The Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia Flashcards
1
Q
Who was Khrushchev replaced by in 1964? Who replaced Kennedy after his assassination in 1963?
A
- Leonid Brezhnev
- Lyndon B. Johnson
2
Q
Who led Czechoslovakia until 1968, and list 4 problems with his leadership.
A
- Antonin Novotny
- He was unpopular as he was a hard-line communist, and did not stray at all from the party line
- Novotny had been slow to follow Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinisation
- He refused to introduce reform
- He also hadn’t released political prisoners jailed under Stalin
3
Q
What were 4 issues in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s that led to unrest?
A
- The USSR forced Czechoslovakia to produce raw materials such as steel for the Soviet economy, but the Czechoslovakian economy needed them
- The economy was in serious decline, which meant the standard of living was as well
- In 1962-3 the national income fell
- The USSR had also stopped Czechoslovakian factories from making consumer goods
4
Q
How did Novotny respond to unrest in the 1960s, and how successful was it?
A
- He introduced the New Economic Model in 1965
- It was unsuccessful as it created a surplus of consumer goods that no-one could afford
5
Q
What 3 things did Novotny’s failure to improve the economic situation lead to?
A
- Czechoslovakians wanted greater democracy
- In October 1967 Alexander Dubcek and Ota Sik challenged Novotny’s leadership at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
- In December Dubcek invited Brezhnev
- Brezhnev withheld support for Novotny after seeing how opposed the people were to him
6
Q
Who replaced Novotny, and when? (Give 2 details of each their lives before these positions.)
A
- Dubcek in January 1968 as the First Secretary of the Communist Party (the top position)
- Had been a communist guerrilla in WW2
- Was more liberal in his views, particularly towards private enterprise
- In March General Ludvik Svoboda replaced Novonty as President of Czechoslovakia
- Had been a war hero
- Name meant ‘freedom’ in the Czech language
7
Q
What was the ‘Prague Spring’?
A
- Series of reforms made by Dubcek (with the support of Svoboda) in the spring of 1968
- Dubcek was still a devoted communist, but wanted communism to be popular through removing its worst aspects
- It was called ‘socialism with a human face’
8
Q
List 4 reforms made in the Prague Spring.
A
- Removal of travel restrictions with the West, and increased contact with them (e.g. trade with West Germany)
- Creation of worker councils to improve working conditions
- Increase in the rights of members of trade unions
- More political freedom
9
Q
List 5 ways in which Czechoslovakians had greater political freedom.
A
- Reduction in the power of the secret police to imprison without trial
- Free speech and the abolition of press censorship
- Communist party leaders were questioned on live television shows
- By March 1968 newspapers were printing uncensored discussions of political and social problems
- A 10-year programme was put into place to get democratic elections, a multi-party state and a new form of democratic socialism
10
Q
How did some Czechoslovakians react to the Prague Spring, and give 3 examples of this.
A
- The reforms encouraged opponents of communism to demand even more extreme reform
- In June 1968 the Social Democrats began to form as an rival party to the Communist Party
- Ludvik Vaculik (a leading journalist) published a manifesto named ‘The Two Thousand Words’ telling Czechoslovakians to demand even more reform
11
Q
List 8 reasons why the Soviet Union decided to invade Czechoslovakia.
A
- Czechoslovakia had been a ‘model satellite’ as it generally had a better standard of living than the other states
- It had the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc
- Czechoslovakia was very important in the Warsaw Pact as it was centrally placed- if it allowed NATO to move in, the Eastern Bloc would be split into two, and NATO could advance 700km to the USSR’s border
- They were fearful that Czechoslovakia was getting closer to West Germany, and that West Germany would come to control the Czechoslovakian economy, and those of other satellite states
- Brezhnev was worried about similar ideas spreading to other satellite states
- Vasil Bilak and 4 other staunch Czechoslovakian communists wrote to Brezhnev and asked him to do everything in his power to end the reforms
- Brezhnev was under pressure from the leaders of East Germany and Poland to stop the reforms
- There was a build-up of tension between Dubcek’s government and the leaders in the Warsaw Pact
12
Q
List 3 examples of tension between the Warsaw Pact countries and Czechoslovakia.
A
- June 1968: tanks remain in Czechoslovakia after Warsaw Pact military exercises
- July: Brezhnev met with the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries, who expressed concern over Prague. He met with Dubcek a few days later, and they agreed he would stay in the Warsaw Pact and not allow the Social Democrats to form, but could continue with other reforms
- 3rd August: Warsaw Pact country leaders meet with Dubcek in Bratislava, and they sign the Bratislava Declaration (declared their faith in communism)
13
Q
What caused the USSR to worry about Czechoslovakia leaving the Warsaw Pact, and what did this cause?
A
- Tito (the leader of Yugoslavia who was distrusted by the USSR as he had been removed from Cominform) was given an enthusiastic reception in Prague on 9th August
- This made it seem as if Dubcek wanted independence
- The Soviet Politburo had a meeting from 15th-18th August to decide what to do about Czechoslovakia
14
Q
When did the Soviet Union invade Czechoslovakia, and with what troops?
A
- 20th (and 21st) August 1968
- Thousands of Soviet troops, with units from Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary and Poland
15
Q
List 5 things the Czechoslovakian people did to try to stop the invasion.
A
- Threw petrol bombs at tanks
- Buildings were set on fire
- Protesters gathered
- Barricades were set up
- Anti-Soviet broadcasters stayed on air by moving between hiding places
