Czechoslovakia - Basic Characteristics

Basic Characteristics

Form of state

• 1918 - 1938: A democratic republic.
• 1938 - 1939: After annexation of Sudetenland by Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned into a state with loosened connections among the Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts. A large strip of southern Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine was annexed by Hungary, and the Zaolzie region was annexed by Poland.
• 1939 - 1945: The region split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile continued to exist in London, supported by the United Kingdom, United States and its Allies; after German invasion of Russia, it was also recognised by the USSR. Czechoslovakia was part of Declaration by United Nations and was a founding member of United Nations.
• 1946 - 1948: The country was governed by a coalition government with Communist ministers, with the prime minister and the minister of interior. Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded to the USSR.
• 1948 - 1989: The country became a communist state with a centrally planned economy. In 1960, the country officially became a socialist republic.
• 1969 - 1990: The federal republic consisted of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic.
• 1990 - 1992: The federal democratic republic consisted of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

Neighbours

• Austria 1918–1938, 1945-present
• Germany
• Hungary
• Poland
• Romania 1918–1938
• Soviet Union 1945-1991
• Ukraine 1992

Topography

The country was of generally irregular terrain. The western area was part of north-central European uplands. The eastern region was composed of northern reaches of Carpathian Mountains and Danube River basin lands.

Climate

The weather was predominantly continental, but varied from the moderate temperature of Western Europe in the west, to more severe weather of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union in the east.