The Czech Republic, on its own, is a very multicultural country with many different people. Tourists keep visiting and sometimes, after consideration, they come back for studies or decide to live here. One of the benefits of the Czech Republic is that it is located in the heart of Europe or as the “bridge” between the West and East. The 9th century was the period in which the Czech Republic formed as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire. Since then, citizens from Bohemian times have originated from Russia, Germany, and America. That is why the Czech Republic was a country which did not have any arguments or disagreements. When there was a separation from Czechoslovakia in 1993, people considered the separation of these countries as one of the most peaceful ones. During these times, there was onset to European Union. Relationships with leading countries during the regime originated as time went by and got stronger.

Looking back at the history of relationships between the leading countries such as Germany and Russia, there are visible connections and agreements which helped the Czech Republic become one of the fastest growing and economically stable countries after entering the European Union. In 1945, the Czech Republic was occupied by Germany in World War II. Before the occupation, there were already around three million German inhabitants. This leads us to the Munich agreement. Which gives us a connection with the Austro-Hungarian empire. After the break up of the Austro-Hungarian empire, around three million Germans were living in the territory of the Czech Republic. The Munich agreement can be explained as an agreement between Italy, France, Britain, and Germany, whereby prime ministers of Britain and France tried to persuade Hitler not to use his military troops to attack Czechoslovakia. People initially saw the agreement with Hitler as a success. However, after having already occupied Sudetenland, he soon invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. This led to the start of World War II between Italy, France, Britain, and Germany.

Russia later liberated Czechoslovakia, and the majority of Czechoslovak German-speaking inhabitants were forced to emigrate after the war. One of the ensuing events was the win of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia in the 1946 elections. This caused a rapid increase in the population of Czechoslovakia. In 1968, the regime culminated in the Prague Spring, and Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when the communist regime collapsed and led to a peaceful separation.

You can see that the Czech republic has a relationship with both countries, Germany and  Russia were sometimes strong and sometimes weak. It looked like a rollercoaster for people who were living in Czechoslovakia at the time. Even though it can sometimes seem that the Czech Republic wants to be on both sides and “friends” with everyone, but the rollercoaster had a positive effect on tourism in the Czech Republic.

Joining the European Union, the Czech Republic is not only more open to Schengen countries, but made them able to trade within the European Union, which has increased economical benefits and decreased difficulties. There are some things that make the Czech Republic different from other European Union countries. For example, the Czech Republic kept their own currency, the Czech crowns. In the view of some, by not changing their currency to the Euro, the Czech Republic may look like a cheap destination where people can buy a large amount for several crowns.

There should be no doubt of the benefit of entering the European Union for Czech citizens. It helped them boost many of their previously failing companies. After the financial crisis, the Czech Republic was the fastest country to become economically stable. Nowadays, the Czech Republic has strong economical relations with both Russia and Germany. The Czech Republic should not even think of quitting the European Union. Brexit may have already happened but there is no need for Czexit.

This article was written by Izolda Balogova.