Czech Officials Research Articles

Overview of Czech Officials in the Administration of the Tuzla District (1884-1914): A Contribution to the Study of Czech Participation in the Administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina

This paper is an overview of the Czech officials in the administration of the Donja Tuzla District during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The paper has been written as a part of the author's obligation in the Ph.D. studies, and it aims to represent a basis for further research in this field. The paper has been written according to the schemes of the administration published in the „Bosniak“ journal, official reports on the administration, laws, and order imposed upon Bosnia-Herzegovina, journals, and relevant studies. A general conclusion is that the Czechs were very numerous strangers in service in the administration of the Donja Tuzla District, that they were present on both district and county levels, that they worked in every county of the district, as well as in every department of the administration.

The position of Subcarpathian Rus’ and Rusyns in 1919 in the assessments of Czech officials (According to the materials of the Prague Archive of the Office of the President of the Republic)

The article analyzes the situation in the historical lands of Subcarpathian Rus’ and the problems of the local Eastern Slavic population, which became part of the Czechoslovak state right after the First World War in 1918, in the assessments of Czech officials, who visited Subcarpathian region during 1919. Czech officials paid enormous attention mostly to the internal political situation in this region, the relationship between various cultural and national currents among the local Rusyn population, as well as the attitude of local Rusyns towards the Czechoslovak Republic. Most Czech officials were quite critical of the representatives of the traditional Russophile trend among the Rusyns, who considered the Carpathian Rusyns to be part of a single Russian people and focused on the Russian literary language and Russian culture. According to Czech officials, the Russophile trend was distinguished by obvious pro-Hungarian sympathies and a disloyal attitude towards Czechoslovakia. In their opinion, more acceptable for Prague was the so-called “local”, as well as the Ukrainian direction, which focused on the local language and declared loyalty to the Czechoslovak state. It was this circumstance that predetermined the policy of so-called “soft Ukrainization”, which was carried out by the Czechoslovak administration in Subcarpathian Rus’ in the 1920s and which gradually contributed to the spread of Ukrainian identity among the local Rusyn population.

Role of Czech Republic in the Development of Belarus Civil Society

The reaction of the Belarusian authorities to the August 2020 demonstrations, drew strong condemnation from the Czech Republic. The article analyzes the reasons for such close attention of the Czech officials to the Belarusian problems. The historical context of the Czech Republic’s support for the Belarusian opposition is outlined; revealed the human rights and value aspects of the foreign policy of Prague, where support for democracy and human rights is an integral feature of Czech diplomacy at its present stage of development. The author examines the «Program of Transformational Cooperation» of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He comes to the conclusion that the Belarusian direction has always been among the priorities and has not disappeared from the agenda. However, the stability of the Belarusian regime led to the fact that the Czechs began to contribute to the development of democracy in other countries, where its «implantation» was more real.

Политическое положение в Подкарпатской Руси в оценках чехословацких чиновников и учёных

The article analyzes political, social and cultural situation in Subcarpathian Rus in assessments of Czech officials and ethnographers dated by the time when this region joined Czechoslovakia in 1919. The end of the First World War, disintegration of Austria- Hungary and subsequent incorporation of the lands of historical Hungarian Rus into Czechoslovak state presented the Czechoslovak authorities with the vital need to solve numerous problems related to the ethnic and cultural peculiarities and national identity of the local East Slavic population. Czech ethnographers and officials played an important role in the development of the main directions of the specific policy of the Czechoslovak administration in Subcarpathian Rus. In their practical recommendations to the central government Czech officials tried to take into account the social, cultural, and linguistic characteristics of the local population as well as the geopolitical interests of Czechoslovakia in that strategically important region bordering with Poland, Hungary and Romania. The acquaintance of Czech officials and scholars with the situation in Subcarpathian Rus resulted in maneuvering of the Czechoslovak administration between several cultural and national projects in this region. However, during the 1920-ties representatives of the Ukrainian movement enjoyed the preferences of the authorities in the educational and cultural spheres. Subsequently, this led to the reinforced position of the Ukrainian movement in Subcarpathian Rus and to the growing contradictions between Ukrainophiles and Russophiles during 1930-ties.

Situation in Subcarpathian Rus in 1919 as Reported By the Czech Officials

The article focuses on various aspects of the situation in Subcarpathian Rus raised and analyzed in the reports of the Czech officials, who visited the Subcarpathian region during 1919. Most Czech officials stated the vital need for a far-sighted and responsible policy in this strategically important region. In their reports to Prague, most Czech officials divided the local Rusyn intelligentsia in Subcarpathian Rus into pro-Russian and local orientations, and recommended Czechoslovak authorities to rely on and to provide support for the representatives of the local orientation as more preferable for Prague interests in that region.

Severity of powdery mildew on winter barley in the Czech Republic in 1976-2005

Results of scoring the reaction to powdery mildew of 240 winter barley varieties that were gradually included in 392 Czech Official Trials conducted at 21 locations were analysed. The reaction of the varieties was determined on the basis of the level of infection by the disease. Therefore, the data can also be used to assess the disease severity in years and at locations. Several characteristics indicative of disease severity were considered, including the disease severity coefficient (= average infection of susceptible varieties in trials with a high disease severity/the proportion of such trials). The value of the coefficient is inversely proportional to disease severity. The highest powdery mildew severity was found in 1976, and the years 1988, 1990 and 2003 were characterised by high infection of the examined varieties. In contrast, the disease was practically absent in 1979 and 1982, and its severity was also low in 1978, 1981, 1985, 1991 and 1998. Very low disease severity was found for the period 1977–1982 when insufficient disease severity was found on average in 78% of the trials and high disease severity in only 6% of the trials. The highest disease severity was found at locations Trutnov, Horažďovice and Chrastava. The analysis of data from a large number of field trials conducted at various locations for a period of 30 years confirmed that powdery mildew is an important disease of winter barley in the Czech Republic. Known genetic sources of resistance and current methods, such as marker assisted selection, enable breeders to solve this problem.

Variety resistance of winter barley to powdery mildew in the field in 1976-2005

The results of evaluation of powdery mildew resistance in winter barley varieties in 285 Czech Official Trials conducted at 20 locations were analysed. Over the period, the number of varieties tested per year increased from four to seven in 1976−1985 to 53−61 in 2002−2005. To assess the resistance of varieties, only trials with sufficient disease severity were used. In 1976−2000, six varieties (1.7% of the varieties tested in the given years) ranked among resistant (average resistance of a variety in a year > 7.5) including NR-468 possessing the gene <i>Mla13</i>, KM-2099 with <i>mlo</i> and Marinka with the genes <i>Mla7</i>, <i>MlaMu2</i>. In 2001−2005, already 33 varieties (16.9%) ranked among resistant, of which Traminer possessing the genes <i>Ml(St)</i> and <i>Ml(IM9 </i> dominated. The proportion of susceptible varieties (average resistance ≤ 5.5) did not change in the two mentioned periods. Two-rowed varieties began to be tested as late as in 1990 (the first variety was Danilo), however, no difference was found in the resistance of two- and six-rowed varieties. Using an example of two pairs of varieties (Dura-Miraj and Marinka-Tiffany) with identical genes for specific resistance but with different resistance in the field, the efficiency of non-specific resistance is discussed. The resistance of domestic and foreign varieties was similar in 1994−2000; however, in 2001−2005 the difference was 0.75 point to disadvantage of domestic ones.

Powdery Mildew Resistance of Winter Barley Varieties in Czech Official Trials

In 1996–2005, resistance to powdery mildew was studied in 167 winter barley varieties (of them 83 two-rowed and 84 six-rowed, 45 Czech and 122 foreign ones) included in the Czech Official Trials in that period. Seventeen known resistances to powdery mildew were identified (Ar, Bw, Di, Dr, Dt, Ha, HH, Ch, IM9, La, Lu, Ly, Ra, Ru, Sp, St and We). Unknown resistances were found in 25 varieties, in six of which (= 3.6% of all the examined set) they were effective to all used pathotypes of the pathogen. Six varieties exhibited heterogeneity in the examined trait, i.e. they are composed of lines with different resistances to powdery mildew. The most frequent resistances in the set were Ra, which was detected in 89 varieties (= 53%), and Bw was found in 30 varieties (18%). The resistances Sp, Ly, Ha, HH and Ch were also frequent. However, the frequency of the last three resistances cannot be quantified since we were not able to identify these resistances during the whole examined period.  

Powdery Mildew Resistance of Foreign Spring Barley Varieties in Czech Official Trials

In 1993–2005, resistance to powdery mildew was studied in 168 foreign varieties of spring barley included in Czech Official Trials in that period. Sixteen known resistances to powdery mildew were identified (Ab, Al, Ar, HH, Kw, La, Ly, MC, Mlo, N81, Ri, Ru, Sp, St, Tu, and We). Unknown resistances were found in 32 varieties, in nine of which these resistances were effective against all used pathotypes of the pathogen. Seven varieties (= 5%) exhibited heterogeneity in the examined trait, i.e. they are composed of lines (usually of two) with different resistances to powder mildew. The resistance Mlo, which was found in 75 homogeneous varieties (= 46%), dominated in the set. The resistances Ru, We, Ar and La were frequently present. The examined set includes 53% of varieties resistant to all used indigenous pathotypes of the pathogen.  

Ban on cage beds premature: Czech officials

Mental health advocates across Central Europe are celebrating the death of the cage bed, a device used in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary to restrain patients with mental disabilities. However, a lack of staff and resources to deal with these patients means the ban may be premature. ![

The Rule of the Average: Czech Official Literature in the 1970s

I approach literary creation from a perspective which treats it not as an irrational and mysterious phenomenon, the result of the extraordinary inspiration of a genius separated from other men and from ordinary life, but on the contrary as a particularly precise and coherent expression of the problems which pose themselves to ordinary men in their daily lives and of the ways in which they are led to resolve them. Lucien Goldmann, Criticism and Dogmatism in Literature

The Rule of the Average: Czech Official Literature in the 1970s

The Rule of the Average: Czech Official Literature in the 1970s