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Prague Spring

Definition

The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in Czechoslovakia as a Communist state after World War II. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to suppress the reforms.

Analogy

Think of Prague Spring like a teenager trying to assert their independence from strict parents. The teenager (Czechoslovakia) wants more freedom, starts to push boundaries, but ultimately, the parents (Soviet Union) step in to reassert control.

Related terms

Warsaw Pact: A collective defense treaty among eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War which was established at the USSR's initiative and realized in 1955.

Alexander Dubček: He was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) from January 1968 to April 1969. He attempted to reform the communist regime during Prague Spring but he failed after USSR intervention.

Cold War: A period between mid-1940s till early-1990s marked by political tension, proxy wars, economic competition primarily between two global superpowers - USA and USSR without any direct military confrontation.