Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Since the federalization in 1968, Czechoslovakia had divided citizenship, either of the Czech Socialist Republic or of the Slovak Socialist Republic (the word 'Socialist' was dropped from both names shortly after the Velvet Revolution). This distinction, however, had little effect on the citizen's life. On January 1, 1993, all Czechoslovak citizens automatically became citizens either of the Czech Republic or the Slovak Republic, based on their previous citizenship, permanent residence address, birthplace, family ties, job, and other criteria. Additionally, people had one year's time to claim the other citizenship under certain conditions.
Slovak mafia
In 1989, Czechoslovakia overthrew communism, and in 1993 the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic separated. In the first half of the 1990s, the issue of organized crime was underrated and legislature concerning the fight against it was inadequate. Crime rates in Slovakia soared in the 1990s, and the first post-communist gangsters emerged. At the time of the 1994-1998 Vladimír Mečiar's government, organized crime became well established in the country and it penetrated the highest political positions. An often cited example is the Slovak Secret Service under Ivan Lexa and his deputy Jaroslav Svěchota.