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The Prague Spring ( starting January 5 1968 when Alexander Dubček came to power, and running until August 20 of that year when the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies (except for Romania ) invaded the country. The term ''Prague Spring'' was coined by Western media after the event became known worldwide, and was eventually adopted in Czechoslovakia itself. It made reference to the ''Springtime of Peoples'', a lyrical title given to the Revolutions Of 1848 . SITUATION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA During World War II Czechoslovakia fell into the Soviet sphere of influence, the Eastern Bloc . Since 1948 there were no parties other than the Communist Party in the country and it was indirectly managed by the Soviet Union. Unlike other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the communist take-over in Czechoslovakia in 1948 was, although as brutal as elsewhere, a genuine popular movement. Reform in the country did not lead to the convulsions seen in Hungary . There were two distinct reasons for the popularity of the movement: #Towards the end of World War II: Joseph Stalin wanted Czechoslovakia, and signed an agreement with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt , that Prague would be liberated by the Red Army despite the fact that the United States Army under General George S. Patton could have liberated the city earlier. This was important for the spread of pro-Russian (and pro-communist) Propaganda that came right after the war. #People still remembered what they felt as Czechoslovakia's betrayal by the West at the Munich Agreement . For these reasons the people voted for communists in the 1948 elections - the last democratic poll for a long time. From the middle of the 1960s Czechs and Slovaks showed increasing signs of rejection of the existing regime. This change was reflected by reformist elements within the Communist Party by installing Alexander Dubček as party leader. Dubček's reforms of the political process inside Czechoslovakia, which he referred to as '' Socialism With A Human Face '', did not represent a complete overthrow of the old regime, as was the case in Hungary In 1956 . Dubček's changes had broad support from the society, including the Working Class . However, it was still seen by the Soviet leadership as a threat to their hegemony over other states of the Eastern Bloc and to the very safety of the Soviet Union. Czechoslovakia was in the middle of the defensive line of the Warsaw Pact and its possible defection to the enemy was unacceptable during the Cold War . However a sizeable minority in the ruling party, especially at higher leadership levels, was opposed to any lessening of the party's grip on society and they actively plotted with the leadership of the Soviet Union to overthrow the reformers. This group watched in horror as calls for multi-party elections and other reforms began echoing throughout the country. SOVIET POLICY The policy of the USSR to enforce Soviet-style governments among its satellite states, through military force if needed, became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine , named after Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev , who was first to publicly declare it, although it was in use since Stalin's times. This doctrine remained in force until it was replaced by the '' Sinatra Doctrine '' under Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s . The Soviet leadership first tried to stop or limit the changes in Czechoslovakia through a series of negotiations. As their attempts failed they started to prepare a military alternative. OCCUPATION , Slovakia ]] Between the nights of August 20 and August 21 1968, Eastern Bloc armies from five Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia. During the invasion, Soviet tanks ranging in numbers from 5,000 to 7,000 occupied the streets. They were followed by a large number of Warsaw Pact troops ranging from 200,000 to 600,000. During the attack of the Warsaw Pact armies, 72 Czechs and Slovaks were killed (19 of those in Slovakia ) and hundreds were wounded (up to September 3, 1968). Alexander Dubček called upon his people not to resist. He was arrested and taken to Moscow , along with several of his colleagues. The occupation was followed by a wave of emigration (estimate: 70,000 immediately, 300,000 in total), typically of highly qualified people. Western countries allowed these people to stay and work without complications. Letter of Invitation Although on the night of the Invasion , the Czechoslovak Presidium declared that Pact troops had crossed the border without knowledge of the ČSSR Government, the Press printed an unsigned request, allegedly by Czechoslovak party and state leaders, for "immediate assistance, including assistance with armed forces." At the 14th CPCz Party Congress (conducted secretly, immediately following the intervention), it was emphasised that no member of the leadership had invited the intervention. At the time, a number of commentators believed the letter was fake or non-existent. In the early 1990s , however, the Russian Government gave the new Czech President, Vaclav Havel , a copy of a letter of invitation addressed to Soviet authorities and signed by CPCz members Bil’ak , Švestka, Kolder, Indra, and Kapek. It claimed that “right-wing” media were “fomenting a wave of nationalism and chauvinism, and are provoking an anti-communist and anti-Soviet psychosis.” It formally asked the Soviets to “lend support and assistance with all means at your disposal” to save the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic “from the imminent danger of counterrevolution.” A 1992 '' Izvestia '' article claimed that candidate Presidium member Antonin Kapek gave Leonid Brezhnev a letter at the Soviet-Czechoslovak Čierná nad Tisou talks in late July which appealed for “fraternal help.” A second letter was supposedly delivered by Bil’ak to Ukrainian Party leader Petro Shelest during the August Bratislava conference “in a lavatory rendezvous arranged through the KGB station chief.” This letter was signed by the same five as Havel ’s letter, mentioned above. The Plot Long before the invasion, planning for a coup was understaken by Indra, Kolder and Bil’ak, among others, often at the Soviet Embassy and at the Party recreation centre in Orlík . When these men had managed to convince a majority of the Presidium (six of eleven voting members) to side with them against Alexander Dubček ’s reformists, they asked the Soviets to launch a military invasion. The Soviets were even considering waiting until the August 26 th Slovak Party Congress, but the Czechoslovak conspirators “specifically requested the night of the 20th.” The plan was to unfold as follows. A debate would unfold in response to the Kašpar report on the state of the country, during which conservative members would insist that Dubček present two letters he had received from the Soviets, letters which listed promises he had made at the Čierná nad Tisou talks but had failed to keep. Dubček ’s concealment of such important letters, and his unwillingess to keep his promises would lead to a Vote Of Confidence which the now conservative majority would win, seizing power, and issue a request for Soviet assistance in preventing a Counterrevolution . It was this formal request, drafted in Moscow , which was published in Pravda on August 22 nd without the signatories. All the Soviets needed to do was suppress the Czechoslovak military and any violent resistance. With this plan in mind, the August 16-17th Politburo meeting passed a resolution to “provide help to the Communist Party and people of Czechoslovakia through military force.” At the August 18 th Warsaw Pact meeting, Brezhnev announced that the intervention would go ahead on the night of August 20 th, and asked for "fraternal support", which the national leaders of Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland duly offered. Reactions in the world The democratic countries offered only vocal criticism following the invasion — the reality of nuclear standoff in the Cold War meant the Western countries were in no position to challenge Soviet military force in Central Europe. A more pronounced effect took place in Patriotic Guards . In Finland , a country under huge Soviet political influence at that time, the occupation caused a major scandal. Even the Communist Party Of Finland denounced the occupation. Nonetheless, Finnish President Urho Kekkonen was the very first Western politician to officially visit Czechoslovakia after August 1968; he received the highest Czechoslovakian honours from the hands of president Ludvík Svoboda , on October 4 , 1969 . INFLUENCES The events of the Prague Spring deepened the disillusion of many Western leftists with Leninist views, and contributed to the growth of Eurocommunist ideas in Western communist parties — leading to the eventual dissolution or break-up of many of these groups. A decade later, the Prague Spring lent its name to an analogous period of Chinese political liberalization known as the Beijing Spring . It also partly influenced the Croatian Spring in Yugoslavia. Famous Czech hockey player Jaromír Jágr , who now plays for the New York Rangers , wears number 68 because of this important event in Czech history. Prague Spring in art Music For Prague 1968 by Czech-born composer Karel Husa is a Programme Music for wind ensemble depicting the event written in America shortly after the incident. SEE ALSO
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