Czechoslovakia had been a successful democracy until Hitler took it over in 1939.
Many Czechs hated this and dreamed of freedom.
However when Hitler was defeated the Soviets ensured that by 1948 it was taken over by a Communist government.
From 1948-1968 it was led by loyal Communist Novotny.
By 1968 Czechs wanted more freedom in their lives. A Communist more in favour of freedom became leader- Alexander Ducbeck.
He wanted "Communism with a human face" less censorship, more freedom of speech and lowering the power of the secret police.
He also realised that the Soviets may try to interfere due to the events in Hungary of 1956, so he reassured Moscow that they wouldn't leave the Warsaw Pact or Comecon.
Dubeck's changes encouraged critics of Communism to speak out,and issues were publicly debated. This atmosphere of new ideas, openess and greater freedom was known as the 'Prauge Spring'.
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How did the Soviets respond?
Soviet leadership remebered the events of Hungary,and were highly nervous that the mood of freedom would spread to other Warsaw Pact countries.
The Communist leaders in East Germany(Ulbricht) and Poland(Gomulka) demanded the Soviets do something about it.
The Soviets tried sending warning signals e.g by training Warsaw Pact countries on the Czech.border.
Again, Dubeck assured the Soviets that he was a one-party Communist state.
Without warning, in August 1968, Soviet troops moved in, with assistance from East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Czech.didn't resist, but protests were held in Prauge and 100 were killed.
New Czech Communist leader Husak was put in place and Dubeck was demoted and expelled from the Communist party.
A Czech student, Jan Palach, set himself on fire in protest but gradually protest died down.
The US condemned action but did nothing- relations with the Soviets had improved since 1962, so it wouldn't be practical to interfere.
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What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?
In September 1968 the Soviet leader, Brezhnev, made a speech saying that any country which tried to break away from Soviet domination would be seen as a security threat to countries of the Warsaw Pact.
The 1968 invasion and the Brezhnev Doctrine ended all attempts to reform the Communist party from within the Communist party.
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