Czech Republic

Borders Germany and Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria to the south... It is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of central and eastern Europe... The closely related Czechs and Slovaks had merged following the First World War to form Czechoslovakia... After the Second World War it fell under the influence of the Soviet Union... A 1968 invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended efforts to rid the country of Communist rule... Following the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia was once again independent through a "Velvet Revolution"... The country had a peaceful split into its two parts, the CzechRepublic and Slovakia, on January 1, 1993.