The anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia, which took place on October 28, 1918, is observed in the Slovak Republic as a memorial day. In the Czech Republic however it is revered as a much more important date, being a national holiday. Regardless, the extrication of the two nations from Austro-Hungarian rule immediately following the First World War is collectively seen as a celebratory moment in the history of both nations.
On October 28, 1918, with recognition from France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States of America, the new nation of Czechoslovakia declared its independence from a dissolving Austro-Hungarian Empire. Tomáš Masaryk, a staunch advocate of Czechoslovak independence during World War I, became the country's first President. For Slovak citizens, the creation of Czechoslovakia at the time meant the chance to build basic social, cultural and educational institutions that they, unlike most European nations, were missing.
In 1948, soon after the Second World War the country became a Communist state with a centrally planned economy and remained this way up until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The joint state comprising Czechs and Slovaks was formally dissolved in 1992 and both states became independent countries on January 1, 1993.
