velvet revolution: november 17, 2004 (sono in ritardo, come al solito), fifteen years ago today, a modest, officially sanctioned student demonstration in prague spontaneously grew into a major outburst of popular revulsion toward the ruling communist regime. at that point the largest protest in 20 years, the demonstrations helped to spark the velvet revolution that brought down communism in czechoslovakia and put dissident playwright václav havel in the presidential palace. nuove declassificazioni