Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

Question 1

When was the ‘Prague Spring’?

Answer 1

1968

Question 2

What reforms was Alexander Dubcek making in Czechoslovakia?

Answer 2

As part of the ‘Prague Spring’, from April 1968, Dubcek introduced reforms such as:
- Less censorship
- Trade union powers/workers rights increased
- More power for regional government
- Trade with the West was increased
- Czechs were given greater freedoms to travel abroad
- And the idea of holding multi-party elections in the future
were discused

Question 3

What promise did Dubcek make to Krushchev that meant the USSR were initially happy to accept him as a leader?

Answer 3

Dubcek was committed to the Warsaw Pact and support for the Soviet Union.

Question 4

What happened to change the USSR’s opinion on Dubcek?

Answer 4

The Soviet leader Brezhnev, who replaced Krushchev in 1968, disapproved of many reforms being made by Dubcek. He saw those reforms as a threat to Soviet control in Eastern Europe.

Question 5

Describe the events of the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia

Answer 5

On 20th of August 1968, 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and ended the ‘Prague Spring.’ Although the Czech people could do little, there was some brave resistance, such as blocking roads or attacking individual tanks. The invading troops had been told they had been invited by the Czech government to help restore law and order and were surprised by the hostility they encountered.

Question 6

What impact did the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia have on Czechoslovakia?

Answer 6

Dubcek was arrested, sent to Moscow and ordered to reverse his reforms. Then in 1969 he was replaced by Gustav Husak. Husak was a hardliner and loyal to Moscow and introduced a clampdown, in which over a thousand Czechs were arrested.

Question 7

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Answer 7

Brezhnev said that the actions of any communist country affected all other communist countries. This meant other communist could take action to prevent reforms.

Question 8

What was the impact of the Prague Spring on US-Soviet relations?

Answer 8

• The Soviet response to Prague Spring outraged the
  West. There was an attempt to pass a formal resolution
  condemning the invasion in the United Nations but this
  was vetoed by the Soviet Union.
• The Soviet Union saw that the USA might protest, but
  could take little action to opposed Soviet control in
  Eastern Europe.