Radio Prague International - latest articles

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and a 95-year-old veteran of the Second World War were among the first people in the Czech Republic on Sunday to receive a coronavirus vaccine. In the coming days, some 10,000 people, mainly medical professionals and seniors, will roll up their sleeves to get inoculated.

After nearly five years of negotiations, Britain and the European Union have reached an agreement on trade relations after Brexit. The announcement came on Christmas Eve, the traditional day when Czechs give each other presents. But was it a welcome gift for Czech businesses? I asked Lukáš Kovanda, the chief analyst at Trinity Bank, what he thinks of the Brexit deal.

The Czech Development Agency was set up in 2008, under the Czech Foreign Affairs Ministry, with the aim to help eradicate poverty in the world and contribute to sustainable development. Where is it helping today, how are the countries for development cooperation selected and how has the coronavirus crisis impacted its work? Those are just some of the questions I discussed with the head of the agency Jan Slíva.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a worldiwe economic impact, often most damaging to small businesses and the self-employed. Many of them are reliant on the Christmas season for most of their income, but with epidemic measures in force, Christmas markets have been forced to limit their operations significantly. To help struggling businesses and craftsmen, two women have set up Darujeme české Vánoce, an online project that seeks to get Czechs to buy locally.

The coronavirus epidemic has hit the Czech culture sector badly, especially live performers. Theatre productions have had to remain closed, with one exception. Loutky v nemocnici (Puppets in hospital) is a drama-therapy group that is still allowed to perform in several of the country’s hospitals. I spoke to its chairwoman Marka Míková just ahead of her trip to Prague’s Motol hospital and asked her how things have changed during the epidemic.

A new book called Naše hory, lyže, sníh, (Our Mountains, Skis and Snow) explores the Czech passion for winter sports. It covers all sorts of topics, from skiing pioneers and famous ski races, to the tradition of post-war collective recreation and the beginning of snowboarding in the country. It also presents Czech winter sports legends, from ski-jumper Jiří Raška to Ester Ledecká.

Veselé Vánoce! It’s Christmas Eve, traditionally the most important day for Czechs in this holiday season of good cheer. It is on this day that Christmas presents are exchanged – left under the tree by Ježíšek (the Baby Jesus) – following a meal of fried carp and potato salad. Known as Štědrý den, or “generous day”, December 24 is traditionally a day for fasting before feasting (in that no meat is served). And for generations of Czechs, it is also a time for enjoying televised fairytales about princes and paupers, damsels and devils.

With more than 30 books and 1.5 million copies sold under his belt, Michal Viewegh is quite possibly the Czech Republic’s most popular contemporary author. His books have been published in 15 different languages and have also been adopted into several films. He is perhaps best known for his humorous but revealing book Bliss Was it in Bohemia (Báječná léta pod psa), which centres around the life of a family during the communist era.

The majority of Czech believers are Catholics. However compared to neighboring Poland or Slovakia, Czechs are rather lukewarm in their faith. And Christmas traditions in this part of the world are a colourful  mix of Christian and pagan rites.

The Czech Republic is currently experiencing another rise in coronavirus infections. Data indicate that the past five days have been equivalent to the country’s highest emergency level in the PES counter-epidemic system. Health Minister Jan Blatný says increasing lockdown measures is likely, but believes that the rise in numbers is in part a consequence of more thorough testing.