Prague Spring
The Prague Spring refers to a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the spring of 1968, marked by efforts from reformers within the Communist Party to introduce democratic reforms and greater freedoms. This movement emerged as dissatisfaction grew against the leadership of Antonin Novotny, who was replaced by Alexander Dubcek, a liberal Slovak. Under Dubcek's leadership, the government sought to create "socialism with a human face," which included measures such as freedom of the press and the right to travel. As these reforms gained popularity, they led to increased dialogue about the potential for Czechoslovakia to adopt a neutral stance and possibly withdraw from the Warsaw Pact.
However, the reforms raised alarm in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc nations, fearing instability and a counterrevolution. Tensions culminated in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968, which was met with resistance from the local population. The Soviet army arrested Dubcek and replaced him with a pro-Soviet leader, effectively quashing the reform movement. This event not only escalated Cold War tensions but also marked a significant point in the history of Communist movements, as it underscored the reliance on military intervention to maintain control within the Soviet sphere of influence. Today, the Prague Spring is viewed differently in Czechoslovakia compared to the West, often seen as a complex internal Party struggle rather than a straightforward dissident movement.
Prague Spring
Occurring during the spring of 1968, "Prague Spring" was closely observed in the Soviet Union, throughout Eastern Europe, and indeed, in the West. Much of the world watched as reformers within the Czechoslovak Communist Party instituted democratic reforms that allowed for greater freedom in Czechoslovakia. While the spring matured into summer and Czechs and Slovaks reveled in their freedoms, the subsequent Soviet invasion inaugurated a long winter.
In 1952, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Premier, installed Antonin Novotny as the head of Czechoslovakia. By the late 1960s, Novotny was not well liked - neither by intellectuals nor by many members of the Communist Party. When some prominent writers rebelled against the state in 1967, Novotny failed to obtain the support the Party, making the implementation of his policies even more difficult. Wanting to avoid greater public disaffection with the state, the Communist Party asked Novotny to resign in January of 1968.
Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Premier, told the Czechoslovak Party that the future leadership in Czechoslovakia was an internal matter, so the Party elected Alexander Dubcek as the First Secretary. While studying in Moscow in 1955, Dubcek, a liberal Slovak, had met people returning from Stalin's Gulag. The stories of these dissidents and others who had been victims of Stalin's regime affected Dubcek. He was a dedicated Communist, but remained wary of Soviet policies. Despite the installation of Dubcek, the vocal dissidence of the writers continued. While many of these intellectuals were Communists, their concerns related to the extent of state power, as they demanded greater civil rights and condemned censorship and the monopoly of the Communist Party. In an effort to lessen opposition, Dubcek and the Party introduced many reforms in rapid succession - all with the aim of creating "socialism with a human face." Party leaders envisioned socialism with elements of democracy, such as freedom of the press and freedom to travel. Moreover, the Party produced a document indicating that it's own monopoly on power arose from the erroneous thesis that the Party was an instrument of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Communists effectively admitted that those in power were not the proletariat, but an elite few. The press began to openly discuss the reforms, and during the heady spring and early summer of 1968, Czechs and Slovaks embraced the recent reforms without considering the potential ramifications.
Dialogue became even more radical as the public began to discuss Czechoslovakia's becoming neutral and the possibility of leaving the Warsaw Pact (Cold War Soviet Bloc military alliance). While the US and the USSR closely monitored developments, Communist Parties in other Eastern European nations encouraged Dubcek to bring the movement under control. Hungary had gone through a similar period of political loosening in 1956, and was subsequently invaded by the Soviet Union, so Hungarian leaders tried to avert the same outcome in Czechoslovakia. Furthermore, Poland and East Germany both had hard-line Communist regimes without mass support, and they feared the rapid changes in Czechoslovakia could destabilize the entire region.
For his part, Dubcek lacked the will and the ability to halt the reforms, which continued to progress. The border between Czechoslovakia and Austria became virtually obsolete as Czechs and Westerners crossed with no restrictions. Meanwhile, the Soviets became increasingly concerned that there was a counterrevolution in Czechoslovakia, and that Dubcek had seemingly lost control. Aware of Soviet concerns, Dubcek told the Soviets to take the "measures [their] Politburo considered necessary," if they considered the Czechs and Slovaks to be traitors. Finally, on August 20, 1968, Brezhnev ordered the Soviet Army to put contingency plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia into action, and Soviet tanks rolled into Prague.
Some Czechs and Slovaks screamed at the Soviets, handed them leaflets that explained the reforms in Russian, and stoned their tanks. Others scratched swastikas onto the sides of Soviet tanks and stuffed flowers and Czechoslovak flags down the barrels. It soon became clear that, unlike Hungary in 1956, there was almost no Czech and Slovak support for the Soviet presence. As a result, the Soviets needed to remove the current regime; they arrested Dubcek and his allies, took them to a hotel in the Ukraine, drugged them, and forced them to sign documents praising the Soviet intervention.
Claiming that the invasion had protected Czechoslovakia from counterrevolution, the Soviets then replaced Dubcek with Gustar Husak, a Communist hard-liner who was pro-Soviet. In total, the invasion had killed about one hundred Czech and Slovak dissidents and demonstrators. In terms of international relations, the Soviet action increased tensions in Soviet/Western relations, and Communist Parties in Italy and France strongly criticized the invasion. Moreover, many who had been members of these western European Parties abandoned Communism. Furthermore, the Soviet reaction to Prague Spring represented the end of the Moscow centered international Communist movement, as it became clear that the Soviet Bloc was held together not by shared political ideology, but by the threat of Soviet military intervention.
Today, many Czechs and Slovaks remember Prague Spring as an internal Party struggle, as most of the reformers were Party members. While in Western history texts it is often remembered as a valiant struggle of Czech and Slovak dissidents against the Soviet aggressors, many Czechs and Slovaks see it instead as a manifestation of internal Party problems, not the expression of a desire for true democracy.