April 3, 2025, 8:52 a.m.
(Prague. August 1968. Photo: Libor Hajski)
The territory controlled by the Soviet Union during the Cold War was called a "socialist camp" for a reason. It was possible to survive there if you listened carefully to the orders of the guards and did not say anything unnecessary. One could, of course, try to escape from the camp, but the punishment could be severe. Hungary had the opportunity to see this in 1956. Twelve years later, Czechoslovakia also tried to find its way to freedom. We will try to recall how it happened in the following article.
Moscow is trying to fix the situation
In January 1968, Alexander Dubček took office as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (hereinafter - the CCP). He was a representative of the progressive wing of the party, which sought democratic reforms within the framework of socialism.
Dubcek replaced Antonín Novotny as first secretary, but the latter was still the president of Czechoslovakia. Novotny was a representative of conservative communism. As a creature of Nikita Khrushchev, he was forced to weaken the regime during the Thaw.
However, having been involved in the repressions of the 1950s, Novotny was in no hurry to reform society. Opposition to Novotny's activities within the HRC contributed to his losing the presidency on March 30 and being replaced by Ludvik Svoboda. In the late 1960s, Moscow was suspicious of Novotny, so it did not resist changes in the Czechoslovak government.
Svoboda was a cautious politician. He saw the mood in Czechoslovak society, so he was not going to stand in the way of reforms.
A bust in honor of Alexander Dubcek. Photo: Wikipedia
In April, Dubček appointed people to key positions who were ready to contribute to the reform of Czechoslovakia. In particular, free meetings and discussions were allowed, and public organizations and associations began to appear. Due to the significant easing of censorship, local journalists began to study the communist crimes of the 1950s. Reformers announced plans to establish strict control over the activities of security agencies, facilitate the establishment of private enterprises, reduce state control over production, and even hold free elections.
Dubcek's words during a televised speech gave rise to the name "socialism with a human face" for the wave of Czechoslovak reforms.
Representatives of the Prague Spring at a rally. Photo: Wikipedia
On March 23, at a meeting of the leaders of the USSR, Poland, the GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek was sharply criticized. Classified information sent out by the CPSU Central Committee in late March stated that Czechoslovakia was moving in a negative direction. In early May, a meeting was held between Leonid Brezhnev and Alexander Dubcek, but the leaders failed to reach an agreement.
On May 8, the leaders of the Warsaw Pact met without Czechoslovakia's representative. Albania and Romania also did not participate in the events of the Prague Spring, as they reacted negatively to Soviet pressure and condemned the subsequent invasion. Already at this meeting, a proposal for a military solution to the problem was made. Hungarian leader Janos Kádár, who remembered the events of 1956, suggested looking for a political solution.
In the summer, the OVD decided to hold large-scale exercises on the territory of the organization's member states. It is likely that these exercises were meant to prepare for a possible invasion and to be a hidden threat to the Czechoslovak Republic. In particular, for the first time since the founding of the CIU, 16,000 troops were deployed to the territory of the Republic. The exercises in late July and early August were in fact a redeployment of troops for a further invasion.
Tensions between Czechoslovakia and the other EIA countries reached a peak in late July at a meeting in the city of Cerna nad Tisou, where the full Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and the Presidency of the HRC Central Committee gathered. They demanded that Dubcek quickly change course, threatening him with consequences for disobedience.
However, the leader of Czechoslovakia continued to follow the chosen course. Did Dubcek realize that the threats were not in vain? Most likely, after the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the possibility of a repeat of this scenario was obvious to him. He was just doing what he thought was right.
The reforms of Dubcek's team enjoyed massive support in the country, but the situation in the HRC was not unanimous. In particular, the leading figures of the party were against them: Vasil Bilyak, Alois Indra, Antonín Kapek, Oldřich Švětěcká, and Dragomír Kolder.
Interestingly, the latter had been a supporter of reforms a few months earlier, but quickly realized that the train was going downhill. Importantly, this bloc was supported by the State Security Service, headed by William Shalhovich. The Soviets were going to take full advantage of the split in the ranks of the Czechoslovak communists. In particular, on the eve of the invasion, a letter appeared in which the five communists named above asked the USSR to send in troops and overcome the internal counterrevolution.
Operation Danube to occupy Czechoslovakia began late in the evening of August 20. Troops from the USSR, Poland, the GDR, Bulgaria, and Hungary took part in it, but the main contingent belonged to the USSR.
The invasion army consisted of 500,000 troops, which was about 10 times more than during the suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. After receiving the signal to start the operation, all commanders had to open one of five secret packages, and the other four had to be burned in the presence of their chiefs of staff.
Upon learning of the invasion, Dubcek urgently convened the Presidency of the HRC, which condemned the invasion by a majority vote of 7 to 4. Interestingly, Moscow had previously conducted "explanatory" work with members of the HRC Presidency and expected the invasion to be approved by a score of 6 to 5. The leadership of Czechoslovakia told the population not to resist, as under such conditions it had no chance of success. However, there was resistance.
Allied tanks were rapidly advancing deep into the country. At 4:30 a.m., Soviet troops surrounded the Central Committee of the HRC and arrested all those present. At 2 a.m., advanced units of the airborne forces seized the Ruzine airfield in Prague.
The capture took place with the help of a ruse. A Soviet passenger plane requested an emergency landing, allegedly because of damage. It was on this plane that the landing party was located. One by one, transport planes with troops on board quickly began to arrive at the seized airfield. Later, other key airfields were captured.
Soviet tanks on the streets of Prague. Photo: Wikipedia
According to Soviet methodologies, it was necessary to take control of all key objects. One of these objects was the building of the Prague radio station, which had been broadcasting anti-Soviet messages during the invasion. Several hundred unarmed Prague residents who tried to barricade the entrance came to defend the radio station. According to Czech data, 22 of them were killed in the storming.
The Allies took control of the entire territory of Czechoslovakia within 36 hours. Tanks stood on the edges of the cities, but the population did not want to accept this. People dismantled road signs and street name plates to make the aggressors' advance as difficult as possible. Crowds took to the streets, blocking the streets with barricades, blocking the movement of vehicles with their bodies, setting tanks on fire, and carrying posters with appeals to Soviet soldiers to return home.
On the streets of Prague. Photo: The Central Intelligence Agency
Meanwhile, Dubcek and his supporters were taken to the airfield in Soviet armored personnel carriers and taken to Moscow. "Negotiations" were to take place with them.
Of course, the "negotiations" in Moscow took place in an atmosphere of pressure and threats. The Soviet leaders wanted the representatives of Czechoslovakia to agree to sign a document in which the deployment of troops was considered a necessary measure as a method of fighting the counterrevolution, and democratic reforms were canceled.
Another important issue was how long the occupation troops would remain on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakians managed only to ensure that the events of the Prague Spring were not considered counterrevolutionary. As for the withdrawal of troops, the wording was as unfavorable as possible for Czechoslovakia: when the situation in the country normalizes. As a result, Soviet troops left the country only after the collapse of the USSR.
It was decided to remove Czechoslovak reformers from power gradually, so as not to cause unnecessary unrest. In particular, Alexander Dubček served as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party until April 1969, when he was replaced by Gustav Husák. In 1970, Dubček was dismissed from the HRC and worked in the field of forestry until his retirement.
Gustav Husák dutifully canceled all the reforms of the Prague Spring. Interestingly, President Ludvík Svoboda remained in office. He did not stand in the way of the reforms, but he did not object to their abolition either.
It is important to note that the invasion of Czechoslovakia was condemned by several countries of the socialist camp, including Yugoslavia, Romania, China, and Albania. The latter withdrew from the OVD in September 1968 as a result of the Czechoslovak events. Protests against the invasion took place in other countries as well.
Demonstration in Helsinki against the deployment of troops in Czechoslovakia. Photo: Wikipedia
According to current data, 108 Czechoslovak citizens were killed and more than 500 wounded in the conflict. The losses of Soviet troops are estimated at 84 killed and dead, 62 wounded and injured. Most of the Soviet casualties were caused by various accidents. The losses of the USSR's allies were quite insignificant.
The monument is dedicated to the events of the Prague Spring. Photo: Photo.
During the events of the Prague Spring, the USSR once again proved that it was ready and able to brutally suppress any attempts to leave the socialist camp. However, this time, unlike the Hungarian uprising of 1956, it acted together with the troops of the Allied countries. The Allies assembled a 500,000-strong army, which presumably was supposed to guarantee the absence of fierce organized resistance.
Representatives of the USSR have repeatedly stated that they were ready to face NATO forces during the Prague Spring and, as a result, before the outbreak of World War III. It is hard to say which is more hypocritical or total zombification.
After the United States and NATO countries decided not to intervene in the Hungarian uprising of 1956, they actually demonstrated that they did not plan to interfere directly in the affairs of the socialist camp countries. Moreover, we should not forget that it was at this time that the Americans were stuck in Vietnam for a long time. There is an opinion that the Prague Spring was a serious impetus for the period of detente.
Unlike Imre Nagy, who became the accidental leader of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, Alexander Dubcek embodied the events of the Prague Spring through his actions. Despite a successful career in the communist party hierarchy, he somehow managed to retain certain ideals and the belief that at the right time the situation could be changed for the better. And when that moment came, he took the path of transformation on principle, apparently risking his own life. Attempts to denigrate him in Soviet propaganda literature do not stand up to any criticism.
If we compare the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are many parallels. Both countries wanted to free themselves from Moscow's influence; to send in troops, the USSR accused Czechoslovakia of "right-wing counterrevolution" and Russia accused Ukraine of Nazism; both aggressors conducted fake exercises before the invasion; the USSR considered the capture of the Ruzine airport in Prague to be an important component of the invasion, while Russia considered the capture of the Gostomel airport near Kyiv to be an important component of the invasion; Czechoslovakian and Ukrainian collaborators turned to their older brother for help.
So, Russia continues to live and work according to the old Soviet methods.
Олег Пархітько
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