Charter 77

Charter 77, human rights movement active in Czechoslovakia from 1977 to 1990. Supporters of Charter 77 called for greater civil and political freedoms, and contributed to events that in 1989 helped end 40 years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. The movement was named after a 1977 document that petitioned the Czech government to adhere to three international agreements on human rights—the 1975 Helsinki Final Act and two United Nations covenants.

The Charter 77 document was written during the period following the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The invasion occurred after the first secretary of Czechoslovakia's ruling Communist party, Alexander Dubček, initiated reforms in the strict Communist control of Czech society. Because many Eastern European leaders feared that Dubček's reforms would encourage reform movements in their own countries, Dubček was replaced in April 1969 by a Communist hard-liner, Gustav Husák, who reestablished the authoritarian system. To protest the new government's disregard for human rights, more than 200 intellectuals, academics, and church officials signed the Charter 77 document, which was published openly in January 1977. The charter's stated aim was to draw attention to human rights violations and “to conduct a constructive dialogue with the political and state authorities.” In response, the government harassed and persecuted the signatories of the Charter 77 document, many of whom lost their jobs.

The Charter 77 movement was established by supporters of the document, along with the charter's main spokespersons—Jan Patoçka, professor of philosophy; Václav Havel, playwright; and Jiri Hájek, professor and former foreign minister of Czechoslovakia during the Dubček era. Members had to organize secretly. The movement maintained a legal and nonviolent approach, and it effectively exposed the regime's hypocrisy, becoming a regular source of reports for the Western news media.

In the 1980s, many Communist regimes of Eastern Europe began weakening. The reforms implemented by Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and the weakening of Communism in Poland and East Germany, led to increased calls for change in Czechoslovakia. On November 17, 1989, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanding greater freedom gathered in Prague, the capital. Two days later, Czech opposition groups, led by the Charter 77 movement, formed a broader coalition called the Civic Forum. Mass demonstrations and strikes followed, leading to a two-hour general strike on November 27. Spurred by these massive public protests, many government leaders stepped down. In December 1989 Havel, the Charter 77 leader, was elected president of Czechoslovakia by a unanimous vote of the Federal Assembly. Havel became the first non-Communist head of state since 1948. The Charter 77 movement was formally dissolved in 1990.