The basis for the parallel society was born in the mind of Ivan Yerus, a Czech poet and artistic director of the rock band The Plastic People of the Universe. After members of this band were arrested in 1976 for refusing to tow the government line, Yerus called on the community of Czech artists to create music labels, publishing houses, concert halls, art expositions. He hypothesized that if enough infrastructure were created, an independent society would spontaneously form - functioning as a pocket of creative freedom in a highly oppressed society.