The peoples inhabiting the Czech Republic and their main occupations. Peoples of the Czech Republic: culture and traditions

(8.4 million people, 1991; in the past, the Czechs included groups that in the 1991 census called themselves Moravans and Silesians). They also live in Slovakia (53 thousand people), the USA (550 thousand people), Canada (55 thousand people), Germany (27 thousand people), etc. The total number is 10.38 million people. Czech is spoken by the western subgroup of the Slavic group of the Indo-European family. The main groups of dialects are: Czech, Middle Moravian, East Moravian, Lasch. Writing based on the Latin alphabet. Believers are mainly Catholics, there are Protestants (followers of the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brothers, Lutherans, etc.).

The Slavs became the predominant population in the territory of modern Czech Republic in the 6th-7th centuries, assimilating the remnants of the Celtic and Germanic populations. Written sources have preserved the names of the tribes on the territory of Bohemia (the Latin designation of the Czech Republic): Czechs, Croats, Luchans, Zličans, Decans, Pšovans, Litomerz, Hebanes, Glomacs. The strongest among them was the tribal principality of the Czechs. In the 9th century, the Czech Republic was part of the Great Moravian Empire; the spread of Christianity here from Byzantium dates back to this time. At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. The Czech (Prague) Principality was formed, which included Moravia in its lands in the 10th century. Since the second half of the 12th century, the Czech Republic was part of the Holy Roman Empire. German colonization, carried out by the Czech kings, Catholic clergy and nobility, led to a violation of the ethnic unity of the country, acute national contradictions and, along with other reasons, gave rise to the Hussite movement in the first half of the 15th century. In 1526, the Czech Republic came under the rule of the Habsburgs, who pursued a policy of Germanizing the Czechs. By the 18th century, the nobility had adopted the German language and culture. At the end of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. Czech national consciousness awakens, the Czech literary language is revived, and national educational societies are created (the so-called Czech Renaissance). With the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, the national state of Czechs and Slovaks was formed. In 1993 it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Within the Czechs there are regional groups. The traditional culture of the rural population of the Czech Republic proper and the historical region of Moravia, where regional groups (Horacians, Moravian Slovaks, Moravian Vlachs and Hanaks) are preserved, differ.

The traditional occupation of the Czechs is agriculture (cereals, sugar beets, fodder crops, hop growing, gardening, vegetable growing). Livestock farming (cattle, pigs and poultry) plays an important role. Folk crafts - making glassware, ceramics and earthenware, woven lace, embroidery. Modern Czechs are predominantly employed in industry.

More than half of the urban population lives in small towns with a population of up to 20 thousand people. Most of them arose in the Middle Ages and retain the old radial-circular layout. Rural settlements usually have a row, street or circular layout; in mountainous areas, a disorderly heap layout predominates. Rural houses, as a rule, face the street; outbuildings are located under the same roof as the dwelling. Closed estates with blind gates predominate. A traditional rural house consists of three rooms: a hut, a vestibule-kitchen and a pantry (komora). In the entryway you can find so-called black kitchens - stone cone-shaped rooms into which the mouth of the stove located in the hut opens. Old buildings are mostly log buildings, with gable or half-hipped roofs, covered with thatch or shingles. The cracks in the walls were covered with clay and painted white, yellow or blue. In treeless areas, adobe houses were erected; by the end of the 19th century, brick buildings became widespread. Regional differences were reflected in the external design of houses, in particular in the coloring or ornamental painting of walls inside and outside.

Traditional men's clothing consists of a shirt, knee-length pants, a vest, an outer cloth caftan, while women's clothing consists of a long shirt, a corset, a wide pleated skirt with a large number of petticoats, an apron, a cap or a scarf on the head. Czechs stopped wearing traditional clothing in the middle of the 19th century, but in some areas it is preserved. In Eastern Moravia, even now, almost every village has its own costume, differing in colors and decorations. The most colorful is the festive costume of the Podluzhi region. In the south of Moravian Slovakia, women's and men's shirts are decorated with continuous embroidery and lace. The girls' headdress is a cardboard truncated cone covered with red material, attached with a wide ribbon and a bow on the crown of the head. In Western Bohemia (in the Domazlice region) the festive costume of the ethnographic group of hods is preserved: a women's white shirt with wide sleeves, a red pleated skirt, a striped woven apron, a bright bodice, a large black scarf with red flowers, tied in a special way at the back of the head.

Czech national cuisine is characterized by an abundance of flour products: dumplings (dumplings) made from sour or unleavened dough, most often with fruit filling, pancakes, flatbreads, etc. A traditional Czech dish is pork with dumplings and cabbage. A lot of butter buns, rolls, crumpets, cookies, gingerbreads are prepared on holidays, and at Christmas - special butter bread. A common drink is beer, as well as black coffee.

Small family. In order not to split up their land plots, during their lifetime the parents transferred the farm and house to the eldest of their sons (majorate), who was obliged in return to give them annually a certain amount of money or part of the harvest for maintenance. Ancient family rituals, especially wedding ones, are preserved. The wedding is led by the “starosvatka” (or “friendship”, “speaker”) and the “starosvotka”. The speaker delivered instructions and humorous speeches. Wedding speeches have been printed in separate editions since the 17th century, and in the mid-19th century, detailed guides to celebrating folk weddings were published.

Czechs celebrate many calendar holidays. Christmas is celebrated with close relatives, gifts are hidden under the decorated Christmas tree. Maslenitsa (“meat empty”) is celebrated mainly by rural youth: mummers and musicians go from house to house with carols, receiving treats, and in the evening there are dances in the tavern. The fun ends with a comic funeral of the symbol of Maslenitsa - the double bass. In Western Bohemia, a parody “trial” is being held over Maslenitsa - a straw effigy who is sentenced to death. The culmination of the ritual is the accusatory speech of the “judge” with a playful, topical criticism of the local order. The tradition of Maslenitsa costume balls is preserved in cities. For Easter, crumpets and rolls are prepared, Easter eggs are painted. On Easter Monday, according to tradition, young people whip each other with rods and pour water on each other. On May holidays in villages and small towns, young men place young trees - “may” - in front of the girls’ houses; the largest “May” decorates the central square. The holiday of the end of the harvest - dozhinka - is also solemnly celebrated.

Folklore includes historical songs and legends, fairy tales, ballads, songs, dances: Czech polka, sousedka (waltz with round dance), sedlacka (whirling of a couple). Amateur ensembles of folk instruments (two violins, a double bass, a clarinet, a flute, and, since the end of the 19th century, wind instruments) exist in every village or city block. The folklore festival in the town of Stražnice is very popular.

The population of the Czech Republic is 10.5 million people, of which most of the ethnic composition is represented by Czechs (95%) and foreigners (5%), these are Ukrainians, Slovaks (2% of the population), Russians, Poles, Vietnamese. The majority of the country's citizens (95%) speak Czech (belongs to the group of West Slavic languages), a minority (3%) speak Slovak, closely related to Czech, the rest are native speakers of Hungarian, German, Polish and Roma.

Peoples inhabiting the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe with a population density of 130 people per km 2. More than 95% of the population are ethnic Czechs; they speak the Czech language, which has three dialects: Czech, Central Moravian and East Moravian, and preserve the customs and traditions of the Czech people. Slovaks, Poles, Germans and Hungarians constitute an ethnic minority (about 1%) and are also full citizens of the country. Also, according to a statistical survey conducted at the beginning of the 2000s, about 3.6% of the population of the Czech Republic consider themselves Moravians (living in the territory of the historical region of Moravia in the southeast of the country), 0.1% - Silesians (Silesia - the historical region of the northeast Czech Republic).

Culture and life

The Czech Republic is famous for its centuries-old customs and traditions, a culture that has a history of more than one and a half thousand years. This small but proud country, which throughout its existence has been influenced by various peoples and their cultures (Hungarians, Germans, Poles), has managed to maintain its originality and uniqueness, and it is passed on by its people from generation to generation.

The Czechs are very hospitable, friendly and polite people; here they shake hands when they meet, give flowers to housewives when they come to visit, respect their elders, treat strangers well, and honor their traditions and customs. Be sure to include elements of folklore, folk traditions and ancient rituals in their holidays and celebrations. They love folk music very much. In general, not a single holiday goes by without a concert, cheerful music and dancing. Every year since 1946, the Prague Spring music festival has been held in Prague, which brings together fans of musical art and ensembles playing jazz, classical and punk styles from all over the world. Czechs are considered very calm, balanced people who value order and a practical approach in all matters. They are not used to interfering in the affairs of others, they live a measured life and calmly, without haste, deal with their issues.

Family values come first for Czechs; the classic version of the Czech family is a working husband and wife who take care of the home and children. Holidays are usually celebrated with family, Sunday lunch at a common table is an obligatory custom in most Czech families, and during the summer holidays families usually go on holiday to the Mediterranean coast. Although the Czechs are good-natured and friendly people, they are not known for their openness - it is not customary for them to show off their feelings and emotions, they are reserved, tolerant and they are very conservative in their views.

The Czech Republic ranks first in the world in beer consumption; here you can drink it in the morning and no one sees anything reprehensible in it. For them, this intoxicating foamy drink is a habit and a unique national way of life; without it, many Czechs simply cannot imagine their existence, and for them it is not alcohol, but part of their worldview, an irreplaceable source of energy and vigor, like for someone a sip of fresh and crystal water. clean water.

Holidays and customs

The most important religious holiday throughout Europe and in general and the Czech Republic in particular is Catholic Christmas, which the Czechs treat with special respect; it is celebrated on December 25. The day before the holiday on December 24 is called Generous Evening, it is dedicated to preparing for the main celebration: mothers and children prepare holiday sweets, father goes to the fish market in search of carp suitable for the main dish. It is not customary to eat meat at Christmas dinner; the main dishes are baked carp, fish soup, and potato salad. Czech Father Frost - Hedgehog comes at the call of the bell on December 24 and gives gifts to children.

The good Saint Nicholas also gives joy to children; he comes to Czech children at the very beginning of winter (December 6). His appearance is quite impressive: a long white fur coat, a beard, a high hat, a long staff with a twisted spiral top and a huge bag of gifts on his back.

One of the brightest and most memorable Czech winter holidays is Maslenitsa, which, like in Russia, is celebrated widely and cheerfully, with delicious treats, fairs, carnival processions and performances, and folk festivities. In the Czech Republic it is called Masopusta (literally “fast from meat”), and is celebrated in the last week of February.

Official holidays of the Czech Republic - Day of Restoration of the Independent Czech State (January 1), Victory Day (May 8), Cyril and Methodius Day (July 5), Czech Statehood Day (September 28), etc.

Aryan myth of the III Reich Vasilchenko Andrey Vyacheslavovich

"Racial examination" of the Czech people and the opening of a branch of the Russian Agricultural Academy in Prague

Along with the expropriation of land that was used to create German settlements, the SS intended to carry out a second major “project” in the protectorates - the so-called “racial inventory” of the Czech population. SS racial experts were supposed to identify "racially high-quality" Czechs. They were subject to "Germanization". Everyone else was to be used as cheap labor. This project began to be actively implemented when Reinhardt Heydrich was put in charge of the protectorates. He entrusted this matter to his SS assistants.

The main role in the “racial inventory” was played by the highest police and SS rank in Prague, SS Gruppenführer Karl Hermann Frank, who back in August 1940 expressed in general terms the main directions of ethnic policy in the protectorates, later turning them into a kind of memorandum. This document, along with Neurath’s “moderate” developments on this issue, was sent to Berlin. Neurath's memorandum, finalized on August 31, 1940, was entitled "On the question of the future use of the Bohemian-Moravian region." Frank's document, dated August 28, 1940, was titled "On the solution of the Czech question." Both of these documents were delivered to Hitler on August 31, 1940. Hitler personally familiarized himself with the projects and expressed unequivocal sympathy for the plan developed by Frank.

In subsequent conversations with Neurath and Frank, Hitler came to the conclusion that the protectorates were to remain as they were, but the Germanization of Moravia and Bohemia had to proceed at an accelerated pace. First of all, this concerned the Germanization of the Czechs.

In this paper, Frank insisted on separating "the racially high-quality part of the population from the racially low-quality part." Thanks to this, a complete “ethnic reorientation” was to be achieved. It was planned to be completed in approximately ten years. This SS man saw the Germanization of the protectorates as follows:

Ethnic reorientation of racially full-fledged Czechs,

Deportation of racially inferior Czechs, as well as the intellectual elite hostile to the Reich. Special handling of these and other destructive elements.

As a result of the liberation of lands, the settlement of this region with carriers of fresh German blood.

“The registration of racially inferior Czechs,” according to Frank’s plan, was to be entrusted to special investigative commissions that could act under the cover of health care institutions. All other Czechs were subject to Germanization, which was to be carried out by all possible means. Even then, Frank nurtured the idea of close cooperation with the SS Main Directorate on issues of race and settlements. This cooperation was to be aimed primarily at strengthening the already existing sphere of German influence, namely the Czech regions, where the German population lived compactly. These “islands” had to be connected with each other using “ethnic bridges” and “corridors.” It goes without saying that these “bridges” and “corridors” should have been born after the Czech and Jewish population had been deported from these areas. Here the Sudeten Germans, as well as partly settlers from the “old empire,” were supposed to find a new place of residence. Frank had already discussed these ideas with Otto Hoffman, the next head of RuSKhA, as well as the rector of the “German University named after Karl” Wilhelm Saure, who was an agronomist by training and later became an employee of RuSKhA. Frank conducted these conversations literally on the eve of drawing up his memorandum. Moreover, he held a series of meetings with Prague scientists of German origin on the prospects for the Germanization of Moravia and Bohemia. It was then that Saure stated that the situation of the German part of the population of the protectorates and the forced Germanization of the Czechs were “the most important prejudicial issue, the solution of which will allow achieving far-reaching political goals.”

Based on Frank’s proposals, Reinhardt Heydrich in September 1940 gave the RuSHA, as the competent Main Directorate of the SS, the task of conducting a “racial inventory” of the Czech people. It is obvious that such an idea was supported by Himmler, since in October 1940 the Reichsführer SS ordered the new chief of the RuSHA, Otto Hoffmann, to “prepare as soon as possible a draft questionnaire for Czech school doctors,” which was to become the basic document for a racial survey of school youth. Hoffman immediately carried out Himmler's wishes. This questionnaire took into account such indicators as height, age, weight, eye color, hair color. When the Reichsführer SS got acquainted with the project, he proposed adding the following characteristics to the questionnaire: physique, skin color, craniofacial index. In addition, the head of RuSKhA insisted on having a photograph, since only with it could one accurately determine the race. Encouraged, Himmler ordered Frank to use this questionnaire immediately. Racial studies and photographic studies were to be carried out under the guise of school medical examinations. This required significant funding. Such school medical studies were the first step towards a “racial inventory” of the Czech people.

Also, on Heydrich’s initiative, one of the Berlin employees of the RuSHA, SS Oberscharführer Walter König-Beyer, prepared at the end of October 1940 a “Memorandum on the racial-political situation in the Moravian-Bohemian region and its restructuring.” In preparing this document, the SS man relied on selective results of already carried out racial studies of the Czech population. He came to the conclusion that 45% of Czechs are “mestizoes of the Nordic, Dinaric and Western races.” Another 40% of the Czech population were mestizos, in which the blood of the Eastern and Eastern Baltic races flowed predominantly. The remaining 15% of the population were representatives of “alien races.” But he established the most unfavorable ratio of racial groups in the Sudetenland. As a conclusion, König-Beyer proposed organizing a mass resettlement in the protectorates, which was to be based on racial and political criteria. Czechs were to remain in place, who were assigned the racial indices RuS 1, RuS II and RuS III. The exceptions in this group were " "Germanophobic" Czechs who were subject to deportation for political reasons. In addition, representatives of rare professions who had to work in Germany were to be deported. Regardless of racial qualities, men over 60 were to remain at their previous place of residence (in protectorates). years, as well as women over 50 years of age. Such an indulgence was made due to the fact that they could not have offspring. At the same time, all people who received a racial assessment of RuS IV (as well as those , who were considered “politically unreliable” and “unacceptable from a hereditary-biological point of view." König-Beyer, planning the deportations, counted on the eviction of 55% of the Czechs, most of whom would end up not in Germany, but in Poland (at that time territories of the so-called General Government). This was entirely consistent with the demographic line of the SS at that time. In October 1940, König-Beyer participated in the mass evictions of Poles from West Prussia and the surrounding area of Danzig.

After this, all the referents of the imperial protector were familiarized with the fact that in order to “prepare Germanization (ethnic reorientation)” in the protectorates, it was necessary to divide among themselves the “racially high-quality population”, which was subject to Germanization, and the “racially unsuitable part of the Czech population”, which was automatically "anti-imperial." Now they had to contribute in every possible way to the “inventory of all human material living in the protectorates,” which was disguised by the German leadership as banal medical examinations. Proposals for the preparation of "ethnic reorientation" in the protectorates of Bohemia and Moravia were prepared at the headquarters of the Imperial Protector on November 30, 1940 by the junior secretary of state Burgdörfer. On December 18, 1940, the personal representative of the Reichsführer SS K. Frank handed over the final version of the memorandum to representatives of the SS Main Directorate for Race and Settlements Giza and Böhme.

RuSHA decided to use this decision as an excellent opportunity to further expand its influence in Prague. An authorized representative of the SS Main Directorate for Race and Settlements was immediately sent to Frank’s protectorate, who was supposed to create a Prague branch of the RuSHA. This representative turned out to be SS Sturmbannführer Erwin Künzel. The decision that this SS man would be responsible for racial research on the staff of Fuppenführer Frank was made by Otto Hoffmann on January 25, 1941. Künzel took up these duties on February 15, 1941. He immediately began actively preparing preliminary measures for the racial research of Czech schoolchildren. In addition, he was supposed to advise Frank on “racial issues,” providing him primarily with racial statistics. It was on the basis of these statistics that racial-ethnic divisions in the protectorates were to be established. Künzel’s immediate superior, Otto Hoffmann, planned that “racial examination of schoolchildren “will become the basis for a universal “racial registration of the Czech population.” Subsequently, such grandiose plans were hatched as mass X-ray examinations, which were to be carried out by special SS brigades.

Erwin Künzel turned out to be the ideal candidate to create a new branch. Somewhat earlier, on the territory of occupied Poland (Wartegau), in Lodz (Litzmannstadt) and Poznan, he created institutions of the RuSHA, which over time turned into the Deportation Central, and then into an independent branch of the RuSHA (we will talk about this in the next chapter). Simultaneously with the creation of a branch of the SS Main Directorate for Race and Settlements, which in October 1942 had eight departments, Künzel made every effort to create local RuSHA groups. Similar groups arose in Budweis, Iglau and Brunn, which were considered “islands of German identity”. These local institutions of the Russian Agricultural Academy were created, as a rule, under the Higher Land Councils and German commandants of individual regions. They were led by SS officers who had at their disposal at least several employees from the RuSKhA. Moreover, in two cases, racial experts worked within these institutions. Until the end of 1941, there were nine such institutions in the protectorates, and in July 1942 there were eleven. This was a significant achievement that the leadership of RuSHA could not have dreamed of. Indeed, in February 1941, Künzel had only five ordinary employees subordinate to him. In mid-1942, the unexpected happened - Künzel developed a severe form of tuberculosis. The leadership of RuSKhA immediately relieved him of his positions. The head of one of the local authorities in Brünn, Hauptsturmführer Johannes Preuss, was appointed as the new head of the Prague branch of RuSHA. Johannes Preuss was Künzel's confidant even while working in Lodz. Having become the head of the Prague branch of RuSHA in November 1942, he literally within a year descended to the level of RuS - the head of Moravia and Bohemia.

From the book Memoirs of Academician E.K. Fedorov. "Stages of the Long Path" author Barabanshchikov Yu.

Creation of a test site, department, branch of IPG in Obninsk During the organization of IPG E.K. Fedorov envisaged the creation of a branch for him not far from Moscow with a sufficiently powerful and unique experimental base for the study of hydrometeorological processes and development

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RuSHA and the adoption of the Nuremberg Laws SS racial experts have always paid increased attention to maintaining anti-Semitic sentiments in society. Strict racial selection implied the automatic rejection of all Jews who were considered

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The agrarian policy of the SS and the “racial inventory” of the Czech people. The German intervention in Czechoslovakia and the creation of the protectorates of Moravia and Bohemia were not just a decisive milestone for the ethnic policy of the Nazis, but became a turning point in racial and settlement

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Chapter 7 THE CRUSHMENT OF THE CZECH STATE In a number of countries that Hitler occupied after carrying out corresponding subversive activities among national minorities, Czechoslovakia occupies a special place. Three million Germans lived there along the Sudeten Mountains, and it was

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Racial pollution (Rassenschande). Adopted on September 15, 1935, the Nuremberg Citizenship and Race Laws prohibited marriage and sexual contact between Germans and Jews in order to prevent incest between “racially alien” population groups and to preserve the purity of Aryan blood.

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4.1. Sober calculation or “racial extravagance”?

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§ 3. Formation of the Czech state As a result of the collapse of the Great Moravian unification, a union of Czech tribes emerged from it, which later became the basis on which the Czech pre-feudal state arose. The territory inhabited by Czech tribes was

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1. Racial division of humanity In conclusion, it makes sense to consider another division of humanity, which has always attracted no less, and maybe even more attention, than its division into ethnic groups. We are talking about dividing people into races. The word “race” itself is long

Czechs, Czechs - self-styled Slavic people, the main population of the Czech Republic (8.4 million). Nationalities: Moravians and Silesians. 53 people live in Slovakia, 550 people live in the USA, 55 people live in Canada, 27 people live in Germany. Total population 10.38 million. Language Czech. Belongs to the West Slavic language group of the Indo-European language family. Official language of the Czech Republic. Dialects: Czech, Middle Moravian, East Moravian, Polish. Writing based on the Latin alphabet. Czech believers are mostly Catholics, there are also Protestants (followers of the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brothers, Lutherans).

Materials used from the book: Russian-Slavic calendar for 2005. Compiled by: M.Yu. Dostal, V.D. Malyugin, I.V. Churkina. M., 2005.

Czechs, Czechs (self-name), people in the Czech Republic (8.4 million people, 1991; in the past, the Czechs included groups that in the 1991 census called themselves Moravans and Silesians). They also live in Slovakia (53 thousand people), the USA (550 thousand people), Canada (55 thousand people), Germany (27 thousand people), etc. The total number is 10.38 million people. Czech is spoken by the western subgroup of the Slavic group of the Indo-European family. The main groups of dialects are: Czech, Middle Moravian, East Moravian, Lasch. Writing based on the Latin alphabet. Believers are mainly Catholics, there are Protestants (followers of the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brothers, Lutherans, etc.).

Small family. In order not to split up their land plots, during their lifetime the parents transferred the farm and house to the eldest of their sons (majorate), who was obliged in return to give them annually a certain amount of money or part of the harvest for maintenance. Ancient family rituals, especially wedding ones, are preserved. The wedding is led by the “starosvatka” (or “friendship”, “speaker”) and the “starosvatka”. The speaker delivered instructions and humorous speeches. Wedding speeches have been printed in separate editions since the 17th century, and in the mid-19th century, detailed guides to celebrating folk weddings were published.

Czechs celebrate many calendar holidays. Christmas is celebrated with close relatives, gifts are hidden under the decorated Christmas tree. Maslenitsa (“meat empty”) is celebrated mainly by rural youth: mummers and musicians go from house to house with carols, receiving treats, and in the evening there are dances in the tavern. The fun ends with a comic funeral of the symbol of Maslenitsa - the double bass. In Western Bohemia, a parody “trial” is being held over Maslenitsa - a straw effigy who is sentenced to death. The culmination of the ritual is the accusatory speech of the “judge” with a playful, topical criticism of the local order. The tradition of Maslenitsa costume balls is preserved in cities. For Easter, crumpets and rolls are prepared, Easter eggs are painted. On Easter Monday, according to tradition, young people whip each other with rods and pour water on each other. On May holidays in villages and small towns, young men place young trees - "may" - in front of the girls' houses; the largest "May" decorates the central square. The holiday of the end of the harvest - dozhinka - is also solemnly celebrated.

Today's post will be about the national composition of the Czech Republic.

The population of the Czech Republic is 10.5 million people. 9.5 million are citizens of the Czech Republic (94.9%), while 500 thousand (5.1%) are foreigners living in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic is a country where you rarely meet Arabs and blacks, of whom there are many in European countries. For example, in large cities in Holland, France, Spain or Italy. I remember I had a bit of a culture shock when the cash registers of the entire supermarket in Amsterdam were staffed by Muslim women wearing headscarves. Or when in Paris at the Place de la République there were only Arabs at a rally against Sarkozy’s policies! In Austria, the number of Arabs has also increased in recent years, many of whom live on benefits.

But let's return to the Czech Republic. Below you will see a list of the most popular nations living in the Czech Republic:

Czechs;
Moravians;
Slovaks;
Ukrainians;
Poles;
Vietnamese;
Germans;
Russians;
Silesians;
Jews;
Hungarians;
Romanians.

Over the past decade, the number of Germans, Slovaks and Poles living in the Czech Republic has decreased significantly. But the number of Ukrainians, Russians and Vietnamese has increased.

The reader may wonder how it is that one of the largest minorities in the country is the Vietnamese. During communism, the governments of Czechoslovakia and Vietnam made a deal regarding the education of the Vietnamese people in Czechoslovakia, and since then they have settled here and do small business. In addition, after the reunification of Germany, the Vietnamese had to leave the country, and they settled in the Czech Republic. Unlike the same Romanians, the Vietnamese open grocery stores in Prague and the Czech Republic, trade in markets, open fast food restaurants with Chinese food, do manicures, and work 12 hours a day. One of the cities in the Czech Republic with the largest Vietnamese diaspora is the city of Cheb.

The Vietnamese have integrated well into Czech society; many know the language and culture of the country very well; Vietnamese children, due to their perseverance, study well at school and then go to universities. Vietnamese people now work in all fields: from artists to doctors.

As I already said, the Vietnamese do a good business: almost all the small shops in the area are owned by them, they are open from 8 am to 10 pm 7 days a week, while the Czech shops are open 6 hours a day from Monday to Friday. Also, the Vietnamese do not like the speed of work of the Czechs and the attitude towards them, so they open banks, their own exchange offices, and publishing companies in the Czech Republic.

During the time that I have lived in the Czech Republic, I have never seen a Vietnamese beg, unlike Romanians or Czechs who like to beg in the center of Prague, especially in tourist areas and near the main station.

Europeans in the Czech Republic

What attracts Germans, Dutch, and British to the Czech Republic? Most Europeans like the Czech Republic's low taxes and low cost of living. Some open their own businesses, others come to work. Most of the people in the country are Slovaks, for whom the Czech Republic is a place where they can get a good education and find a job, and prices in the Czech Republic are lower than in Slovakia. Also, Slovaks do not have a language barrier, because... 90% of the Czech language is .

Compared to Germany, Great Britain and Holland, the Czech Republic has an excellent climate, there are no such terrible winds, winters are milder, and air humidity is not so high.

Russian speakers in the Czech Republic

As for us Russian speakers, most emigrants go to the Czech Republic for a better quality of life. Russians open businesses here, invest money in real estate, hotels and industries. Children go to get education at Czech universities or schools. Due to the terrible economic situation that has prevailed in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukrainians are forced to go to Europe to work. They are ready to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, the main thing is to earn money for the whole family.

So every nation one way or another joins Czech society, and this is very good. Most foreigners here do business, get education or work. In the Czech Republic there is nothing like in France, where emigrants come who do not intend to work or study, but want to sit on benefits and engage in small, bad things.