Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring, 1968
The Prague Spring was a period of liberal reform in communist Czechoslovakia in 1968, and its suppression by the USSR was one of the defining Cold War tests of how far Moscow would go to keep control of Eastern Europe. In January 1968, Alexander Dubcek became First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party and introduced reforms he called 'socialism with a human face', including relaxed censorship, greater freedom of speech and some market-style economic changes, set out in an Action Programme in April 1968. Fearing these reforms would weaken Soviet control and encourage similar movements elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc, the USSR led Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia in August 1968, crushing the reforms and removing Dubcek from power. The USSR then announced the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated it had the right to intervene militarily in any communist state where socialism appeared to be under threat, a policy that shaped Soviet control of Eastern Europe for the next two decades.
Before you start
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Method
- Learn Dubcek's reforms precisely, since vague answers about 'more freedom' lose marks: relaxed press censorship, greater freedom of speech and assembly, and limited market-style economic reforms, set out formally in the Action Programme of April 1968 under the slogan 'socialism with a human face'.
- Learn why the USSR saw these reforms as a threat: Moscow feared that if one Eastern Bloc state was allowed to loosen communist control and improve relations with the West, other satellite states might demand the same freedoms, weakening the USSR's grip on the whole region.
- Learn the invasion itself: in August 1968, the USSR led troops from several Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia, meeting little armed resistance but widespread civilian protest; Dubcek was arrested, later removed from power, and replaced by the more loyal Gustav Husak.
- Learn the Brezhnev Doctrine as the invasion's direct consequence: announced in 1968, it stated the USSR had the right to intervene in any communist country where socialism was threatened, effectively ending any Eastern Bloc state's hope of reforming its own system without Soviet approval.
- For 'explain two consequences of...' questions, separate the consequence for Czechoslovakia itself (Dubcek's removal, the end of reform) from the wider consequence for the Eastern Bloc (the Brezhnev Doctrine limiting all satellite states) so your two points are genuinely distinct.
- For 'explain two of the following: importance' questions, be ready to weigh the importance of Dubcek's reforms themselves against the importance of the invasion for later events, such as damaging detente or discouraging reform elsewhere until Gorbachev in the 1980s.
Worked example
Explain two consequences of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
- Identify two distinct consequences: one for Czechoslovakia specifically, and one for the wider Eastern Bloc and Cold War.
- Write consequence one: Dubcek's reforms were reversed and he was removed from power, replaced by the more loyal Gustav Husak, so 'socialism with a human face' ended and Czechoslovakia returned to strict, centrally controlled communist rule.
- Support consequence one with detail: censorship was reimposed, and thousands of Czechoslovak Communist Party members who had supported the reforms were expelled from the party in the years that followed.
- Write consequence two: the USSR announced the Brezhnev Doctrine, declaring its right to intervene militarily in any Eastern Bloc state where socialism seemed threatened, which discouraged other satellite states from attempting similar reforms for years afterwards.
- Support consequence two with detail: the invasion also damaged the USSR's international reputation, particularly among Western communist parties, some of whom publicly criticised Soviet actions for the first time.
Practice questions
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Q1When did Alexander Dubcek become First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party?Show answer
Answer: January 1968.
Q2What phrase did Dubcek use to describe his reform programme?Show answer
Answer: 'Socialism with a human face'.
Q3Name two specific reforms included in Dubcek's Action Programme of April 1968.Show answer
Answer: Relaxed censorship of the press, and greater freedom of speech (other acceptable answers include limited market-style economic reforms).
Q4Why did the USSR see the Prague Spring as a threat to its control of Eastern Europe?Show answer
Answer: It feared other satellite states would demand similar reforms if Czechoslovakia was allowed to loosen communist control, weakening Soviet authority across the whole Eastern Bloc.
Q5When did Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, and who replaced Dubcek as leader afterwards?Show answer
Answer: August 1968; Dubcek was replaced by Gustav Husak.
Q6What did the Brezhnev Doctrine state?Show answer
Answer: That the USSR had the right to intervene militarily in any communist country where socialism appeared to be under threat.
Q7Give one way the Brezhnev Doctrine affected other Eastern Bloc states after 1968.Show answer
Answer: It discouraged them from attempting similar liberal reforms, since they knew the USSR would use force to prevent any move away from strict communist control.
Exam-style questions
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Explain two consequences of the Brezhnev Doctrine for Eastern Europe.
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Explain two of the following: (a) The importance of Dubcek's Action Programme for the Prague Spring of 1968. (b) The importance of the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968 for Soviet control of Eastern Europe. (c) The importance of the Brezhnev Doctrine for detente in the 1970s. You must answer on two options.
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