November 28, 1989

Velvet Revolution

Czechoslovak Communist leaders concede the end of their power monopoly

One day after a two-hour national strike, the party leader told about 3,500 party activists on live television that monopoly rule had to end.

28 November 1989, on live television

At a nationally televised Communist Party gathering in Prague on 28 November 1989, the new party leader Karel Urbánek told approximately 3,500 activists that the party's future required abandoning its monopoly on power.

Prime Minister Ladislav Adamec said he would ask the Federal Assembly the next day to remove the constitutional clauses guaranteeing the party's leading role. He also promised a broader cabinet including non-Communists, and legislation dropping the requirement that education be based on Marxism-Leninism.

The pressure behind it

Eleven days of demonstrations had followed the 17 November police assault, culminating in a nationwide two-hour general strike on 27 November involving millions.

By 28 November, 10 of the 13 party Presidium members had already resigned.

Civic Forum raised the bid

Within hours, Civic Forum answered with further demands: President Gustáv Husák's departure, and laws guaranteeing free elections, freedom of the press and freedom of association.

The following day, 29 November, both chambers of the Federal Assembly unanimously abolished Article 4's guarantee of the party's leading role, and revised the provisions on the National Front and Marxist-Leninist education.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 7 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

The November 28 announcement and November 29 parliamentary vote are distinct events frequently collapsed into one date. Contemporary reporting and Czech Television's archive place the Federal Assembly vote on November 29, although one Czech government chronology lists it under November 28.
Crowd estimates during the revolution vary substantially by source; they should be presented as estimates rather than exact counts.