Not at all. People were protesting (already for few years in fact), but if the government would decide to use military to suppress them, they would succeed easily. Army declared 100% support of the government. I still think CIA had its hands in the support of the opposition (that's exactly the type of work agency is supposed to do), but for a change it lead to something positive (and I am pretty sure they were not sure it won't end up in civil war like Yugoslavia).

Why government basically folded without resistance while actually holding the upper hand was explained as an attempt to avoid civil war. The divisive line wouldn't be through religions, regions, classes but through generations - fathers against sons, young wanting a change. So sanity luckily prevailed.

Central/east european slavic nations are just not that bloodthirsty, long experience of being subjugated under foreign powers (austro-hungarian empire in this case).