Václav Havel was born in Prague on October 5, 1936. He became one of the country’s leading intellectuals and a respected playwright. From an early age, he developed a deep interest in European literature and drama, which he pursued within the so-called “Class of ’36,” a literary circle of young writers opposed to what Havel described as the Soviet regime’s “cemetery peace.” After the Prague Spring of 1968 and its violent suppression by Soviet troops, Havel emerged as a committed political activist and was soon branded an enemy of the state by the authorities in Prague, then a satellite of Moscow. He was banned from working in the theatre and spent several years in prison. Throughout this period, he remained under constant surveillance by the Czechoslovak communist regime. Havel became a central figure of the Velvet Revolution, a sustained, nonviolent uprising that brought down the communist regime through mass demonstrations over five weeks. On December 29, 1989, he was elected president of Czechoslovakia. In June 1990, the country held its first free elections since the fall of communist rule. During his presidency, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, a development Havel never fully accepted. In... The post Story and Photos of Václav Havel, Who Died 14 Years Ago Today appeared first on Prague Morning .