Czechs, Slovaks see Velvet Revolution as biggest milestone - poll

Both Czechs and Slovaks see the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the collapse of the Communist regime, as the biggest milestone of their countries, according to a joint poll by the Czech and Slovak branches of the CVVM polling agency out today. The Velvet Revolution was denoted as the key historical milestone by 62 percent of Czechs and 49 percent of Slovaks. The establishment of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent interwar era (1918-1938) and the occupation of the country by Soviet-led armies in 1968 followed in the poll as assessed by Czechs. Slovaks assessed the division of both countries in 1993 and Slovakia's EU accession in 2004 as among other significant events.