Historical Background Of Slovakia

Slavic tribes first settled the area now known as Slovakia in the 5th century. 400 years later, Slovakia came under the control of the Great Moravian Empire, a domination that lasted till 907 AD. By the year 1018, all of Slovakia was occupied by Hungary- and remained under Hungarian rule for the next 900 years. Although for 300 years- between 1412 to 1772- part of East Slovakia was annexed by Poland. The Ottoman Turks invaded Hungary in the early 1500s, and the Hungarian capital was shifted from Buda to Bratislava. The Turks were finally expelled from the country in 1686. From 1868 onwards, the Hungarians forced the Slovakians to adopt `Hungarianisation’- in culture, language and in all other aspects of life. This move brought the Slovaks closer to the Czechs who were similarly suppressed by the Austrians. This affinity eventually led to the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. But the alliance started to develop internal rifts; soon Slovakia declared its autonomy and a clero-fascist state was set up under Monsignor Jozef Tiso. In 1944, under Slovak partisans, the National Uprising began, but was brutally crushed by the Nazis. A year later, Czechoslovakia again became a free country- now under communist rule.

The communists remained in power till 1989 when the USSR collapsed. Czechoslovakia became a democracy, and simultaneously demands for Slovak independence grew stronger. In 1993, Slovakia split from the Czech Republic, but it has experienced some difficulty and still faces a number of problems, social, economic and environmental.