The clash with the regime was more stressful for my father than the battles of World War II
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Richard Tesařík was born on 25 December 1945 in Ostrava. His father was Major General Richard Tesařík Sr., who fought in the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps under the command of Ludvík Svoboda during World War II and received numerous awards for his heroism, including the title Hero of the Soviet Union. His mother Markéta, née Olšanová, came from a Czech-Ukrainian family and was born in Kiev. His parents met in Svoboda’s army. At the time of Richard’s childhood, his father was still in the army, but because of his conflicts with his superiors, he was persecuted, imprisoned and retired in 1960. His mother taught at the Czech Technical University. The family lived in Dejvice, Prague, in Zelená Street. Richard Tesařík graduated from the grammar school (then SVVŠ) on Velvarská Street, today’s Evropská Street. He devoted himself to athletics and music. After faiuling the entry exams to the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (FTVS), he completed basic military service, then worked as a stagehand at the National Theatre and Tyl Theatre until 1983. Later he worked as a window and shop window cleaner until the fall of the communist regime. In 1975, with his brother Vladimír, he founded the Yo Yo Band, which performed publicly during the normalisation period, but achieved significantly greater popularity in the 1990s. Richard Tesařík still performs (2025) with the Yo Yo Band and also acts in musicals, films and TV series.
