The new state, a democratic republic known as Czechoslovakia, was broken up during World War II, but was reestablished at the end of the war in 1945. From 1948 to 1989 the republic was ruled by a Communist regime. In November 1989 the Communist government was ousted and Czechoslovakia again became a democratic state. During the early 1990s, political and economic conflicts developed between the Czechs and Slovaks, and leaders of both groups decided to dissolve the republic. In January 1993 Czechoslovakia was replaced by two independent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia .
Mountain ranges bound much of the country.
The Czech Republic contains two main regions Bohemia, located in the west, and Moravia, located in the east. Part of the region of Silesia occupies the north-central section of the country. The central part of the Czech Republic is dominated by the elevated plateaus of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the low plains and rolling hills of the Bohemian Basin. A number of rivers drain these areas, and much of the country's farmland is located there. Rising along the edges of these central regions and extending outward to form much of the country's natural border are a number of mountain ranges.