Back in 1977 the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia was living under the iron fist of the ruling Communist(although “state capitalist“ woulf be a better term) regime.This meant a lot of things hardly imaginable for people living in Western countries or for Easterners who hardly remember these times.Just briefly, for you to get at least a bit of the picture:
- “All the power belongs to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia“ was written in the constitution.The consequences of this little sentence included a ban on political opposition,“endless friendship“ with Soviet Union(which ‘saved‘ us in 1968 from ‘forces of counterrevolution‘), and elections every four years with no possibility of choice but compulsory participation.
- police repression: although by the 70’s, there were no longer political trials quite like those in 50’s(when regime’s opponents ended up hanged or working in uranium mines), the opposition was constantly harassed.State security (known in Czech mostly by dreaded letters “StB“) did their job well-a part of those involved in dissent was forcibly expatriated from Czechoslovakia at the beginning of the 80’s and the rest were often jailed.And also often ridiculed as agent of western imperialism paid by money from foreign secret services.
-censorship: in music, the area which will present in this page, this meant that the bands could play only with the permission of state institutions.To highlight the fact that these didn’t like punk rock for its music alone and that the nonconformist lyrics were giving them headches seems to be pointless.There were punk bands lucky enough to trick this system and there were bands that played without legal “basis,“ and their underground gigs often ended up dispersed by cops.Of course you could not find punk record in record shop, not could you hear punk rock on the radio or tv(until the very end 80’s)
-isolation: getting permission to travel to Western contries was a long and difficult process, becouse the regime feared that people would not come back.For most part, you could travel out to other Socialist countries.Or in from them: the only official gig of a Western punk band took place in september ’87 when Die toten hosen played in city of Pilsen. At a peace festival for nuclear disarmament(and it still ended up in a police riot!)
In general, it could be said that the system did not like it when people acted on their own, outside of its legal structures and its control.It hated punk nonconformist outlook and labeled punk as “a decadent life style smuggled to our country by Western agents as an ideological diversion with the aim of spoiling innocent socialist youth“.Needless to say a hostile environment produced a pretty unique and strong punk rock movement.
