Czechoslovakia: 'Prague Spring' (1968)

Question 1

Which repressive and unpopular dictator was in charge of Czechoslovakia between 1957 and 1968?

Answer 1

Antonin Novotny

Question 2

Why was Novotny so unpopular?

Answer 2

• Novotny was slow to release prisoners from Stalin era
• Novotny slow to follow de-Stalinsation
• Under Novotny, standards of living declined during the 1960s

Question 3

Who replaced Novotny as leader in 1968?

Answer 3

Alexander Dubcek

Question 4

Who was leader of the USSR in 1968?

Answer 4

Leonid Brezhnev (Khrushchev lost power in 1964)

Question 5

Who was Dubcek friends good friends with?

Answer 5

Dubcek was close friends with Brezhnev, leader of the USSR

Question 6

What did Dubcek want to introduce into Czechoslovakia?

Answer 6

A genuinely popular form of communism - ‘socialism with a human face’ as he called it.

Question 7

What were Dubcek’s reforms known as?

Answer 7

The Prague Spring (Prague was the capital of Czechoslovakia)

Question 8

Give examples of the reforms Dubcek introduced in April 1968 (learn 2-3)

Answer 8

• relaxation of press censorship
• the legalisation of political opposition groups
• official government toleration of political criticism
• more power to regional govts.
• more power to the Czech parliament
• some capitalist elements to be allowed into the economy

Question 9

Who was in favour of the Prague Spring?

Answer 9

• Students, intellectuals, artists and writers (e.g. Vaclav Havel)

Question 10

Who opposed the Prague Spring?

Answer 10

• Older Czech communists

- Brezhnev and his allies across Eastern Europe

Question 11

Why was the Prague Spring such a problem for Brezhnev?

Answer 11

On one hand, Dubcek was his friend and he was not trying to leave the Warsaw Pact (as Nagy had tried in Hungary.
On the other hand, the reforms were weakening Soviet control over Czechoslovakia (and potentially the whole Eastern Bloc in the long run)

Question 12

At first, what did Brezhnev try and do to deal with the situation?

Answer 12

Brezhnev talked constantly to Dubcek from April to July, trying to persuade him that the reforms had gone too far

Question 13

What did Brezhnev do in August once he realised his talks with Dubcek weren’t working?

Answer 13

He ordered a full scale invasion on 20 August.

Question 14

How many Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia?

Answer 14

500,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded

Question 15

What happened to Dubcek after the invasion?

Answer 15

Dubcek was arrested and taken to Moscow. Brezhnev told him he had betrayed socialism.

Question 16

What happened in Czechoslovakia as a consequence of the invasion?

Answer 16

Steps were taken to ‘protect socialism’ by reintroducing censorship and removing political opposition. Hard line communists replaced reforming Czechoslovakians in government.

Question 17

How did the USA respond to the invasion of Czechoslovakia?

Answer 17

The USA did nothing apart from publicly condemn the invasion. (They were bogged down in the Vietnam War at the time.)

Question 18

What did Western European governments do in response to the invasion?

Answer 18

Western European govts. followed America’s lead. They condemned the invasion but offered no military aid.

Question 19

What did Western European communist parties do in response to the invasion?

Answer 19

The Communist Parties in Italy and France were outraged by the invasion and declared themselves independent of the Soviet Communist Party.

Question 20

How did Yugoslavia and Romania react to the invasion?

Answer 20

Yugoslavia and Romania both condemned the invasion and distanced themselves from the Soviet Union. They also formed an alliance with communist China. This further divided the communist world.

Question 21

What was the significance of the invasion of Czechoslovakia to relations between the USSR and USA?

Answer 21

• It showed that the USA was prepared to accept the ‘spheres of influence’ and would not get involved militarily in Eastern Europe (particularly during a period of detente).