On 21 August 1968, forces from the Soviet Union and four Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the reform movement known as the Prague Spring. The military intervention marked one of the most defining moments of the Cold War, signalling Moscow’s determination to maintain its control over Eastern Europe.
Background to the Prague Spring
Earlier in 1968, Alexander Dubček had risen to power in Czechoslovakia promising “socialism with a human face”. His programme of reforms included press freedom, greater political openness and modest economic liberalisation. These policies, popular at home, were seen in Moscow as a threat to communist unity and Soviet influence in the Eastern Bloc.
The invasion
In the night of 20–21 August, some 200,000 troops and 2,000 tanks from the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria crossed into Czechoslovakia. The sudden intervention took the population by surprise, with citizens gathering in Prague and other cities to protest peacefully against the occupation. Despite the lack of organised military resistance, the show of force was overwhelming.
Consequences
Dubček was arrested and flown to Moscow, where he was forced to reverse his reforms. The country entered a period known as “normalisation”, marked by strict censorship, repression and the restoration of hard-line communist rule. Internationally, the invasion shocked many in the West, but no direct confrontation followed. Within the Eastern Bloc, the move reinforced the Brezhnev Doctrine — the principle that Moscow would intervene militarily whenever it felt socialism in a member state was under threat.
Legacy
The events of August 1968 left a deep scar on Czechoslovak society. For many, the hopes of political liberalisation were crushed for two decades until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The invasion also became a symbol of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe, remembered as a warning to reformers elsewhere.
REFH – Newshub, 21 August 2025
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