49 years ago today, on August 21st, 1968, in one of the most blatant examples of Soviet imperialism and aggression in the Cold War, Soviet troops, along with their Warsaw Pact allies, invaded Czechoslovakia to put an end to reforms which had been initiated by First Secretary Alexander Dubček. The subsequent crackdown resulted in Czechoslovakia remaining within the Soviet hegemonic sphere of influence until 1989, when the USSR’s influence outside its own borders finally slipped away.
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček wanted to reform Czechoslovakia. His vision, “Socialism with a human face”, saw a general relaxation in several areas traditionally dominated by the Communist party; press freedom, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, and economic reforms allowing for the sale of certain consumer goods. In addition to this, Dubček’s reforms allowed for the possibility of multiparty elections. Finally, the plan, known as the Action Programme, sought to divide Czechoslovakia into two federal states, a Czech state and a Slovak state, both under a unified umbrella. Dubček was careful not to criticize the Soviet Union or Marxism-Leninism in general, for he feared the wrath of the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev.
Unfortunately for Dubček and Czechoslovakia, the attempts to placate the Soviet leadership failed. After failed negotiations in Bratislava, the Soviet leadership enacted the Brezhnev doctrine, which stated that the Warsaw Pact would use military force to keep the governments of Eastern Europe in line. The reforms Dubček had enacted, in particular the increase in freedom of the press, were too much for the Soviets to tolerate. On the night of August 20th-21st, 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops stormed across the Czechoslovak border, along with 2,000 tanks. The Czechoslovak military put up little to no resistance, as the entire invasion took place before the leadership had a chance to react. Dubček went on the radio and called upon his people not to resist for fear of bloodshed. Small incidents of resistance did occur, and many smaller incidents took place as well (like local resident painting over road signs and changing the names of their towns to confuse Warsaw Pact soldiers). Dubček was kidnapped and flown to Moscow, where he was forced to sign a document called the Moscow Protocol, which allowed him to remain in office and allowed for some minor concessions.
Warsaw Pact T-62 smashes a house in Prague; note the white markings on the turret, used to identify Warsaw Pact vehicles during the invasion.
Gustáv Husák replaced Dubček in April 1969 and immediately began a process of “normalization”, or reverting the country back to pre-reform standards. Dubček eventually took up a job repairing small engines for the state forest service, where he worked until sometime in the late 1980s. In 1989 he supported the Velvet Revolution that eventually brought down the Communist party in Czechoslovakia. Dubček died in 1992 following a car crash near Humpolec, Czechia.
The Prague Spring represented an opportunity for eastern European socialism to take on a form more amenable and workable with the west. Unfortunately for Dubček and the Czechoslovaks, due to Cold War considerations regarding the Soviet “Sphere of Influence”, the West remained on the sidelines and allowed the iron grip of the Soviet political structure to strangle the life out of “socialism with a human face”.
