What Was The 'Prague Spring'?

The Prague Spring was the name given to a brief period in 1968 when the new Party Secretary of the Czechoslovak communist party, Alexander Dubcek, introduced a series of liberal reforms to the country. Dubcek announced an end to censorship and declared that citizens should feel free to criticise their government. The result was a series of critical exposés appearing in the press which embarrassed the communist party leadership.

Moscow viewed the events in Czechoslovakia with alarm and, on August 20th, Warsaw Pact forces invaded the country. The Czech military had been instructed not to resist the invasion but, despite this, around 100 people were killed in total as it occurred. Dubcek was arrested and sent to Moscow where he acknowledged mistakes and announced that the program of reforms would be abandoned. In the following year, he was replaced as Party Secretary and spent much of the rest of his life in obscurity.