Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968 - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

11 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

Download PDF Jump to mark scheme (page 5)Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968 revision guide

This topic is chapter 5 of GCSE History: Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 Practice Book.

Next in this strand

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Detente, Afghanistan and the End of the Cold War, 1970-91
Detente and Arms Control: SALT I and the Helsinki Agreement, 1969-75

4.5 Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 15, 16 and 17. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

State how most Czechoslovak civilians responded to the Warsaw Pact invasion.

(Total for Question 1 is 2 marks)

Give the year in which Dubcek was formally replaced as Czechoslovak Communist Party leader by Gustav Husak.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

State what the Brezhnev Doctrine, announced later in 1968, claimed the Soviet Union had the right to do.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

Explain two consequences of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (August 1968).

(Total for Question 4 is 8 marks)

Write a narrative account analysing how the Prague Spring developed between Alexander Dubcek becoming First Secretary in January 1968 and the Warsaw Pact invasion in August 1968.

You may use the following information in your answer:
- the Action Programme of April 1968
- the Warsaw Letter of July 1968

You should also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 5 is 8 marks)

Explain two of the following:
(a) the importance of Dubcek's reforms for relations within the Eastern Bloc
(b) the importance of the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) for the Brezhnev Doctrine
(c) the importance of events in Czechoslovakia in 1968 for the wider Cold War

You must answer on TWO parts.

(Total for Question 6 is 16 marks)

State two features of the reforms Dubcek's government introduced in 1968.

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

State one reason why the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact leaders were alarmed by events in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)

Give the month and year in which Warsaw Pact leaders sent Dubcek a letter warning him to reverse his reforms.

(Total for Question 9 is 2 marks)

State what happened at the talks between Dubcek and Soviet leaders at Cierna nad Tisou and Bratislava in late July and early August 1968.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Name one Warsaw Pact country that took part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and name the one Warsaw Pact country that refused to take part.

(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)

Mark scheme · 4.5 Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968

Question 1

B1 there was widespread non-violent, passive resistance rather than armed fighting
B1 for example, people removed or altered street signs and house numbers to confuse invading troops, and crowds gathered to argue with soldiers
Answer: Widespread passive, non-violent resistance, such as removing street signs to confuse invading troops.

Question 2

B1 1969
Answer: 1969

Question 3

B1 it claimed the USSR had the right to intervene, including militarily, in any Warsaw Pact or socialist state where communist rule was considered to be under threat
B1 this became known as the policy of 'limited sovereignty' for Eastern Bloc states
Answer: The USSR claimed the right to intervene militarily in any socialist state where communist rule was under threat, a policy known as limited sovereignty.

Question 4

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two general consequences of the invasion, with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (3-4): Identifies and begins to explain one consequence, supported by accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two consequences of the invasion, each supported by accurate and relevant detail.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two consequences in a well-developed, logically structured way, supported throughout by precise and accurate detail, showing how the consequences connect.
Indicative content:
- Dubcek's reforms were reversed and, by April 1969, he had been replaced as party leader by the hardline Gustav Husak, who restored strict communist control and press censorship in a process known as 'normalisation', ending the Prague Spring's changes.
- The invasion led to the announcement of the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated the USSR's right to intervene in any Warsaw Pact state where socialism was judged to be under threat, sending a clear warning to other Eastern Bloc countries not to attempt similar reforms.
- Western governments condemned the invasion but did not intervene militarily, recognising, as with Hungary in 1956, that Czechoslovakia lay within the accepted Soviet sphere of influence, showing the limits of Western willingness to challenge Soviet control of Eastern Europe directly.
- The invasion damaged the international reputation of the Soviet Union and of communism more widely, including among Western European communist parties, some of whom publicly criticised the invasion and began to distance themselves from strict Soviet-style communism.

Question 5

Level 1 (1-2): Simple, generalised statements about the Prague Spring, with little organisation or sense of change over time.
Level 2 (3-4): Some accurate knowledge is deployed, with limited organisation into a sequence; the account may be more a list of events than a developed narrative.
Level 3 (5-6): The account is organised and mostly coherent, and shows some analysis of how the crisis developed, with accurate supporting detail.
Level 4 (7-8): The answer demonstrates a coherent, well-organised narrative that analyses connections between events across the crisis, showing clearly how reform led to Soviet intervention, fully supported by precise and accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- In January 1968, Alexander Dubcek became First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, replacing the more hardline Antonin Novotny, and began introducing reforms intended to modernise and liberalise communist rule while remaining within the Warsaw Pact.
- In April 1968, the Action Programme formally set out Dubcek's reform plans, including relaxed censorship and moves towards economic and political change, and over the following weeks Czechoslovak public life became visibly freer, with open criticism of the government appearing in the press.
- This pace of change alarmed the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact leaders, who in July 1968 sent Dubcek the Warsaw Letter, warning him directly to reverse the reforms or face unspecified consequences.
- Direct negotiations at Cierna nad Tisou and Bratislava in late July and early August 1968 produced an apparent compromise, with Dubcek reaffirming loyalty to the Warsaw Pact, but Soviet leaders remained unconvinced that Czechoslovak communism was genuinely secure.
- On the night of 20-21 August 1968, Warsaw Pact forces (though not Romania) invaded Czechoslovakia, meeting largely peaceful civilian resistance rather than armed defence, and Dubcek was removed from power, showing how a period of gradual reform ended in direct Soviet military intervention once diplomacy failed to satisfy Moscow's concerns.

Question 6

Level 1 (1-4): For each part answered: identifies a general point of importance, with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (5-8): For each part answered: begins to explain importance, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (9-12): For each part answered: explains importance clearly, supported by accurate and relevant detail, with some analysis of consequences.
Level 4 (13-16): For each part answered: explains importance in a well-developed, analytical way, fully supported by precise and accurate detail, showing clearly why the event mattered for the outcome named.
Indicative content:
- (a) Dubcek's reforms were important for relations within the Eastern Bloc because they raised the possibility, for the first time since 1956, that a Warsaw Pact state might significantly loosen communist control and still remain within the alliance, testing how far the Soviet Union would tolerate independent action by its allies.
- (b) The invasion was important for the Brezhnev Doctrine because it provided the direct occasion for the USSR to formally state its right to intervene in any socialist state where communism was under threat, turning what had been an unstated assumption (as with Hungary in 1956) into an openly declared policy.
- (c) Events in Czechoslovakia were important for the wider Cold War because they showed the continuing limits of change within the Soviet sphere of influence even as some Western observers had hoped for gradual liberalisation, and the episode damaged the reputation of Soviet-style communism internationally without leading to any direct Western military response.
- A strong answer on any two parts explains a clear causal chain from the named development to the outcome specified, using precise dates, and may note that the invasion reaffirmed rather than changed the practical boundaries of Soviet control established since the late 1940s.

Question 7

B1 press censorship was relaxed, allowing much greater freedom of speech and criticism of the government
B1 plans for economic reform and eventual moves towards a more open political system were announced, while officially remaining within a socialist framework
Answer: Relaxed press censorship and greater free speech, plus plans for economic and political reform within socialism.

Question 8

B1 identifies a reason, e.g. they feared the reforms could weaken the Communist Party's control over Czechoslovakia
B1 supporting detail, e.g. they were also concerned reform ideas might spread to other Eastern Bloc countries, weakening Soviet control across the region and threatening the security buffer the USSR relied on
Answer: Fear of weakened communist control in Czechoslovakia, and concern that reform ideas might spread to other Eastern Bloc states.

Question 9

B1 July
B1 1968
Answer: July 1968

Question 10

B1 Dubcek and Soviet leaders held direct negotiations and appeared to reach a compromise, with Dubcek reaffirming Czechoslovakia's loyalty to the Warsaw Pact
B1 however, the Soviet leadership remained unconvinced that the reforms would be reversed, and continued to prepare for military intervention
Answer: An apparent compromise was reached, but the Soviet leadership remained unconvinced and continued to prepare for intervention.

Question 11

B1 any one participating country, e.g. the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary or Bulgaria
B1 Romania (which refused to send troops)
Answer: For example, the Soviet Union took part; Romania refused to take part.

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968 - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

Next in this strand

Related topics

4.5 Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Mark your answers

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11