Background
• 1964: Khrushchev dismissed; Brezhnev (Foreign Min.), Kosygin (Premier), Andropov (KGB Head) took control.
• Instability in E. Europe as Communist leaders reimposed control:
◦ Albania (left Warsaw Pact 1961) flourished under Hoxha, w. China’s support.
◦ Romania (Ceausescu) resisted bloc economy & Warsaw Pact manoeuvres.
• USSR itself reimposed control (from 1966), showing weak leadership (Bracke, 2003).
CAUSES
1. A revolution of the Intelligentsia?
• Jerome Karabel (1990): Prague Spring = conflict: ‘reformist’ intellectuals vs ‘conservative’ APPARATCHIKI.
• Ideological opposition to hardline Communism long existed in Czechoslovakia:
◦ 1956: Union of WRITERS opposed censorship.
◦ 1961: Govt crackdown on ‘cultural modernism’ failed; popular newspapers continued criticism.
◦ 1963: Kafka (banned novelist) conference in Liblice.
◦ 1967: Writers’ Congress demanded free speech/democracy.
◦ 1968: Goldstücker (Writers’ Union/ editor of Literarni Noviny) openly called for reform.
2. Economic collapse & low living standards?
• 1948: Communist takeover → economic decline:
◦ ¼ million small businesses closed.
◦ 1953: DEVALUATION (1Kcs → 0.02Kcs) → riots.
◦ 1962: Govt admitted Five-Year Plan failure.
◦ 1963: Economy shrank 2%.
◦ Inflation, shortages, queues.
• 1965: ‘New Economic Model’ (Deputy Premier Ota Sik) → failed → demands for political reform.
3. Hostility to USSR?
• USSR exploited Czechoslovakia:
◦ Goods sent w/o payment.
◦ URANIUM mined sent to USSR, price paid gradually reduced.
4. Repression?
• 1948 Communist takeover → harsh repression:
◦ 1952: 11 ex-ministers hanged.
◦ Secret Police (the STB) = terror (bugging, interrogations, arrests).
◦ Heda Kovaly (1986): Atmosphere ‘as bad as WWII.’
• 1968: Older generations remembered interwar democracy.
5. Govt weakness?
• By 1968, President NOVOTNY (hardline Communist) discredited; Brezhnev is being asked to replace him.
• Divided govt couldn’t suppress reform movement – Slovakian politicians opposed reforms ∵ Slovak economy weaker than Czech economy/ Conservative resistance (Apr-May 1968) almost halted reforms.
6. Brezhnev’s mistake?
• Dec 1967: Novotny sought Brezhnev’s support; instead Brezhnev backed his removal.
• 5 Jan 1968: DUBCEK chosen as successor – a decision Brezhnev later regretted.
EVENTS
1. Apr 1968: Dubcek’s ‘Action Programme’
• ‘Socialism with a HUMAN FACE’ promised:
◦ Free-Market economy, private businesses.
◦ Free speech to criticise govt; freedom of religion, unions, travel.
◦ Less press censorship, weaker secret police.
◦ Elections w/o Communist monopoly.
2. Czech public embraced reforms
• Free political discussion, cultural boom.
• Natalie Babjukova (2015): ‘richest period’ of Czech culture.
• ‘Prague Spring’ → hippie culture, peace songs.
3. USSR alarmed
• Mar 1968: USSR, KGB feared destabilisation of bloc.
• 6 May: Brezhnev warned of Warsaw Pact ‘collapse’.
• 17 June: ‘TWO THOUSAND WORDS’ manifesto criticised Communism, demanded reform.
• 3 Aug: BRATISLAVA Declaration → Czechoslovakia promised:
◦ Loyalty to Marxism–Leninism.
◦ Suppression of ‘anti-socialist’ movements.
◦ Loyalty to Warsaw Pact.
• Brezhnev withdrew Soviet troops.
4. 13 Aug: Brezhnev’s warning to Dubcek
• Concerned by anti-Soviet press.
• Demanded ‘order in the mass media’.
• Dubcek stalled, promised a future committee meeting.
5. 18 Aug: Soviet decision to invade
• Reasons:
◦ Bratislava had failed; Albania & Yugoslavia backed Dubcek.
◦ E. Germany & Poland feared destabilisation.
◦ KGB & Soviet military supported invasion.
◦ 5 pro-Soviet Czech politicians sent letter inviting USSR intervention.
◦ USSR’s goal = stabilisation of bloc, not expansion (modern studies confirm).
6. 20-21 Aug 1968: 500k Warsaw Pact troops, 200 tanks invaded Czechoslovakia
RESULTS
1. Limited resistance
• Dubcek ordered no resistance → 72 killed.
• Czechs built barricades, removed road signs.
• Students protested; some burned themselves to death (eg JAN PALACH).
2. Communist crackdown
• Dubcek arrested, sent to Moscow, later demoted to woodsman.
• Hardliner HUSAK replaced Dubcek, ended reforms.
3. Soviet control confirmed
• Romania condemned invasion; Albania quit Warsaw Pact.
• Overall, USSR’s grip on E. Europe strengthened.
4. Nov 1968: Brezhnev Doctrine
• Justified intervention vs. ‘counter-revolutionary’ threats.
• Michael Ouimet (2003): USSR saw any E. European threat as internal security issue.
• Ended post-Stalin ‘thaw’ → long-term damage to Communist unity.
5. USSR-West relations
• Invasion did not halt detente:
◦ UK: “misfortune for USSR.”
◦ USA downplayed invasion to maintain summit talks.
6. 1968: Beginning of the end for USSR?
• Seen as midpoint btw. 1948 coup & 1989 Velvet Revolution.
• ‘Socialism w. a human face’ influenced Gorbachev’s reforms.
• Mark Kramer (1993): Soviet intervention ‘saved Communism temporarily but ensured its ultimate demise’.
7. The legacy of the Prague Spring
• Maud Bracke: ‘mystification’ → Prague Spring still resonates today.
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