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Prague Spring
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{{Short description|Liberalisation in Czechoslovakia in 1968}} {{about|the 1968 reform movement in Czechoslovakia|the music festival|Prague Spring International Music Festival}} {{Good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox historical event |name = Prague Spring |partof = the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invasion of Czechoslovakia]], the [[Cold War]] and the [[Protests of 1968]] |image_name = 10 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg |caption = Destroyed Soviet tank in [[Prague]], 1968 |imagesize = |image_alt = |Thumb_Time = |AKA = |Participants = People and [[Government of Czechoslovakia]]<br /> [[Warsaw Pact]] |Location =[[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]] |Date =5 January – 21 August 1968 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=01|day1=05|year1=1968|month2=08|day2=21|year2=1968}}) |nongregorian = |Deaths = |Result = [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]] *[[Normalization (Czechoslovakia)|Normalization in Czechoslovakia]] |URL = }} {{Campaignbox Protests of 1968}} {{History of Czechoslovakia}} The '''Prague Spring''' ({{langx|cs|Pražské jaro}}; {{langx|sk|Pražská jar}}) was a period of [[liberalization|political liberalization]] and mass protest in the [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]]. It began on 5 January 1968, when [[reformist]] [[Alexander Dubček]] was elected [[Secretary (title)|First Secretary]] of the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]] (KSČ), and continued until 21 August 1968, when the [[Soviet Union]] and three other [[Warsaw Pact]] members ([[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]] and [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]]) [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invaded the country]] to suppress the reforms. The Prague Spring reforms were an attempt by Dubček to grant additional rights to the citizens of Czechoslovakia in an act of partial [[decentralization of the economy]] and [[democratization]]. The freedoms granted included a loosening of restrictions on the [[freedom of the press|media]], [[freedom of speech|speech]] and [[freedom of movement|travel]]. After national discussion of dividing the country into a federation of three republics, [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]]–[[Czech Silesia|Silesia]] and [[Slovakia]], Dubček oversaw the decision to split into two, the [[Czech Socialist Republic]] and [[Slovak Socialist Republic]].<ref>Czech radio broadcasts 18–20 August 1968</ref> This dual federation was the only formal change that survived the invasion. The reforms, especially the decentralization of administrative authority, were not received well by the Soviets, who, after failed negotiations, sent half a million Warsaw Pact troops and tanks to occupy the country. ''[[The New York Times]]'' cited reports of 650,000 men equipped with the most modern and sophisticated weapons in the Soviet military catalogue.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/09/02/issue.html| title = New York Times September 2, 1968}}</ref> A massive wave of emigration ensued. Resistance throughout the country included attempted [[fraternization]], sabotage of street signs, defiance of curfews, etc. While the Soviet military had predicted that it would take four days to subdue the country, the resistance held out for almost eight months until diplomatic maneuvers finally circumvented it. It became a high-profile example of [[civilian-based defense]]; there were sporadic acts of violence and several protest suicides by [[self-immolation]] (the most famous being that of [[Jan Palach]]), but no military resistance. Czechoslovakia remained a Soviet [[satellite state]] until 1989 when the [[Velvet Revolution]] peacefully ended the communist regime; the last Soviet troops left the country in 1991. After the invasion, Czechoslovakia entered a period known as ''[[Normalization (Czechoslovakia)|normalization]]'' ({{langx|cs|normalizace|links=no}}, {{langx|sk|normalizácia|links=no}}), in which new leaders attempted to restore the political and economic values that had prevailed before Dubček gained control of the KSČ. [[Gustáv Husák]], who replaced Dubček as First Secretary and also became [[president of Czechoslovakia|President]], reversed almost all of the reforms. The Prague Spring inspired music and literature including the work of [[Václav Havel]], [[Karel Husa]], [[Karel Kryl]] and [[Milan Kundera]]'s novel ''[[The Unbearable Lightness of Being]]''.
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