Topic 3: The Rise and Rule of Single-Party States NAME AND AUTHOR OF THE PACKET READING: Chapter 27 by Brian Crozier 1968: The Prague Spring and Beyond Major Theme: Origins and Nature of Authoritarian and Single-Party States Conditions That Produced Single-Party States Emergence of Leaders: Aims, Ideology, Support Totalitarianism: the Aim and the Extent to Which it was Achieved Historiography Major Theme: Establishment of Authoritarian and Single-Party States Methods: Force The Letter Vasil Bilak (leader of the Slovak Communist Party) met with Pyotr Shelest (member of Soviet politburo). Bilak gave Shelest a letter to be given to Brezhnev which implored Russia to intervene to preserve socialism in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Convinced Brezhnev to rally forces Warsaw Pact countries to invade Czechoslovakia Formation of communist Czechoslovakia Communist party of Czechoslovakia (CPC) took power in bloodless coup in 1948 Highest ratio of members to total population of any ruling Communist Party 1,700,000 out of 14,305,000 people necessary because democratic and free thought was more prevalent there Military Maneuvers Warsaw Pact forces conducted military maneuvers in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union during June and July o Soviet forces remain in Czechoslovakia on pretenses
such as abnormal traffic conditions The Invasion! Starts August 21 st with contingents from Poland, Hungary, East Germany, and Bulgaria 600,000 troops in total Prague Radio didn t use the word invasion stressed it happened w/o knowledge of president, chairman of national assembly, the premier or first secretary of the Czech Communist Party Central Committee didn t command to defend country Dubček, Smrkovsky, and Cernik are all arrested and taken to Moscow! o Pressured to accept form of words from Soviet invaders o Svoboda taken in too o Czech leaders attend meeting with the troika (Brezhnev, Prime Minister Kosygin, and Nikolai Podgorny) o Gustav Husak (Vice premier and Slovak Party secretary) gives speech + is arrested too Internal Security + Military Lots of KGB agents in the Czechoslovak army, police, and security services tried to discredit post-novotny reform KGB ploy to monitor all telephone conversations in the Czech Ministry of the Interior. Infiltrated non-communist clubs and charged members on forged/made-up charges KGB operation to find NATO weapons which the soviet agents planted themselves Methods: Legal Dresden Meeting March 23 rd attended by Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Hungary Dubček was ordered (thinly veiled) to be more Moscow-y or face consequences!! o Dubček + PM Oldrich Cernik + Smrkovsky + Bilak were
Form of Government, (Left & Right Wing) Ideology Nature, extent and Treatment of Opposition summoned to Moscow on May 4 th they were given friendly speech that was actually warning to be obedient Ruling party of Romania issued a critical resolution of meeting mad they weren t invited Show of Moscow Strength Soviet military delegation came to Prague Communique had mentioned concrete steps to strengthen cooperation between the Soviet and Czechoslovakian armies within the framework of the Warsaw Pact Meeting in Warsaw Ruling parties of Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and East Germany Czech Party invited but they declined Deep worries about Czechoslovakia were expressed Politburo and Presidium Meeting Entire Soviet Politburo met with entire Czech Presidium in Czech territory July 29 th August 1 st Bratislava Meeting Czech government met with 5 countries from Warsaw meeting When letter is delivered to Brezhnev October Student Protest in Czechoslovakia Students protested chanted Give us light! The security police attacked them with tear gas + truncheons students were taken to the hospital 2,000 Word Manifesto Written by dissident writer Ludvik Vaculik Signed by 70 prominent intellectuals Urged rapid removal of Party hard-liners from public functions They would start boycotting and rebelling if not SMERSH (Czech branch of KGB) denounced the Manifesto Communist Support
Both Yugoslavia and Romania supported Czechoslovakia General Tito and Nicolae Ceauşescu visited o Ceauşescu signed a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance with Czechoslovakia Passive and Active Resistance to Invasion Slogans everywhere called out the invaders as legal and unwanted Crux of messages = Russians go home! Invading soldiers tried to tear them down to no avail Czechoslovak Academy of Science issued a Black Book recording of what really happened in the invasion and not the manufactured version Printers didn t print conformist paper Tribuna Young intellectuals brought out Prague Manifesto Group of students decided on policy of suicide and self-sacrifice o Called themselves torches o Jan Palach = Torch Number 1 lit himself on fire on January 16 th, 1969 mourned all over the world o 13 other Torches ended their lives Czech team beats Soviet in world ice hockey championship! Two Years of Czechoslovak Crisis Reaction to Moscow Talks: o Top Level: Svoboda and Dubček were very conciliatory towards Russia Dubček cried a lot during his speech o Second Level: rumor that soviet leaders reinstated censorship in the media thousands of people marched from the Wenceslaus Square to the National Assembly building, chanting, We want the whole truth, and We don t want to live on our knees. o Third Level: National Assembly condemned the occupation in resolution at odds with ruling party More Moscow talks in October o Yuri Andropov (KGB chairman) gave polish + east German colleagues a Top Secret report on the
counterrevolutionary underground in the CSSR (Czechoslovak People s Republic) reports of anticommunist mass propaganda plans o Outcome of talks = Soviet-Czechoslovak Treaty 15 articles article 1 and 15 referred to military occupation as temporary November 11 th, 1968: Soviet Party Central Committee draft Secret report to give to Dubček o Expressed displeasure at new draft Resolution of the Czechoslovak Party Aeroflot (Soviet offices) is wrecked by demonstrators actually organized by KGB agents Pravada (Soviet newspaper) attacks Dubček for wrecking Aeroflot offices Soviet defense minister (Andrei Grechko) issues note: o Order will be restored with severity o The other states of Warsaw Pact will liquidate the counter-revolution Dubček is forced to resign replaced by Gustav Husak More resistance!! o Mass celebration on day of the invasion on August 21 st called The Day of Shame o Demonstrators killed in Brno (Moravian capital) Why Invade?? Brezhnev states them at Fifth Congress of Polish Communist Party: o Soviet Union can intervene in a socialist country where socialism is threatened o Became known as Brezhnev Doctrine o Strict Leninist theory Socialism must be spread to all countries and can t go back afterward Historiography Romania was relatively dissident The Czech party was caught in a trap of its own making because it yielded to dissident views which jeopardized the careers of its
members The two state visits could ve strengthened Dubček s will to resist Soviet pressure but Moscow was already organizing large-scale military maneuvers along targeted borders Accounts and notes from the meeting with the Russian hosts and Czech leader guests on August 27 th seemed friendly on the surface but it was actually very menacing. Reactions to the Moscow talks came at three mutually incompatible levels The Soviet-Czechoslovak Treaty enshrined imposition of Soviet authority and Czech political defeat but Soviets hadn t actually won the political war yet. Dubček was worse in Russian leaders eyes than Tito or Ceauşescu because his actions (acceptance of liberal reforms) caused Socialism to be in danger in Czechoslovakia KGB operations enforced Soviet view that invasion was necessary Security and strategy were less important than political and ideological factors that led to the invasion and the Brezhnev Doctrine Major Theme: Domestic Policies and Impact (Including Soviet Satellite States) Structure and Organization of Government and Administration Central Committee January 3, 1968 Novotny is overwhelmingly voted to be replaced with the first secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia, Alexander Dubček. Political Policies Czech Party Central Committee President Antonin Novotny (also 1 st secretary of party) wouldn t separate his two offices criticized for ignoring Slovak half Dubček first public address Much will be achieved to begin with if past obstacles to progress are removed and creative efforts set in motion so that every honest citizen believing in socialism and the unity of
Economic Policies Social Policies this country feels that he is being useful and counts for something. Freedom of expression became more of a thing! Previously repressed party members, Gustav Husak and Josef Smrkovsky, spoke out Trade Union Demands Trade union leaders demanded for the removal of several party bureaucrats who were appointed to nonessential posts in factories Caused by defection of General Jan Sejna who was chairman of the Party s Main committee in the National Defense Ministry o He illegally appropriated alfalfa seeds o Sejna defected to the U.S. o Novotny blamed Party Plenum March 22 nd Novotny forced to resign as president of republic and members of the Presidium and Secretariat Presidium post replaced by Josef Smrkovsky Secretariat post replaced by Cestmir Cisar Ludvk Svoboda became new president of republic very loyal to Moscow May 29 th Plenum of Party Central Committee Goal was to deal with pressure form the right Dubček said that major danger to democratization came from the Right Czechoslovakia Economy Economy was bankrupt Party introduced New Economic Model (1966) wasn t implemented Rehabilitation of Political Prisoners Post-Novotny ousting created wave of freedom! Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters made government rehabilitate 40,000 ex-servicemen and resistance fighters March 31 st, 1968 3,000 victims of political trials set up Club
Religious Policies Role of Education Role of the Arts for the Rehabilitation of Political Prisoners Called for rehabilitation of former Party stalwarts namely Rudolf Slansky who was executed in 1953 Censorship Party Presidium abolished preventive censorship on March 4 th Party officials of the Central Publishing Administration called for abolition of preventive censorship censors calling for end to censorship Rudé Právo (party s newspaper) published Action Program on April 9 th called for democratization also called for: o Protection by the judiciary of the constitutional rights of citizens o Freedom of speech, press, and assembly to be guaranteed by law o Full equality for national minorities and restoration of rights to citizens whose rights had been violated in the past o Freedom to travel abroad and to emigrate o Rejected the creation of opposition parties gesture to orthodox Marxism-Leninism o Rejected any restriction of the rights and freedoms of non-communists Union of Czechoslovak Writers Held Fourth Congress denounced the communist regime + repressive measures Role of Media, Propaganda Status of Women Treatment of Religious Groups and Minorities Historiography Alexander Dubček as president created an ideological oxymoron: a call for freedom of expression and internal party democracy while also affirming loyalty to Marxism-Leninism. The party resolutions and speeches that followed his promotion
show either his incapacity to see the contradictions or that he ll only keep Moscow s support if he reaffirms belief in basic soviet ideology Refugees in West from Soviet control fell in 2 different categories: dissenters and defectors