Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were

Jiří Němec Jiří Němec (born 15 May 1966 in Pacov) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. He won a total of 84 international caps for the two teams, scoring one go ...

Václav Benda Václav Benda (August 8, 1946, Prague – June 2, 1999) was a Czech Roman Catholic activist and intellectual, and mathematician. Under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, Benda and his wife were rare in being believings Christians among the leadershi ...

, Ladislav Hejdánek,

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

Jan Patočka Jan Patočka (; 1 June 1907 – 13 March 1977) was a Czech philosopher. Having studied in Prague, Paris, Berlin, and Freiburg, he was one of the last pupils of Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. In Freiburg he also developed a lifelong philos ...

Zdeněk Mlynář Zdeněk Mlynář (born Müller; 22 June 1930, Vysoké Mýto – 15 April 1997, Vienna) was secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the 1968 Prague Spring and an intellectual. Mlynář wrote the notewor ...

Jiří Hájek Jiří Hájek (; 6 June 1913 in Krhanice near Benešov – 22 October 1993 in Prague) was a Czech politician and diplomat. Together with Václav Havel, Zdeněk Mlynář, and Pavel Kohout, Hájek was one of the founding members and architects of ...

Martin Palouš Martin Palouš (born 14 October 1950 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is the ex-Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Czech Republic. He presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 11 September 2006. Palouš is mar ...

Pavel Kohout Pavel Kohout (born 20 July 1928) is a Czech and Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, a Prague Spring participant and dissident in the 1970s until he was not allowed to return from Aust ...

, and

Ladislav Lis Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...

. Spreading the text of the document was considered a

political crime In criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the ...

by the Czechoslovak government. After the 1989

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, many of the members of the initiative played important roles in Czech and Slovak politics.

Founding and political aims

Motivated in part by the arrest of members of the rock band

the Plastic People of the Universe The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a Czech rock band from Prague. They are considered the foremost representatives of Prague's underground culture (1968–1989), which defied the Czechoslovakia's Communist regime. Members of the band ...

, the text of Charter 77 was prepared in 1976. The first preparatory meeting took place on 10 December 1976 in

Jaroslav Kořán Jaroslav Kořán (17 January 1940 – 2 June 2017) was a Czech translator, actor, writer, screenwriter, and politician. A dissident and signatory of Charter 77 during Czechoslovakia's Communist era, Kořán translated over seven dozen books, most ...

's apartment, and initial signatures were collected. The charter was published on 6 January 1977, along with the names of the first 242 signatories, which represented various occupations, political viewpoints, and religions. Although

Ludvík Vaculík Ludvík Vaculík (23 July 1926 – 6 June 2015) was a Czech writer and journalist. He was born in Brumov, Moravian Wallachia. A prominent samizdat writer, he was best known as the author of the " Two Thousand Words" manifesto of June 1968. Pre- ...

, and

Pavel Landovský Pavel Landovský (11 September 1936 – 10 October 2014), nicknamed Lanďák, was a Czech actor, playwright, and director. He was a prominent dissident under the communist regime of former Czechoslovakia. Biography Landovský was born in Havl ...

were detained while trying to bring the charter to the Federal Assembly and the Czechoslovak government, and the original document was confiscated, copies circulated as

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

and on 7 January were published in several western newspapers (including ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'') and transmitted within Czechoslovakia by Czechoslovak-banned

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

s like

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. Charter 77 criticized the government for failing to implement the

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

provisions of a number of documents it had signed, including the

1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (''Ústava Československé socialistické / Československej socialistickej republiky'' in Czech / Slovak), promulgated on 11 July 1960 as the constitutional law 100/1960 Sb., was the third c ...

, the Final Act of the 1975

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism f ...

(Basket III of the

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), and the 1966

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covenants on political, civil, economic, and cultural rights. The document also described the signatories as a "loose, informal, and open association of people . . . united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world". It emphasized that Charter 77 is not an organization, has no statutes or permanent organs, and "does not form the basis for any oppositional political activity". This final stipulation was a careful effort to stay within the bounds of

Czechoslovak law Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

, which made organized opposition illegal. Many of the organization's activists and members gathered on 29 March 2007 at the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

in Richmond, London, to observe the movement's 30th anniversary and to discuss the historical impact their movement generated in modern European politics.

Reaction of the government

The government's reaction to the appearance of Charter 77 was harsh. The official press described the manifesto as "an anti-state, anti-socialist, and demagogic, abusive piece of writing", and individual signatories were variously described as "traitors and renegades", "a loyal servant and agent of imperialism", "a bankrupt politician", and "an international adventurer". As it was considered to be an illegal document, the full text of Charter 77 was never published in the official press. However, an official group of artists and writers mobilized into an " anti-charter" movement that included Czechoslovakia's foremost singer

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie Jan Werich Jan Werich (; 6 February 1905 – 31 October 1980) was a Czech actor, playwright and writer. Early life Between 1916 and 1924, Werich attended "reálné gymnasium" (equivalent to high school) in Křemencova Street in Prague (where his future bu ...

, who later claimed he was misled about the nature of the document he was signing. Several means of retaliation were used against the signatories, including

dismissal Dismissal or dismissed may refer to: Dismissal *In litigation, a dismissal is the result of a successful ''motion to dismiss''. See motion *Termination of employment, the end of employee's duration with an employer **Dismissal (employment), ter ...

from work, denial of educational opportunities for their children, forced exile, loss of citizenship, and detention, trial, and imprisonment. Many members were forced to collaborate with the communist secret service (the StB, Czech:

Státní bezpečnost State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it de ...

). The treatment of Charter 77 signatories prompted the creation in April 1978 of a support group, the

Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted The Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted ( cs, Výbor na obranu nespravedlivě stíhaných; as a result the acronym VONS is used) was a Czechoslovak dissident organization founded largely by Charter 77 signatories. VONS was founded ...

(''Výbor na obranu nespravedlivě stíhaných'' – VONS), to publicize the fate of those associated with the charter. In October 1979, six leaders of this support group, including Václav Havel, were tried for subversion and sentenced to prison terms of up to five years. Repression of Charter 77 and VONS members continued during the 1980s. Despite unrelenting harassment and arrests, however, the groups continued to issue reports on the government's violations of human rights. Until the Velvet Revolution, Charter 77 had approximately 1,900 signatories.

Influence

Under the Communist government, the influence of Charter 77 remained limited. It did not reach wide groups of people and most of its members were from Prague. The majority of Czechoslovak citizens knew of the initiative only because of the government's campaign against it. In the late 1980s, as the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

Revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

gathered momentum, members of Charter 77 saw their opportunity and became more involved in organizing opposition against the ruling authority. During the days of the

, members of the group negotiated the smooth transfer of political power from dictatorship to democracy. Many were elevated into high positions in the government (e.g., Václav Havel became the President of Czechoslovakia) but since most had no experience in active politics (such as skills in diplomacy or knowledge of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

), they met with mixed success. Charter 77 included people who had a wide range of opinions and, after reaching their common goal, the group's presence faded. An attempt to make the group the focal point of an all-encompassing political party (the

Civic Forum The Civic Forum (Czech: ''Občanské fórum'', OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( Slovak: ...

) failed and in 1992, the initiative dissolved.

List of signatories

There are 1,882 known signatories of Charter 77. Notable names include: *

Milan Balabán Milan Balabán (3 September 1929 – 4 January 2019) was a Czechoslovak theologian, professor of religion and the Old Testament, Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB) pastor, and poet. Balabán, an anti-communist dissident during Czechoslova ...

Jaroslav Bašta Jaroslav Bašta (born 15 May 1948) is a Czech politician and diplomat. He is a signatory of Charter 77. Between 1998 and 2000 he served in the cabinet of Miloš Zeman as Minister without portfolio. Bašta became the Ambassador of the Czech Repub ...

Rudolf Battěk Rudolf Battěk (2 November 1924 – 17 March 2013) was a Czech sociologist, politician, and political dissident during Czechoslovakia Communist era. Biography Battěk co-founded the Club of Committed Non-Party Members (KAN) in 1968, which promote ...

Jarmila Bělíková Jarmila Bělíková (April 27, 1948 – May 6, 2010) was a Czechs, Czech psychologist, activist, and translator. She was born in Brno. She studied medicine and during the 1970s worked in a treatment centre for female alcoholics. She then worke ...

Rudolf Bereza Rudolf Bereza (1942–2014) was a Czech dissident. He was best known for letters he wrote to President Gustáv Husák and holding a banner in support of Charter 77. Biography Rudolf Bereza was born in 1942 in Tovačov, in what is today the Czec ...

Pavel Bergmann Pavel Bergmann (14 February 1930, in Prague – 17 April 2005, in Prague) was a Czech historian, philosopher, a signatory of the Charter 77 manifesto, and a founding member of the Civic Forum. Early life Pavel Bergmann was born in Prague, Czech ...

Ivan Bierhanzl Ivan Bierhanzl (born 1958) is a Czech musician and record producer. Biography Bierhanzl was born in 1958 in Prague. Early in his career, he played with Jaroslav Unger's Doktor Prostěradlo Band. Bierhanzl started working with The Plastic People o ...

Tereza Boučková Tereza Boučková (born 24 May 1957) is a Czech writer. The daughter of playwright Pavel Kohout and Anna Cornová, she was born in Prague, attended high school and studied English for a year after being rejected by the Drama Academy for political ...

Vratislav Brabenec Vratislav Brabenec (born 28 April 1943 in Prague) is a Czech musician and author, and a member of The Plastic People of the Universe. Life Vratislav Brabenec was born in Prague into the family of a postal worker. He studied gardening at the Agric ...

Toman Brod Toman Brod (born 18 January 1929) is a Czech historian, Holocaust survivor, and former member of the Communist Party turned anti-communist dissident. Biography Brod was born in Prague on 18 January 1929 to an assimilated Jewish family, who live ...

František Bublan František Bublan (born 13 January 1951 in Třebíč) is a former Czech dissident, in 2004 named Minister of the Interior for Stanislav Gross's Social Democratic Party government. After Stanislav Gross had been forced to leave the government, Bubla ...

Václav Černý Václav Černý (26 March 1905, Náchod, Jizbice – 2 July 1987, Prague) was a Czechoslovak literary scholar, writer and philosopher. He was an enthusiast of Spanish literature and philosophy and translated into Czech a number of literary and ph ...

Mikoláš Chadima Mikoláš Chadima (born 9 September 1952 in Cheb) is a Czech musician and composer. Besides singing he plays saxophone, guitar, flute and harmonica. His early bands include ''The Three Fellows'', ''Purple Fleas'', Petroleum Company, ''Yellow Def ...

Vlasta Chramostová Vlasta Chramostová (17 November 1926 – 6 October 2019) was a Czech film actress. She appeared in 35 films since 1950. She starred in the 1950 film '' The Trap'' which was entered into the 1951 Cannes Film Festival. A signatory of Charter 77, ...

Petr Cibulka Petr Cibulka (born 27 October 1950) is a Czech politician and dissident. He is the founder and leader of the minor Right Bloc political party. Communist era Cibulka was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia. As a former member of Charter 77, Cibulka was ...

Ivan Dejmal Ivan Dejmal (October 17, 1946 in Ústí nad Labem – February 6, 2008 in Prague) was a Czech politician and environmentalist. Biography Ivan Dejmal studied at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague in Prague from 1965 to 1970, but he ...

Jiří Dienstbier Jiří Dienstbier (20 April 1937 – 8 January 2011) was a Czech politician and journalist. Born in Kladno, he was one of Czechoslovakia's most respected foreign correspondents before being fired after the Prague Spring. Unable to have a liveliho ...

Luboš Dobrovský Luboš Dobrovský (born Luboš Hamerschlag, 3 February 1932 – 30 January 2020) was a Czech journalist and politician, who served as Czechoslovak Minister of Defence. Dobrovsky's father Ludvík Hamerschlag was Jewish. Deported to Auschwitz conce ...

Bohumil Doležal Bohumil Doležal (born January 17, 1940), is a Czech literary critic, politician and former dissident. He was a political advisor to Václav Klaus, the former Czech prime minister. Doležal was born in Prague, and graduated in 1962 after studying ...

Vratislav Effenberger Vratislav Effenberger (22 April 1923 in Nymburk; - 10 August 1986 in Prague) was a Czech literature theoretician. He has German Bohemian descent from his paternal side, but has assimilated into Czech. Life and career In 1944, Effenberger left in ...

Anna Fárová Anna Fárová (1 June 1928 – 27 February 2010) was a Czech art historian who specialized and catalogued Czech and Czechoslovak photographers, including František Drtikol and Josef Sudek. She was one of the pioneers of writing on history of photo ...

Jiří Gruša Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech people, Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.Jiří Hájek Jiří Hájek (; 6 June 1913 in Krhanice near Benešov – 22 October 1993 in Prague) was a Czech politician and diplomat. Together with Václav Havel, Zdeněk Mlynář, and Pavel Kohout, Hájek was one of the founding members and architects of ...

Miloš Hájek Miloš Hájek (12 May 1921 – 25 February 2016) was a Czech historian, politician and Czechoslovak resistance fighter during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945). Hájek, who signed the Charter 77 human rights manifesto in 1977, b ...

Jiří Hanák Jiří Hanák (27 February 1938 – 5 June 2020) was a Czech journalist, editor, political activist, and Charter 77 signatory. He was a longtime columnist and writer for various Czech and Czechoslovak newspapers and magazines. He was a recipient o ...

Jiří Hanzelka Jiří Hanzelka (24 December 1920 – 15 February 2003) and Miroslav Zikmund (14 February 1919 – 1 December 2021), known collectively as Hanzelka and Zikmund, were a duo of Czech adventurers known for their travels in Africa, Asia, Latin Americ ...

Olga Havlová Olga Havlová (Šplíchalová; 11 July 1933 in Prague – 27 January 1996 in Prague) was a Czech dissident, activist, and the first wife of Václav Havel, the last President of Czechoslovakia and first President of the Czech Republic. Havlov� ...

Zbyněk Hejda Zbyněk Hejda (2 February 1930, Hradec Králové – 16 November 2013, Prague) was a Czech poet, essayist and translator (mainly from English - Emily Dickinson; and German - Georg Trakl, Gottfried Benn). Life He studied philosophy and history at ...

* Ladislav Hejdánek *

Josef Hiršal Josef Hiršal (24 July 1920, Chomutičky – 15 September 2003, Prague) was a Czech author, poet and novelist. Hiršal was widely regarded as one of the most important Czech authors of experimental poetry; after early surrealistic writings, he m ...

Vladimír Hučín Vladimír Hučín (25 May 1952 in Gottwaldov) is a Czech political celebrity and dissident of both communist and post/communist era. In the 1970s and 1980s he used explosives to destroy various propaganda symbols of communism and distributed a ...

Jaroslav Hutka Jaroslav Hutka (born 21 April 1947 in Olomouc) is a Czech musician, composer, songwriter, and democracy and human rights activist. He was a signatory of Charter 77 and the 2008 Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism. Hutka lef ...

Ludmila Jankovcová Ludmila Jankovcová (née Stračovská; 8 August 1897, Kutná Hora – 5 September 1990, Plzeň) was a Czechs, Czech politician. She was appointed Minister of Industry (Czechoslovakia), Minister of Industry in 1947, and Deputy Prime Minister in ...

Zdeněk Jičínský Zdeněk Jičínský (26 February 1929 – 9 April 2020) was a Czech lawyer, politician, co-architect of the Constitution of the Czech Republic, and Charter 77 signatory. He served as a Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) ...

Ivan Martin Jirous Ivan Martin Jirous (23 September 1944 – 9 November 2011) was a Czech poet and dissident, best known as the artistic director of the Czech psychedelic rock group The Plastic People of the Universe, and later one of the key figures of the Czech ...

Pavel Juráček Pavel Juráček (; 2 August 1935 – 20 May 1989) was a Czech screenwriter and film director who studied at FAMU. Juráček started as a screenwriter for many Czech New Wave movies until he became a director. He worked in Prague at the Ba ...

Petr Kabeš Petr Kabeš (21 June 1941 in Pardubice – 9 July 2005 in Prague) was a Czech poet. Biography Kabeš was born in Pardubice and studied at the Prague University of Economics and Business. He published his first collection ''Čáry na dlani'' in ...

Eva Kantůrková Eva Kantůrková (born 1930) is a Czech author and screenwriter. A communist in her early years, she joined the Czech dissident movement after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and was one of the signato ...

Svatopluk Karásek Svatopluk Karásek (18 October 1942 – 20 December 2020) was a Czech singer, evangelical clergyman, and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. His brother was the photographer Oldřich Karásek. He was a signatory to Cha ...

Alexandr Kliment Alexandr Kliment (30 January 1929 in Turnov – 22 March 2017 in Prague) was a Czech Republic, Czech writer, poet and playwright. He was a signatory of Charter 77 in 1977. In 1967, Kliment participated in a congress of the writers' union, which in ...

Vladimír Klokočka Vladimír Klokočka (23 April 1929 – 19 October 2009) was a Czech Republic, Czech lawyer, legal expert and politician. Klokocka was a signatory to the Charter 77 manifesto, which criticized the Czechoslovakian Communist government for not imple ...

Milan Kohout Milan Kohout (born 1955 in Plzeň, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech–American performance artist, writer, and university lecturer. He was a signatory of the Charter 77 human rights declaration against the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, communist gove ...

Jiří Kolář Jiří Kolář (24 September 1914, Protivín – 11 August 2002, Prague) was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. His work included both literary and visual art. Life Kolář was born in Protivín on September 29, 1914, in a work ...

Božena Komárková Božena Komárková (28 January 1903, Tišnov – 27 January 1997, Brno) was Czech philosopher and theologian. Most of her work remained unknown both in the Czech Republic and abroad till the Velvet Revolution, since Nazi and communist regime ...

Jan Křen Jan Křen (22 August 1930 – 7 April 2020) was a Czech historian, academic, dissident during Czechoslovakia's Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, communist era, and a Charter 77 signatory. He specialized in the study of Czech Republic–Germany rela ...

František Kriegel František Kriegel (10 April 1908 — 3 December 1979) was a Czechoslovak politician, physician, and a member of the Communist Party reform wing of Prague Spring (1968). He was the only one of the political leaders who, during the Warsaw Pact inv ...

Jiří Křižan Jiří Křižan (26 October 1941 – 13 October 2010) was a Czechs, Czech screenwriter, writer and politician. Life Křižan grew up in Moravian Wallachia. His father – a lumber mill company owner before 1948 nationalization – was arrested ...

Andrej Krob Andrej Krob (born 14 April 1938) is a Czech theater director and screenwriter, known for directing stage plays about Václav Havel. Life and career Krob was born in Cheb, Czechoslovakia. His mother was of Russian origin, while his father was a de ...

Marta Kubišová Marta Kubišová (born 1 November 1942 in České Budějovice) is a Czech singer. By the time of the Prague Spring of 1968, with her song "Modlitba pro Martu" ("A prayer for Marta"), she was one of the most popular female singers in Czechoslovaki ...

Miroslav Kusý Miroslav Kusý (1 December 1931 – 13 February 2019) was a Slovaks, Slovak political scientist and politician. Described as a "dissident" of Czechoslovakia's communist regime, he was given an eight-month suspended sentence in November 1989 for a ...

Miroslav Lehký Miroslav Lehký (born 1947) is a Czech/Slovak human rights activist and civil servant, and the current deputy director (since 2007) and chairman of the advisory board of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. He was involved in foundi ...

František Lízna František Lízna (11 July 1941 – 4 March 2021) was a Czech Jesuit priest. Biography He was born in a Moravian town Jevíčko to Ukrainian mother and Czech father. He was a recipient of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. He died on 4 M ...

Václav Malý Václav Malý (born 21 September 1950 in Prague) is a Czech Catholic priest and a prominent persona of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. He is a titular bishop of Marcelliana and auxiliary bishop of Prague. Early life Václav Malý studied at the R ...

Ivan Mašek Ivan Mašek (28 July 1948 in Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, ...

Ivan Medek Ivan Medek (July 13, 1925 – January 6, 2010) was a Czech classical music critic, radio broadcaster and journalist. Medek was an important voice of the Czech anti-communist opposition movement, particularly after being forced into exile from C ...

Ján Mlynárik Ján Mlynárik (11 February 1933 – 26 March 2012) was a Czech and Slovak historian and dissident, Charter 77 signatory, and member of the Federal Assembly (Czechoslovakia), Federal Assembly from 1990 to 1992 as a representative of Public Aga ...

Eduard Ovčáček Eduard Ovčáček (5 March 1933 – 5 December 2022) was a Czech graphic artist, sculptor, lettrist, painter, and professor at the University of Ostrava. His main artistic focus was classical graphic art, visual and concrete poetry, serigraphic ...

Radim Palouš Radim Palouš (6 November 1924 – 10 September 2015) was a Czech dissident, philosopher, educator, and former spokesman for Charter 77, and from 1990 to 1994, was the rector of Charles University in Prague. Life Palouš was born into a family o ...

Jan Petránek Jan Petránek (28 December 1931, Prague – 10 November 2018, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech journalist, commentator and dissident during Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, communist era of Czechoslovakia. He was a signatory of Charter 77. Biography ...

Petr Pithart Petr is a Czech given name for males and a Czech surname. Petr is the Czech form of ''Peter''. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politic ...

Hana Ponická Hana Ponická (July 15, 1922 Halič, Czechoslovakia – August 21, 2007 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) was a Slovak writer and former anti-Communist dissident. She opposed the Communist government of the former Czechoslovakia. Ponická signed the C ...

Vladimír Príkazský Vladímir Príkazský (30 June 1935 – 12 May 2021) was a Czech politician and journalist. He was a signatory of Charter 77. Biography Born in Prague, Príkazský graduated from grammar school in Skalica. He was unable to study humanities in u ...

Lenka Procházková Lenka Procházková (born 24 March 1951) is a Czechs, Czech writer. The daughter of writer Jan Procházka (writer), Jan Procházka, she was born in Olomouc, grew up in Prague and studied journalism and cultural theory at Charles University in Pra ...

Jan Ruml Jan Ruml (born 5 March 1953 in Prague) is a Czech politician who was interior minister from 1992 to 1997. Government career Before becoming Interior Minister, Jan Ruml served as deputy Interior Minister in 1991. Jan Ruml announced his resignation ...

Pavel Rychetský Pavel Rychetský (born 17 August 1943) is a Czech lawyer and former politician who is the 3rd and current Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The Senate confirmed him on 16 July 2003 and on 6 August 2003 he was sworn in by ...

Jaroslav Šabata Jaroslav Šabata (2 November 1927 – 14 June 2012) was a Czech political scientist, psychologist, and dissident during Czechoslovakia's Communist era. A leading dissident based in Brno, Šabata was a signatory of Charter 77 in 1977. He served as ...

* Anna Šabatová *

Vojtěch Sedláček Vojtěch Sedláček (born 1947 in Prague) is a Czech entrepreneur, who established ''Obsluzna spol.'' (1995) and ''Agentura ProVas'' (1996). Both companies have a mission of creating employment and business opportunities for people with disabiliti ...

Jaroslav Seifert Jaroslav Seifert (; 23 September 1901 – 10 January 1986) was a Czech writer, poet and journalist. Seifert was awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides ...

Gertruda Sekaninová-Čakrtová Gertruda Sekaninová-Čakrtová, born Stiassny (21 May 1908, Budapest – 29 December 1986, Jihlava) was a Czech and Czechoslovak lawyer, politician and diplomat of Jewish origin, later also a dissident and signatory of the Charter 77. She is most ...

Karol Sidon Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India * Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town Film/TV *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'', a 2005 miniseries *' ...

Jiřina Šiklová Jiřina Šiklová (17 June 1935 – 22 May 2021) was a Czech sociologist notable for her political engagement and studies of gender in the Czech Republic and former Soviet republics, former Soviet countries. She was an active campaigner for polit ...

Vladimír Škutina Vladimír Škutina (16 January 1931 – 20 August 1995) was a Czech writer, playwright, journalist, screenwriter, and television producer. He was a leading television reporter for the events of the 1968 Prague Spring, and is closely associated w ...

Otakar Slavík Otakar Slavík (18 December 1931, Pardubice - 3 November 2010, Vienna) was a painter, draughtsman and printmaker, signatory of Charter 77. He is considered one of the most important colourists in Czech art.Karel Miler, Images of Miraculous Color, i ...

* Jan Sokol *

Jan Tesař Jan Tesař (born 26 March 1990) is a Czech sprinter specialising in the 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the ...

Zdena Tominová Zdena Tominová (7 February 1941 – 24 May 2020) was a Czech novelist and a dissident in the communist era of Czechoslovakia. Biography She was born Zdena Holubová in 1941 in Prague. She studied philosophy and sociology at university. She start ...

Jáchym Topol Jáchym Topol (born 4 August 1962) is a Czech poet, novelist, musician and journalist who became a laureate of the Czech State Award for Literature in October 2017 for his novel ''Sensitive Man''. Life Jáchym Topol was born in Prague, Czechos ...

Josef Topol Josef Topol (1 April 1935 – 15 June 2015) was a Czech playwright. In 1965, he co-founded ''Divadlo za branou'', a theatre in Prague which was closed in 1972 after being banned by Czechoslovak government. In 1977 he signed Charter 77. He was m ...

Jan Trefulka Jan Trefulka (15 May 1929 – 22 November 2012) was a Czech writer, translator, literary critic and publicist. Biography Trefulka was born in Brno, Czech Republic, where he also died. He attended school with Milan Kundera and the pair remained lif ...

Vlastimil Třešňák Vlastimil Třešňák (born 26 April 1950 in Prague) is a Czech singer-songwriter and writer. In 1970s, he was member of association Šafrán. He signed Charta 77 and after he was banned for public activities throughout Czechoslovakia. In 1982, h ...

Milan Uhde Milan Uhde (born 28 July 1936 in Brno) is a Czech playwright and politician. He is a member of the Civic Democratic Party. Uhde previously worked at a literary journal, but the publication was banned in 1972. He signed the human rights Charter ...

Petr Uhl Petr Uhl (8 October 1941 – 1 December 2021) was a Czech journalist, activist, and politician. A member of the Civic Forum, he served in the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia from 1990 to 1992. He was also a signatory of Charter 77 Charte ...

Růžena Vacková Růžena Vacková (23 April 1901 Velké Meziříčí – 14 December 1982 Prague) was a Czech art historian and theoretician, theatre critic and pedagogue. She also engaged in archaeology. Life Her father was a doctor and a co-founder of the ...

Jan Vodňanský Jan Vodňanský (19 June 1941 – 10 March 2021) was a Czech writer, songwriter, singer and humorist. He was best known for his collaboration with musician Petr Skoumal. Biography Vodňanský was born on 19 June 1941 in Prague. He studied at Con ...

Dáša Vokatá Dáša Vokatá (born 27 January 1954 in Karviná) is a Czech singer-songwriter. She signed Charter 77 and after she emigrated to Austria. Her debut album called ''Láska'' was released in 1985. After the Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revoluti ...

Alexandr Vondra Alexandr Vondra (; born 17 August 1961) is a Czech politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2012 under Prime Minister Petr Nečas and has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. ...

Jiří Wolf Jiří Wolf (5 January 1952, Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia) is a signatory of Charter 77, former political prisoner, anticommunist, author of storybooks, and radical opponent and critic of the "nobility of the Charter", which, in his opinion, ...

Pavel Zajíček Pavel Zajíček (born 15 April 1951, in Prague) is a Czech poet and musician. In 1973, he founded the experimental band DG 307 (named after the code for the psychiatric diagnosis that would exempt young men from compulsory military service) toget ...

Rudolf Zeman Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...

Award

In 1984, Charter 77 received the first

Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award The Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award, officially known as the Sakharov Freedom Award and named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdr ...

References

External links

Text of the Charter *
Text of the declaration of Charter 77
*
Text and signatures of the declaration of Charter 77 (scanned originals)
at ''Libri Prohibiti. Library of Samizdat and Exile Literature'' *
Text of Charter 77
in: ''Czechoslovakia (Former)'',

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Country Studies *
Declaration of Charter 77
translation, George Mason University Further reading
Dissent and Independent Activity
in: ''Czechoslovakia (Former)'',

Country Studies {{Authority control Velvet Revolution Organizations based in Czechoslovakia Anti-communist organizations Political charters 1977 in Czechoslovakia 1977 documents January 1977 events in Europe