THE UNOFFICIAL HIERARCHY IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK PEOPLE’SARMY BETWEEN 1968 AND 1989: FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF ETHNOLOGY

Abstract

The length of the already completed period of compulsory military service (CMS) played an unofficial but exceptionally important role in the everyday practice of CMS soldiers conscripted into the army for two years (730 days). The decreasing time remaining until their return to civilian life (the “number”) significantly strengthened the real position of a CMS soldier within the military community, a part of which he was. Alongside the official hierarchy, an unofficial hierarchy (an old-sweats’ system) was being created which recycled dangerous discrepancies (old sweats vs. rookies) and marked the everyday life of military units, especially in terms of interpersonal relations.

Keywords: Army of the Czech Republic, Czechoslovak People´s Army, compulsory military service, everyday life, normalization