Karnevalové předehry sametové revoluce
Carnival Overtures of the Velvet Revolution

Summary/Abstract: The Society for a More Cheerful Present (Společnost za veselejší současnost) was an independent civic initiative that was founded in Czechoslovakia in May 1989 and stood out from the dissent thanks to its jocular character. It did not set itself any serious goals; it mainly wanted to entertain, to parody the absurdities of the declining communist regime and sometimes to lighten the tensions erupting in the opposition. To this end, the Society organized happenings with political connotations in public places in Prague. In his book "Happeningem proti totalitě: Společnost za veselejší současnost v roce 1989" [Through Happenings against Totalitarianism: The Society for a More Cheerful Present], the well-known Czech historian Petr Blažek summarizes the Society’s history, whose activities ended after the “Velvet” Revolution of November 1989. The reviewer highlights the readable text and the engaging graphic design of the book. He also points out Blažek’s inspiration, drawn from the concept of the American historian Padraic Kenney in his work "A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe 1989", which allowed Blažek to place his interpretation in the Central European context of the events of the “year of miracles”.

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