Prague Spring

While Russian soldiers seem reluctant to leave Georgia, we might remember the horror of 40 years ago. It was on the night of 20th August, 1968, that Soviet forces entered Czechoslovakia, ending the period known as the ‘Prague Spring’.

Appointed First Secretary in January 1968, Alexander Dubcek introduced a wave of reforms, principally economic decentralisation and free speech (and incidentally the division of the country into two, the only one of his reforms permitted to last).

It was too much for the Soviets of the Brezhnev era who sent the troops in, removed all liberals from power and limited the right to political comment to those with ‘full political trust’. Dubcek urged his people not to resist and only 72 were killed but it is thought that some 300,000 emigrated. Dubcek is reported to have said ‘they can kill the flowers but they can’t stop the spring.’

On 19th January, 1969 Jan Palak set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in protest against the suppression of free speech.

This was the first international political event that I can remember and it left its mark on me and perhaps on a whole generation.