Moscow Protocol

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Residents of Prague with a Czechoslovak flag in front of a burning Soviet tank. August 1968.

The Moscow Protocol (Czech: Moskevský protokol ), full name The Protocol of Negotiations of the Delegations of the ČSSR and USSR (Czech: Protokol o jednání delegace ČSSR a SSSR ), summarizes the results of the negotiations between the delegations of the ČSSR and the USSR from 23. together until August 26, 1968. It was signed on August 26, 1968 by all members of the Czechoslovak delegation in Moscow with the exception of František Kriegel . The negotiations took place a few days after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops . The document, which came about under the dictates of the Moscow party leadership, sealed the end of the Prague Spring , legalized the presence of Soviet occupation troops in the country and paved the way for so-called normalization .

prehistory

Soviet party leader Leonid Brezhnev, under his dictation the negotiations took place.
Alexander Dubček, General Secretary of KSČ .

On the night of August 20-21, 1968 armies of the Soviet Union , Poland , Hungary and Bulgaria invaded Czechoslovakia and occupied all important positions within a few hours. The GDR's National People's Army took part in the action, but its troops did not cross the border. A Soviet special unit arrested leading party officials, including party leader Alexander Dubček , Prime Minister Oldřich Černík , Parliament President Josef Smrkovský , and the chairman of the National Front František Kriegel. They were transported to the Soviet Union that night.

Despite the superior military strength, the occupiers initially failed to achieve their political goals. The official Soviet declaration on the invasion of the troops, which the TASS news agency published on August 21, referred to a request for help from the KSČ against the impending counter-revolution in the Czechoslovakia. But the Soviet party leader Brezhnev failed with his original intention of setting up a collaboration government that would confirm this and thus politically justify the invasion. The 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, planned for September, came together spontaneously on August 22nd. He mostly confirmed the legitimacy of Dubček's leadership, condemned the invasion and demanded the return of the party and state leadership who had been deported to Moscow. On the same day, President Ludvík Svoboda refused to appoint the collaborative government formed by communists loyal to Moscow, thereby giving it the appearance of legitimacy. This so-called “revolutionary workers and peasants government” was to be led by Alois Indra , a staunch opponent of Dubček's reform process.

On August 23, President Svoboda flew to Moscow with a delegation. He managed to get the imprisoned Czechoslovak politicians involved in the negotiations. Later Zdeněk Mlynář , Gustáv Husák and a few others joined them. President Svoboda wanted to reach an agreement on the withdrawal of the occupying armies and the return of Dubček and the other interned politicians. The four-day talks took place under the dictates of the Brezhnev-led CPSU leadership and in view of the military threat to the country. The protocol finally adopted meant the complete surrender of the reform communists. Alexander Dubček did not want to sign the document until the end, but finally allowed the other participants and President Svoboda to persuade him to sign it.

František Kriegel was the only one who refused to sign. He later justified his position as follows: "I refused to sign because the signing took place under the impression of the military occupation of the republic, without consulting the constitutional organs, and contrary to the feelings of the population." The Moscow Protocol included an obligation to keep the content secret. The communiqué of the Czechoslovak-Soviet negotiation of August 27, 1968 (Komuniké z Československo - Sovětského jednání v Moskvě dne August 27, 1968) was signed for the public , which declared the "normalization" of the situation as the goal.

Content and meaning

The document called for a rapid "normalization" of conditions in the country. The term “normalization” played a key role in the subsequent political development of Czechoslovakia up to 1989. According to the Moscow Protocol, some of the troops should remain in the country until "the threat to socialism in the CSSR and the threat to the security of the countries of the socialist community" is over. The Soviet army was supposed to help the Czechoslovakia “to defend itself decisively against the militaristic , revanchist and neo-Nazi efforts”. No date was given in the minutes for the withdrawal of the troops.

The document called for the reintroduction of censorship : it was necessary to “prevent anti-socialist statements in the press, radio and television” and “cease activities of groups and organizations with anti-socialist positions”, e.g. B. the Social Democratic Party. All state organs must guarantee “the leading role of the working class and the Communist Party ”.

The 14th KSČ party conference on August 22nd was declared illegal. After the normalization of the situation, the current party congress should be convened. Furthermore, the Czechoslovak government had to refuse to allow the situation in the country to be dealt with in the United Nations Security Council . After the invasion, some countries put this on the agenda.

The Moscow Protocol sealed the end of the Prague Spring and meant the undoing of all reforms achieved in 1968. Dubček and the other reform communists who had returned from Moscow initially spoke of a continuation of the reform process, but in the following weeks they were subjected to increasing pressure from the Moscow party leadership, gradually removed from their functions and replaced by Moscow-loyal communists. At its meeting on August 31, 1968, the Central Committee of the KSČ approved the Moscow Protocol and immediately implemented some of the personnel changes requested by the Soviets. On October 16, 1968, the National Assembly ratified a treaty on the “temporary residence” of Soviet troops.

In April 1969, Alexander Dubček had to resign and Gustáv Husák took over the leadership of the party. The Soviet army remained in the country until 1991, the other countries withdrew their troops until the end of October 1968.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Schulze Wessel: 1968 in Prague - The year after . In: Dossier: Prague 1968 . Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2018, p. 67 ( available online [PDF]). Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ František Kriegel ukázal, že i všemocným Sovětům se lze postavit , Česká televize, April 10, 2018 (Czech). Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  3. ↑ Komuniké z Československo - Sovětského jednání v Moskvě dne August 27, 1968 , text of the Moscow Communiqué on totalita.cz (Czech), accessed on December 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ Protocol o jednání delegace ČSSR a SSSR , text of the Moscow Protocol on totalita.cz (Czech), accessed on December 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ The withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Czechoslovakia began 20 years ago , Til Janzer in Radio Prague International, March 13, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2019.

See also

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