It can be succinctly summarized by stating that goods were in short supply. Especially goods from the so-called
of the west was a great rarity, often not appearing in stores at all. Nowadays you can it’s hard to imagine that there wouldn’t be, for example, rifles available on the countershigh-quality electronics, cosmetics, hygiene items or even today’s quite common oranges and bananas.
Socialist RaJ
At that time, the state establishment had supervision not only over shops and entertainment, but also over the feeding of its inhabitants. It was established for such purposes national enterprise Restaurants and canteens (abbreviated RaJ), which established all gastronomic establishments in the area. His sphere included restaurants, canteens, bars and other places. Business started operating in the 1950s and its operation was only interrupted by the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
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The entire gastro industry fell under RaJ. , … |
I collect stamps
Children’s entertainment was also corrected to a certain extent by the then regime. Children from 6 to 15 went to Pionýr, which was an organization under the Socialist Youth Unioni.e. the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. But also outside the organization
they discovered the hits of the time. For example, she gained great popularity
cécka, or collecting them. The tag was nothing more than plastic colored pieces originally intended as door hangers. In the 80s, however, it was a relatively valuable collector’s item among children, which also found its way into the lyrics of several songs.
For shopping at Tuzex
If you have longed for real jeans or other fads of the West, you had to direct your steps to Tuzexi.e. a special store in which was not paid in money, but in vouchers. It was a special currency that
obtained in exchange for currencies (ie cash in foreign currency). For example, in the 1980s, 1 voucher was converted to 5 CZK, while the average salary at that time was 2,000 CZK.
Tuzex byl foreign trade company and was established in July 1957. Its name is an abbreviation of two words –
tuearthly export. It was mostly available here goods from abroadwhich was not available in normal stores at all. It worked about food, cosmetics, clothes, washing machines, radios, players or tape recorders.
Gradually, Tuzex stores were opened throughout the territory and became a hallmark of a kind of exclusivity.
 At that time, the police were hiding under the abbreviation VB. , … |
Test your knowledge
1. What was Tuzex?
a) headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic
b) foreign trade enterprise
c) the name of the children’s pioneer organization
2. What was hidden under the abbreviation RaJ?
a) Ráj drugstore and other goods
b) socialist clothing store Ráj
c) national enterprise Restaurants and canteens
3. When an acquaintance told you that he “found something under the counter”, what was he implying?
a) purchase of discounted goods
b) profit of goods on the black market
c) secret profit of goods that were not normally available to ordinary customers
4. Who was the moneylender?
a) a person who exchanged vouchers for crowns and vice versa
b) store manager
c) political worker
5. What was the name of the organization that almost all elementary school children joined?
a) Junák
b) Scout
c) Pioneer
6. What was a t-shirt?
a) collector’s item in the shape of plastic letters
b) favorite children’s TV show
c) music band
7. What was the name of the paper coupons that could be used for shopping at Tuzex?
a) coupons
b) bony
c) valuty
8. What was the name of the shopping bag that everyone had at home then?
a) netting
b) canvas
c) flour
9. The law enforcement officers of that time did not drive in cars with the inscription Police, but with the abbreviation VB. What did she mean?
a) shaky security
b) free block
c) public safety
10. What did the acronym RVHP mean?
a) Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
b) Revolutionary Committee of Economic Policy
c) Russian national economic platform
Correct answers:
1. B – Tuzex was an abbreviation of domestic export.
2. C – A larger enterprise belonging to RaJ was able to produce up to 10,000 meals per day.
3. C – A fairly common way of shopping under the previous regime. It was important to have acquaintances, preferably behind the counter.
4. A – Moneylenders also traded in other commodities, such as weapons or drugs.
5. C – Pioneer, or Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Youth Union. The red color was supposed to symbolize the workers’ blood spilled in the fight for a better world.
6. A – There is even a song about the phenomenon of tag collecting that is still popular today.
7. B – The liquidation of the vouchers was decided relatively late, only in the spring of 1992.
8. A – Today, fishnet is slowly but surely coming back into the limelight.
9. C – Public security belonged to the SNB, i.e. the National Security Service, which was established in 1947.
10. A – The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was an interstate economic organization of socialist countries. Basically, it was a power tool for the central control of economies by the Soviet Union.
