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=== Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia === === Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia ===
{{Main|Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia}} {{Main|Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia}}
A period of political liberalization took place in 1968 in ] country ] called the ]. The event was spurred by several events, including economic reforms that addressed an early 1960s economic downturn.<ref>{{cite web| title = Photius.com, (info from CIA world Factbook)| url = http://www.photius.com/countries/slovakia/economy/czechoslovakia_economy_economic_policy_and_~777.html| publisher = Photius Coutsoukis
A period of political liberalization took place in 1968 in ] country ] called the ]. The event was spurred by several events, including economic reforms that addressed an early 1960s economic downturn.<sup>]]]]</sup> In April, Czechoslovakian leader ] launched an "]" of liberalizations, which included increasing freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of movement, along with an economic emphasis on ], the possibility of a multiparty government and limiting the power of the secret police.<sup>]]]]</sup> Initial reaction within the Eastern Bloc was mixed, with ]'s ] expressing support, while Soviet leader ] and others grew concerned about Dubček's reforms, which they feared might weaken the Eastern Bloc's position during the Cold War.<sup>]]]]</sup> On August 3, representatives from the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia met in ] and signed the ], which declaration affirmed unshakable fidelity to ]<nowiki/>and ] and declared an implacable struggle against "bourgeois" ideology and all "anti-socialist" forces.<sup>]]</sup>
| accessdate = 2008-01-20 }}</ref><ref name="Williams5">{{Harvnb|Williams|1997|p=5}}</ref> In April, Czechoslovakian leader ] launched an "]" of liberalizations, which included increasing freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of movement, along with an economic emphasis on ], the possibility of a multiparty government and limiting the power of the secret police.<ref>Ello (ed.), Paul (April 1968). Control Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, "Action Plan of the (Prague, April 1968)" in ''Dubcek's Blueprint for Freedom: His original documents leading to the invasion of Czechoslovakia.'' William Kimber & Co. 1968, pp 32, 54</ref><ref>{{cite web
|last=Von Geldern
|first=James
|last2=Siegelbaum
|first2=Lewis
|publisher=Soviethistory.org
|title=The Soviet-led Intervention in Czechoslovakia
|url=http://soviethistory.org/index.php?action=L2&SubjectID=1968czechoslovakia&Year=1968
|accessdate=2008-03-07
|deadurl=yes
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817200255/http://soviethistory.org/index.php?action=L2&SubjectID=1968czechoslovakia&Year=1968
|archivedate=2009-08-17
|df=
}}</ref> Initial reaction within the Eastern Bloc was mixed, with ]'s ] expressing support, while Soviet leader ] and others grew concerned about Dubček's reforms, which they feared might weaken the Eastern Bloc's position during the Cold War.<ref name="trans">{{cite web | title = Document #81: Transcript of Leonid Brezhnev's Telephone Conversation with Alexander Dubček, August 13, 1968 | year = 1998 | url = http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/DOC_readers/psread/doc81.htm | work = The Prague Spring '68 | publisher = The Prague Spring Foundation | accessdate = 2008-01-23 }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Navrátil|2006|pp=36 & 172–181}}</ref> On August 3, representatives from the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia met in ] and signed the ], which declaration affirmed unshakable fidelity to ] and ] and declared an implacable struggle against "bourgeois" ideology and all "anti-socialist" forces.<ref>{{Harvnb|Navrátil|2006|pp=326–329}}</ref>


On the night of August 20–21, 1968, Eastern Bloc armies from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, ], ] and ]– ].<sup>]]]]</sup> The invasion comported with the ], a policy of compelling Eastern Bloc states to subordinate national interests to those of the Bloc as a whole and the exercise of a Soviet right to intervene if an Eastern Bloc country appeared to shift towards capitalism.<sup>]]]]</sup> The invasion was followed by a wave of emigration, including an estimated 70,000 Czechs initially fleeing, with the total eventually reaching 300,000.<sup>]]</sup> In April 1969, Dubček was replaced as first secretary by ], and a period of "]" began.<sup>]]</sup> Husák reversed Dubček's reforms, purged the party of liberal members, dismissed opponents from public office, reinstated the power of the police authorities, sought to re-] the economy and re-instated the disallowance of political commentary in mainstream media and by persons not considered to have "full political trust".<sup>]]]]</sup> The international image of the Soviet Union suffered considerably, especially among Western student movements inspired by the "]" and non-Aligned Movement states. ]'s ], for example, condemned both the Soviets and the Americans as ]. On the night of August 20–21, 1968, Eastern Bloc armies from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, ], ] and ] – ].<ref>{{cite book| last = Ouimet | first = Matthew| title = The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy | publisher = University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London| year = 2003 |pages = 34–35}}</ref><ref name="Global">{{cite web | title = Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia | work = Military | date = 2005-04-27 | publisher = GlobalSecurity.org | url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/czechoslovakia2.htm | accessdate = 2007-01-19 }}</ref> The invasion comported with the ], a policy of compelling Eastern Bloc states to subordinate national interests to those of the Bloc as a whole and the exercise of a Soviet right to intervene if an Eastern Bloc country appeared to shift towards capitalism.<ref>{{Harvnb|Grenville|2005|p=780}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Chafetz| first = Glenn | title = Gorbachev, Reform, and the Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Policy Toward Eastern Europe, 1985–1990| date = 1993-04-30| publisher = Praeger Publishers| url = | isbn = 0-275-94484-0 |page= 10}}</ref> The invasion was followed by a wave of emigration, including an estimated 70,000 Czechs initially fleeing, with the total eventually reaching 300,000.<ref>{{cite web | last = Čulík| first = Jan| title = Den, kdy tanky zlikvidovaly české sny Pražského jara| url = http://www.britskelisty.cz/9808/19980821h.html| publisher = Britské Listy| accessdate = 2008-01-23 }}</ref> In April 1969, Dubček was replaced as first secretary by ], and a period of "]" began.<ref name="Williams">{{Harvnb|Williams|1997|p=xi}}</ref> Husák reversed Dubček's reforms, purged the party of liberal members, dismissed opponents from public office, reinstated the power of the police authorities, sought to re-] the economy and re-instated the disallowance of political commentary in mainstream media and by persons not considered to have "full political trust".<ref name="Interpolitics">{{Harvnb|Goertz|1995|pp=154–157}}</ref><ref name="KieranPress">{{Harvnb|Williams|1997|p=164}}</ref> The international image of the Soviet Union suffered considerably, especially among Western student movements inspired by the "]" and non-Aligned Movement states. ]'s ], for example, condemned both the Soviets and the Americans as ].


== References == == References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Citation|last=Goertz|first=Gary|title=Contexts of International Politics|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-46972-4}}
*{{Citation|last=Grenville|first=John Ashley Soames|title=A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=0-415-28954-8}}
*{{Citation|last=Navrátil|first=Jaromír|title=The Prague Spring 1968: A National Security Archive Document Reader (National Security Archive Cold War Readers) | publisher = Central European University Press|year = 2006|isbn=963-7326-67-7}}
*{{Citation|last=Williams|first=Kieran|title=The Prague Spring and its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968–1970|publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=1997|isbn=0-521-58803-0}}


] ]

Revision as of 14:41, 23 June 2019

World War II

The Soviet Union policy during World War II was neutrality until August 1939, followed by friendly relations with Germany in order to carve up Eastern Europe. The USSR helped supply oil and munitions to Germany as its armies rolled across Western Europe in May–June 1940. Despite repeated warnings, Stalin refused to believe that Hitler was planning an all-out war on the USSR. Stalin was stunned and temporarily helpless when Hitler invaded in June 1941. Stalin quickly came to terms with Britain and the United States, cemented through a series of summit meetings. The U.S. and Britain supplied war materials in large quantity through Lend Lease. There was some coordination of military action, especially in summer 1944.

Cold War

Korean War

Main article: Korean War

In June 1950, Kim Il-sung's North Korean People's Army invaded South Korea. Fearing that communist Korea under a Kim Il Sung dictatorship could threaten Japan and foster other communist movements in Asia, Truman committed U.S. forces and obtained help from the United Nations to counter the North Korean invasion. The Soviets boycotted UN Security Council meetings while protesting the Council's failure to seat the People's Republic of China and, thus, did not veto the Council's approval of UN action to oppose the North Korean invasion. A joint UN force of personnel from South Korea, the United States, Britain, Turkey, Canada, Australia, France, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand and other countries joined to stop the invasion. After a Chinese invasion to assist the North Koreans, fighting stabilized along the 38th parallel, which had separated the Koreas. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953 after the death of Stalin, who had been insisting that the North Koreans continue fighting.

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Main article: Hungarian Revolution of 1956

After Stalinist dictator Mátyás Rákosi was replaced by Imre Nagy following Stalin's death and Polish reformist Władysław Gomułka was able to enact some reformist requests, large numbers of protesting Hungarians compiled a list of Demands of Hungarian Revolutionaries of 1956, including free secret-ballot elections, independent tribunals, and inquiries into Stalin and Rákosi Hungarian activities. Under the orders of Soviet defense minister Georgy Zhukov, Soviet tanks entered Budapest.Protester attacks at the Parliament forced the collapse of the government.

The new government that came to power during the revolution formally disbanded the Hungarian secret police, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. The Soviet Politburo thereafter moved to crush the revolution with a large Soviet force invading Budapest and other regions of the country.Approximately 200,000 Hungarians fled Hungary, some 26,000 Hungarians were put on trial by the new Soviet-installed János Kádár government and, of those, 13,000 were imprisoned. Imre Nagy was executed, along with Pál Maléter and Miklós Gimes, after secret trials in June 1958. By January 1957, the Hungarian government had suppressed all public opposition. These Hungarian government's violent oppressive actions alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened communist control in all the European communist states, cultivating the perception that communism was both irreversible and monolithic.

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

Main article: Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

A period of political liberalization took place in 1968 in Eastern Bloc country Czechoslovakia called the Prague Spring. The event was spurred by several events, including economic reforms that addressed an early 1960s economic downturn. In April, Czechoslovakian leader Alexander Dubček launched an "Action Program" of liberalizations, which included increasing freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of movement, along with an economic emphasis on consumer goods, the possibility of a multiparty government and limiting the power of the secret police. Initial reaction within the Eastern Bloc was mixed, with Hungary's János Kádár expressing support, while Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and others grew concerned about Dubček's reforms, which they feared might weaken the Eastern Bloc's position during the Cold War. On August 3, representatives from the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia met in Bratislava and signed the Bratislava Declaration, which declaration affirmed unshakable fidelity to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism and declared an implacable struggle against "bourgeois" ideology and all "anti-socialist" forces.

On the night of August 20–21, 1968, Eastern Bloc armies from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary – invaded Czechoslovakia. The invasion comported with the Brezhnev Doctrine, a policy of compelling Eastern Bloc states to subordinate national interests to those of the Bloc as a whole and the exercise of a Soviet right to intervene if an Eastern Bloc country appeared to shift towards capitalism. The invasion was followed by a wave of emigration, including an estimated 70,000 Czechs initially fleeing, with the total eventually reaching 300,000. In April 1969, Dubček was replaced as first secretary by Gustáv Husák, and a period of "normalization" began. Husák reversed Dubček's reforms, purged the party of liberal members, dismissed opponents from public office, reinstated the power of the police authorities, sought to re-centralize the economy and re-instated the disallowance of political commentary in mainstream media and by persons not considered to have "full political trust". The international image of the Soviet Union suffered considerably, especially among Western student movements inspired by the "New Left" and non-Aligned Movement states. Mao Zedong's People's Republic of China, for example, condemned both the Soviets and the Americans as imperialists.

References

  1. Peter Oxley (2001). Russia, 1855-1991: From Tsars to Commissars. Oxford UP. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9780199134182.
  2. Munting, Roger (1 January 1984). "Lend-Lease and the Soviet War Effort". Journal of Contemporary History. 19 (3): 495–510. doi:10.1177/002200948401900305. JSTOR 260606.
  3. William Hardy McNeill, America, Britain, and Russia: Their Co-Operation and Conflict, 1941–1946 (1953)
  4. Richard J. Overy, The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia (2004)
  5. "Photius.com, (info from CIA world Factbook)". Photius Coutsoukis. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  6. Williams 1997, p. 5
  7. Ello (ed.), Paul (April 1968). Control Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, "Action Plan of the (Prague, April 1968)" in Dubcek's Blueprint for Freedom: His original documents leading to the invasion of Czechoslovakia. William Kimber & Co. 1968, pp 32, 54
  8. Von Geldern, James; Siegelbaum, Lewis. "The Soviet-led Intervention in Czechoslovakia". Soviethistory.org. Archived from the original on 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. "Document #81: Transcript of Leonid Brezhnev's Telephone Conversation with Alexander Dubček, August 13, 1968". The Prague Spring '68. The Prague Spring Foundation. 1998. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  10. Navrátil 2006, pp. 36 & 172–181
  11. Navrátil 2006, pp. 326–329
  12. Ouimet, Matthew (2003). The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London. pp. 34–35.
  13. "Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia". Military. GlobalSecurity.org. 2005-04-27. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
  14. Grenville 2005, p. 780
  15. Chafetz, Glenn (1993-04-30). Gorbachev, Reform, and the Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Policy Toward Eastern Europe, 1985–1990. Praeger Publishers. p. 10. ISBN 0-275-94484-0.
  16. Čulík, Jan. "Den, kdy tanky zlikvidovaly české sny Pražského jara". Britské Listy. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  17. Williams 1997, p. xi
  18. Goertz 1995, pp. 154–157
  19. Williams 1997, p. 164

Sources

  • Goertz, Gary (1995), Contexts of International Politics, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-46972-4
  • Grenville, John Ashley Soames (2005), A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-28954-8
  • Navrátil, Jaromír (2006), The Prague Spring 1968: A National Security Archive Document Reader (National Security Archive Cold War Readers), Central European University Press, ISBN 963-7326-67-7
  • Williams, Kieran (1997), The Prague Spring and its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968–1970, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-58803-0
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