Summary Of Alexander Dubcek's Action Program

502 Words2 Pages

In 1948, Czechoslovakia’s democratic government was seized by pro-Soviet communists and was run as a Stalinist state until 1964. Around this time, both students and all Intellectuals began protesting for reforms. These reforms consisted of the improvement of education and removal of censorship.
Four years later in 1968, First Secretary Antonin Novotny was replaced by Alexander Dubcek, as the political and economic issues had become critical. Dubcek was adamant about bringing forth democracy to the country. Dubecks ultimate goal was to create communism with a human face. One of Dubecks first actions was instating the “Action Program.” The action program was, “a humanistic socialist democracy which would guarantee, among other things, freedom of religion, press, assembly, speech, and travel.” The new wave of freedom and liberation in the country became …show more content…

They viewed these reforms as the collapse of communism, so the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev warned Dubcek to put an end to the democratic reforms. Brezhnev also pressured the leadership to regain control of the press and to end the Prague Spring. Dubcek resisted these threats, and the Soviet Union responded with violence. On August 20, 1968, 600,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded, and student protestors were no match. The Warsaw Pact Nations that invaded included Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Poland. The troops took control of all media stations, leaving the Czechoslovakians without much freedom of speech. The secret police persecuted the populace, causing the public to fear the idea of openly supporting the protestors. Demonstrations continued to occur, despite the fact that hundreds of demonstrators were being shot by Warsaw Pact troops. Dubcek and other leaders were taken to Moscow and detained, while Gustav Husak - a “realist” willing to comply with the Soviets - took his seat in

Open Document