Czechoslovakia and the Prague Spring

• Impact of Soviet rule on Czechoslovakia

  • Czechoslovakia's economy and living standards declined
  • Any opposition to communism was crushed
  • Communist rule became very unpopular
• Dubcek's reforms


  1. Relaxation of censorship meant more freedom to say and write things, even if critical of communism

  2. More democracy allowed other parties alongside the Communist Party

  3. More power was given to the Czechoslovakian parliament and Soviet control was reduced

  4. The economy was also reformed with 'market socialism' allowing for the introduction of some 'capitalist elements'

  5. The powers of the secret police were also reduced
• How Czechoslovaks responded

  • Students, intellectuals, workers and young members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia welcomed Dubček's reforms enthusiastically
  • Writers, such as Vaclav Havel and Milan Kundera, wrote books that were highly critical of Soviet-style communism
  • Members of the secret police and some senior army officers resented losing their power and status due to the reforms
• How the rest of the communist world responded

  • The Prague Spring horrified many older Czechoslovakian communists, as they felt it would lead to the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia
  • Brezhnev and other communists in Eastern Europe, such as Eric Honecker, the leader of East Germany, were especially concerned. They feared the Prague Spring would lead to demands for reform elsewhere in the Eastern bloc that would threaten communist rule in Eastern Europe
  • Brezhnev now had a dilemma: Dubček was a friend and military action would damage the Soviet Union's reputation, but if he did nothing, expectations would rise and the whole Eastern bloc might collapse