August 21, 1968; Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovak
Warsaw Pact "Normalized" the Prague Spring in Today’s Czech Republic
Aug 4, 2008
On January 5th, 1968, Alexander Dubcek became the 4th leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia since 1925 and was arrested a year later in April 1969. The institution of massive change created a riff between Czech - Slovak reformers and Soviet hardliners which ended in the Soviet invasion, violence and eventual “Normalization” of Czechoslovakia.
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, on his way to Dacha #1 in Yalta on August 13th 1968, “hesitated for a long time before finally ordering in troops...” said Uwe Klussmann of German magazine Spiegel. Ultimately, “…between 5,000 to 7,000 tanks rolled in, accompanied by Warsaw Pact troops ranging from 200,000 to 600,000 in number. The tanks occupied the streets while the troops sought out the ‘antisocialist’ elements,” according to Online magazine Prague Life. Forty years later the reasons why are clear.
Soviet Objections
The Soviet Union was upset with 7 main points of Dubcek’s ten year “Action Program.”
- Decentralized Government – Acknowledging Slovakia’s differences the plan called for Slovakia to maintain its own ministers, ruling from Bratislava in a Federation. It further allowed for “Bottom Up” rule that gave more power to local authorities.
- Multiple Political Parties – Dubcek called for the “widest possible democratization” of the one party rule; opening the doors for multiple political parties. In his book Europe Since 1945, Bernard Cook says, Dubcek, “…aimed at combining an orthodox communist dictatorship with a genuine popular pressure system in an open civil society.” Dubcek repeated, just prior to his death in 1992, he desired to establish "a free, modern, and profoundly humane society."
- Uncontrolled Media – The media began to criticize the previous state of affairs and the free exchange of opinion was allowed. According to Radio Praha, one of the most violent clashes of the invasion was the “Battle of Czechoslovak Radio” stations where “…fifteen Prague citizens and radio employees lost their lives in [the] battle with Soviet armed forces.”
- Artistic Freedom (Speech) – Individuals were encouraged to express ideas in all forms of artistic endeavor when Dubcek released artist from political prison. Playwright (and eventual President of the Czech Republic) Vaclav Havel used these freedoms to travels to New York and ultimately win an OBIE award for the critical play Memorandum. His art was banned in 1969.
- Freedom of Movement – Citizens were granted ease of movement around the world including western nations. According to Radio Praha and the Czech Heritage Network most individuals moved freely but “800,000 permanently left” the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
- Western Ties – AP called for closer ties with western nations, recognition of Israel and curtailing arms sales to Egypt and Nigeria. This foreign policy statement was counter to beliefs of the Central Committee of the CCCP.
- Economic Changes – Decentralizing the government allowed for greater industrial enterprises and increased markets. Trade Unions were given power to bargain and farmers were allowed to form independent co-operatives.
These 7 actions and some minor changes were far too radical for the Communists. Warsaw Pact (except Romanian) soldiers from Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany and the Soviet Union quickly helped in "freeing Czechoslovakia from the grip of the counter-revolution," as Czech hardliner Vasil Bilak called it in his letter to WP nations.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the last communist president of Poland said to Bloomberg Europe in August 2005, “Today I deeply regret it [the Soviet led invasion] but at the time, I could not have acted otherwise.'
In the book Hope Dies Last: The Autobiography of Alexander Dubcek, translated by Jiri Hochman, Mikhail Gorbachev said, "Had we followed the road Alexander Dubcek pointed out, today we would be different.... I pay homage to this man and bow down before him."
