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The paper discusses the scope and limits of Czechoslovak process of perestroika in the late 1980s. Firstly, the author describes historical condition and obstacles for launching reforms inspired by Gorbachev's 'reconstruction'. Subsequently, it summarises phases of the reform. The election of Mikhail Gorbachev as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, 27th Congress of the CPSU in 1986, plenary session of the CPSU Central Committee in January 1987 and 19th All-Union Conference of the CPSU in 1988. All these events represent major milestones of Soviet perestroika and as well as they define qualitatively different phases of Czechoslovak reform process. While the period of 1985-1986 is characterized as a 'waiting game' and neutral attitude toward Gorbachev on the part of Husák's communist elite, during the second stage (1987-1989) the communist leadership admitted to start with modest reforms in the field of both the political system and economy. As a consequence of the reform process, differentiation and fractionalisation within the Czechoslovak communist leadership took place and resulted in personnel changes in Presidium of the KSC Central Committee and in the Czechoslovak government. For the assessment of the Czechoslovak perestroika, the author will analyse the programme of the Communist party, which was approved by members of Presidium of the KSC Central Committee on the 10th November 1989 - one week before the Velvet revolution. Not only the content of so far omitted document, but notably its genesis and internal debates will be analysed. The empirical basis of the paper is largely grounded in the study of archival sources stored at the National Archives in Prague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress of perestroika has been uneven both within the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. Czechoslovakia is one of the least supportive of the socialist republics of Eastern Europe with respect to perestroika. Perestroika is characterised as embracing economic, political and social changes. This article examines recent changes in the organisation of the major Czechoslovak spectator sports. The professionalisation of players and the commercialisation of sponsorship in both football and ice hockey are in the direction indicated by perestroika. However, these changes remain within strict politically defined limits. Officials tend to justify the developments in terms of perestroika but many of the changes would have happened anyway in response to strong pressure for reform. None the less, now that they are underway, the changes in the spectator sports may constitute the first step towards a wider perestroika in the Czechoslovak economy and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]