problems in Hungary (1908). He was influential in gaining British support for the creation of Czecho–Slovakia in 1918; his subsequent books on Slovakia indicated that he approved of the ideology of Czechoslovakism. He was the first person, in 1928, to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Comenius University. SIDOR, KAROL (1901–1953). Journalist and politician, he began his career as editor of Slovák in 1929, was an influential member of the Slovak People’s Party, and served as deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1935 to 1939, to the Slovak Assembly in 1938–1939, and to the Slovak Parliament in 1939. He was a minister in the Czecho–Slovak government in 1938–1939, commander of the Hlinka Guard in 1938, Slovak prime minister in March 1939, minister of the interior (1939) in the first Slovak Republic, and Slovak plenipotentiary envoy to the Vatican from 1939 to 1945. While Slovak prime minister in March 1939, he refused to bow to German pressure to declare the independence of Slovakia. He also delivered to the Slovak government the Vatican’s protests against the deportations of Slovak Jews to Poland in 1942. He was a cofounder of the Slovak National Council Abroad in 1948. SIGISMOND OF LUXEMBURG (1368–1437). King of Hungary (1387–1437) who became Holy Roman (German) emperor in 1410 and king of Bohemia in 1419, he sold 24 Slovak villages in Spiš County in 1412 to Poland in return for a financial loan. The villages remained under Polish administration until 1769. He was also the father of Elizabeth, who became involved in the struggle for the succession to the Hungarian throne on behalf of her son Ladislas V Posthumous after the death of her husband Albert I.

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SILAN, JANKO (1914–1984). A Roman Catholic priest whose name was Ján Ďurka, he was a poet who, in the spirit of Christian humanism, was inspired by his country of origin and by the traditional values of good nature, beauty, and love. He was particularly sensitive to human suffering, which found expression in many of his poems. Among his publications are Rebrík do neba (A ladder to heaven) (1939), Slávme to spoločne (Let us celebrate it together) (1941), Úbohá duša na zemi (A poor soul in the world) (1948), and Oslnenie (Insulation) (1969). He also translated a collection of poems by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. SINAPIUS-HORČIČKA, DANIEL (1640–1688). Lutheran pastor and author, he wrote a defense of the Slovaks and their language in Neo-forum Latino-Slavonicum (A new Latin–Slovak market) published in 1678. SKLENÁR, JURAJ (1744–1790). A member of the Jesuit order and a historian, he engaged in a polemic with the Hungarian historian István Katona on the history of the Slovaks. His most important work is Vetustissimus magnae Moraviae situs (The oldest site of Great Moravia), published in 1784. SKYČÁK, FRANTIŠEK (1870–1953). Businessman and politician, he was a deputy to the Hungarian Diet from 1905 to 1914 and a member of the Slovak National Party. In 1918, he was a member of the Slovak National Council. From 1918 to 1924, he was a member of the executive committee of the Slovak People’s Party. SLADEK, MILAN (1938– ). One of Slovakia’s, if not Europe’s greatest mimes, he graduated from the School of Applied Arts and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava. He was employed in the theater Studio D34 in Prague before forming his own pantomime group and returning to Bratislava to perform at the Slovak National Theater. In 1968, he became director of the Theater-Studio in Bratislava, which was closed after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion. He moved first to Sweden and then to West Germany. In 1974, he opened the Theater KEFKA in Cologne as a permanent mime theater, where he remained until 1987. From 1987 to 1992, he taught mime arts at the Folkwang

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Hochschule in Essen, and from 1992 to 2002 he was director of the theater Arena in Bratislava. He lives currently in Cologne. SLÁDKOVIČ, ANDREJ BRAXATORIS- (1820–1872). Lutheran pastor and poet, he was a member of the Štúrovci and the greatest Slovak romantic poet. His most famous poem, published in 1846, is “Marína”; it celebrates the apotheosis of womanhood and love. He extended his love for Marína to his country in the epic poem “Detvan” (The Man from Detva), published in 1853. When he died, his funeral was a national event, unsurpassed by that for any other Slovak poet of the period. See also LITERATURE. SLANČÍKOVÁ, BOŽENA. See TIMRAVA. SLÁNSKÝ TRIAL. Name given to the trial of 14 high-ranking members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČS) in November 1952. Its most prominent member was Rudolf Slánský, first secretary of the KSČS; there were only two Slovaks, Vladimír Clementis and Eugen Löbl. Eleven of the accused were condemned to death and executed, among them Clementis. See also PURGES. SLAVIC CONGRESS. It was held in Prague from 2–12 June 1848 for all the Slavs in the Habsburg Empire. It was divided into three sections: the Czechs and Slovaks formed the Czecho–Slovak section; the South Slav section was comprised of the Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and other Slavs from the region, who were designated geographically as Dalmatians and Slavonians; and the Polish–Ruthenian section, which was composed of the Poles and the Ukrainians. Ľudovít Štúr attended as the unofficial leader of the Slovak delegation, which included Pavol Šafárik, who gave the keynote speech. Štúr soon discovered that there were important differences between the Slovak and Czech political objectives. The latter pursued a policy of Austro–Slavism, which, in its goal to federalize the empire, meant a political union between Czechs and Slovaks. The Slovaks, not yet ready to make a complete break with Hungary, did not favor such a union but did need help in their struggle with the Magyars. The outbreak of revolution in Prague, in which Štúr participated, brought about the indefinite adjournment of the congress.

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SLÁVIK, JURAJ (1890–1969). Public servant and politician, he was a member of the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly, župan of Zvolen County from 1922 to 1925 and of Košice County from 1925 to 1929, minister of agriculture and minister for the unification of laws and administrative organization in 1926, Agrarian deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1929 to 1935, minister of the interior from 1929 to 1932, and ambassador to Poland from 1936 to 1938. He joined Edvard Beneš in London in 1939 and was minister of the Interior and Education in the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in 1939–1940. He was ambassador to the United States in 1947–1948. SLAVOMÍR. Prince of Morava who led a revolt against two Frankish lords, Engelschalk and Wilhelm, whom Carloman had sent to rule over Great Moravia during Svätopluk’s incarceration in 871. SLEZÁK, JÁN (1940– ). Physician and scientist, he is an outstanding heart specialist, professor of medicine at Comenius University in Bratislava, and a researcher at the Institute for Heart Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences of which he has been first vice president since 1998. He has also taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, City University of New York, and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. A member of many international associations, he has received many awards, including the gold medal of the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in 2000. SLOBODNÉ FÓRUM. See FREE FORUM. SLOTA, JÁN (1953– ). Politician who took over the leadership of the Slovak National Party (SNS) in 1994. Mayor of Žilina since 1990, he was a deputy to the Federal Assembly in 1990–1992; from 1992 to 2002, he was deputy to the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In September 1999, he was dismissed as chairman of the SNS and formed in October 2001 the True Slovak National Party (PSNS). It failed to get any deputies elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In January 2003, the SNS and the PSNS were reunited as the SNS and Slota was elected chairman.

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SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES/SLOVENSKÁ AKADÉMIA VIED (SAV). Created in 1942 as the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Arts, it was reorganized in 1953 as the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a state research and scientific institution overseeing 68 institutes and “cabinets” and their publications. Its activities encompass all aspects of pure and applied science, the humanities, and the social sciences; it is authorized to grant doctoral degrees upon the completion of a cycle of graduate study. See also EDUCATION. SLOVAK ACTION COMMITTEE/SLOVENSKÝ AKČNÝ VÝBOR (SAV). Created by Ferdinand Ďurčanský in January 1946, it sought to promote the continuity of the first Slovak Republic. Ďurčanský submitted a memorandum on its behalf to this effect to the Peace Conference in Paris in 1946. SLOVAK ASSEMBLY/SNEM SLOVENSKEJ KRAJINY. It came into existence on 14 July 1927, when the Czechoslovak National Assembly passed a law that abolished the county system and reorganized the administration of Czechoslovakia along provincial lines. A Slovak Province was brought into existence. The province had an assembly with two thirds of its members elected and one third appointed by the government; however, its jurisdiction was quite restricted. The assembly was presided over by a public servant appointed by the government. When the Czechoslovak National Assembly passed a law on the autonomy of Slovakia on 22 November 1938, the assembly became the provincial parliament for Slovakia. It received full executive and legislative powers in matters of Slovak competence, except in financial matters, where the central government had precedence (Prague also maintained exclusive competence in foreign policy, defense, and currency) and all of its members were to be elected by universal suffrage. Elections were held on 18 December 1938. On 14 March 1939, after receiving a report from Jozef Tiso on his visit in Berlin the day before, the Slovak deputies of the assembly voted unanimously for the independence of Slovakia. This assembly became the parliament of the Slovak Republic and changed its name to Slovak Parliament. See also SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST.

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SLOVAK BOURGEOIS NATIONALISM. This accusation was leveled for the first time at the IX Congress of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) held on 24–27 May 1950 at members of the party who had participated in or been connected with the 1944 uprising. Among those accused were Gustáv Husák, Vladimír Clementis, and Ladislav Novomeský. They were dismissed from the party on 24 February 1951. On 20 April 1951, the Central Committee of the KSS transformed this political accusation into a criminal offense and approved the arrest of those accused. Clementis was one of the 14 accused in the Slánsky trial and was found guilty of, among other counts, Slovak bourgeois nationalism and condemned to death. He was hanged on 2 December. The trial of Husák, Novomeský, and others took place on 24 April 1954, and they were found guilty of Slovak bourgeois nationalism and condemned to prison terms. In 1963, as a result of the findings of the Barnabite Commission, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia declared the accusation of Slovak bourgeois nationalism to have been unjust and rehabilitated all those who had been condemned. See also KOLDER COMMISSION; PILLER COMMISSION; PURGES. SLOVAK CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT/SLOVENSKÉ KRESŤANSKODEMOKRATICKE HNUTIE (SKHD). Party created a few weeks before the June 1992 elections by members of the Christian Democratic Movement under the leadership of Ján Klepáč. It failed to get any deputies elected to the Slovak National Council. SLOVAK CLUB. The men and women who were appointed at the end of 1918 to represent Slovakia in the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly organized themselves into a Slovak Club. These deputies were also representatives of the major parties in Slovakia. The club was dominated by Hlasists, who were to be found in every party except the Slovak People’s Party. The club’s membership stabilized toward the end of 1919, and it was composed of 32 Agrarians, 10 Social Democrats, nine Populists, and three National Socialists. In 1920, the Populists left the Slovak Club to join the Populist Club. The Slovak Club was dissolved in April 1920 when the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly was dissolved and elections were held.

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SLOVAK CULTURAL INSTITUTE. See MATICA SLOVENSKÁ. SLOVAK DEMOCRATIC AND CHRISTIAN UNION/SLOVENSKÁ DEMOKRATICKÁ A KRESŤANSKÁ ÚNIA (SDKÚ). It was created in January 2000 after the defection of the Christian Democratic Movement and the Democratic Party from the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK), renaming itself the SDKÚ. The SDKÚ declared that it is committed to traditional European values and guided by the ideological principles of the major people’s parties in Europe. The main reason for the creation of the SDKÚ was to strengthen the center-right of the divided Slovak political spectrum through a process of integrating smaller political parties into a larger one and thus repeating the success of the SDK. Led by Mikuláš Dzurinda in the 2002 elections, it won 28 seats in the National Council of the Slovak Republic and 31 in the 2006 election. SLOVAK DEMOCRATIC COALITION/SLOVENSKÁ DEMOKRATICKÁ KOALICIA (SDK). It was formed in June 1997 to fight the elections of 1998 under a common banner and was composed of the Christian Democratic Movement, the Democratic Union, the Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia, and the Green Party of Slovakia. SLOVAK FOLK ART ENSEMBLE/SLOVENSKÝ ĽUDOVÝ UMELECKÝ KOLEKTÍV (SĽUK). Created in 1949 by the Ministry of Culture, it is a state subsidized professional artistic ensemble that performs national dances and music in Slovakia and abroad. The SĽUK consists of professional dancers and a chamber folk orchestra and regularly engages top singers and musicians to perform with it. All of its programs are based on authentic forms of Slovak folk art. Since it was created, it has appeared in almost 9,500 performances in 60 countries and four continents and has been seen by 27 million spectators. SLOVAK LEAGUE OF AMERICA. It was created on 26 May 1907 in Cleveland, Ohio, and gradually united a number of Slovak organizations in the United States. Its representatives signed the Cleveland

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Agreement in 1915 and the Pittsburgh Pact in 1918, and the league sent representatives to the Czecho–Slovak National Committee. It remains the most powerful Slovak organization abroad. SLOVAK LEARNED SOCIETY/SLOVENSKÉ UČENÉ TOVARIŠSTVO. Founded by Anton Bernolák, it was launched in Trnava in 1792. Its members numbered 581, the majority of whom were Roman Catholic priests. It was, in the modern sense of the word, a literary society that organized meetings and published the works of its members and was deeply involved in education. It had branches throughout Slovakia. It disintegrated by the mid-19th century when Bernolák’s codification of the Slovak language was replaced by that of Ľudovít Štúr. SLOVAK LIBERATION COMMITTEE/SLOVENSKÝ OSLOBODZOVACÍ VÝBOR (SOV). Created by Ferdinand Ďurčanský on 12 March 1949, it took over from the Slovak Action Committee to promote the continuity of the first Slovak Republic. SLOVAK LIBERATION COUNCIL/SLOVENSKÁ OSLOBODZOVACIA RADA (SOR). It was created on 18–29 May 1960 in New York from the merger of the Slovak Liberation Committee and the Slovak National Council Abroad under the leadership of Ferdinand Ďurčanský and Jozef Kirschbaum. SLOVAK MUSEUM SOCIETY/MUZEÁLNA SLOVENSKÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ. National cultural, educational, and scholarly society established on 24 April 1893, it published in 1898 the Časopis muzeálnej slovenskej spoločnosti (Journal of the Slovak Museum Society) and, in 1899, the Sborník muzeálnej slovenskej spoločnosti (Review of the Slovak Museum Society). It was considered to be the successor of Matica slovenská after its closing in 1875. It collected materials connected with the past and present of the Slovak nation, organized lectures, and sponsored studies and articles on Slovak life and history. After Matica slovenská was reopened in 1919, its activities were merged with those of the Slovak National Museum in Turčiansky Svätý Martin, and under communism the society was abolished. It was renewed in 1991.

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SLOVAK NATIONAL AND FARMERS’ PARTY/SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ A ROĽNICKÁ STRANA. Name of the coalition party created on 20 January 1920 to contest the elections of that year. It was composed of the Slovak National Party (SNS) under the leadership of Emil Stodola and the National Republican Farmers’ Party led by Milan Hodža. Its platform was a compromise between the nationalism of the SNS and the social policies advocated by Hodža. It received 18 percent of the vote and 12 seats in the Czechoslovak National Assembly. It was dissolved on 30 March 1921 when the SNS broke away, although it was under this name that its members merged with a Czech agrarian party to form the Republican Agricultural and Farmers’ Party. SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL/SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ RADA (SNR). Since the 19th century and at various times, it has been the one institution that has come to symbolize the highest expression of the political will of the Slovak nation to govern itself. It first appeared during the 1848–1849 revolution; it was founded in Vienna on 15 September 1848 by Ľudovít Štúr, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Michal Miloslav Hodža. Its program called for the acceptance of the Demands of the Slovak Nation and the achievement of Slovak autonomy in Hungary. At an assembly in Myjava on 19 September, the SNR declared Slovakia’s political separation from Hungary and called on the Slovak nation to join in a national uprising. Its leaders believed that such an uprising would convince Hungarian and imperial authorities that their demands had broad mass support. Military engagements ensued, and 10 days later the Slovak forces retreated into Moravia, beaten back by Hungarian and imperial forces. Although the SNR was active during the winter military engagements, it exercised little authority. By the spring of 1849, it ceased to exist. The Slovak National Council was created anew on 26 May 1914 in Budapest under the chairmanship of Matúš Dula. World War I prevented it from becoming active, and it was revitalized only in 1918. Seven members of the Slovak National Party met in Budapest on 12 September 1918 and proposed 12 representatives from Slovak parties as members of the council. When representatives of various political parties and groups met in Turčiansky Svätý Martin

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on 29 October, again under the chairmanship of Dula, with Karol Medvedcký as secretary, the council was officially constituted. Dula became its president. On 30 October, it approved the Declaration of the Slovak Nation. Other than issuing some 200 directives, it was not very active because of the occupation of Turčiansky Svätý Martin by Hungarian troops. It was dissolved by the Czecho–Slovak government on 8 January 1919. The third time the Slovak National Council was constituted was in September 1943, when representatives of political parties in the resistance agreed on a common course of action to end Slovak independence and reincorporate Slovakia into Czechoslovakia. Under the leadership of Karol Šmidke for the Communists and Jozef Lettrich for the non-Communists, they signed the Christmas Agreement, which set out their political program. During the uprising, the SNR assumed power in the areas under the control of the resistance. It assumed full control in Slovakia only in February 1945, when its representatives arrived in Košice. Starting with 41 members, it grew to 100, with equal representation between the Communists and nonCommunists; its executive branch was the Board of Commissioners. Its first copresidents were Vavro Šrobár and Šmidke. The three Prague Agreements substantially reduced its powers, and under the Communist regime it merely carried out the policies of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia until the “Gentle Revolution.” In 1968, its membership was increased to 150. With the fall of communism, the council assumed many of its old powers; in 1990, a constitutional law transformed it into the supreme legislative organ in Slovakia. The first free elections to it were held in June 1990, the second in June 1992. When it adopted a new Slovak constitution on 1 September 1992, it changed its name to National Council of the Slovak Republic. At different times and under different circumstances, a Slovak National Council was also created abroad in reaction to events in Slovakia. The first such SNR was created in Warsaw in May 1920 by František Jehlička; it did not gain support from Slovaks abroad; by 1922, it had ceased to exist. The second SNR was created by Milan Hodža in Paris on 22 November 1939 with himself as president and Peter Prídavok as secretary. He worked out a plan for a reorganization of Czecho–Slovakia after the war based on the Žilina Agreement. With the creation

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of a Czecho–Slovak National Council on 28 January 1940 with Hodža as president and the defeat of France in June 1940, it ceased to exist. The third SNR appeared in London on the initiative of Peter Prídavok on 31 December 1943. It advocated an independent Slovak state in a federated Central Europe. The Czechoslovak government-in-exile refused to recognize it, and, although it was in contact with Allied governments, ultimately it had no say in the fate of the Slovak nation in the postwar order. On 12 September 1948, it merged with the Slovak National Council Abroad. See also CONSTITUTION. SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL ABROAD/SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ RADA v ZAHRANIČI (SNRvZ). It was established in Rome in May 1948 by Karol Sidor, Konštantín Čulen, Jozef Kirschbaum, and others. In September at a meeting in Rome, the Slovak National Council in London, created by Peter Prídavok in 1942, merged with it. Its main objective was the restoration of Slovak statehood and the political mobilization of Slovak émigrés. It had branches in various countries, including West Germany, Argentina, Canada, and the United States. In 1960, it merged with the Slovak Liberation Committee to form the Slovak Liberation Council. SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY/SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ STRANA (SNS). It was founded in June 1871 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin by members of the Old School under the leadership of Viliam PaulinyTóth and Svetozár Hurban Vajanský. It was a free association, and only in 1901 did it adopt a constitution. Its main objectives were based on the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, although its strategy and tactics varied with the pressures of Magyarization; for example, its leadership decided in 1884 on a course of electoral passivity, which it maintained until the end of the century. Its members in Turčiansky Svätý Martin were often referred to as the Martin group. In May 1918, its president, Matúš Dula, called a meeting in Turčiansky Svätý Martin to consider the future of the Slovaks, and on 29 October he called another one, which created the Slovak National Council and adopted the Declaration of the Slovak Nation. The party’s fortunes changed with the creation of the Czecho–Slovak Republic. It merged in 1920 with the National Republican Farmers’ Party to form the Slovak National and Farmers’ Party

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to fight the 1920 elections but shortly thereafter reconstituted itself and fought all subsequent elections on its own, winning one seat in each. Its political program was based on the autonomy of Slovakia, and its best-known leader was Martin Rázus. In 1935, it fought the elections as a member of the Autonomist bloc; in October 1938, it signed the Žilina Agreement. In November, it ceased to exist as an independent party when it joined the Slovak Party of National Unity. It was not until the fall of communism that it was constituted again, in March 1990, under the leadership of Viťazoslav Moric. It openly advocated the independence of Slovakia. In the elections of June 1990, it polled 13.9 percent of the popular vote, winning 22 seats in the Slovak National Council. Jozef Prokeš became its new leader. In the 1992 elections, its popular vote fell to 7.42 percent and 17 seats; Ľudovít Černák became leader until March 1994, when he was expelled and formed his own party. In the 1994 elections, it obtained 5.4 percent of the vote and nine seats and formed a coalition government with the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, led by Vladimír Mečiar. Under the leadership of Ján Slota, the party articulated nationalistic, at times even radical nationalistic, themes but did not offer a specific political program. In the 1998 elections, it won 14 seats with 9.07 percent of the vote and was in the opposition. It failed to win seats in the 2002 elections with only 3.32 percent of the vote as a result of a split that created the True Slovak National Party in October 2001. In May 2003, the two factions reunited under Slota and, with 11.72%, won 20 seats in the 2006 elections. SLOVAK NATIONAL THEATER/SLOVENSKÉ NÁRODNÉ DIVADLO (SND). Created in 1920, it is housed in a magnificent building in Bratislava’s Old Town built in 1886, where the municipal theater had stood since 1776. Until the 1950s, it was the only venue for drama, opera, and ballet in Bratislava. After 1955 when the Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav Theater opened for drama productions, the original building was reserved exclusively for opera and ballet companies. Reconstruction and modifications to the building were made in 1934 and again in 1949–1950; a complete overhaul took place from 1969 to 1972. In addition to the Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav Theater, the drama company also has a second home called

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the Mala scéna. The Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav Theater underwent reconstruction in 1968 and again from 1981 to 1983. Most of Slovakia’s outstanding actors, dancers, and singers have been members of the SND. In the early years, drama in the SND was performed by Czech professional actors from East Bohemia. Not until 1924, when Ján Borodáč became drama director, did the number of plays performed in Slovak increase. In 1932, the drama group split into two sections, a Czech and a Slovak one under the leadership of Borodáč. The first Slovak opera, Kováč Wieland [Wieland the smith] by Ján Levoslav Bella, was performed in 1926 with Janko Blaho in the leading role. The first ballet performance was Coppelia by Léo Delibes and it took place in May 1920. The ballet and opera companies have enjoyed an international reputation and have performed around the world. Some of Slovakia’s best-known actors and singers, such as Janko Blaho, Ján Borodáč, Oľga Borodáčová-Országová, Jozef Budský, Ladislav Chudík, František Dibarbora, Peter Dvorský, Magdaléna Hajóssyová, Štefan Hoza, Mikuláš Huba, Mária Kraľovičová, František Krištof-Veselý, Juraj Kukura, Hana Melčiková, Ferko Urbánek, and Milan Sladek, have performed on its stage The current general director of the SND is Dušan Jamrich. See also THEATER. SLOVAK NATIONAL UNITY/SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ JEDNOTA. Council created by Peter Prídavok in London in 1942, it was renamed Slovak National Council on 31 December 1943. SLOVAK NATIONAL UPRISING. See UPRISING. SLOVAK ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS/SLOVENSKÁ ORGANIZÁCIA NA OCHRANU LUDSKÝCH PRÁV. It was the Slovak equivalent of the Czech club of former political prisoners, K 231, created in April 1968; it was not a political party but a pressure group concerned not only with rehabilitations but also with the defense by constitutional means of human rights as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. SLOVAK PARLIAMENT/SLOVENSKÝ SNEM. Name given to the Slovak Assembly after it voted the independence of Slovakia on 14 March 1939.

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SLOVAK PARTY OF SETTLEMENT/SLOVENSKÁ STRANA VYROVNANIA (SSV). It is the name that the New School gave itself in 1872 in an attempt to cooperate with the Ferenc Deák government in Budapest. It had disappeared from the political scene by the mid1870s. SLOVAK PEOPLE’S PARTY/SLOVENSKÁ ĽUDOVÁ STRANA (SĽS). Its creation was announced in December 1905 when Slovak Catholics, led by Andrej Hlinka, Ferdinand Juriga, and František Skyčák, broke away from the Hungarian People’s Party. In the absence of organizational structures, party activities were minimal, and it was not until July 1913 that the party was actually created with Hlinka as president. It was inactive during World War I. The party was re-created in December 1918 on the initiative of the Catholic Clerical Council. Initially, its program concentrated on religious and social issues, confessional schools, and a resolution of church–state relations. After it became aware of the existence of the Pittsburgh Pact in 1919, the party made autonomy the mainstay of its political program and fought on that platform, to which it added social and cultural issues, in the First Czechoslovak Republic. Its deputies proposed autonomy bills in the Czechoslovak National Assembly in 1922, 1930, and 1938. None was debated by the assembly. Except for the years 1927–1929, when it had two representatives in the Czechoslovak government, it was an opposition party. When Czecho–Slovakia was created, the SĽS was allotted seven representatives in the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly and was initially a member of the Slovak Club but fought the 1920 elections together with its Czech equivalent as the Czechoslovak People’s Party (ČĽS); it received 12 seats and 17.5 percent of the vote. In November 1921, it parted ways with the ČĽS to fight subsequent elections on its own. In the 1925 elections, it obtained 23 seats and 34.3 percent of the vote; in the 1929 elections, 19 seats and 28.3 percent; and in the 1935 elections, 22 seats and 30.1 percent. In 1925, the party changed its name to Hlinka Slovak People’s Party (HSĽS) to honor its leader, Andrej Hlinka. When he died on 16 August 1938, he was succeeded by Jozef Tiso. During the 1930s, the party’s autonomist platform attracted the younger generation; it held a youth congress in June 1932 in

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Trenčianske Teplice. In September 1936, at the party congress in Piešťany, it adopted a resolution to fight for the autonomy, but also for the industrialization of Slovakia. As the international situation worsened in Europe, the party pressed for a resolution of Czech–Slovak relations with the Czechoslovak government but to no avail. It was only after the Munich Agreement of September 1938 that Slovakia was granted autonomy. On 8 November, representatives of other parties in Slovakia (except for the Communists and Social Democrats) united with them; they formed the HSĽS–Party of Slovak National Unity and took over the government of Slovakia. The party won the elections to the Slovak Assembly that were held in December 1938 (voters were offered a single list, but 100 candidates ran for the 63 seats). The party was the dominant force in Slovak political life not only in the First Czechoslovak Republic but also in the first Slovak Republic. It was banned by the Czechoslovak government in 1945. SLOVAK PROVINCE/SLOVENSKÁ KRAJINA. Name given to Slovakia when a law was passed on 14 July 1927, effective 1 July 1928, that abolished the county system and reorganized the administration of Slovakia along provincial lines. This name was retained until 14 March 1939, when the Slovak Assembly voted the independence of Slovakia. The province had an assembly, with two-thirds of its members elected and one-third appointed by the government; however, its jurisdiction was quite restricted. The assembly was presided over by a public servant appointed by the government under the jurisdiction of the minister of justice. The first elections to the assembly took place on 2 December 1928 and were won by the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party. The presidents of the Slovak Province were Ján Drobný (1928–1931), Jozef Országh (1931–1938), and Julián Šimko (1938–1939). See also CONSTITUTION. SLOVAK REPUBLIC/SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA (SR). Official name given to Slovakia on three different occasions in its history: the first Slovak Republic (1939–1945); the Slovak Republic in the Czecho–Slovak Federative Republic (1990–1992); and the second Slovak Republic, created on 1 January 1993.

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SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. It came into existence on 14 March 1939, when the Slovak Assembly voted to declare the independence of Slovakia. On 21 July 1939, the Slovak Parliament voted a constitution that created a republican form of government, allowing for the election of a president; on 26 October, Jozef Tiso was duly elected by the Slovak Parliament. While parliament had legislative powers, executive powers were exercised by both the prime minister and his cabinet and also by the president, who had the power to refuse to sign laws and to return them to parliament. A Supreme Court exercised judicial power. Its political system, in the words of a German scholar, “can best be described as an authoritarian system with rather surprising democratic features.” Slovak political life was influenced by the context that allowed for the declaration of independence. Slovakia signed a treaty of protection with Germany on 23 March 1939; Slovak troops fought the Hungarian army in the Small War and with the Wehrmacht in Poland (to recover Slovak territory given to Poland in 1921) and later in the Soviet Union; and Slovakia joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1941. Secret clauses in the treaty of protection gave Germany certain economic advantages in Slovakia. President Tiso was sent for in July 1940 to meet with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler in Salzburg. Hitler demanded the removal of Ferdinand Ďurčanský from the post of minister of foreign affairs and the interior, at which point Slovak politics came under far more direct German pressure. As a result of direct German interference, legislation was passed that deprived Slovak Jews of their property (Aryanization) and resulted in 1942 in deportations of Jews to Poland, where the majority perished in concentration camps. However, Slovak officials halted the deportations in October 1942 when they learned of the fate that awaited Slovak Jews; until the outbreak of the uprising in August 1944, no further deportations took place. Despite German political pressure, the Slovak economy, society, and intellectual life flourished, and the Slovak nation moved far down the road of modernization and national development during the six years of independence. Nevertheless, there was opposition to Slovakia’s first modern state, and a resistance movement soon developed that organized an uprising that signaled the return of Slovakia to Czechoslovakia at the end of the war. The first Slovak Republic effectively ceased to exist when the Slovak National Council and

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the Board of Commissioners took power in Slovakia on 11 April 1945 on behalf of the Czechoslovak government. Some historians suggest that Slovak independence ended with the Declaration of the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1944, while others think that it ended on 8 May 1945 when the Slovak government signed a surrender document and handed it to the commander of XXth Corps of the Third United States Army in Austria. See also SLOVAK PROVINCE; WORLD WAR II. SLOVAK REPUBLIC, SECOND. It was created on 1 January 1993 when the dissolution of the Czecho–Slovak Federative Republic was approved by the Czecho–Slovak Federal Assembly on 25 November 1992. Its first president, elected on 18 February 1993, was Michal Kováč, and its first prime minister was Vladimír Mečiar. Its constitution was adopted by the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1992 and gives legislative power to the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) and executive power to a government composed of a prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and the cabinet; it is headed by the leader of the party with the most seats in the NR SR. Elections are held every four years, or sooner in the event of a vote of no confidence in the government in the NR SR. The judiciary is independent of all other state bodies and functions through independent courts. The Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic is the highest judicial body and its president and vice president are elected by the NR SR. The Constitutional Court is the highest body that protects and interprets the constitution of the Slovak Republic. See also CONSTITUTION. SLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY/SLOVENSKÁ SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA (SSDS). It was created in June 1905 when Slovak members broke away from the Social Democratic Party of Hungary; a year later, delegates at its second congress decided to rejoin the Hungarian party. Slovak Social Democrats decided at a meeting in Liptovský Sväty Mikuláš in December 1918 to join the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party. SLOVAK SOCIALIST REPUBLIC/SLOVENSKÁ SOCIALISTICKÁ REPUBLIKA (SSR). Name given to Slovakia by the federal

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law of 1968 that designated it as one of the two constituent units of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In April 1990, its name was changed to Slovak Republic. SLOVAK SOVIET REPUBLIC/SLOVENSKÁ REPUBLIKA RÁD. It was proclaimed on 16 June 1919 in Prešov in eastern Slovakia under the auspices of Hungarian Communist troops and led by the Czech Communist Antonín Janoušek. It was dissolved after the Czecho–Slovak army launched a counter-offensive a few days later. SLOVAK UNIVERSITY/SLOVENSKÁ UNIVERZITA. Name given to Comenius University in Bratislava from 1939 to 1954. SLOVAK WORLD CONGRESS/SVETOVY KONGRES SLOVÁKOV (SKS). It was created on 21 June 1970 in New York when Slovak organizations in the United States of America and abroad came together to unite in one organization. Štefan B. Roman was the main political force behind the creation of the SKS and its activities as its first president and main financial supporter, but it was Jozef Kirschbaum who gave it intellectual and organizational leadership. The congress kept abreast of international events and informed international institutions—such as the United Nations Organization, the European Parliament, and, after its creation, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe—and national institutions, such as the government and Congress of the United States, of the situation of the Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. SKS presidents have been Štefan B. Roman (1970–1988), Jozef Krištofík (1988–1990), Marián Šťastný (1990–1993), Leopold Danihels (1993–1996), and Pavol Rusnák (1996– ). SLOVENSKÁ DEMOKRATICKÁ A KRESŤANSKÁ ÚNIA. See SLOVAK DEMOCRATIC AND CHRISTIAN UNION. SLOVENSKÁ DEMOKRATICKÁ KOALÍCIA. See SLOVAK DEMOCRATIC COALITION. SLOVENSKÁ ĽUDOVÁ STRANA. See SLOVAK PEOPLE’S PARTY.

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SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ A ROĽNÍCKA STRANA. See SLOVAK NATIONAL AND FARMERS’ PARTY. SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ RADA. See SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL. SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ STRANA. See SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY. SLOVENSKÁ OMLADINA. Youth movement created in Turčiansky Svätý Martin in 1875 after the closing of Matica slovenská that lasted only five years. SLOVENSKÁ ORGANIZÁCIA NA OCHRANU ĽUDSKÝCH PRÁV. See SLOVAK ORGANIZATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. SLOVENSKÁ SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA. See SLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY. SLOVENSKÉ KRESŤANSKODEMOKRATICKÉ HNUTIE. See SLOVAK CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT. SLOVENSKÉ NÁRODNÉ DIVADLO. See SLOVAK NATIONAL THEATER. SLOVENSKÉ UČENÉ TOVARIŠSTVO. See SLOVAK LEARNED SOCIETY. SLOVENSKÝ ĽUDOVÝ UMELECKÝ KOLEKTÍV. See SLOVAK FOLK ART ENSEMBLE. SMALL WAR/MALÁ VOJNA. This is the name given to a two-day engagement between Slovakia and Hungary on 23–24 March 1939. Initial skirmishes were initiated by Hungary on 15 March along the Slovak–Hungarian border but on 23 March, Hungary launched an attack to push the border a further 10–15 kilometers inside Slovak territory. Slovak units under the command of Lieutenant Colonel

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Augustín Malár counter-attacked on 24 March, reclaiming some territory; in retaliation, the airfield in Spišska Nová Ves was bombed by Hungarian planes. As a result of German intervention, the Slovak offensive was halted and a diplomatic solution that stabilized the border was imposed on Slovakia. In addition to the territory lost as a result of the Vienna Award, Slovakia gave up along its eastern border an additional 1,036 square kilometers and 26,981 Slovaks to Hungary. See also ARMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. SMER-SOCIÁLNA DEMOKRACIA. See DIRECTION–SOCIAL DEMOCRACY. SMREK, JÁN (1898–1982). Born Ján Čietek, he was a journalist, poet, and translator who published the literary monthly Elán (Enthusiasm) from 1930 to 1944 and again in 1946–1947. Among his best-known poetic works are Cválajúce dni (Galloping days) (1925), Zrno (Grain), (1935), Hostina (The Feast) (1944), Obraz sveta (Picture of the world) (1958), and Proti noci (Against the night), published after his death in 1993. His memoir Poézia moja láska (Poetry, my love) (1968) presents his views on art, culture, and society. He was also a translator of Hungarian, French, and Russian poetry. See also LITERATURE. SNEM SLOVENSKEJ KRAJINY. See SLOVAK ASSEMBLY. SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY/SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA (SDS). After the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party in 1939, Slovak Social Democrats regrouped during the first Slovak Republic as an illegal party and were active in the resistance movement. On 17 September 1944, its members voted to unite with the Communist Party of Slovakia at a congress in Banská Bystrica. SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF SLOVAKIA/SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA SLOVENSKA (SDSS). This party, whose predecessors were called alternatively the Slovak Social Democratic Party, the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers’ Party, and the Social Democratic Party, reappeared on the Slovak political

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scene in 1992 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia under the leadership of Alexander Dubček. It won five seats in the Chamber of Nations of the Czecho–Slovak Federal Assembly and 6.09 percent of the vote. In the 1994 elections in Slovakia, under the leadership of Jaroslav Volf, it was one of the parties that made up the coalition Common Choice and elected two deputies. In the 1998 elections, it is one of the parties that formed the Slovak Democratic Coalition. It failed to get any deputies elected in the 2002 elections and, on 1 January 2005, it merged with the party Direction–Social Democracy. SOCIAL DEMOCRATS. See CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC WORKERS’ PARTY; SLOVAK SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY; SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY; SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF SLOVAKIA. SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA. See SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY. SOCIÁLNODEMOKRATICKÁ STRANA SLOVENSKA. See SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF SLOVAKIA. SOCIETAS EXCOLENDAE LINGUAE SLAVICAE. See SOCIETY FOR THE CULTIVATION OF THE SLAVIC LANGUAGE. SOCIETAS LIBERTATIS ET EQUALITATIS. See SOCIETY OF FREEDOM AND EQUALITY. SOCIETAS REFORMATORUM. See SOCIETY OF REFORMERS. SOCIETY FOR THE CULTIVATION OF THE SLAVIC LANGUAGE/SOCIETAS EXCOLENDAE LINGUAE SLAVICAE. Organization created by the students at the Grand Seminary in Bratislava under the leadership of Anton Bernolák between 1784 and 1790 (when the seminary was closed) to encourage the use of the vernacular and to translate the Bible into it. See also LANGUAGE. SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF CZECHOSLOVAK LITERATURE/SPOLOK LITERATÚRY ČESKOSLOVENSKEJ. Society

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founded by Slovak Lutherans under the leadership of Juraj Palkovič in 1801 to encourage the use of biblical Czech. See also LANGUAGE. SOCIETY OF FREEDOM AND EQUALITY/SOCIETAS LIBERTATIS ET EQUALITATIS. One of two organizations created by Ignác Martinovič (see Society of Reformers) in the Habsburg Empire during the French Revolution. This society, for which Martinovič prepared and published a catechism, was aimed for democrats and Jacobins to involve them in revolutionary activities. The conspiracy of both societies was uncovered, Martinovič was condemned to death and executed, and the societies were dissolved. SOCIETY OF REFORMERS/SOCIETAS REFORMATORUM. The second of two organizations created by Ignác Martinovič (see Society of Freedom and Equality) in the Habsburg Empire during the French Revolution. This society, for which Martinovič prepared and published a catechism, was directed toward the nobility to involve them in revolutionary activities. The conspiracy of both societies was uncovered, Martinovič was condemned to death and executed, and the societies were dissolved. SOKOL, JÁN (ARCHBISHOP) (1933– ). Roman Catholic priest who received Holy Orders in June 1957 and first served as a parish priest in a number of parishes throughout Slovakia. In 1987, he became administrator of the archdiocese of Trnava, was elevated to the rank of bishop in June 1988, and appointed apostolic administrator of the archdiocese. He was made archbishop in September 1989 and metropolitan of the Slovak Province until March 1995, when a second archdiocese was created in Košice and he was named archbishopmetropolitan of the Bratislava-Trnava archdiocese. SOKOL, MARTIN (1901–1957). Lawyer and politician, he was secretary general of the Slovak People’s Party (SĽS) from 1929 to 1938, deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1935 to 1939, deputy and chairman of the Slovak Assembly in 1938–1939, and president of the Slovak Parliament from 1939 to 1945. He belonged to the moderate wing of the SĽS.

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SÖLÖŠI (SZÖLÖSI), BENEDIKT (1609–1656). Jesuit priest and teacher, he is the author of the hymnal Cantus Catholici, published at the university press in Trnava in 1655; in it he affirms the strength of Slovak national consciousness. This hymnal is written in Slovak and is considered by Slovak Catholics to be part of their national heritage, in part because it refers to the apostolate of Cyril and Methodius. SOVEREIGNTY. The Slovak language has two words for sovereignty: zvrchovanosť and suverenita. In any Slovak dictionary, they have the same meaning; yet during the debate on Slovakia’s constitutional future in 1990–1992, they acquired different meanings. The first term, zvrchovanosť, referred to the sovereignty of the nation, that is to say, its right to pursue its own national life. The second, suverenita, meant state sovereignty as understood in international law. When, on 17 July 1992, the Slovak National Council voted to proclaim the sovereignty of Slovakia, it proclaimed zvrchovanosť. When Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993, it acquired suverenita. SPOLEČNOST ČESKO–SLOVENSKÁ. See CZECHO–SLAV SOCIETY. SPOLOČNÁ VOĹBA. See COMMON CHOICE. SPOLOK LITERATÚRY ČESKOSLOVENSKEJ. See SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF CZECHOSLOVAK LITERATURE. SPOLOK MILOVNÍKOV REČI A LITERTÚRY SLOVENSKEJ. See ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS OF THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. SPOLOK POHRONSKÝ. See CIRCLE OF THE HRON VALLEY. SPOLOK SV. VOJTECHA. See ST. ADALBERT SOCIETY. ST. ADALBERT SOCIETY/SPOLOK SV. VOJTECHA (SSV). It was created in September 1870 on the initiative of Andrej Radlinský as a Catholic cultural and publishing association in Trnava. Initially,

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Radlinský wanted to call it the Society of Sts. Cyril and Methodius but fearing that he would be accused of Panslavism by the Hungarian authorities, he opted for the name of Adalbert. Its scope of activities widened over the years, and it played an important role in the cultural and religious life of Slovakia in the interwar years of the 20th century. Its activities were severely curtailed under communism, and, since 1990, the society has sought to revive them. It became the publisher of Katolícke noviny (Catholic News), founded by Ján Palárik in 1852, and of Catholic books. STANISLAV, JÁN (1904–1977). Linguist, researcher, and university professor, he was one of the most eminent scholars of the Slovak language, its dialectics, onomastics, and orthoepy, and of the history of Great Moravia. Among his publications are Liptovské nárečia (The dialects of Liptov County) (1932), Metod arcibiskupom (Methodius as archbishop) (1944), Slovanskí apoštoli Cyril a Metod a ich činnosť vo Veľkomoravskej ríši (The Slavic apostles Cyril and Methodius and their activity in the Great Moravian Empire) (1945), Slovenský juh v stredoveku, I–II (The south of Slovakia in the Middle Ages) (1948), Slovenská výslovnosť (Slovak pronunciation) (1953), Dejiny slovenského jazyka I–V (History of the Slovak language) (1956–1973), and Starosloviensky jazyk (The old Slavonic language) (1978, 1987), considered to be the authoritative work on the subject. STARÁ ŠKOLA. See OLD SCHOOL. STARÁ SLOVENČINA. See OLD SLOVAK. STAŠKO, JOZEF (1917–1997). Slovak politician and author, he was involved in the discussions that led to the April Agreement and was elected to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in 1946 for the Democratic Party (DS). In a political plot organized by the Communist Party of Slovakia to discredit the DS, he was arrested together with Ján Kempný in September 1947, despite his parliamentary immunity, and was sentenced to six years in prison. He immigrated to the United States in 1961 and became involved in Slovak exile organizations. He is the author of a number of studies on Slovak history.

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STATE SYMBOLS. The state symbols are described in the constitution of the second Slovak Republic. The national anthem of the second Slovak Republic is composed of the two verses of a national poem written by Janko Matuška sung to the tune of a Slovak folk song; it is entitled “Nad Tatrou sa blýska” (There is lightning over the Tatra Mountains). In the first Slovak Republic, the national anthem was the hymn “Hej, Slováci!” (Awaken, Slovaks!); it was based on the Polish national anthem “Jesce Polska niezginela” (Poland will not perish), with the Slovak verses written by Samuel Tomášik. The national emblem is a double-branched silver cross over the central of three blue mountain tops on a red background in an early Gothic coat of arms. It was the first coat of arms of the Hungarian kingdom and became the symbol of the territory of Slovakia from the 13th century onward. It was included in 1918 in the state coat of arms of Czecho–Slovakia. In 1960, it was replaced by a socialist emblem that showed a gold flame in front of Mount Kriváň in blue against a red background. The original historic symbol was restored in 1990. The national flag is made up of three parallel stripes—white, blue, and red (top to bottom) with the national emblem in the left half of the flag. The flag without the emblem was proclaimed the Slovak national flag by the Štúrovci in the 19th century and was the flag of the first Slovak Republic. It was restored as the national flag in 1990, and the emblem was added to it by the constitution in 1992. The national seal is composed of the national emblem encircled by the inscription Slovenská Republika (Slovak Republic). STEPHEN (ISTVÁN) (KING) (970?–1038). First monarch of the kingdom of Hungary. He changed his name from Vajk to Stephen when he was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. STÖCKEL, LEONHARD (1510–1560). Teacher and religious writer, he was one of the pioneers of the Lutheran Reformation in eastern Slovakia and the author of the Confessio Pentapolitana of 1549. STODOLA, EMIL (1862–1945). Lawyer and politician, he was a member of the Slovak National Council in 1918 and a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, as well as a member of the

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Slovak National Party and its president in 1921, when it broke away from the Slovak National and Farmers’ Party. He left political life in 1922. STOLICA. See COUNTY. STRANA DEMOKRATICKEJ ĽAVICE. See PARTY OF THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT. STRANA MAĎARSKEJ KOALICIE-MAGYAR KOALÍCIÓ PÁRTJA. See PARTY OF THE HUNGARIAN COALITION. STRANA OBČIANSKÉHO POROZUMENIA. See PARTY OF CIVIC UNDERSTANDING. STRANA ZELENÝCH NA SLOVENSKU. See GREEN PARTY OF SLOVAKIA. STRMEŇ, KAROL (1921–1994). Poet and university professor, he lived in the United States from 1946; he is considered an eminent representative of Slovak Catholic modernism. Among his writings are Strieborná legenda (Silver legend) (1963) and Znamenie ryby (The sign of the fish) (1969). He is also a translator into Slovak of Italian (Dante, Petrarch), American (Edgar Allan Poe), and English (Robert Browning) poetry. See also LITERATURE. STYK, JOZEF (1897–1965). Politician and former Agrarian who joined the resistance movement during World War II. His radio broadcast on 30 August calling on the population to rise against the first Slovak Republic, written by Vavro Šrobár, marked the beginning of the 1944 uprising. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as a deputy to the Slovak National Council and the Czechoslovak National Assembly during the years 1945–1948. SUCHOŇ, EUGEN (1908–1993). Composer and teacher of music, he is best known for his chamber and choral music, as well as his operas Krútňava [The vortex] and Svätopluk. He also composed the cantata Žalm zeme podkarpadskej [A Carpathian psalm], the song cycles Nox

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et solitudo (1932), Ad astra (1961) and Pohľad do neznáma [A look into the unknown] (1977), and his last great work, Slovenská omša [A Slovak mass]. He graduated from the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava, where he also taught musicology from 1933 to 1938. From 1948 to 1951, he taught at the State Conservatory; from 1948 to 1954, he was a member of the Pedagogical Faculty of Comenius University; from 1960 to 1974 he was on the Philosophical Faculty, where he taught musical theory. He is also the author of Všeobecná náuka o hudbe (General theory of music) (1955) and Náuka o harmónii (Theory of harmony). SUPREME COURT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC/NAJVYŠŠÍ SÚD SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY (NS SR). It is the highest judiciary body in the second Slovak Republic and is responsible for the uniform interpretation and use of all laws. As the final court of appeal for the decisions of lower courts and courts-martial, it also provides legal interpretations of statutes and other obligatory legal standards. It exercises its jurisdiction through its panels and their presiding judges; through divisions and their presiding judges; and through the president and vice president of the court. The NS SR has four divisions: criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative. The judges are assigned to divisions according to the field in which they work. The heads of divisions are their presiding judges who organize and manage division activities. Divisions give opinions with the aim of unifying the interpretation of laws and other generally binding legal regulations upon a proposal presented by the presiding judge of a division if the final decisions issued by individual panels of the same division reflect conflicting interpretations, or upon a proposal presented by the president of the NS SR if final decisions issued by the courts reflect conflicting interpretations. The president of the NS SR or the presiding judge of a division may, under conditions stipulated by law, propose that an opinion be given also on motions submitted by the Ministry of Justice or the prosecutor general. The distribution of cases at the NS SR in a given calendar year is determined by the work schedule formulated by the president of the NS SR upon a proposal presented by the presiding judges of the various divisions. The circulation of the individual cases is made by an electronic registry. The NS SR sits as three-member panels composed

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of the presiding judge and two judges, and as five-member panels composed of the presiding judge and four judges. The head of the panel is the presiding judge. Three-member panels rule on regular and exceptional legal remedies that challenge decisions made by regional courts, district courts, the Higher Military Court, military district courts, and the special court and other cases as set out in the law; examine the legality of decisions made by central authorities of the state administration, unless the law stipulates otherwise; decide on the recognition and enforceability of decisions of foreign courts in the territory of the Slovak Republic in cases prescribed by law or by international treaty. Five-member panels rule on exceptional legal remedies that challenge decisions that the NS SR panels have adopted regarding regular legal remedies. The NS SR is composed of 85 justices appointed by the president of the Slovak Republic for life from among the nominees proposed by the Judiciary Council of the Slovak Republic. The president of the NS SR is Milan Karabín. See also JUDICIARY. SVÄTOPLUK (840?–894). Ruler of Great Moravia from 871 to 894 who acquired power with the help of the Franks by overthrowing Rastislav. After resisting Frankish attacks against his kingdom, he signed the Peace of Forchheim, which enabled him to expand in areas that the Frankish kingdom did not consider to be in its sphere of interest. He thus extended his power to the north and to the west in parts of present-day Poland; he incorporated much of what is today the Czech Republic; and in the south, he went as far as the borders of Bulgaria, thereby also extending his control over parts of Pannonia. During his reign, Great Moravia achieved its maximum extension and power and exercised its greatest influence in the region. He established good relations with the Papacy, receiving from Pope John VIII the bull Industriae tuae but did not press for the establishment of an independent ecclesiastical province, as had Rastislav. See also METHODIUS. SVÄTOPLUK II (865?–905?). Son of Svätopluk, prince of Nitra, he unsuccessfuly challenged his brother, Mojmír II, for the succession. SVETOVÝ KONGRES SLOVÁKOV. See SLOVAK WORLD CONGRESS.

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SVORAD-ANDREW (?–1030?). Benedictine monk in the Zobor monastery near Nitra, where he took the name Andrew. He was known for his piety and ascetic way of life; he was canonized in 1083 along with his disciple Benedikt. SVORADOV. A men’s Roman Catholic university residence in Bratislava from 1922 to 1945, founded by Monsignor Eugen Filkorn who became its director in 1931. It was also a center for Catholic and Populist student activities and housed some of their organizations and publications. Many of the politicians and public servants of the first Slovak Republic met there while pursuing their university studies. SZATMAR, PEACE OF (1711). Treaty signed on 20 April 1711 that ended the magnate rebellion of František II Rákoci and also put an end to a century of magnate rebellions in royal Hungary.

-ŠŠAFÁRIK, PAVOL JOZEF (1795–1861). Poet and historian, he is one of the major personalities of the Slovak national awakening in the 19th century. In 1814, as a young man, he published in Levoča a collection of poems entitled Tatranská múza s lyrou slovanskou (The Tatra muse with a Slavic lyre), but it is for two major scholarly works that he became well known in the Slavic world. He published in 1826 the first survey of the languages and literatures of the Slavs, Geschichte der slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten (History of the Slavic language and literature in all its dialects) and, in 1837, a major work on Slavic ethnography entitled Slovanské starožitnosti (Slavic antiquities). Both works had a direct impact on awakening national consciousness of the Slavic peoples in central and southeastern Europe. He wrote in Czech. After he moved to Prague in 1833, he was also required to Czechize his family name by adding a diacritical sign on the letter r (ř), thereby using a consonant that does not exist in Slovak. The Czechs consider him to have contributed also to their national awakening. He was opposed to the codifications of the Slovak language by both Anton Bernolák and Ĺudovít Štúr and was an adherent of a Czechoslovak language.

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ŠIMONČIČ, JOZEF (1928– ). Historian and archivist who, in 1954, became the city archivist of the city of Trnava; from 1960 to 1992, he was the director of the regional state archives in Trnava. At the same time, he completed his studies at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Since 1992, he has been teaching at the University of Trnava in the history department, of which he was chairman from 1998 to 2005. He is the author of 500 studies, both as an archivist and a historian. Among his main publications are Sprievodca po štátnom archíve v Trnave (A guide to the state archive in Trnava) (1978), Ohlasy francúzskej revolúcie na Slovensku (Echoes of the French Revolution in Slovakia) (1982), Mojej Trnave (To my Trnava) (1998), and Trnavská univerzita v dokumentoch (1635–1998) (The University of Trnava in documents [1635–1998]) (2002). He is considered to be the official historian of both the city and the University of Trnava. See also UNIVERSITIES. ŠIROKÝ, VILIAM (1902–1971). Communist politician of Hungarian descent, he became active in the Communist movement in Slovakia in the interwar years. Imprisoned during World War II, he did not participate in the 1944 uprising and became one of the leading adherents of centralism in postwar Czechoslovakia. He was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1935 to 1938 and again from 1945 to 1963, deputy to the Slovak National Council in 1945–1946, president of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) from 1945 to 1953, minister of foreign affairs from 1950 to 1953, and prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1963. A hard-line Communist, it was he who leveled the charge of Slovak bourgeois nationalism against Gustáv Husák, Vladimír Clementis, and other members of the KSS at a party congress in 1950 and saw that they were brought to trial and condemned. He was dismissed from his post as prime minister and from the party in 1963 after the publication of the report of the Barnabite Commission. See also PURGES. ŠKULTÉTY, JOZEF (1853–1948). Historian, literary critic, and university professor, he was editor of Národné noviny (National News) from 1881 to 1919, of Slovenské pohľady (Slovak Perspectives) from 1890 to 1916, and director general of Matica slovenská from 1919 to 1942. He played a fundamental role in Slovak cultural life prior to World War I during the height of Magyarization. In the interwar

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years, he exercised considerable influence on Slovak culture and scholarship. ŠMIDKE, KAROL (1897–1952). Communist politician of Czech descent, he became active in the Communist movement in Slovakia in the interwar years. During World War II, he was active in the resistance movement as a leading member of the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS). He took the Memorandum on Slovakia prepared by Gustáv Husák to Moscow. He was a deputy to and cochairman— with Vavro Šrobár—of the Slovak National Council (SNR) for a few months in 1944 and 1945, its vice chairman from 1946 to 1948, chairman of the Board of Commissioners in 1945–1946, and again chairman of the SNR from 1948 to 1950. He was also a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1935 to 1938 and again from 1945 to 1952. In 1950, he was accused of Slovak bourgeois nationalism and expelled from the party but not from the assembly. He was rehabilitated in 1963. ŠOLTÉSOVÁ, ELENA MARÓTHY- (1855–1939). Chairperson of Živena from 1894 to 1927 and editor of the magazine Živena (1912– 1922), of which she was one of the founders, she was a novelist, a leader of the women’s movement in Slovakia, and a contributor to many Slovak periodicals. As a member of the realist school, she sought to depict the reality of women around her. Among her short stories are Na dedine (In the village) (1881) and V ciernickej škole (The Čiernice school) (1891), but she is best know for her novel Proti prúdu (Against the current) (1894) and her diary Moje deti (My children) (1923–1924), which was translated into five languages. In 1925, she published her memoirs Sedemdesiat rokov života (Seventy years of life). Her essays on Slovak literature were published posthumously as Pohľady na literatúru (Perspectives on literature) (1958). ŠPRINC, MIKULÁŠ (1914–1986). Roman Catholic priest and poet, he was from 1943 to 1945 editor of the monthly literary journal Kultúra. He immigrated in 1946 to the United States, where he became founder in 1954 and editor in 1956 of the cultural review Most (the bridge) and author of numerous works of reflective and pastoral poetry. See also LITERATURE.

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ŠRÁMEK, JAN (1870–1956). Roman Catholic priest and Czech politician, he was the leader of the Czechoslovak People’s Party with which the Slovak People’s Party (SĽS) merged for the 1920 elections. In 1921, the SĽS left the coalition but some Slovaks remained in Šrámek’s party, among them Martin Mičura. ŠRAMKO, IVAN (1957– ). A graduate of the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics in Bratislava in 1980, he worked between 1981 and 1990 as head of the finance department of various corporations. From 1990 to 2002, he held senior positions in the banking sector including the Všeobecná úverová banka and the Istrobanka. In 2002, he was named deputy governor of the National Bank of Slovakia and, in 2005, its governor. He is also a member of the General Council of the European Central Bank, a governor of the International Monetary Fund, and an alternate governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. ŠROBÁR, VAVRO (1867–1950). Physician and politician, he was one of the main proponents of Czechoslovakism in Slovakia in the First Czechoslovak Republic and during World War II. He completed his medical studies in Prague, where he joined Detvan and became a proponent of a political union between Czechs and Slovaks, which he proposed in the pages of Hlas (The Voice), a periodical of which he was one of the founders and editor in 1903–1904. In 1906, along with Andrej Hlinka, he was jailed for one year for “instigation against the Magyar nationality” after unsuccessfully running for a seat in the Hungarian Diet. He spent the war years promoting Tomáš G. Masaryk’s ideas of a common state. On 28 October 1918, he happened to be in Prague and was invited to attend the session of the Prague National Committee that declared the creation of a new state. After Czecho–Slovakia was created, he was named minister for Slovakia and held this position from 1918 to 1920; he ordered the dissolution of the Slovak National Council. He was an Agrarian but was never able to assume the leadership of the Slovak Agrarians; he was overshadowed by Milan Hodža. In 1920, he was named minister for the unification of laws and administrative organization; in 1921–1923, he was minister of schools and national education. In 1923, he was appointed professor of medicine at Comenius Univer-

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sity, a position he held until his retirement in 1937. He was also a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1918 to 1925 and from 1945 to 1950, and a senator from 1925 to 1935. From 1925 to 1929, he was president of the Agrarian Club in the assembly. Opposed to the first Slovak Republic, he sought to be active in the resistance movement during World War II, organizing a national committee that he hoped would take over the movement. He wrote the text that was read by Jozef Styk on 30 August that marked the beginning of the 1944 uprising. Together with Karol Šmidke, as a member of the Democratic Party, he was cochairman of the Slovak National Council in 1944–1945. He became minister of finance in 1945–1947 and minister for the unification of laws in 1948–1950. He was also president of the Liberty Party in 1946. ŠŤASTNÝ, MARIÁN (1953– ). Professional hockey player who played in Czechoslovakia from 1975 to 1980. He was a member of the Czechoslovak team that won the World Championship in 1976 and 1977. He fled to Canada in 1981 and played in the National Hockey League from 1981 to 1986 for the Québec Nordiques and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was president of the Slovak World Congress from 1990 to 1993. ŠŤASTNÝ, PETER (1956– ). Professional hockey player who played in Czechoslovakia from 1976 to 1980, and brother of Marián Šťastný. He was a member of the Czechoslovak team that won the World Championship in 1976 and 1977. He was named the best hockey player in Czechoslovakia for the 1979–1980 season. He fled to Canada in 1980 and played in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1995, first for the Québec Nordiques, then for the New Jersey Devils, and finally for the St. Louis Blues. He coached the Slovak national hockey team in the Olympic Games in Lake Placid in 1990 and Lillehammer in 1994. In June 2004, he was elected to the European Parliament, representing the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. ŠTEFÁNIK, MILAN RASTISLAV (1880–1919). Astronomer, soldier, and politician, he was one of the three founders of the Czecho–Slovak Republic. During World War I, as a member of the Czecho–Slovak National Committee and a general in the French

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army, he organized the Czecho–Slovak Legion in Russia. He was Czecho–Slovakia’s first minister of war. He died when his aircraft was shot down while flying back to Slovakia. ŠTEVČEK, JÁN (1929–1996). He was Slovakia’s foremost literary historian of the 20th century who taught in the Department of Slovak Literature and Literary Theory at the Faculty of Philosophy of Comenius University. In addition, he was a critic, poet, and playwright. The aesthetic value of a literary work was a major concern, which he expressed in many of his publications. He is the author of Lyrická tvár slovenskej prózy (The lyrical face of Slovak prose) (1969), Estetika a literatúra (Esthetics and literature) (1977), Eseje o slovenskom románe (Essays about the Slovak novel) (1979), Moderný slovenský roman (The modern Slovak novel) (1983), Súčasný slovenský román (The contemporary Slovak novel) (1988), and Dejiny slovenského románu (A history of the Slovak novel) (1989). He published a series of autobiographical essays under the title of Sliačske meditácie (Sliač meditations) (1994). See also LITERATURE. ŠTÚR, ĽUDOVÍT (1815–1856). Scholar, teacher, and political leader, he was the most outstanding personality of the Slovak national movement in the 19th century. In 1828, he became one of the founding members of a student organization called Czecho–Slav Society, dedicated to fighting Magyarization. He published in 1836 an almanac called Plody (Fruits), a publication that marks the appearance in Slovak literary and political history of a group that is known as Štúrovci. On 24 April of the same year, he led a group of students to Devín, where they pledged to dedicate themselves to the Slovak nation. He studied in Halle from 1838 to 1840; when he returned to Slovakia, he resumed his lectureship at Juraj Palkovič’s chair at the Bratislava lyceum, to which he had been appointed in 1837. As a result of Magyar intrigues, he was dismissed in 1843. Štúr’s codification of the Slovak language, based on central Slovak dialects, finally gave the Slovak nation its literary language and marked perhaps his greatest contribution to the Slovak nation. The codification was made public when he published in 1846 Nauka reči slovenskej (Study of the Slovak language). He was also one of the

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founders in 1844 of Tatrín, a society created for the propagation of the new language and the development of the Slovak nation. In 1847, he was elected deputy to the Hungarian Diet from Zvolen. In his maiden speech, he demanded the abolition of serfdom and the privileges of the nobility, and for the Slovaks he asked that they be given basic language rights. During the revolution of 1848–1849, he led a Slovak delegation to the Slavic Congress in Prague, and, together with Michal Miloslav Hodža and Jozef Miloslav Hurban, he created the Slovak National Council and declared Slovakia’s political independence from Hungary on 19 September 1848. With the failure of the revolution, he was put under police surveillance. Despairing of any progress in the Habsburg Empire, he wrote Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (The Slavs and the world of the future), a call for all Slavs to unite and work with an imperial democratic Russia. It was published only after his death in Moscow in 1867. See also LITERATURE; ROMANTICISM; UPRISING. ŠTÚROVCI. Name given to Slovak students and activists in the 19th century who accepted Ĺudovít Štúr’s codification of the Slovak language and his concept of drobná práca or “menial tasks,” which meant involvement in the creation of reading circles, temperance clubs, credit unions, and self-help groups. In addition to raising the consciousness of the Slovak population, this group also fought Magyarization and participated in the revolution of 1848–1849. Another contribution was to Slovak literature; some of the most outstanding writers were Ján Botto, Samo Chalupka, Andrej Braxatoris-Sládkovič, and Janko Kráľ. See also LITERATURE, ROMANTICISM.

-TTABLIC, BOHUSLAV (1769–1832). Lutheran pastor, poet, and literary historian, he created in 1810 the Learned Society of the Mining Region to support a chair of bibličtina at the lyceum in Banská Štiavnica, a town that also claimed to have a significant cultural life in the 19th century.

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TACITUS (55–120). A Roman historian, he was one of the first to notice the existence of the Slavs, calling them Wends (Venedi, Veneti, or Venedae). TAJOVSKÝ, JOZEF GREGOR- (1874–1940). Writer and editor, he was the author of critical realistic short stories and the founder of modern realistic drama. A former member of the Czecho–Slovak Legion, he wrote reports about his experiences. Among his collections of short stories are Z dediny (From the village) (1897) and Rozprávky pre ľud (Tales for ordinary people) (1904); among his plays are Ženský zákon (Woman’s law) (1900), Statky-zmätky (Estates in confusion) (1909), and Hriech (Sin), (1911). See also LITERATURE. TARTARS. See MONGOLS. TATARKA, DOMINIK (1913–1989). Teacher, editor, and author, he was a popular writer during the Communist era, until he was silenced by the regime after the Warsaw Pact invasion of 1968. He was one of the signatories of Charter 77. His early writings include V úzkosti hľadania (In the anxiety of the search) (1942) and Panna zázračnica (The miraculous virgin) (1944). He was also a critic of political regimes in Farská republika (The parish republic) (1948), which deals with the first Slovak Republic and in the novel Démon súhlasu (The demon of conformism) (1965), which deals with the Stalinist era in Slovakia. His later writings were published either in samizdat or abroad and include Písačky (Jottings) (1984), his most uninhibited and controversial work published in Cologne, West Germany. See also LITERATURE. TATARS. See MONGOLS. TATRA CLUB/TATRAN. Club of Slovak university students organized in Vienna in the 1880s for social and educational purposes. It maintained links with similar clubs in other universities— especially with the Detva Club in Prague. TATRA MOUNTAINS. The Tatra Mountains are the most northern part of the 1,200-kilometer-long Carpathian bow. From meadows at

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their base, they gradually change into deep coniferous and mountain pine forests and naked, skyscraping, sheer rocky giants—the Tatra peaks, each with its own name, shape, and history. The mountains are divided into two parts, the High and Low Tatras. The High Tatras are also divided into two parts, the western and eastern Tatras. The eastern Tatras are further divided into the High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry) and the Belianské Tatras. The length of the ridge of the High Tatras is 26.5 kilometers. The highest peaks are Gerlachovský štít (2,655 meters), Gerlachovská veža (2,642 meters), Lomnický štít (2,632 meters), and Ladový štít (2,627 meters). Kriváň peak (2,494 meters) is the bestknown peak in Slovakia. Kriváň means something that is curved. It belongs to the western part of the High Tatras. Parallel to the High Tatra ridge, but some 40 kilometers to the south, are the Low Tatras (Nizké Tatry) with the highest peaks called Dumbier (2,043 meters) and Chopok (2,024 meters). Chopok is the most attractive skiing resort in Slovakia. Štrbské Pleso in the High Tatras is a major ski center, which hosted the world skiing championships in 1970. The typical climate of the Tatras is a mixture of long, cold winters and short summers. The average temperature at the height of 1,000 meters above sea level is 5C and 15ºC in July. On the southern slopes, there are 1,800 to 1,900 hours of sunshine annually, which is comparable to the most favorable localities in the Alps. The weather changes quite rapidly; in summer, there are storms usually around noon. For tourism, autumn is the best season with cool but sunny days. The High Tatras belong to the Tatranský Národný Park (TANAP), which controls all tourist and sporting activities. Similarly the Low Tatras are designated a national park. TATRA SOCIETY/TATRÍN. Founded by Ĺudovít Štúr on 26–28 August 1844 in Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš, it was a cultural society whose aim was to cultivate Slovak national consciousness among the people by encouraging its members to engage in drobná práca or “menial tasks.” Its chairman was Michal Miloslav Hodža. It was at the society’s fourth general assembly in 1847 that Slovak Catholics agreed to abandon Anton Bernolák’s literary language in favor of Štúr’s codification. TATRAN. See TATRA CLUB.

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TATRÍN. See TATRA SOCIETY. ŤAŽKÝ, LADISLAV (1924– ). Professional writer, he writes novels and plays in innovative and highly original prose that deal with personal responsibility and political issues. Among his novels are Amenmária (1964), Samí dobrí vojaci (They are all good soldiers) (1964), Evanjelium čatára Matúša (The gospel of sergeant Matthew) (1979), Márie a Magdalény (Women called Mária and Magdaléna) (1983), Kto zabil Ábela (Who killed Abel) (1991) and Útek z Neresnice (Flight from Neresnica) (1999). He has received many awards for his writings. See also LITERATURE. THEATER. Slovakia has a long tradition of theatrical productions and performances. As early as the 12th century, religious plays were performed in front of churches or in town squares and most often in the vernacular, either in Slovak or in German. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Jesuits were particularly active in producing school plays in Slovak. The actual birth of Slovak theater goes back to 1830 in the town of Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš with the production by students and citizens of the play Kocúrkovo (Gotham) by Ján Chalupka. In the same year in Trnava, a theater was built and the first play was performed in 1831 but it was not until 1869 that the first play in Slovak was produced there. The original theater still stands today and is considered the oldest permanent theater in Slovakia; its interior was renovated in 1960. In Bratislava, a municipal theater was built in 1776 at the behest of Count Gyögy Csáky. Rebuilt in 1886, it became the home after 1920 of the Slovak National Theater. Theater was particularly important in the struggle against Magyarization in the 19th century and the plays of Ján Palárik became essential in the repertoire of amateur and professional groups. The town of Martin became an important center of theatrical and musical performances at this time. Most major towns and cities in Slovakia have a theater today where Slovak plays or plays in Slovak translation are performed regularly. Worthy of note is the Radosinské naivné divadlo, created in 1963 near the town of Piešťany, which presents original and oftenprovocative Slovak plays in towns and cities throughout Slovakia. In 1970, it moved to Bratislava. Other successful theaters are the Divadlo Astorka Korzo ‘90, Nová scena, and Arena.

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TIBENSKÝ, JÁN (1923– ). A historian and specialist in the period of the national revival, he is one of the most eminent scholars of the postwar period. Among his publications are Juraj Fandly (1950), J. Papánek - J. Sklenár, obrancovia slovenskej národnosti v. 18. storočí (J. Papánek - J. Sklenár, defenders of the Slovak nationality in the 18th century) (1958), Dejiny vedy a techniky na Slovensku (A history of science and technology in Slovakia) (1979) and Matej Bel (1989). He is also the editor of Priekopníci prírodných vied a techniky (Pioneers of the natural sciences and technology) (1976) and other collective works. TILESA (TILEŠ), ANTON (1800?–1860?). Roman Catholic priest and teacher, he created one of the first reading circles in Slovakia, Circle of the Hron Valley, in 1845 in Banská Bystrica. TIMON, SAMUEL (1675–1736). A historian, he published the first topographical work on the cities and towns of Hungary. He also answered the allegations made by Michal Benčik on the origins of the Slovaks by publishing Imago antiquae Hungariae (Image of ancient Hungary) in 1733, which described the origins of the Slovaks and suggested that they, like the Magyars, were equally members of the “natio hungarica,” what we would call today the Hungarian political nation. See also LITERATURE. TIMRAVA, BOŽENA SLANČÍKOVÁ- (1867–1951). One of the best-known women writers in Slovakia; her prose was original and non-traditional, depicting the life of ordinary people and her wartime and postwar experiences. Among her most famous writings are Ťapákovci (The Ťapák family) (1914), Hrdinovia (Heroes) (1918), Skon Paľa Ročku (The death of Paľo Ročka) (1921), and an autobiographical novel entitled Všetko za národ (Everything for the nation) (1926). See also LITERATURE. TISO, JOZEF (1887–1947). Roman Catholic priest and politician, he was one of the leading members of the Slovak People’s Party and its leader after the death of Andrej Hlinka. He was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1925 to 1939, minister of public health and physical education from 1927 to 1929, deputy to

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the Slovak Assembly from 1938 to 1939, prime minister of the Slovak Province from 1938 to 1939, deputy to the Slovak Parliament in 1939, and president of the first Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945. As a result of his visit to Berlin on 13 March 1939, the Slovak Assembly voted the independence of Slovakia the next day. During the six years of the existence of the Slovak Republic, Tiso was the leader of the moderates in the party and sought to minimize German interference in Slovak politics as well as the attempts by the radicals, led by Vojtech Tuka, to introduce National Socialism into Slovakia, especially after July 1940, when he was summoned to Salzburg by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and told to dismiss Slovak politicians—among them Ferdinand Ďurčanský and Jozef Kirschbaum—whom the Third Reich considered anti-German. As head of state, he refused to sign the Jewish Codex passed by the Slovak Parliament but freely exercised the right it gave him to extend exemptions to individual Jews, thus saving some 30,000 from deportation. The 1944 uprising all but eliminated Tiso’s power and authority in Slovakia; nevertheless, he made every effort to restrain German actions, personally intervening to save lives but unable to prevent further deportations of Slovak Jews. Along with other government officials, he moved to Austria in April 1945 and surrendered to the United States Army. He was then handed over to Czechoslovak authorities. He was brought to trial before a Slovak court in 1946, accused of two counts of treason—against the Czechoslovak Republic and the 1944 uprising—and of collaboration. He was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed on 18 April 1947, after President Edvard Beneš refused to grant a request for clemency. TISO, ŠTEFAN (1897–1959). Lawyer and judge, he was deputy chairman of the High Court in Bratislava from 1939 to 1944 and prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and justice of the first Slovak Republic from September 1944 to May 1945, after the outbreak of the uprising. He was tried by a Slovak court and sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he died. TISZA, KÁLMÁN (1830–1902). Prime minister of Hungary, who, as minister of the interior, ordered the closing of Matica slovenská on 6 April 1875.

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TKÁČ, ANTON (1951– ). Olympic athlete and trainer, he won a gold medal in cycling at the 1976 Montreal Olympics as a member of the Czechoslovak Olympic team. He was also world champion in sprint cycling in 1974, 1976, and 1978. TÖKÖLI, IMRICH (THÖKÖLY, IMRE) (1657–1705). Leader of the fourth magnate rebellion; by the end of 1680, he was master of most of the Slovak territory. TOLERATION, EDICT OF. Issued by Joseph II in 1781, it lifted the restrictions imposed by Leopold I on the Protestants, particularly in matters of education and their access to the imperial public service. Along with members of the Greek Orthodox faith, Protestants achieved civic equality with Catholics. The Jews were granted freedom of worship but did not receive full civil rights. See also LUTHERAN CHURCH. TOMKO, JOZEF (CARDINAL) (1924– ). Roman Catholic priest and author, named titular bishop of Doclea in 1979, he became in 1985 the first Slovak elevated to the rank of Prince of the Church in modern times. From 1985 to 2001, he was prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Nations. TÓTHOVÁ, KATARÍNA (1940– ). Law professor and politician, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava where she taught law from 1963 to 1991. She joined the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) in 1991 and was minister of justice in the government of Vladimír Mečiar from 1991 to 1992. From 1994 to 1998, she was deputy prime minister in charge of legislative matters and media policy. She sat as a deputy in the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) from 1998 to 2002. On 24 August 2004, she returned to the NR SR when a seat belonging to the People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia became vacant. She was reelected in 2006. TÓTHOVÁ, ZDENKA (1956– ). Biologist, she was elected to the Slovak National Council in 1990–1992 for the Green Party of

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Slovakia. In 1994, she became vice chairperson and in March 1997, chairperson of the party. TRADE UNIONS. There are 46 trade unions in post-Communist Slovakia in a variety of occupations and professions in the areas of agriculture, education, industry, and the tertiary sector that represent and defend the interests of their employees. They have formed the Confederation of Trade Unions to provide them with information, legal aid, international collaboration, advice, and assistance in negotiations. Under communism, the trade unions were no more than transmission belts of the regime to enforce the party line and raise production levels. Their activities were controlled by the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement. See also COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP; GENERAL AGREEMENT; TRIPARTITE. TRANOVSKÝ, JURAJ (1592–1637). Lutheran pastor and religious writer, his best-known publication is the hymnal Cithara sanctorum, published in Prešov in 1636. It is a collection of 414 songs, of which 40 are from the Slovak, eight are translations from the Latin, 60 are from the German, and the rest are Czech. The book went through more than 150 editions and was widely used not only in Slovakia, but also in the Czech Lands and Poland. It is considered to have assisted in the development of a national consciousness among Slovaks in the same way as Benedikt Sölöši’s Cantus Catholici. See also LITERATURE. TRIPARTITE. Name given to a social and economic institution that annually brings together the government, the employers, and the trade unions to negotiate and sign a General Agreement. The main tripartite organ, the Council for Economic and Social Partnership, also known as the Tripartite Council, was created at the federal level on 3 October (it was dissolved with the dissolution of Czecho–Slovakia) and in Slovakia on 30 October 1990. According to its charter, the Tripartite Council is involved in all discussions concerning economic and social policies. Partaking in annual discussions along with the government are the Federation of Employer Unions and Associations, the Republican Union of Employers, and the Confederation of Trade Unions.

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TRIPARTITE COUNCIL. See COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP. TRIPARTITUM. A document published by István Werbőczi in 1517 that codified the feudal Hungarian law of custom. It was not a law code but a compilation of customary legal traditions that was acknowledged in legal institutions as well as by legal scholars and was used in Slovakia until 1950. Above all, it lay down in explicit terms the complete legal equality of all nobles, as enjoying “one and the same liberty.” TRNAVA. Known as the “Little Rome” for its many churches, this Western Slovak city not only endured most of the vicissitudes of Slovakia’s history, but remains a remarkable example of the role and importance of the Catholic Church in Slovakia. Seven churches are within an area of two square kilometers inside the old town walls, the most imposing of which is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, built by palatine Mikuláš Esterházi and known to the local population as the univerzitný kostol (university church) because of its proximity to and use by the University of Trnava. The main parish church is the Dome of St. Nicholas also designated by the locals as the hrubý kostol (big or main church) in the local dialect. From 1543 to 1820, it was the cathedral church for the archbishop of the diocese of Ostrihom, which had moved to Trnava after the occupation of Ostrihom by the Ottoman Turks. The church with regular concerts known for its excellent acoustics is the Franciscan Church of St. James; the Jesuits preach in the Church of the Holy Trinity originally built by the Trinitarian Order; the Paulinian Church of St. Joseph was originally built by the Calvinists in the early 17th century; the Ursulines worship in the Church of St. Anne; and the oldest church is that of St. Helen, the smallest of them all, first built in the 13th century and rebuilt in Baroque style in the 17th century. There is also a synagogue, built in the 19th century, which today is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Just outside the old town gates on the south side is a Lutheran church, built in 1924. Last but not least are the imposing church and convent of the Poor Clares near one of the old town gates, which today house the Museum of Western Slovakia. The town of Trnava appeared in written documents as early as the 13th century; by 1238, it was an important enough place to receive

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from King Béla IV a charter as a free royal city, the second city in Hungary, but the first on Slovak territory to be granted this privilege. A year later, the Poor Clares established the first urban monastery. At the end of the 13th century, it was in the hands of Matúš Čák; in 1360, negotiations between Hungarian king Louis I and Czech king Charles IV took place in Trnava; and in the 15th century, the city was invaded by the Hussites. In 1534, it became the seat of the archbishopric of Ostrihom and its chapter after the occupation of Ostrihom by the Ottoman Turks. In 1566, Archbishop Mikuláš Oláh invited the Jesuits and opened a seminary; in 1577, Mikuláš Telegdy launched a printing press. In 1574, a watchtower was built to warn the citizens of any Ottoman Turkish attacks or incursions in the vicinity of Trnava. With the nomination of Peter Pázmaň as archbishop of Ostrihom in 1616 and his elevation to the rank of cardinal in 1629, Trnava became a major intellectual center in Central Europe with the founding of the University of Trnava in 1635 by Cardinal Pázmaň and the erection of many imposing Baroque buildings that still stand today. Until its move to Hungary in the second half of the 18th century, the university was the center of the Counter-Reformation in Central Europe. In 1640, Palatine Esterházi completed the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a magnificent example of Baroque art, thereby launching the Baroque style throughout Central Europe. In 1695, a notable column of the Most Holy Trinity was erected on the main square near the watchtower. During the 17th century, Trnava was involved in the magnate rebellions of Gabriel Betlen and Imrich Tököli. Despite the move of the University of Trnava to Buda in 1777, Trnava remained a major intellectual and religious center in Slovakia with the founding of the Slovak Learned Society by Anton Bernolák in 1792. Less than a century later, in 1870, Andrej Radlinský founded the St. Adalbert Society there. In 1831, a theater was built and the first play was performed in 1831 in Hungarian and it was not until 1869 that the first play in Slovak was produced there. The theater has been modernized and today is one of Trnava’s main theaters. Trnava was also the birthplace and home of Slovak composer Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský. In 1944, the garrison of the Slovak Army in Trnava was one of the few town garrisons in Slovakia to join the uprising that erupted in central Slovakia.

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In the second half of the 20th century, Trnava resumed its place as a major center of Catholicism; in 1977, it became the seat of an archdiocese, as well as the seat of the Slovak ecclesiastical province and its archbishop, Ján Sokol, was named metropolitan. In March 1995, the Vatican decreed that the archdiocese would be renamed Bratislava-Trnava with two churches as diocesan cocathedrals, St. Martin’s Dome in Bratislava and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Trnava. Archbishop Sokol as a result ceased to be the metropolitan of Slovakia and became archbishop-metropolitan of the Bratislava-Trnava diocese. In 1992, the University of Trnava reopened its doors; in 1997, the University of Sts. Cyril and Methodius was founded. During the Communist period, much of old Trnava was neglected and its many historic buildings fell into a state of disrepair. The column of the Most Holy Trinity was removed in 1949 and reinstated only in 1993. Since the creation of the second Slovak Republic, there have been efforts to restore the historic parts. By 2005, Trnava has become a vibrant city of more than 127,000 inhabitants whose two universities make it an important center of intellectual activity in Slovakia and whose historic sights make it a major tourist attraction. TRNAVA, UNIVERSITY OF. Founded by Peter Cardinal Pázmaň in 1635, it was a center of the Counter-Reformation but also a center of cultural and scientific learning in royal Hungary. It contained a Faculty of Letters, a Faculty of Theology and, from 1665, a Faculty of Law. Students and professors came from all over Hungary and also from abroad. It was reorganized in 1753 on the model of the University of Vienna. A year later, the teaching of natural sciences began and an astronomical observatory was opened. In 1769, the university acquired a Faculty of Medicine. However, the university was transferred to Buda in 1777, and another university did not open in Trnava until 1992 and is now composed of the Faculties of Education, Health Care and Social Work, Law, Philosophy, and Theology. The first university also had a printing press, which, during its existence, published 5,000 titles in Latin, Greek, German, Slovak, Magyar, Romanian, Croatian, Ukrainian, and French. Its most famous Slovak publication is the Cantus Catholici by Benedikt Szőlősi, published in 1655.

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TRUE SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY/PRAVÁ SLOVENSKÁ NÁRODNÁ STRANA (PSNS). This party was created as a result of a split in the Slovak National Party (SNS) in October 2001, which saw its leader, Ján Slota, leave and create the PSNS. It only obtained 3.65 percent of the vote in the elections of September 2002 and no seats. In May 2003, it rejoined the SNS. TUKA, VOJTECH (1880–1946). Law professor and politician, he was one of the most controversial personalities of the Slovak People’s Party. He was the author of the first autonomy submission to the Czechoslovak National Assembly, appointed editor of the daily Slovák in 1922, a founder of the Rodobrana in January 1923, and a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1925 to 1929. On 1 January 1928, he published an article in Slovák on the existence of a “vacuum juris,” which concerned Slovakia’s position in Czechoslovakia resulting from an alleged secret clause in the Martin Declaration. In January 1929, he was arrested, divested of his mandate, accused of treason, tried on evidence that he was receiving secret funds from Hungary, and condemned to 15 years of imprisonment. Released from prison in 1937, Tuka was appointed professor of international law at Bratislava’s Slovak University in 1939 and was its rector from 1939 to 1942. Tuka was the leader of the radical wing of the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party, a Germanophile, and an ardent proponent of National Socialism in Slovakia. Appointed minister without portfolio on 15 March 1939, he became prime minister on 27 October. After President Jozef Tiso was summoned by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to Salzburg in July 1940, he also replaced Ferdinand Ďurčanský as minister of foreign affairs. During World War II, Tuka was responsible for the government decrees that ordered the deportation of Slovak Jews in 1942, and he declared on his own authority Slovakia’s adherence to the Anti-Comintern Pact on 25 November 1941. He resigned for health reasons on 5 September 1944. He was tried by a Slovak court in 1946 for crimes against humanity, condemned to death, and executed on 28 August. See also SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST. TURČÁNY, VILIAM (1928– ). Poet, translator, and literary historian, he is the author of collections of poems entitled Jarky v kraji (Ditches

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in the countryside) (1957), V toku (In the stream), and Aj most som ja (I, too, am a bridge) (1977). He has also published studies on the works of Hviezdoslav, Ján Hollý, and S. Hurban Vajanský, and has translated from Czech, French (Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Pierre de Ronsard), and Latin. Together with Jozef Felix, he translated Dante’s Divine Comedy. See also LITERATURE. TURKS. See OTTOMAN EMPIRE. TURZO, JÁN (1437–1508). Major landowner, entrepreneur, and župan of Zvolen County, he merged his mining enterprises with the German firm Fugger from Augsburg toward the end of the 15th century; thereafter the Fugger-Turzo concern controlled mining in central Slovakia and also around Cracow. It was headquartered in Banská Bystrica and proved to be a mining enterprise without equal in Europe, exporting minerals to Germany, Poland, the Low Countries, and Portugal.

-UUČENÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ BANSKÉHO OKOLIA. See LEARNED SOCIETY OF THE MINING REGION. UČENÁ SPOLOČNOSŤ MALOHONSTKÁ. See MALOHONT LEARNED SOCIETY. UNIFIED AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE/JEDNOTNÉ ROĽNÍCKE DRUŽSTVO (JRD). According to the law adopted by the Czechoslovak National Assembly on 23 February 1949 on the collectivization of agriculture, peasants were encouraged to join a Unified Agricultural Cooperative (JRD), of which there were in the end four types. Type I did not abolish ownership of the land but encouraged collective work and sharing in machinery and other such ancillary services as communal laundries, chicken hatcheries, and calf stations. New types of cooperatives were created when the regime proceeded to abolish private property. Absence of ownership signaled

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the difference between Type I and Type II and III cooperatives. In the JRD Type II, crops were cultivated collectively, boundary lines were eliminated, and border strips were plowed out. The fields were united and the only activity that remained in private ownership and care was animal husbandry. However, private ownership of the land by the members was legally recognized, and the absence of collective management gave the former owner a say in production. The individual farmer’s freedom, however, was circumscribed by a system of labor units that determined remuneration. JRDs of Type III were characterized by collective management and the collective organization of animal husbandry. A small family holding was allowed, and, at season’s end, members of these cooperatives received a percentage of profits as compensation for the contribution of their land. JRDs of Type IV were the same as Type III but with no percentage paid for use of land; remuneration was based entirely on labor units. See also COLLECTIVIZATION. UNIVERSITIES. There are public, state, and private institutions of higher education in Slovakia. Public institutions of higher education are legally established, according to the Act on Higher Education. State institutions of higher education are established through the ministries of the Slovak government. Private institutions of higher education are established by nongovernment institutions or founders that have received approval from the Ministry of Education that they can provide education and research. The public and state institutions of higher education are financed mainly from the state budget. Private institutions of higher education secure their own financial resources but they can also receive funds from the state budget. As indicated below, there are 19 public higher education institutions of which 10 are more or less traditional universities, three are universities of technology, three are higher-education institutions of art and music, one is a university of economics, one is a university of veterinary medicine, and one is an agricultural university. Two military academies, one police academy, an open university, and a health services university are state higher education institutions. In 1999, the first non-state higher-education institution specialized in management came into existence, followed by one specializing in international and European law in 2004.

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In the Hungarian kingdom, universities were institutions of higher learning with a royal charter (which distinguishes them from other institutions, such as academies or colleges) that welcomed students and professors from all over Europe; the first university on Slovak soil was Academia Istropolitana in the 15th century, followed by the University of Trnava and the University of Košice, both founded in the 17th century. All three were moved to Hungary. The last university was established 1914 and it was the Hungarian Elizabeth University of Bratislava. The University of Trnava was the only one that was recreated, and then only in 1992. Since the creation of Czecho–Slovakia, the following universities were founded in Slovakia: Comenius University/Univerzita Komenského in 1919 in Bratislava; Slovak Technical University/ Slovenská technická univerzita in 1937 in Košice, transferred to Bratislava in 1939; Economic University/Ekonomická univerzita in 1940 in Bratislava; the University of Agriculture/Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita in 1946 in Košice, transferred to Nitra in 1952; the Academy of Fine Arts and Design/Vysoká škola výtvarných umení and the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts/Vysoká škola múzických umení in 1949 in Bratislava; Technical University/Technická univerzita in Zvolen, Technical University/Technická univerzita in Košice, and the University of Veterinary Medicine/ Univerzita veterinárneho lekárstva in Košice in 1952; Pavol Jozef Šafárik University/Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika in 1959 in Košice; University of Transportation and Communications in 1960 in Žilina, renamed the University of Žilina/Žilinkská univerzita in 1996; City University Bratislava in 1990, which linked up with the Open University in the United Kingdom and together with six other similar regional universities formed the Danube University; Matej Bel University/Univerzita Mateja Bela in Banská Bystrica in 1991; and the University of Trnava/Trnavská univerzita, the Police Academy in Bratislava/Akadémia Policajného zboru, and the Pedagogical Academy in Nitra in 1992 (the latter was renamed Constantine the Philosopher University/Univerzita Konštantína Filosofa in 1996). In the second Slovak Republic, the Liptovský Mikuláš Military Academy/Vojenská akadémia v Liptovskom Mikuláši in Liptovský Mikuláš and the General M. R. Štefánik Air Force Academy/Vojenská letecká académia gen. M.R. Štefánika in Košice were created in

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1993 from military schools of the Czechoslovak Army founded in 1973, the University of Prešov/Prešovská univerzita, Sts. Cyril and Methodius University/Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda in Trnava, the Academy of Arts/Akadémia umení in Banská Bystrica, and the Alexander Dubček University/Trenčianská univerzita Alexandra Dubčeka in Trenčín in 1997. In 1999, a Catholic University/Katolícka univerzita, recognized by the Vatican, opened in Ružomberok and a University of Management/Vysoká škola manažmentu, sponsored by City University in Bellevue, Washington, was also founded in Trenčín. In 2002, the government passed a law approving the creation of private universities and the Catholic University in Ružomberok became a public confessional university; a Slovak Health Services University/Slovenská zdravotnícka univerzita was also founded in Bratislava in the same year. In 2003, the János Selye University/ Univerzita J. Selyeho was established in Komárno as Slovakia’s Hungarian university. In 2004, the Slovak military academies were reorganized in the General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy/Akadémia ozbrojených síl generála Milana Rastislava Štefánika and the Marshal Andrej Hadík National Defense Academy/ Národná akadémia obrany maršala Andreja Hadika in Liptovský Mikuláš. The General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Air Force Academy was dissolved and incorporated in the Technical University in Košice as the Faculty of Aviation in 2005. The Bratislava Law University/ Bratislavská vysoká škola práva, a private institution focusing on international and European law, was also founded in 2004 and added a Faculty of Economics and Enterprise in 2005. UNIVERSITY OF KOŠICE. See KOŚICE, UNIVERSITY OF. UNIVERSITY OF TRNAVA. See TRNAVA, UNIVERSITY OF. UNIVERZITA KOMENSKÉHO. See COMENIUS UNIVERSITY. UPPER HUNGARIAN EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION/ FELSŐMAGYARORSZÁGI MAGYAR KÖZMŰVELŐDÉSI EGYESÜLET (FEMKE). Founded in Nitra in 1883 by Béla Grünwald, it was a Magyar association active throughout Slovakia,

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except for Bratislava. Its main purpose was the assimilation of the Slovaks, particularly the young people. It was supported by state authorities, the churches, and economic and cultural institutions. Its activities had declined by the end of the 19th century as a result of resistance and opposition from the Slovak population. UPRISING. Although many miner and peasant uprisings for better economic conditions occurred on Slovak territory throughout the centuries, the term “uprising” is used specifically to denote two events that marked the political history of the Slovaks: the uprising of 1848–1849 and the uprising of 1944. The uprising of 1848–1849, which was part of the revolution of 1848–1849, was led by Ľudovít Štúr, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, and Michal Miloslav Hodža. In May 1848, they adopted in Liptovský Sväty Mikuláš the Demands of the Slovak Nation, created in September 1848 the Slovak National Council (SNR), declared the political independence of Slovakia from Hungary, and launched an armed rebellion. The latter was put down and, as a result, the uprising did not achieve its objectives, but it did serve notice as to the determination of the Slovaks to take their destiny into their own hands. It laid the basis for Slovak political activity in Hungary for the rest of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th. Uprising is the name that is also given to the political, military, and partisan activities that took place in Slovakia during World War II for the better part of two months, beginning on 29 August 1944. It was the growth of a resistance movement against the first Slovak Republic that paved the way for the outbreak of an uprising when military conditions in central Europe were propitious for such an action. As outlined in the Christmas Agreement, preparations for military activity were coordinated by a newly created SNR. Lieutenant Colonel Ján Golian, an officer of the Slovak Army and chief of staff of the Slovak land forces in Banská Bystrica, commanded the operational headquarters that prepared the military aspects of the uprising. The overall planning of the uprising was given to a military council formed on 29 June 1944. Two plans were prepared: the first assumed that the uprising would start at a time agreed upon with the commanders of the Red Army as they approached Slovakia; two Slovak divisions in eastern Slovakia would be used to clear the passage

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for Soviet troops through the Carpathians. A delegation led by Karol Šmidke left for Moscow on 4 August to secure Soviet coordination. The second plan proposed the start of the uprising the moment that German troops began to occupy Slovak territory, regardless of the degree of preparedness. Partisan activity against the government in Slovakia became more frequent in the spring and summer of 1944, and the murder of a German military mission in Turčiansky Sväty Martin on the night of 28–29 August forced the Slovak government to ask for German assistance. German troops entered Slovak territory on 29 August, and on 30 August Jozef Styk broadcast an appeal to the Slovak population to rise against the Slovak Republic. On 1 September, the SNR published the Declaration of the Slovak National Council, which renewed the Czechoslovak Republic and indicated that it was the only organ entitled to speak on behalf of the Slovak nation and to exercise political power in Slovakia. The hoped-for participation of the two Slovak divisions did not take place, although some units, such as the entire garrison from Trnava, joined the uprising to help form the First Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia. Nor was there a popular rising against the government. However, there was bitter fighting, with many towns and villages changing sides many times and massacres committed by both sides. The insurgents, military and guerrilla, were not as well equipped as the German forces, and on 27 October after a major German offensive, Banská Bystrica, headquarters of the uprising, fell, thereby marking the uprising’s end. The uprising was a Slovak contribution to the Allied war effort and the fight against Germany and fascism in Europe. However, in the postwar era, when the Communists came to power, it became the object of ideological deformations and historical distortions in Czechoslovakia. Officially, it became known as the Slovak National Uprising, and this name was given by the Communist regime to many streets and squares in towns and cities to commemorate the event. URBAN, MILO (1904–1982). Journalist and novelist, his best work is the novel Živý bič (The living whip) (1927), which depicts the reality of the Slovak village in the greater context of dynamic social change. Later novels, Hmly na úsviste (Mists at daybreak) (1930), V osídlach

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(In the trap) (1940), Kto seje vietor (Who sows the wind) (1964) and Zelená krv: Spomienky hájnikovho syna (Green blood: The reminiscences of a gamekeeper’s son) (1970) do not show the same literary quality. See also LITERATURE. URBÁNEK, FERKO (1859–1934). Theater director and dramatist, he is one of the most prolific playwrights in Slovak theater and contributed in a major way to reviving national and cultural life in the Slovak countryside in the latter half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. In his first play, Snehulienka (Snow White) (1875), he drew on folk tales, while later plays, such as Pokuta za hriech (A payment for sin) (1890), Diabol v raji manželskom (The devil and marital bliss) (1899), Bludár (The wayward) (1900), and Pytliakova žena (The poacher’s wife) (1934) are skillful social comedies. He authored 51 plays, of which 35 were published and many were performed on the stage of the Slovak National Theater. URBARIAL LAW. Enacted by Empress Maria Theresa in 1767, it defined the normative size of a peasant holding, forbade further conversion from peasant to demesne land, and codified the exact sum and nature of peasant obligations. Although given free use of forests, the peasants paid their landlords rent for their lands in cash, one ninth of their products, and 52 days of compulsory labor service (what became known as the robot) if animals were to be used otherwise, they owed 104 days per year. Children of peasants were free to choose their education and profession without obtaining the lord’s permission. URSÍNY, JÁN (1896–1972). An agricultural official and politician, as an Agrarian he was a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly in 1929 and 1935–1939, and as a member of the Democratic Party (DS), a deputy from 1945 to 1947 and also deputy prime minister of Czechoslovakia. In 1945–1946, he was also a deputy to the Slovak National Council (SNR). He was arrested in 1947 and sentenced to seven years in prison. In 1938, Ursíny signed on behalf of the Agrarians the union with the Party of Slovak National Unity but joined the resistance after the proclamation of the first Slovak Republic. He helped form the SNR and was one of the leading members of the DS.

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URSULINE SISTERS. Female Roman Catholic religious order that concentrated on the education of young girls. They established themselves in Bratislava in 1676, in Košice in 1698, and in Trnava in 1724. See also CATHOLIC CHURCH; WOMEN. ÚSTAVNÝ SÚD SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY. See CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC.

-VVÁCLAV III (1289–1306). Son of the Czech Přemyslide king Václav II, he became king of Hungary (1301–1306) with the support of Matúš Čák, when the death of Andrew III, last of the Árpáds, triggered a succession struggle that was eventually settled in favor of Charles Robert of Anjou. VAJANSKÝ, SVETOZÁR HURBAN-. See HURBAN-VAJANSKÝ, SVETOZÁR. VAJK. See STEPHEN (KING). VÁMOŠ, GEJZA (1901–1956). Writer, publicist, and physician, he belonged to the interwar generation of writers. He wrote novellas in which he had a naturalist and pessimistic conception of humanity. Among his writings are Atomy boha (The atoms of God) (1928) and Odlomená haluz (The broken branch) (1934). He immigrated in 1939 under the threat of racial persecution and lived in China and Brazil, where he died. See also LITERATURE. VANSOVÁ, TERÉZIA (1857–1942). Eminent representative of the women’s movement, she was a member of Živena, editor of the first Slovak journal for women, Dennica (Morning Star) from 1898 to 1914 and from 1921 to 1924 of Slovenská žena (Slovak Woman). A representative of the school of realism, her writings reflect women’s needs; among her best-known writings are the stories “Rozsobášení” (Divorced) (1884), “Obete márnomyseľnosti” (Victims of vanity) (1890), “Pani Georgiadesová na cestách” (The travels of Mrs. Geor-

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giades) (1897); the novels Sirota Podhardských (The Podhradský orphan) (1889), the first Slovak novel written by a woman, and Kliatba (The curse) (1926); and the dramatic play Svedomie (Conscience) (1897). See also LITERATURE. VANNIUS (?–50?). Quadi king who established the “Regnum Vannium” with the support of Roman legions from A.D. 21 until 50. VASVÁR, PEACE OF (1664). Treaty signed by Ottoman Grand Vizier Mohammed Köprülü and Emperor Leopold I after the emperor received military aid from Spain, Italy, Germany, and France to defeat the Turks near St. Gotthard, on the Austrian frontier, on 1 August 1664. VELVET REVOLUTION. See GENTLE REVOLUTION. VEREJNOSŤ PROTI NÁSILIU. See PUBLIC AGAINST VIOLENCE. VESELÝ, FRANTIŠEK KRIŠTOF-. See KRIŠTOF-VESELÝ, FRANTIŠEK. VIENNA AWARD. Name given to the decision handed down by the Foreign ministers of Germany and Italy on 2 November 1938 to redraw the frontiers of southern Slovakia, giving Hungary 10,390 square kilometers; 854,217 inhabitants, among them 250,000 Slovaks; and the cities of Nové Zámky, Surany, Levice, Lučenec, Rimavská Sobota, Rožňava, and, last but not least, Košice. Prior to the award, Poland had acquired territory in Kysuce and Orava counties. In the award, Poland was granted Tĕšín from the Czech Lands. The award was annulled after World War II, when Czechoslovakia was restored. See also SMALL WAR. VIENNA, PEACE OF (1606). Name given to the peace signed in Vienna on 23 June 1606 between Hungarian magnate Štefan Bočkai, leader of the first magnate rebellion, and Rudolf II, whereby the magnates retained all their hitherto acquired privileges, elected their palatine, and ensured that major Hungarian offices would be oc-

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cupied only by Hungarians in the future, irrespective of religion. Religious freedom was granted to the population and an amnesty was given to those who had participated in the rebellion. VIEST, RUDOLF (1890–1945). Military officer who became the first Slovak general in the Czechoslovak Army, the only one in the interwar years. He served as an officer in the Czecho–Slovak Legion during World War I; during World War II, he first commanded the First Czechoslovak division in France and, after the fall of France, joined the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London. After the outbreak of the 1944 uprising, he was named, on 7 October, commander of the First Czechoslovak Army in Slovakia. He was captured by the Germans and died in a German concentration camp. See also ARMY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. VITEZ, JÁN (VITÉZ, JÁNOS) (1408?–1472). Roman Catholic priest, scholar, educator, and diplomat, as primate-archbishop of Ostrihom, he was instrumental in the founding of the Academia Istropolitana in Bratislava. VNUK, FRANTIŠEK (1926– ). Engineer and historian, he taught metallurgical engineering at the South Australian Institute of Technology in Adelaide, Australia, and church history at the theological faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava. He has written extensively on modern Slovak history. Among his publications are Neuveriteľné sprisahanie: Vojenské a politické akcie proti Slovenskej republike v r. 1944 (An unbelievable conspiracy: Military and political activities against the Slovak Republic in 1944) (1964), Sedemnásť neúrodných rokov: Náčrt dejin slovenskej literatúry v r. 1945–1962 (Seventeen barren years: An outline of the history of Slovak literature in the years 1945–1962) (1965), Kapitoly z dejín Komunistickej strany Slovenska (Chapters from the history of the Communist Party of Slovakia) (1968), Mať svoj štát znamená život . . . Politická biografia Alexandra Macha (To have one’s own state means life . . . The political biography of Alexander Mach) (1987), Dedičstvo otcov: Eseje na historické témy (The legacy of our fathers: Essays on historical themes) (1990), and Sto päťdesiat rokov v živote národa (One hundred fifty years in the life of the nation) (2004).

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VOJTAŠŠÁK, JÁN (1877–1965). Roman Catholic priest and bishop whose trial from 10 to 15 January 1951, along with that of bishops Michal Buzalka and Pavol Gojdič, marked the culmination of the campaign against the Catholic Church under communism. The Communist regime granted him amnesty in 1963 but did not allow him to return to his duties in Slovakia. VOLF, JAROSLAV (1952– ). A graduate of the Slovak Technical University, he was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia in 1989, and chosen its leader in 1992, after the death of Alexander Dubček. He was first elected to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1994 as a candidate for Common Choice; in 1998, he was elected as a candidate for the Slovak Democratic Coalition. He was not reelected in 2002. VRANČIČ, ANTON (1504–1573). Roman Catholic priest, bishop, and historian, he was archbishop of Ostrihom from 1569 to 1572; he was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1573 but died before he could be confirmed. He was a patron of the arts in Slovakia during the Counter-Reformation.

-WWALLACHS. Name given to nomadic Romanian shepherds who migrated to Slovakia from the 14th to the 17th centuries and who obtained special privileges in matters of taxation, self-administration, military duties, and even judicial processes. These privileges were at times of short duration, but where they persisted—in the Orava region of central Slovakia, for example—they became elements of “Wallachian law.” Wallachian vocabulary and terminology of pastoral life influenced Slovak popular poetry from the 16th century onward. WARSAW PACT INVASION. Name given to the military invasion of Czechoslovakia during the night of 20–21 August 1968 by the armies of the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, and Bulgaria, all members of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, known

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as the Warsaw Pact. The invasion put an end to the political reforms introduced by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia under the leadership of Alexander Dubček and ensured the return to a more acceptable form of Communist party rule under the leadership of Gustáv Husák, who succeeded Dubček in April 1969. The Soviet Union maintained troops in Czechoslovakia until the fall of communism. See also LIBERALIZATION; NORMALIZATION; PRAGUE SPRING. WEISS, PETER (1952– ). Communist party functionary and politician, he became the leader of the Communist Party of Slovakia after the overthrow of communism; the party was renamed Party of the Democratic Left. He was elected to the Slovak National Council in the elections of 1990 and 1992 and to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in 1992, becoming its vice president. He was replaced as leader by Jozef Migaš in 1996. WICHING (830?–900?). A Swabian Benedictine missionary, he was opposed to the use of the Slavic vernacular in the liturgy in Great Moravia, which had been introduced by Cyril and Methodius. After he gained the confidence of Svätopluk, he was consecrated bishop of Nitra in A.D. 880 by Pope John VIII and, although he became a suffragant of Methodius, an archbishop, he conspired against him and was excommunicated by him in 884. Wiching left for Rome in 885 and on the basis of his testimony against Methodius, who —unbeknownst to the Holy See—had already passed away, Pope Stephen V prohibited the use of the vernacular in Great Moravia. Wiching was granted the position of administrator of the church in Great Moravia but was never elevated to the rank of archbishop. He stayed in Nitra until 893, when he was named chancellor in King Arnulf’s court. WILHELM (?–872). One of two Frankish lords appointed by Carloman to rule over Great Moravia in A.D. 871–872 after Svätopluk had overthrown Rastislav in order to become ruler of Great Moravia. He was slain in battle when Svätopluk bolted from the Frankish armies to join Slavomír of Morava, who led the revolt against the brutal rule of Engelschalk and Wilhelm.

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WLADISLAW JAGELLIO I (1424–1444). Successor to Albert I (1440–1444), whose claim to the throne was challenged by Ladislas V Posthumous and Elizabeth, his mother and widow of Albert, who had the support of Jan Jiskra z Brandýsa. Wladislaw was supported by the Hungarian magnates led by Ján Huňady. He reigned from 1440 to 1444 and died at the battle of Varna against the Turks. See also OTTOMAN EMPIRE. WOMEN. According to the census of May 2001, women make up 51.4 percent of the population of Slovakia, that is to say 2,766,940 out of a population of 5,379,455 persons. In addition, women represent 1,271,306 (47.7 percent of the 2,665,837) persons who are economically active. These statistics indicate that there are many women in the work force, but they do not tell the story of their status when compared to that of men, nor of their contribution to the life and development of the Slovak nation. The historical lot of women in Slovakia has not been different from that of all women in Central Europe. Their primary role was that of wife and mother. As for additional contributions, in the absence of an aristocratic class among the Slovaks, there is yet no woman who stands out in Slovakia either as a political figure or as a benefactress. During the Middle Ages, religious orders were the principal institution that offered women an opportunity for education, health services, and good works; the Poor Clares are on record as the first female order to establish an urban monastery in Trnava in 1239. Religious orders remained, right up to the middle of the 20th century, the one institution that gave women who were willing to forsake marriage and motherhood a chance to acquire an education and be active in the community. Throughout the centuries, education was also accessible to the daughters of wealthy families. When the Communist regime dissolved all female religious orders on 28–30 August 1950, these activities by dedicated women came to an abrupt end and were taken over by the state. However, with the fall of communism in 1989, some religious orders were able to renew their historic tasks. It is in literature that we see the first direct involvement of women outside of religious orders in the life of the Slovak nation. In the second half of the 19th century, a notable group of

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women became recognized authors writing about women or the life around them; among them are Ľudmila Riznerová-Podjavorinská, Božena Slančíková-Timrava, Elena Maróthy-Šoltéšová, and Terézia Vansová. In the 20th century, another generation of authors carried on this creative task, in particular, Jaroslava Blašková, Maria Ďuričková, Margita Figuli, Maša Haľamová, and Hana Zelinová; Charlotta Baraníková is one who stands out as a translator of major works from English literature. Other women gained a reputation in the theater, whether as actresses or as singers. Among the bestknown actresses are Oľga Borodáčová-Országhová, Naďa Hejna, Vilma Jamnická, Mária Kraľovičová, Hana Meličková, Alžbeta Poničanová, Viera Strnisková; among the singers are Gabriela Beňačková, Margita Česanyiová, Edita Gruberová, Magdaléna Hajóssyová, Mimi Kišňová-Hubová, Darina Lasčiaková, and Lucia Poppová. Only after the fall of communism did women make a significant appearance in politics. Although some women were elected to parliament in Czecho–Slovakia, both democratic and Communist, they first came into their own as political figures with ministerial portfolios in the government of Ján Čarnogurský in 1991–1992, with Jana Kotová as minister of commerce and Helena Woleková as minister of labor and social affairs. In the governments of Vladimír Mečiar (1992–1998), a number of women held important ministerial positions, among them Oľga Keltešová, Katarína Tóthová, and Zdenka Kramplová. In the Mikuláš Dzurinda government (1998– ), Brigita Schmögnerová stands out as minister of finance, as does Zuzana Martinaková, the latter as deputy speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) in 2002–2004. Schmögnerová has held a position since 2002 with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The representation of women in the NR SR is also an indication of their presence in politics: for the years 1992–1994, there were 23 women in the NR SR; for the period 1994–1998, 22 women; for the period 1998–2002, 17 women; and for the period 2002–2006, 25 women out of 150 deputies. Most recently, two women are also in high party positions, Anna Malíková in the Slovak National Party as first deputy chairwoman, and Zdenka Tóthová as leader of the Green Party of Slovakia.

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The presence of women in Slovak public life may be considered inadequate by many and may represent only one of a series of problems that challenge women. Violence against women is one of the more serious issues. Over the years, the NR SR has introduced legislation dealing with the issue of violence against women and violence in the home. In addition, in 1997, the Slovak government adopted the resolution “National Action Plan for Women”; in 2002, it adopted another one entitled “The Concept of the Equality of Opportunity for Women and Men”; and in 2004, it adopted the resolution “National Strategy for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and in the Family.” It must be noted, however, that similar resolutions dealing with children, elderly people, and the physically handicapped were also adopted by the government. In addition, there were changes to the criminal code dealing with violence against women and in the home. These are very serious issues that have resulted in policies as well as legislation and criminal procedures. These may be considered inadequate by some critics who point out the need for additional work. In 1993, an organization called Aspekt was founded as a feminist nongovernmental and nonprofit organization aimed at women’s education. It publishes books on fiction, nonfiction, and for children. Aspekt has a unique library in Slovakia with books on feminist and gender theory, and other fields. It organizes seminars, lectures, book presentations, and workshops. There are six other nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations for women in Slovakia that have worked together in recent years with Aspekt to launch a national campaign aimed at ending violence against women: Fenestra, Alliance of Women in Slovakia, Pro choice, Pro Familia, Esfem, and Altera. There also two important nonfeminist women’s organizations that provide women with assistance and speak on their behalf: Katolická jednota Slovenska—sekcia žien (Catholic Union of Slovakia—Women’s Section) and Únia žien Slovenska (Union of Slovak Women). In addition, there is the Slovenská spoločnosť pre rodinu a zodpovedné rodičovstvo (Slovak Society for Family and Responsible Parenthood) created in 1997, which addresses issues that deal with women and especially families. It also organizes conferences and publishes studies.

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WORLD WAR I (1914–1918). During the First World War, no Slovak units as such were constituted in the Austro–Hungarian armies in which individual Slovaks were called to serve. As the war progressed and the political process that would lead to the creation of Czecho– Slovakia gained momentum, desertions from the Austro–Hungarian armies became frequent. By 1917, they had reached such proportions among Slovak, and also Czech, soldiers on the Russian front that a Czecho–Slovak Legion was formed to fight on the Allied side. It fought in Russia, crossed the Pacific Ocean, traveled across Canada, and joined the Allied armies in France. Among Slovaks in the legion were Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who was one of its organizers, Rudolf Viest, and the writer Jozef Gregor Tajovský, who wrote about his experiences as a legionnaire. WORLD WAR II (1939–1945). Slovak territory was spared direct involvement in the war until September 1944. Officially, Slovakia participated in the Second World War on the side of the Axis powers. Units from two divisions of the Army of the Slovak Republic first saw action in Poland and later in the Ukraine, the Caucasus, Byelorussia, Romania, Italy, and Hungary. There is no evidence of a declaration of war against Great Britain or the United States, although Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka is alleged to have made one. In addition, Slovakia adhered to the Anti-Comintern Pact on 25 November 1941 and in 1942, deported thousands of Slovak Jews to concentration camps in Germany and Poland. After the battle of Stalingrad in February 1943, desertions on the Soviet front became common and enabled the formation of the First Czechoslovak Army in the Soviet Union. Its commanders in Slovakia were Ján Golian and Rudolf Viest. A resistance movement developed and when the uprising broke out in August 1944, this army fought the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS divisions in central and eastern Slovakia. Some units of the Slovak army also joined the insurgents, but not the two divisions under the command of General Augustín Malár that Defense Minister Ferdinand Čatloš had earmarked for military action in conjunction with Soviet forces. Slovakia’s participation in the war ended on 8 May 1945 when the Slovak government signed a surrender document and handed it to the commander of XXth Corps of the Third United States Army in Austria. See also SLOVAK REPUBLIC, FIRST.

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-ZZÁBORSKÝ, JONÁŠ (1812–1876). A writer and Lutheran pastor who converted to Catholicism, he opposed at first Ľudovít Štúr’s codification of the Slovak language and wrote in Czech and later in “Old Slovak.” When he finally began to write in Slovak, he produced a body of impressive satirical writings, among which are the story “Faustiáda” (The Faustiade) (1864), and his play Najdúch (The foundling) (1866), first performed only in 1935. See also LITERATURE; THEATER. ZACH, FRANTIŠEK (1807–1892). Czech soldier who was one of the military leaders, along with Bedřich Bloudek, of the Slovak uprising of 1848–1849. On 18 September 1848, he led a volunteer force into western Slovakia that saw engagements in Myjava, Brezová pod Bradlom, Senica, and Stará Turá. Ten days later, his forces drew back into Moravia. ZÁPOĽSKÝ, JÁN (SZAPOLYAI, JÁNOS) (1487–1540). Hungarian magnate, voivode of Transylvania, who made a claim to the Hungarian throne after the death of Louis Jagellio II at Mohács in 1526. The other contender was Ferdinand I, who, at the death of Zápoľský, became king of Hungary. ZAVIAČIČ MILAN (1940– ). Professor of pathology and forensic medicine at Comenius University in Bratislava. He is a leading medical scientist who proposed an updated concept of the nonvestigial prostate in the functioning female genitourinary organ. He is the author of The Human Female Prostate (1999). He was head of the pathology department in the Faculty of Medicine from 1988 to 2002. ZAY, KÁROLY (COUNT) (1797–1871). Hungarian politician who, as general inspector of the Lutheran Church in Hungary, imposed Magyarization in church schools and came into open conflict with Ľudovít Štúr, whom he eventually had dismissed from his lectureship at Juraj Palkovič’s chair at the Bratislava lyceum in 1843. By his policies, he indirectly contributed to Štúr’s codification of the Slovak language.

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ZBOR POVERENÍKOV. See BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS. ZDRUŽENIE ROBOTNÍKOV SLOVENSKA. See ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS OF SLOVAKIA. ZOCH, SAMUEL (1882–1928). Lutheran pastor and bishop, politician, and župan of Bratislava county in 1918–1919, he was a signatory of the Martin Declaration, a member of the Slovak National Council, and a member of the Slovak National Party; he later became an Agrarian. He was a deputy to the Czecho–Slovak Revolutionary Assembly in 1918–1920 and a deputy to the Czechoslovak National Assembly from 1925 to 1928. ZSITVATOROK, PEACE OF (1606). Treaty between Rudolf II and the Sublime Porte, title of the ruler of the Ottoman Turks, signed on 11 September 1606 that regulated the relations between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires for the next half century and brought some modicum of peace to the region. ZVONICKÝ, GORAZD (1913–1995). Born Andrej Šándor, he was a Roman Catholic priest, poet, and translator of Italian poetry and hymns from the Roman breviary. He immigrated to Argentina in 1950, and from 1963 until his death he lived in Rome, Italy. He published 12 collections of poetry, among which are Mýtnik pred Madonou (The tax collector in front of the Madonna) (1948), Len črepy (Just shards) (1968), and Obulus (1985). See also LITERATURE.

-ŽŽARNOV, ANDREJ (1903–1982). Born František Šubik, he was a physician, poet, translator, and member of the International Committee of the Red Cross who investigated the Katyn massacre during World War II. Arrested and sentenced after the war, he immigrated in 1952 to the United States. His poetry has not only a strong national consciousness, but is also intimate, reflective, and pastoral. Among his works are Hlas krvi (Voice of blood) (1932), Mŕtvy (The dead) (1941), and Presievač piesku (The sifter of sand) (1976). He also

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translated dramas from Polish, Italian, and English. His translations include works by Sophocles, Dante, Adam Mieckiewicz, and Oscar Wilde. See also LITERATURE. ŽILINA AGREEMENT. Document adopted on 6 October 1938 by the Hlinka Slovak People’s Party and representatives of Czechoslovak parties in Slovakia (with the exception of the Social Democrats and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia) that defined the modalities for the granting of autonomy to Slovakia. ŽILINA BOOK/ŽILINSKÁ KNIHA. A translation dated 1473 of the Code of Magdeburg from the German into a Slovakized form of Czech. ŽILINSKÁ KNIHA. See ŽILINA BOOK. ŽIVENA (GODESS OF HARVEST). Association of Slovak women founded in 1869 in Turčiansky Svätý Martin to help women learn to free themselves from the protectorship of men. It is considered the first feminist movement in Slovakia. From 1872 to 1885, it published the almanac Živena, and from 1910 to 1949 an illustrated monthly of the same name. In 1948, it was taken over by the Communist Union of Slovak Women; it was reestablished in 1990, after the fall of communism. ŽUPA. See COUNTY. ŽUPAN (ADMINISTRATOR). Title and rank given by King Stephen to the administrator of a county in the Hungarian kingdom (comes in Latin, ispán in Hungarian). The župan was initially named by the king, later by the Hungarian government. His deputy was called podžupan who, as a result of the reforms of Joseph II, became a government employee. The title disappeared when the county system was dissolved in 1928.

Bibliography

CONTENTS Introduction

318

General

321

Bibliographies

321

Encyclopedias

321

Internet Resources

322

History and Politics

323

Slovakia

323

Czechoslovakia

333

Central Europe

337

Language and Literature

342

General

342

Slovakia

343

317

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INTRODUCTION The Slovaks have had historians writing about their past and their national development since the late Middle Ages. But this historiography is not vast and, more importantly, it has not caught the attention of outside observers and scholars, at least not until recently. The main explanation for this state of affairs is found in the fact that from the beginning of the 10th century until 1 January 1993 (with the exception of the six years of the first Slovak Republic in 1939–1945), Slovaks lived in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, two states in which they were a minority nation and in which they exercised very little political power. As a result, they were minimally taken into account in the history of these states, especially by foreign scholars. As the Canadian historian Stanley Z. Pech writes: Although Western specialists in Eastern European history have usually regarded it as their task to make the West familiar with the entire ethnic panorama of the polyglot region, they have in practice often been selective in the favours they bestowed on each nation. They have incorporated in their work, in modified form, the outlook and the prejudices of the nations which they “adopted.” To give the most conspicuous examples, they viewed Slovak history through Czech eyes and Ukrainian history through Polish (or Russian) eyes. In so doing, they have in fact created a secondclass status for certain nations. The history of the Slovaks in the West has usually been presented from the point of view of “Czechoslovakism” and has appeared as hardly more than a postscript to Czech history. (Pech, Stanley Z. “New Avenues in East European History,” Canadian Slavonic Papers 10, no. 1 (1968): 14–15.)

Western lack of knowledge about the Slovaks was also compounded by the fact that the writing of their history was often a political act in response to the challenges to their national existence. This situation had consequences in quantitative as well as qualitative terms; for example, Július Botto’s Krátka história Slovákov (A short history of the Slovaks), written in 1914, was confiscated by the Hungarian government and Botto was prosecuted for it. The importance of political factors in creating impediments to the writing of Slovak history was particularly evident in the 20th century, and not just in Hungary: in the First Czechoslovak Republic, the emphasis was on “Czechoslovak” history, and under communism it was also on the application of Marxist criteria and interpretation.

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Slovak independence in 1993 did modify the situation but only partially. It is mostly the studies that examine Slovakia in the context of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union that have tended to treat the country on its own merits—especially when comparing it to other Central European states. On the other hand, Slovak history, in particular in the 20th century, is still subject to the above approaches, ones that do not necessarily treat the Slovaks as a nation deserving of its own identity and history. It is not necessary therefore to stress too strongly that in Western scholarship—unlike Slovak scholarship, which has undergone major quantitative and qualitative development since the 1970s—Slovakia and the Slovaks are still a relatively unknown field, a sort of academic terra incognita. Fortunately, this is changing. This bibliography is organized in a way that reflects the state of research on Slovakia. The first section is on Slovakia and it encompasses all themes and periods of Slovak history (generally modern or contemporary history), as well as those that link or associate Slovakia with European history and politics. The reader will see that a great deal of research still needs to be done; this is in contrast to the work that Slovak scholars and researchers are doing. Unfortunately, little of that work is translated into Western languages. The next section, on Czechoslovakia, presents works that treat Slovakia and the Slovaks within the context of that state. Histories of Hungary and Central Europe that contribute to the understanding of Slovak history are found in the Central Europe section. None of these sections includes works written in Slovak, with the exception of general histories that are either edited or written by individual authors. Those who read Slovak are directed to the bibliographic essays by Elena Mannová and David Paul Daniel and by Marian Mark Stolarik. They will find a great deal of useful information. There are some works whose scholarship is excellent and for this reason will help the student and the scholar to get a handle on some of the issues that have defined Slovak life. As far as Slovak history is concerned, the volume by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum is the only one at present that gives a cogent overview; worthy of examination for various periods and themes are the works by Peter Brock, Milan S. Ďurica, Ludwig von Gogolak, Jörg K. Hoensch, Yeshayahu A. Jelinek, Joseph A. Mikus, Karin Schmid, Tatjana Tönsmeyer, Wolfgang Venor, and František Vnuk. For the contemporary period (since 1993, when the second Slovak Republic was created), there are studies by Martin Butora, Carol Skalnik Leff, and

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Ivo Samson. In the section on Czechoslovakia worth looking at are the works by Karl Bosl, Robert W. Dean, Galian Golan, Abby Innes, Josef Kalvoda, R. W. Seton-Watson, Victor S. Mamatey, H. Gordon Skilling, Eric Stein, and Pavel Tigrid. In the section on Central Europe, particularly useful are the works by Ronald Asmus, J. F. Brown, Karen Henderson, André Liebich, C. A. Macartney, and David Turnock. As far as language and literature and concerned, the best overview is the one by Peter Petro. Very useful are the works by Andrew Cincura, Joseph M. Kirschbaum, Mark Richard Lauersdorf, Robert B. Pynsent, and Norma Rudinsky. Last but not least, the researcher wishing to work in Slovakia will find a wealth of material in the Slovak National Archives in Bratislava, the National Library in Martin, the Comenius University Library in Bratislava, and the Slovak Army Archives in Trnava, in addition to the websites indicated in this section. Most university libraries, apart from that of Comenius University in Bratislava, do not presently have libraries worthy of note. It is also important that for some topics dealing with Slovakia in Czechoslovakia, much material can be found in the various archives in Prague. The bibliography is divided into three parts: works of a general nature, primarily bibliographies, encyclopedias, and Internet resources; works on Slovak history and politics; and works on language and literature. The section on language and literature also includes Slovak prose and poetry that have been translated into Western languages.

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GENERAL Bibliographies “Bibliographica 1.” Slovak Studies 7, 1967. “Bibliographica 2.” Slovak Studies 17, 1977. Daniel, David P. The Historiography of the Reformation in Slovakia. Saint Louis, Mo.: Center for Reformation Research, 1977. Hrabovec, Emilia. “Zehn Jahre nach der Wende. Slowakische Historiographie: Ein schwieriger Weg zur Selbstverortung.” Österreichische Osthefte 44, nos. 1–2 (2002). Jelinek, Yeshayahu A. “The Slovak State in Post-War Historiography (An Annotated Bibliography).” Slovakia 28, no. 51–52 (1978–1979): 17–24. Kollárová, Zuzana and Jozef Hanus. A Guide to the Slovak Archives. Prešov: Universum 1999. Kona, Martha Mistina. Ph.D. Dissertations in Slovakiana in the Western World: Bibliography, Including Master’s Theses. Martin: Matica slovenská, 1996. Kotvun, George J. Czech and Slovak History: An American Bibliography. Washington: Library of Congress, 1996. ———. Czech and Slovak Literature in English: A Bibliography. Washington: Library of Congress, 1988. Lacko, Michael. “Great-Moravian and Cyrillo-Methodian Era Researched: Synthesis of Studies 1959–1970.” Slovak Studies 10 (1970): 193–217. Lunt, Susie and Zora Milenkovic. Slovakia. Oxford: Clio, 2000. Mannová, Elena and David Paul Daniel, eds. “A Guide to Historiography in Slovakia.” Studia Historica Slovaca XX (1995). Potemra, Michal. “Slovak Historiography at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries.” Studia Historica Slovaca XIII (1984): 217–71. Šeflová, Ludmila. Books by Czech and Slovak Authors Published out of Czechoslovakia, in Exile, 1948–1978. Brno: Ústav pro soudobé dĕjiny AV ČR, 1993. Stolarik, Marian Mark. “The Painful Birth of Slovak Historiography in the 20th Century.” Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung 50, no. 2 (2001): 161–187. Stolarik, Marian Mark. “Slovak Historiography Since the Downfall of Communism (1989).” Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism XXIX, no. 1–2 (2002): 67–82. Short, David. Czechoslovakia. Oxford: Clio, 1986. Stankiewicz, Edward. Grammars and Dictionaries of the Slavic Languages from the Middle Ages up to 1850: An Annotated Bibliography. Berlin: Mouton, 1984.

Encyclopedias Bartl, Július et al. Slovak History. Chronology & Lexikon. Wauconda, Ill.: BolchazyCarducci Publishers and Bratislava: Slovenské pedagogické nakladateľstvo, 2002.

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Maťovčík, Augustín et al. Slovak Biographical Dictionary. Wauconda, Ill.: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers and Martin: Matica slovenská, 2002. Strhan, Milan and David P. Daniel. Slovakia and the Slovaks: A Concise Encyclopedia. Bratislava: Encyclopedical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Goldpress, 1994.

Internet resources Archives Mining Archives in Banská Štiavnica: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/suba.htm Slovak National Archives: www.civil.gov.sk/SNARCHIV/index.htm State Archives in Bratislava: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/ba.htm State Archives in Nitra: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/nr.htm State Archives in Bytča: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/by.htm State Archives in Banská Bystrica: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/bb.htm State Archives in Levoča: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/le.htm State Archives in Prešov: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/po.htm State Archives in Košice: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/ke.htm City Archives of Bratislava: www.civil.gov.sk/ARCH/st_arch/hl_m.sr.htm

Libraries Matica slovenská: www.matica.sk Slovak university libraries: www.infolib.sk Slovak Academy of Sciences: www.uk.sav.sk Slovak National Library: www.snk.sk and www.snk.sk/katalogy/katalogy.html

Ministries and Offices Defense: www.mod.gov.sk Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.sk Government: www.vlada.gov.sk Interior: www.civil.gov.sk National Council of the Slovak Republic: www.nrsr.sk President: www.prezident.sk Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic: www.statistics.sk

General Information Heritage: http://www.slovakheritage.org Holidays: http://www.holidayinfo.sk

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Museums: http://www.muzeum.sk/default.php Ski holidays: http://www.ski.sk Slovakia: www.slovensko.com and http://www.slovensko.com/slovakia Tatra Mountains: http://www.tatry.sk and http://www.vtatry.sk Tourism: http://www.slovakia.org/tourism/bratislava.htm

Slovaks Abroad Austria: http://www.slovaci.at United States of America: www.fcsu.com Switzerland: http://www.slovaci.ch

HISTORY AND POLITICS Slovakia Bielek, Anton. Dejepis Slovákov od najstaršej doby do dnešných čias (History of the Slovaks from the oldest times to the present). Pittsburgh: Jednota, 1897. Böhm, Emanuel T. “The Slovak Minority in Hungary: A Memorandum of 1942.” Slovak Studies 16 (1976): 55–118. Bokes, František. Dejiny Slovenska a Slovákov od najstarších čias po oslobodenie (The History of Slovakia and the Slovaks from the earliest times to liberation). Bratislava: Slovenská Akadémia vied a umení, 1946. Bosak, Edita. “Czech–Slovak Relations from the 1840s to 1914.” Slovakia 35, nos. 64–65 (1991–92): 63–77. Botto, Július. Slováci: Vývin ich národného povedomia—Dejepisný nákres (The Slovaks: The development of their national consciousness—A historical outline), 2 vols. Turčiansky Svätý Martin: KUS, 1923. Bosl, Karl, ed. Die Slowakei als mitteleuropäische Problem in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Munich: Verlag Robert Lerche, 1965. Brock, Peter. The Slovak National Awakening. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976. Brocková, Ingrid. Transatlantic Economic Relations. Position and Prospects of the Slovak Republic. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2002. Buchler, Yehoshua R. “The Jews of Slovakia: Some Historical and Social Aspects.” Review of the Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews 1 (1987): 167–76. Burgess, Adam. “Writing Off Slovakia to ‘the East’? Examining Charges of Bias in British Press Reporting of Slovakia, 1993–1994,” Nationalities Papers 25, no. 4 (1997): 671–690. Busik, Jozef, et al. The Slovak Republic. Country Report. Vienna: Bank Austria, May 1993.

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Bútora, Martin and Péter Hunčík, eds. Global Report on Slovakia. Comprehensive Analyses from 1995 and Trends from 1996. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 1997. Bútora, Martin, Grigorij Mesežnikov, Zora Bútorová, and Sharon Fisher, eds.

The 1998 Parliamentary Elections and Democratic Rebirth in Slovakia. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 1998. Bútora, Martin and Thomas W. Skladony, eds. Slovakia 1996–1997. A Global Report on the State of Society. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 1998. Bútorová, Zora, ed., Democracy and Discontent in Slovakia. A Public Opinion Profile of a Country in Transition. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 1998. Cambel, Samuel. “Socio-Political and Economic Aspects of Development in the Slovak National Uprising.” Studia Historica Slovaca 14 (1985): 106–48. Cambel, Samuel, ed. “Great Moravia and the Beginnings of the Slovak History.” Studia Historica slovaca, XVI (1988). Capek, Thomas. The Slovaks of Hungary. New York: Knickerbocker, 1906. Cohen, Shari J. Politics Without a Past. The Absence of History in Postcommunist Nationalism. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1999. Conway, John S. “The Churches, the Slovak State and the Jews 1939–1945.” Slavic and Central European Review 52, no. 126 (January 1974): 85–112. Daniel, David P. “The Impact of the Protestant Reformation on Education in Slovakia.” Slovakia 34, nos. 62–63 (1989–90): 9–27. ———. “The Protestation Reformation and Slovak Ethnic Consciousness.” Slovakia 28, nos. 51–52 (1978–1979): 49–65. ———. “The Reformation and Eastern Slovakia.” Human Affairs 1, no. 2 (1991): 172–86. Dejiny Slovenska I–VI (History of Slovakia). Bratislava: Veda Vydavateľstvo SAV, 1986–1992. Delfiner, Henry. Vienna Broadcasts to Slovakia, 1938–1939: A Case Study in Subversion. Boulder, Colo.: East European Quarterly; Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1974. Denis, Ernest. La question d’Autriche—Les Slovaques. Paris: Delagrave, 1917. Downs, Jim. WWII: OSS Tragedy in Slovakia. Oceanside, Calif.: Liefrinck Publishers, 2002. Dubcek, Alexander. Hope Dies Last: The Autobiography of Alexander Dubcek. New York: Kodansha International, 1993. Durica, Milan S. “The Political Activities of Dr. Jozef Kirschbaum in 1939–1945 (As Described in Secret German Documents).” Slovak Studies 25 (1985): 147–73. ———. Dejiny Slovenska a Slovákov v časovej naslednosti faktov dvoch tisícroči (History of Slovakia and the Slovaks in a chronological order of facts over two centuries). Bratislava: Lúč, 2003. ———. “Dr. Joseph Tiso and the Jewish Problem in Slovakia.” Slovakia 7, no. 3–4 (September–December 1957): 1–22.

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———. “The Historical Origins and Nature of Slovak Nationalism.” Slovak Studies 24 (1984): 177–191. ———. La Slovacchia e le sue relazioni politiche con la Germania 1938–1945. Padua: Marsilio Editori, 1964. ———. The Slovak Involvement in the Tragedy of the European Jews. Abano Terme: Piovan Editore, 1989. Dvornik, Francis. Les légendes de Constantin et Méthode vues de Byzance. Prague: Orbis, 1933. El Mallakh, Dorothea H. The Slovak Autonomy Movement 1935–1939. Boulder, Colo.: East European Monographs, 1979. Fabricius, Miroslav, Roman Holec, Jan Pešek, and Oto Virsik,. 150 Years of the Slovak Cooperative Movement. Victories and Defeats. Bratislava: Cooperative Union of the Slovak Republic 1997. Falťan, Samo. “Partizan War in Slovakia in the Period 1944–1945.” Studia Historica Slovaca 5 (1967): 57–91. Fano, Štefan, ed., Slovenské dejiny v dejinách Európy. Vedecké kolokvium, Bratislava, 26–27. Novembra 1996 (Slovak history in European history. Scientific conference, Bratislava, 26–27 November 1996). Bratislava: Academic Electronic Press, 1997, Felak, James Ramon. “At the Price of the Republic”: Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party, 1929–1938. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994. Ferenčuhová, Bohumila, ed. Milan Rastislav Štefánik astronome, soldat, grande figure franco-slovaque et européenne. Paris: Collège interarmées de défense 1999. Fürst, Heiko. “The Hungarian–Slovakian Conflict over the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dams: An Analysis.” www.columbia.edu/cu/sipa/REGIONAL/ECE/vol6no2/ furst3.pdf [accessed 18 June 2005]. Gyárfášová, Oľga and Grigorij Mesežnikov, eds. Party Government in Slovakia: Experience and Prospects. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2004. ———. Reforms and Responsibility: Players, Impact, Communication. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2004. ———. Slovakia “in the Draft.” Cultural and Ethical Challenges and the New Nature of Disputes after Accession to the European Union. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2005. ———. Slovakia: Ten Years of Independence and a Year of Reforms. Bratislava: Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2004. Gogolak, Ludwig von. Beiträge zur Geschichte des slowakischen Volkes, 3 vols. Munich: Verlag R. Oldenbourg, 1963–67. Goldman, Minton F. Slovakia since Independence: A Struggle for Democracy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999. Gyurcsik, Ivan and James Satterwhite. “The Hungarians in Slovakia.” Nationalities Papers 24, no. 3 (1996): 509–24. Harlig, Jeffrey. “National Consolidation vs. European Integration: The Language Issue in Slovakia.” Security Dialogue 28, no. 4 (1997): 479–91.

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Haughton, Tim. “HZDS: the Ideology, Organisation and Support Base of Slovakia’s Most Successful Party,” Europe–Asia Studies 53, no. 5 (2001): 745–769. Haughton, Tim and Marek Rybář. “All Right Now? Explaining the Successes and Failures of the Slovak Centre-Right,” Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 20, no. 3 (2004): 115–132. Henderson, Karen. “Slovakia and the Democratic Criteria for EU Accession.” In Henderson, Karen, ed. Back to Europe: Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union. London: UCL Press Limited, 1999. Hoensch, Jörg K. Die Slowakei und Hitlers Ostpolitik. Cologne: Böhlau, 1965. ———. ed. Dokumente zur Autonomiepolitik des Slowakischen Volkspartei Hlinkas. Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1984. Holotík, Ľudovít. “The ‘Jewish Problem’ in Slovakia.” East European Quarterly 1, no. 1 (March 1967): 31–37. Hrabovec, Emilia. “Die staatliche Zugehörigkkeit der Slowakei 1918–1920. Kirchenpolitische Aspekte der Auseinandersetzungen.” Begegnungen Crossroads 12 (2002): 319–334. Hrusovsky, Francis. “The Relations of the Rulers of Great Moravia with Rome.” Slovak Studies 3 (1963): 21–77. Hrušovský, František. Slovenské dejiny (Slovak history). Turčianský Svätý Martin: Matica slovenská, 1939. Jelinek, Yeshayahu A. “Bohemia–Moravia, Slovakia, and the Third Reich during the Second World War.” East European Quarterly 3, no. 2 (June 1969): 229–39. ———. “The Communist Party of Slovakia and the Jews: Ten Years (1938–948).” East Central Europe 5, no. 2 (1978): 186–202. ———. “On the Condition of Women in Wartime Slovakia and Croatia.” In Frucht, Richard, ed. Labyrinth of Nationalism, Complexities of Diplomacy. Columbus, Ohio: Slavica Publishers, 1992. ———. “The ‘Final Solution’ - the Slovak Version.” East European Quarterly 4, no. 4 (January 1971): 431–41. ———. “The Holocaust of the Slovak Jewry.” East Central Europe 10, no. 1–2 (1983): 14–23. ———. “In Search of Identity: Slovakian Jewry and Nationalism (1918–1938).” In Yehuda, Don and Victor Karady, eds. A Social and Economic History of Central European Jewry. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers, 1990. ———. “The Jews in Slovakia, 1945–1949.” Soviet Jewish Affairs 8, no. 2 (1978): 45–56. ———. The Lust for Power; Nationalism, Slovakia and the Communists 1918– 1948. Boulder, Colo.: East European Monographs, 1983. ———. The Parish Republic: Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party 1939–1945. Boulder, Colo.: East European Monographs, 1976. ———. “The Role of the Jews in Slovakian Resistance.” Jahrbucher fur Geschichte Osteuropas 15, no. 3 (September 1967): 415–22.

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LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

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Appendix

List of Rulers, Kings, or Heads of State for Slovak Territory Rulers of the Great Moravian Empire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Samo Pribina (Nitra) Mojmír I Rastislav Koceľ (Pannonia) Slavomír Svätopluk Mojmír II

623–658 ca. 820–830 830–846 846–870 861–881 870–871 871–894 894–907

Apanage Dukes in Nitra (From the 10th to the 12th centuries; precise dates unknown) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Üllö Tevel Taksony Géza Michal Adelaide Ladislav Vajk Ladislav

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Emmerich Vazul Sebes Sámuel Aba Zubor Bela Géza Ladislav Almus

Kings of Hungary House of Árpád

9. 10.

Árpád’s five sons Fajsz

907–945 945–955

347

348 •

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36.

APPENDIX

Taksony Géza (Vajk) Stephen I Peter Sámuel Aba Peter Andrew I Béla I Sálomon Géza I Ladislas I Koloman Stephen II Béla II Géza II Stephen III Ladislas II Stephen IV Béla III Emmerich Ladislas III Andrew II Béla IV Stephen V Ladislas IV Andrew III

955–970 970–997 997–l038 1038–1041 1041–1044 1044–1046 1046–1060 1060–1063 1063–1074 1074–1077 1077–1095 1095–1116 1116–1131 1131–1141 1141–1162 1162–1172 1162–1163 1163–1165 1172–1196 1196–1204 1204–1205 1205–1235 1235–1270 1270–1272 1272–1290 1290–1301

Period of the Přemyslide, Wittelsbach, Anjou, Luxemburg, Habsburg, Hunyadi, Jagelllio, and Zapolya kings Přemyslide Dynasty

37.

Václav III

1301–1305

Wittelsbach Dynasty

38.

Otto

1305–1307

House of Anjou

39.

Charles Robert

1307–1342

APPENDIX

40. 41. 42.

Louis Mary Charles

1342–1382 1382–1385 1385–1386

House of Luxemburg

43.

Sigismond

1387–1437

House of Habsburg

44.

Albert

1437–1439

House of Jagellio

45.

Wladislaw I

1440–1444

House of Habsburg

46.

Ladislav V

1444–1457

House of Hunyadi

47.

Mathias I “Corvinus”

1458–1490

House of Jagellio

48. 49.

Wladislaw II Louis II

1490–1516 1516–1526

House of Zapolya

50.

Ján Zápoľský

1526–1540

House of Habsburg

51. 52. 53.

Ferdinand I Maximilian I Rudolf I

1526–1564 1564–1576 1576–1608

• 349

350 •

54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66.

APPENDIX

Matthias (Mathias) II Ferdinand II Ferdinand III Leopold I Joseph I Charles III Maria Theresa Joseph II Leopold II Francis I Ferdinand V Francis Joseph Charles IV

1608–1619 1619–1637 1637–1657 1657–1705 1705–1711 1711–1740 1740–1780 1780–1790 1790–1792 1792–1835 1835–1848 1848–1916 1916–1918

Presidents of Czechoslovakia (1918–1939) 67. 68. 69.

Tomáš G. Masaryk Edvard Beneš Emil Hácha

1918–1935 1935–1938 1938–1939

President of the Slovak Republic (1939–1945) 70.

Jozef Tiso

1939–1945

Presidents of Czechoslovakia (1941–1992) 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77.

Edvard Beneš Klement Gottwald Antonín Zapotocký Antonín Novotný Ludvík Svoboda Gustáv Husák Václav Havel

1941–1948 1948–1953 1953–1957 1957–1968 1968–1975 1978–1989 1989–1992

Presidents of the Slovak Republic (1993– ) 78. 79. 80.

Michal Kováč Rudolf Schuster Ivan Gašparovič

1993–1998 1999–2004 2004–

APPENDIX

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PRIME MINISTERS WHO GOVERNED ON SLOVAK TERRITORY Prime Ministers of Hungary (1867–1918) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Gyula Andrássy Menyhért Lónyay Jószef Szlávy István Bittó Béla Wenckheim Kálmán Tisza Gyula Szapáry Sándor Wekerle Dezsö Bánffy Kálmán Széll Károly Khuen-Hederváry István Tisza Géza Fejérváry Sándor Wekerle Károly Khuen-Hederváry László Lukács István Tisza Móric Esterhazy Sándor Wekerle

1867–1871 1871–1872 1872–1874 1874–1875 1875–1875 1975–1890 1890–1892 1892–1895 1895–1899 1899–1903 1903–1903 1903–1905 1905–1906 1906–1910 1910–1912 1912–1913 1913–1917 1917–1917 1917–1918

Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia (1918–1992) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Karel Kramář Vlastimil Tusar Jan Černý Edvard Beneš Antonín Švehla Jan Černý Antonín Švehla František Udržal Jan Malypetr Milan Hodža Jan Syrový Rudolf Beran Zdenĕk Fierlinger Klement Gottwald

1918–1919 1919–1920 1920–1921 1921–1922 1922–1926 1926–1926 1926–1929 1929–1932 1932–1935 1935–1938 1938–1938 1938–1939 1945–1946 1946–1948

352 •

15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

APPENDIX

Antonín Zápotocký Viliam Široký Jozef Lenárt Oldrich Černík Lubomír Štrougal Ladislav Adamec Marián Čalfa

1948–1953 1953–1963 1963–1968 1968–1970 1970–1987 1987–1989 1989–1992

Presidents of the Slovak Province (1928–1938) 1. 2. 3.

Ján Drobný Jozef Országh Julián Šimko

1928–1931 1931–1938 1938–1939

Prime Ministers of Slovakia (1938–1939) 1. 2. 3.

Jozef Tiso Jozef Sivák Karol Sidor

1938–1939 1939–1939 1939–1939

Prime Ministers of the Slovak Republic (1939–1945) 1. 2. 3.

Jozef Tiso Vojtech Tuka Štefan Tiso

1939–1939 1939–1944 1944–1945

Prime Ministers of the Slovak Socialist Republic (1969–1990) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Štefan Sádovský Peter Colotka Jozef Knotek Peter Hrivnák Milan Čič

1969–1969 1969–1987 1987–1988 1988–1989 1989–1990

Prime Ministers of the Slovak Republic (1990– ) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Vladimír Mečiar Ján Čarnogurský Vladímir Mečiar Jozef Moravčík Vladimír Mečiar Mikuláš Dzurinda Róbert Fico

1990–1991 1991–1992 1992–1994 1994–1994 1994–1998 1998–2006 2006–

About the Author

Stanislav J. Kirschbaum is professor of International Studies and Political Science at York University’s bilingual Glendon College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was born in 1942 in Bratislava, Slovakia, and was educated in Switzerland, Italy, Canada, the United States, Germany, and France. He is a graduate of the Universities of Ottawa (B.Sc.Soc.) and Toronto (M.A.) and received his doctoral degree (D.Rech.) from the Fondation nationale des Sciences politiques, Université de Paris, France. He is also a graduate of the National Defence College of Canada. In addition to his appointment at York University, he has taught at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and has held visiting professorships at Université Laval in Quebec City, Université de Montréal, and, on a regular basis since 2004, at Trnavská univerzita in Trnava, Slovakia. Dr. Kirschbaum is a specialist in Central European politics, in particular security issues dealing with the region, and on the politics of Communist Czechoslovakia and Slovakia in the modern era, on which he has published extensively. Since 1980, he has also held the position of secretary of the International Council for Central and East European Studies. Since 1995, he has been the copresident of the Association France-Canada d’études stratégiques. In 1994, he was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the Government of France; in 1995, he was awarded the Commemorative Medal of Matica slovenská in Slovakia for his book A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival (St. Martin’s Press, 1995). In 2002, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

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