Czechoslovakia: The Prague Spring

Question 1

For what 5 reasons was there an uprising in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s?

Answer 1

1. Czechoslovakia was a Soviet Satellite State.
2. Communism had had few benefits for the Czech people.
3. In the mid-1960s, Czechoslovakia was being run by the secret police, which brutally crushed all political opposition.
4. At the same time, the Czechoslovakian economy was struggling.
5. The majority of Czech people suffered a declining standard of living during the 1960s.

Question 2

Describe the 5 key features of the uprising in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.

Answer 2

1. The Soviet Union had forced Czech industry to produce materials for the Soviet economy.
2. The Czechs had experienced falling living standards and began to demand reforms.
3. This meant attacking the leadership of Novotny who followed whatever Moscow said.
4. Novotny’s position was challenged and he was replaced by a more liberal leader, Dubcek.
5. On January 5th 1968, Alexander Dubcek became the Communist Party leader.

Question 3

Who was Dubcek?

Answer 3

Dubcek was a committed Communist who was on friendly terms with Leonid Brezhnev (the Russian leader following Khrushchev’s fall from power in 1964).

Question 4

What were Dubcek’s 3 aims?

Answer 4

1. Dubcek’s aim was to create a genuinely popular form of Communism, which he described as ‘socialism with a human face’.
2. Dubcek wanted to get rid of the most repressive aspects of Communist rule, to reform the economy and to allow more cultural freedom.
3. In this way, he hoped to revitalise Czechoslovakian politics, economics and social life.

Question 5

What 6 reforms did Dubcek introduce?

Answer 5

1. A relaxation of press censorship.
2. The legalisation of political opposition groups.
3. Official government toleration of political criticism.
4. More power given to regional governments.
5. More power given to the Czech parliament.
6. ‘Market socialism’ – the reintroduction of capitalist elements into the Czech economy.

Question 6

What were the 7 Soviet reactions to the Prague Spring?

Answer 6

1. Dubcek’s reforms were seen as a major threat by the new leader of the USSR.
2. The Soviet Union had objected to the changes introduced by Dubcek and saw them as a threat to communism and the Warsaw Pact. There was no military resistance from the Czech people but there was universal hostility from them.
3. Action was taken to prevent the reforms from sweeping the Communists out of power in Czechoslovakia and spreading to the rest of Eastern Europe.
4. In August 1968, Brezhnev sent in 400,000 troops form the Soviet Union and the rest of the Warsaw Pact to ensure that soviet Communism was followed.
5. Dubcek and the Czech President Svoboda were flown to Moscow where they talked with Brezhnev for four days.
6. On August 27th 1968, the Czech leaders returned and announced that many of their reforms were to be stopped and censorship reintroduced.
7. In 1969, Dubcek resigned and was replaced by Husak, who was a loyal Communist.

Question 7

What were the 3 American reactions to the Prague Spring?

Answer 7

1. America was already fighting a war against Communism in Vietnam.
2. America knew that Brezhnev would not interfere in Vietnam if the USA didn’t interfere in Czechoslovakia.
3. America condemned the invasion, but offered no military support.

Question 8

What were the 3 Western European reactions to the Prague Spring?

Answer 8

1. Western European governments followed America’s lead.
2. They condemned the invasion but offered no military support.
3. The Western European Communist Parties were outraged by the Soviet invasion and declared themselves independent of the Soviet Communist Party. This created rival forms of Communism in Europe; Soviet Communism in the Eastern and Eurocommunism in the Western. This showed the extent to which Soviet Communism had lost authority and support as a result of the invasion.

Question 9

What were the 3 Eastern European reactions to the Prague Spring?

Answer 9

1. The Soviet invasion led to discontent in Eastern Europe.
2. The Yugoslavian and Romanian governments both condemned the invasion and distanced themselves from the Soviet Union.
3. Following 1968, Yugoslavian and Romanian Communists formed alliances with China, further dividing the Communist world.

Question 10

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Answer 10

A doctrine set forward by Brezhnev that argued that a threat to one Communist country was a threat to them all. It echoed the Truman Doctrine in that it outlined a domino effect that could occur. It also said that force would be used whenever necessary to keep Soviet satellites firmly under Soviet influence. He used it to justify the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Question 11

When was the Brezhnev Doctrine set out?

Answer 11

At the end of 1968.

Question 12

Why was the Brezhnev Doctrine set out?

Answer 12

Because of the Prague Spring reforms and invasion.