The Czech Republic came into being on 1 January 1993 following the partition of Czechoslovakia. Formerly, Czechoslovakia was ruled by the Austro Hungarian Empire for 400 years until it declared independence in 1918. After being liberated from Germany by Allied forces in 1945 the country was restored to its former fully independent status. However, Communists were left in a strong position and perpetrated a coup d'etat in February 1948, thus seizing power. In 1968 liberal reforms proposed by the Communist Party were suppressed by an invasion of Soviet led forces from neighbouring Communist states. However, opposition to the Communist rule rose markedly at the end of the 1980's and multiparty elections were held in 1990. The majority of people in the Czech Republic are Roman Catholic and Czech is the official language.
