Prague(matic) spring

40 years on; a second spring for Prague?

2008. Time for Prague to do a spring clean, to free itself of the dusty control mechanisms of former times. Beer ‘exportmeister’, freshblooded cinema, the freedom of speech and a ‘Go West’ philosophy - the Czechs are pragmatic. Are appearances deceptive?

ANALYSIS Photos: Prague Spring, forty years on

Photos: Prague Spring, forty years on

On 21 August Prague commemorated forty years of it’s famous democratic ‘spring’, which ended revolt in the capital this past century. The spontaneous protest caught the world by surprise, before it was reprimanded by the Soviet regime. Images

by Boris Svartzman @ // 22/08/08

photography, photogallery, activism, violence, soviet, photo, vaclav havel, peter uhl, youth, prague, communism, cities

FEATURE Radar station for US anti-missile defence on Czech soil?

Radar station for US anti-missile defence on Czech soil?

But it hadn’t banked on such a large opposition from two thirds of the population and such an angry reaction from its future neighbours. A return to the cold war?

by agnès baritou // 30/04/08

war, protest, future of europe, nato, foreign policy, best of cafebabel.com, prag, politics, globalisation, development, defence, europe on the ground

REPORT

Drinking trademark Budweiser beer in Bohemia

Czech beer came to the world’s attention again in April after a century-old dispute with the US over the naming rights to its Budweiser beer was settled in a Luxembourg court

by chris yeomans // 29/04/08

health, copyright, alcohol, tourism, consumption society, europe on the ground, youth, prague, communism, cities

FEATURE Prague ‘Hyde Park’: dead speakers society

Prague ‘Hyde Park’: dead speakers society

The Czech capital is banishing a young Brit’s project from the city centre after the first Speaker’s Corner in Europe outside of the UK became a hotspot for extremists

by Katharina Kloss @ // 29/04/08

praha

FEATURE Czech cinema in the 'Hollywood of the east'

Czech cinema in the 'Hollywood of the east'

Light comedies and export hits: Czech cinema rides on the wave of success. But in Prague young fresh filmmakers and independent cinemas push against the mainstream

by sandra wickert // 29/04/08

film, festivals, cinema, prague, communism, cities

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