Czechoslovakia Flashcards
What was Czechoslovakia like before the Prague Spring?
- one party communist state
- as a member of the Warsaw Pact it answered to Moscow
- the press and media were tightly controlled and opposition was banned
- there were almost now opportunities to see what life was like outside the country
What was Czechoslovakia like by the 1960s?
- economic problems were mounting
- the country’s leader, Novotný, was corrupt and unpopular
- calls for reform were growing, most notably by Ota Šik
- Moscow rejected calls for change
Who was Ota Šik?
- respected economist
- called for reform in Czechoslovakia
- argued that ordinary people should have more power
- argues that the ban on private businesses should be lifted
Who was Ota Šik?
- respected economist
- called for reform in Czechoslovakia
- argued that ordinary people should have more power
- argues that the ban on private businesses should be lifted
Who replaced Novotný in 1968 after the Soviet government forced him to resign?
Dubćek
What reforms did Dubćek begin to introduce?
- the removal of state controls on industry allowing Czechs to run their own businesses
- allowing public meetings and freedom of speech
- ending press censorship
- giving Czechs the right to visit non-Communist countries
- allowing the formation of trade unions
How did Brezhnev initially react to Dubćek’s reforms? What did the encourage Dubćek to do?
- although annoyed, he allowed the reforms to stand
- this encouraged Dubćek to go further
- he announced plans to open borders with Western countries and remove all remaining censorship with of the press
What affected how Brezhnev responded to Dubćek’s plans for further reform?
- Brezhnev’s first major challenge as the new Soviet leader
- needed to maintain control of Czechoslovakia without causing more problems
- situation was made worse by students in Poland calling for reform to be allowed in their country
- as Dubćek’s reforms became bolder, the Warsaw Pact demanded action
What decision did the Warsaw Pact make to deal with the Prague Spring?
- they would carry out military exercises along the Czech border
- at another meeting, they issued the Warsaw Letter
What did the Warsaw Letter say?
final warning to Dubćek to back down on his reforms
After Dubćek ignored the Warsaw Letter, what did the USSR do?
- Soviet forces entered Czechoslovakia and sieved control of Prague
- there was some civilian resistance
- Dubćek ordered the Czech army not to resist
- a hundred protesters were killed and 500 were wounded
- the Prague Spring was over and a new hard-line government was installed by Moscow
What was the global Communist response to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- communists around the world outraged
- many in West saw it as a betrayal of communist principles and an act of imperialism
- protests in Yugoslavia and China
- a small protest in the Red Square, Moscow
- destroyed many’s faith in communism
What did the Red Army do following the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- the soldiers had been told that the invasion was at the request of the Czech people
- upon arrival, it was clear that this was a lie
- returning soldiers shared their experiences and this damaged the reputation of the Soviet leadership
How did the USA respond to the invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- USA condemned the invasion
- USA cancelled meeting between Brezhnev and Johnson
- USA more concerned with the situation in Vietnam and wanted to avoid increasing tensions in Moscow
How did the West respond to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia?
- Western governments condemned the invasion
- there was an attempt to pass a statement at the UN condemning the buoldence
- the USSR’s veto made this impossible
- it had been established in Hungary, in 1965, that the West would not interfere with Soviet acton behind the Iron Curtain
