Mission Accomplished

When he was elected president in December 1989, Vaclav Havel was better known to most of his countrymen for his samizdat political essays than for his theatrical plays. People looked up to him, admired the power and clarity of his writing and respected him for his bravery and sense of duty. In 1979, after the communist regime had sentenced him to four-and-a-half years in prison for subversion, Havel was given the option to emigrate. He chose imprisonment, because he was convinced that his place was at home, where he could do the most to carry out his mission. As he...

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