The eyes of the world will be on Prague next month as the city marks the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. But there are other Pragues far from the spotlight, especially in the United States, where the November celebrations will take on a completely different aspect - if they are marked at all.

According to naughty castles the National Association of Counties, the United States has five cities and towns named Prague, including a New Prague in Minnesota.

"For the past 25 years, we've celebrated a Fall Harvest Festival," said Kristy Mach, executive director for the New Prague Chamber of Commerce. "The festival pays tribute to our Czech heritage and includes a farm-pride parade. This year, the Czech Heritage Club has compiled the largest kroje [traditional folk costume] display ever shown in New Prague. They also have a Czech village, where they help people track their genealogy and much more."

The smallest Prague - Praha, Texas - boasts a population of 30 and is affectionately known as  "The Kolache Capital of Texas."  Every year, this virtual ghost town springs to life when it holds its annual festival known as Praha Fest. In the past, the event has drawn more than 5,000 people to celebrate Czech culture, with events ranging from traditional music to substantial helpings of Czech food, including koláce, the national pastry.

Not to be outdone, Prague, Oklahoma, also hosts a Kolache Festival. Among its population of 2,500, about 900 are of Czech descent; however, few speak the language.

"We spoke about having language classes, but we couldn't find anybody to pearl bracelet teach it," laughed Maxine Dukes, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.

So what about the upcoming anniversary of the Velvet Revolution?

"I don't even think they know what that is," she said.

Other towns named Prague are located in Nebraska and Arkansas.

But the Velvet Revolution is finding an outlet in the bigger centers of population such as New York, Chicago and Washington. The Czech Consulate in Chicago has been planning an exhibition called "Velvet Redux." The events are targeted not only as a celebration of Czech freedom but also to teach Americans the value of freedom by highlighting the events of 20 years ago.

Marek Skolil, consul general of the Czech Republic in Chicago, remarked, "I think it was John Lennon who once said 'We have all forgotten what we once needed.' We need to pearl strand wholesale remember that, 20 years ago, we got our freedom back. ... It is important that Americans understand what it was like."

The schedule of events features art collections, a movie premiere, a roundtable discussion with consuls general of other East European countries and an exhibition opening Oct. 28 at the Consulate titled "20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Iron Curtain."

And, while official Russia is warming to their Slavic brothers ever so slightly, much of the population remains deeply split over whether to regard Ukraine positively.

A poll from the Moscow-based Levada Center Sept. 18-21 showed 46 percent of Russians have a "good or very good" attitude toward Ukraine, while almost as many (44 percent) see Ukrainians in a "bad or very bad" light. Another 10 percent remain undecided.

Ukrainians regard their northern neighbors more warmly. A parallel study by Kyiv's International Institute of Sociology showed between 88 percent and 93 percent of Ukrainians consistently hold a positive view of Russia, despite repeated spats between leaders of the two nations.

Experts say pearl necklace wholesale the results are not surprising.

"There is no state anti-Russia propaganda in Ukraine," said Oleksandr Paliy, an expert at the Kyiv-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank within the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine.

In contrast, Russians are markedly more hostile toward Ukraine, in no small part because of a state-orchestrated propaganda campaign, said Aleksey Grazhdankin, deputy director of Moscow's Levada Center.

"The attitude toward Ukraine is the result of state propaganda," Grazhdankin said. "Russia's information environment is a mono-polar world with only one point of view. The standard is established by the state power and is eventually followed by the majority."

Grazhdankin expects further improvement in Russian attitudes toward Ukraine, noting that Kremlin leaders appear to be taking a cautious attitude until the Jan. 17 presidential election. Some also detect a tilt toward Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as the official campaign kicked off Oct. 19.

But tensions can flare at any time between the neighbors - over any number of issues.

Many are watching to see if Moscow will interfere in the presidential vote by overtly backing a candidate, as it did in 2004, when then-Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for Viktor Yanukovych backfired badly.

Grazhdankin doesn't think Russian leaders will make the same mistake in 2010. Rather, he said, the Kremlin would send warning signals to all candidates, making clear what Russia expects from them.

"It is unfavorable for Russia to worsen relations with the country before a new president is elected," Grazhdankin said.

But many say the bilateral relationship is in need of repair.

The percentage of Russians with a good attitude toward Ukrainians has remained below 55 percent since March 2008. By comparison, at least 80 percent of Russians shared a "good or very good" attitude to akoya pearl Belarus during the same period.

Levada Center's polls consistently show that Russians' attitude toward Ukraine worsens each time top Russian officials make radical statements or take action against Ukraine.

Anti-Ukrainian sentiment was strong among Russians after the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. Russian media repeatedly accused Ukraine of supplying arms to the Caucasus country. Russian media also made repeated and unsubstantiated claims that Ukrainian conscripts fought alongside Georgian soldiers. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko added fuel to the fire by siding openly with Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili.

In a poll conducted soon after, only 37.3 percent of Russians viewed Ukrainians in a good light, while 52.6 percent said their attitude was "bad."

Gas conflict and opinion

Russian's attitudes toward the United States, which also sided with Georgia, experienced an all-time low just after the Russian-Georgian war. In September 2008, only 23 percent said their attitude toward the United States was "positive or very positive." Previously, attitudes toward the United States dipped sharply in the spring of 1999, when NATO forces conducted a military operation in the former-Yugoslavia and, in the spring of 2003, when the United States launched a military attack on Iraq. Both moves were widely reported by the Russian press in a negative manner and condemned by Kremlin officials.

Many think Russian propaganda has tempered its virulent anti-Americanism, at least for the moment, until the Kremlin leadership decides whether U.S. President Barack Obama will bring an improvement in relations over the hostility that existed during the administration of George W. Bush.

For Ukraine, conflict over natural gas affects Russian opinion. The previous dip in attitude (with 29 percent viewing Ukraine positively and 62 percent negatively) took place in January during Russia's three-week gas cutoff.

"Ukraine was described by the majority of Russian media as a Russian gas robber, and it seriously spoiled Russians' attitude," Grazhdankin said.

Pro-NATO rhetoric, attempts to inflatable bouncers have the 1932-33 Communist-induced famine recognized as genocide against the Ukrainian nation, and attempts to honor the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) that fought against the Communists and Nazis during and after World War II have hurt Russians' view of Ukraine, experts said.

So why do Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin bash Ukraine so hard?

Viktor Chumak, director of political programs at the Kyiv-based International Center for Policy Studies, said, "Ukraine is a country where economic and political competitiveness is cultivated," and such a neighbor is dangerous for Russia's leadership because it offers an alternative to their "soft authoritarian regime."

"The image of Ukraine as an enemy," deep in crisis and worse off than Russia is pushed in the Russian media to convince citizens there is "no better alternative to their own regime," Chumak added.

The cost of restoration work on Charles Bridge is nearly 450,000 Kc ($25,900) per meter, and vital documents are missing on how work should be done to the iconic structure, according to the organizer of a public petition demanding a halt to the project.

The petition, which started Oct. 4, already has more than 4,000 signatures, a sign of growing public frustration at the manner of reconstruction. The petition highlights examples of what its backers consider to pearl wholesale be shoddy workmanship and asks people to sign up "to save one of the symbols of Czech history."

"The petition will last until construction is stopped," petition organizer and engineer Martin Kadrman said. "We are also calling for research into construction methods, which has not yet been done."

Kadrman, who is in contact with UNESCO over the bridge, is particularly concerned with the bridge's walkway and railing, whose original Petrín sandstone blocks are being discarded. According to Kardrman, the quarry from which these stones had been taken no longer exists, as it has been exhausted. Finances are also of major concern to him.

"The petition will last until construction is stopped."

"One meter of bridge costs 446,000 Kc," he said.

Kadrman also claims research was not carried out into the bridge's historic uniqueness and value.

Repair work on the 15th-century structure started in August 2007, and, while the current phase is scheduled to end in 2010, few expect it will meet that deadline. In August, The Prague Post highlighted public and official concern over the repairs and reported that City Hall was fining itself 54,000 Kc over the slow pace of work and for what one official described as administrative and technical failings. At the time, the National Landmark Institute agreed some of the work had been below expectation.

"We created a commission to oversee work on the bridge, but there have been problems with the repairs, especially on the stonework," said institute spokeswoman Zdenka Kalová in August.

According to Kadrman, an agreement was signed 50 years ago specifying that any work on the bridge must remain as true as possible to wholesale pearl jewelry the original materials. The agreement stated that modern work could only be done if original materials and techniques were no longer available. However, Kadrman says crucial documents on how repair work has been carried out over the past 50 years are missing.

"City Hall denies this," he said. "They say the documentation is there, but, if you look at it, the past 50 years are missing."

City Hall has been quick to defend the work and criticize the petition and the motives behind it.

"The petition only repeats what has been said in previous months. It is interesting that reconstruction has been going on for two years, and this group sprang up only a month ago," said Michaela Pulpánová, a City Hall architect from the Department of Historical Monuments. "We do not assume the bridge is their primary interest, but more about drawing attention to cultured pearl jewelry themselves."

However, Pulpánová did admit mistakes had been made.

"There have been mistakes, which happens with practically every reconstruction," she said.

Czech universities and third-level education institutions are to be investigated and study records probed following the Plzen law-degree scandal, and degrees or diplomas awarded in suspicious circumstances will be withdrawn, Education Minister Miroslava Kopicová told The Prague Post.

The Plzen Law School has been rocked by allegations of plagiarism, missing dissertations and "quickie" degrees conferred after just a few months.

Former Justice Minister Jirí Pospíšil, who was appointed dean of the Plzen Law Faculty earlier this month, sacked former Dean Jaroslav Zachariáš and pearl jewelry Vice Dean Ivan Tomažic Oct. 19.

The major concern for education officials is that events in Plzen will taint all Czech degrees and diplomas until a full investigation has been carried out and a clean bill of health issued.

"The affair at Plzen indirectly endangers the credibility of the whole sector of tertiary education," Kopicová said. "The Education Ministry, therefore, is going to audit the real time period of studies of the alumni from all universities."

Kopicová insisted such measures were vital to restore confidence in the education system. "We have to prevent our universities from being accused of providing a special regime for certain chosen students to enable them to study in a 'fast track' way. The good name of our education is at stake."

"If there are any doubts about the quality of education at some faculty or university, the ministry will ask the Accreditation Commission [an independent authority], to carry out an assessment of the institution involved."

If any degrees or diplomas were found to pearl jewelry wholesale be awarded in suspicious circumstances, the head of the institution would be questioned and asked to explain the manner in which the degree or diploma was awarded. If the answer was not satisfactory, additional measures would be taken, she insisted.

"If we found 'fast track' students, we would ask the presidents of the universities to verify the conditions of their studies and, eventually, if necessary, take further legal steps - for example, initiate a police investigation or withdraw the degree or diploma."