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Background

Czechoslovakia had been a communist country, controlled by Moscow, since the end of World War Two. In 1968 the Czech people attempted to exert some control over their own lives and reform the communist system to create 'Socialism with a human face’. That meant keeping the socialist model of government but guaranteeing a better delivery of goods, services and freedoms to the Czech people. This attempt, known as the Prague Spring, lasted for four months until it was crushed by the Soviet Red Army.

What caused the Prague Spring?

1. The hard-line communist leader, Antonin Novotny, was unpopular. His rule was characterised by censorship of the press and a lack of personal freedom for ordinary citizens.
2. The Czech economy was weak and many Czechs were bitter that the USSR controlled their economy for its own benefit. Czech farmers had to follow Communist Party guidance on what to produce and efforts to modernise farming were discouraged.
3. Some Czechs thought the USA would come to their assistance if they stood up to Moscow.

Events of the Prague Spring

In 1967 Czech students began peacefully demonstrating against Novotny’s rule. Novotny asked the Soviet leader, Brezhnev, for help to crackdown on the protests, but Brezhnev refused, and in early 1968 Novotny was replaced as Communist Party Secretary by Alexander Dubcek.

In April 1968, Dubcek announced an Action Plan to deliver 'Socialism with a Human Face’ which, in a nutshell, meant removing state control of the economy and allowing freedom of speech.

Dubcek’s reforms began to worry the Soviets because although he claimed to be a committed communist, Dubcek proposed allowing non-communist political parties to be set up and to put up candidates for election. Also Dubcek said that Czechoslovakia would remain in the Warsaw Pact, but then welcomed Marshal Tito, President of Yugoslavia, to Prague. Yugoslavia had been communist since World War Two but was not a member of the Warsaw Pact and Moscow was wary of Tito.

International reaction

As Brezhnev had anticipated, the USA was too involved in Vietnam to do anything about the situation in Czechoslovakia. The US government condemned the Soviet invasion but offered no military assistance. This lack of action from the USA was mirrored by other NATO and Western European countries.

However, the reaction of communist parties in Western Europe was more surprising and they showed their disapproval by distancing themselves from the Communist Party of the USSR.

The Yugoslav and Romanian governments also condemned the Soviet invasion and began to foster closer links with China. This was significant because it showed a weakening of the Soviet Union’s ideological power in Eastern Europe.