On August 20, 1968, the military operation Danube began. International (mainly Soviet) troops “took” Prague in record time, capturing all strategically important objects.

Brezhnev Doctrine

At the end of the 60s, the “world system of socialism” tested its strength. Relations with fraternal peoples were difficult, but in relations with the West there was a stalemate “détente”. You could breathe easy and turn your attention to Eastern Europe. The battle for the “correct” understanding of the Union of Allied Countries on the sidelines of NATO was called the “Brezhnev Doctrine.” The doctrine became the right to invade the guilty Czechoslovakia. Who else will defend socialism, distorted by independence, and dispel the spring dissent in Prague?

Dubcek and reforms

In December 1967, Alexander Dubcek took over the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He came, entered into the fight against the “canned” neo-Stalinists, and tried to paint a new socialism “with a human face.” “Socialism with a human face” is freedom of the press, speech and the repressed - echoes of the social democracy of the West. Ironically, one of those released, Gustav Husak, would later replace the innovator Dubcek as first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia under the patronage of Moscow. But that’s later, but for now Dubcek, together with the President of Czechoslovakia, proposed the country a “Program of Action” - reforms. The innovations were unanimously supported by the people and the intelligentsia (the signature of 70 people under the article “Two Thousand Words”). The USSR, remembering Yugoslavia, did not support such innovations. Dubcek was sent a collective letter from the Warsaw Pact countries calling on him to stop his creative activities, but the first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia did not want to give in.

Warning conference

On July 29, 1968, in the city of Cienra nad Tisou, Brezhnev and Dubcek finally reached an agreement. The USSR pledged to withdraw allied troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia (there were some - they were introduced for training and joint maneuvers) and to stop attacks in the press. In turn, Dubcek promised not to flirt with the “human face” - to pursue domestic policy, not forgetting the USSR.

Warsaw Pact on the offensive

“The Soviet Union and other socialist countries, faithful to their international duty and the Warsaw Pact, must send their troops to assist the Czechoslovak people's army in protecting the Motherland from the danger looming over it.” This directive was received by the commander of the airborne troops, General Margelov. And this happened back in April 1968, in other words, before the conclusion of the Bratislava Agreement on July 29, 1968. And on August 18, 1968, at a joint conference of the USSR, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria, they read a letter from the “true socialists” of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia asking for military assistance. The military operation "Danube" became not an idea, but a reality.
"Danube"

The specificity of the USSR military campaign against Czechoslovakia was the choice of striking force. The main role was assigned to the airborne troops of the Soviet army. The air defense forces, navy and strategic missile forces were put on heightened combat readiness. The actions of the international army were carried out on three fronts - the Carpathian, Central and Southern fronts were created. Given the role assigned to the air forces, the participation of air armies was provided for on each of the fronts. At 23:00 on August 20, the combat alarm sounded and one of the five sealed packages with the operation plan was opened. Here was the plan for Operation Danube.

On the night of August 20-21

A passenger plane approaching the Czech Ruzina airport requested an emergency landing and received it. From that moment on, from two o'clock in the morning, the airport was captured by the 7th Airborne Division. While in the Central Committee building, Dubcek addressed the people on the radio with an appeal to prevent bloodshed. Less than two hours later, Dubcek and the Presidium of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, eleven people assembled by him, were arrested. Capturing the airport and the opposition was the main objective of Operation Danube, but Dubcek's reforms were contagious. At 5 a.m. on August 21, a reconnaissance company of the 350th Guards Parachute Regiment and a reconnaissance company of the 103rd Airborne Division landed on the territory of Czechoslovakia. Within ten minutes, a continuous stream of soldiers disembarking from planes managed to capture two airports. Troops with equipment marked with white stripes moved inland. Four hours later, Prague was occupied - the Allied troops captured the telegraph, military headquarters, and train stations. All ideologically important objects - the buildings of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the government, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff - were captured. At 10 a.m., KGB officers took Alexander Dubchek and others like him out of the Central Committee building.

Results

Two days after the actual end of the campaign, negotiations between the interested parties took place in Moscow. Dubcek and his comrades signed the Moscow Protocol, which as a result allowed the USSR not to withdraw its troops. The protectorate of the USSR extended for an indefinite period, until the normal situation in Czechoslovakia was resolved. This position was supported by the new First Secretary Husak and the President of Czechoslovakia L. Svoboda. Theoretically, the withdrawal of troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia was completed in mid-November 1968; in practice, the presence of military forces of the Soviet army lasted until 1991. Operation Danube shook up the public, dividing the socialist camp into those who agreed and disagreed. Marches of dissatisfied people took place in Moscow and Finland, but in general, Operation Danube showed the strength and seriousness of the USSR and, importantly, the full combat readiness of our army.

On August 21, 1968, Soviet airborne troops carried out a successful operation to capture key points in the capital of Czechoslovakia.

No matter how much you feed the wolf, he looks into the forest. No matter how much you feed a Czech, Pole, Hungarian or Lithuanian, he will still look to the West. From the very moment of the formation of the socialist camp, concerns about its well-being were entrusted to the country that liberated these countries from fascism. The Russian peasant ate gray bread so that the East German could spread his favorite type of marmalade on a bun. The Russian man drank Solntsedar so that the Hungarian could drink his favorite Tokaji wines. A Russian man rushed to work on a crowded tram so that a Czech could ride in his beloved Skoda or Tatra.

But neither the Germans, nor the Hungarians, nor the Czechs appreciated any of this. The first staged the Berlin crisis in 1953, the second staged the notorious events in Hungary in 1956, and the third staged the so-called Prague Spring in 1968.

It was to eliminate this turmoil that Operation Danube was carried out.

At 2 a.m. on August 21, 1968, advanced units of the 7th Airborne Division landed at the Ruzyne airfield in Prague. They blocked the main facilities of the airfield, where Soviet An-12s with troops and military equipment began to land. The seizure of the airfield was carried out using a deceptive maneuver: a Soviet passenger plane approaching the airfield requested an emergency landing due to alleged damage on board. After permission and landing, the paratroopers from the aircraft captured the control tower and ensured the landing of the landing aircraft.

At 5 o'clock. 10 min. A reconnaissance company of the 350th Parachute Regiment and a separate reconnaissance company of the 103rd Airborne Division landed. Within 10 minutes they captured the airfields of Turany and Namešti, after which a hasty landing of the main forces began. According to eyewitnesses, transport planes landed at the airfields one after another. The landing party jumped off without waiting for a complete stop. By the end of the runway, the plane was already empty and immediately picked up speed for a new takeoff. With minimal intervals, other planes with troops and military equipment began to arrive here.

Using military equipment and captured civilian vehicles, the paratroopers went deep into the territory, and by 9.00 they blocked all roads, bridges, exits from the city, radio and television buildings, telegraph, main post office, administrative buildings of the city and region, printing house, train stations in Brno , as well as the headquarters of military units and military industry enterprises. CHNA commanders were asked to remain calm and maintain order.

Four hours after the landing of the first groups of paratroopers, the most important objects of Prague and Brno were under the control of the Allied forces. The main efforts of the paratroopers were aimed at capturing the buildings of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the government, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, as well as the radio and television building. According to a pre-developed plan, columns of troops were sent to the main administrative and industrial centers of Czechoslovakia. Formations and units of the allied forces were stationed in all major cities. Particular attention was paid to protecting the western borders of Czechoslovakia.

The 200,000-strong Czechoslovak army, as 30 years earlier during the capture of the country by the Germans, offered virtually no resistance. However, among the population, mainly in Prague, Bratislava and other large cities, there was dissatisfaction with what was happening. Public protest was expressed in the construction of barricades on the path of the advance of tank columns, the operation of underground radio stations, the distribution of leaflets and appeals to the Czechoslovak population and military personnel of the allied countries. In some cases, there were armed attacks on military personnel of the contingent of troops introduced into the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the throwing of petrol bombs at tanks and other armored vehicles, attempts to disable communications and transport, and the destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers in the cities and villages of Czechoslovakia.

On August 21, a group of countries (USA, England, France, Canada, Denmark and Paraguay) spoke at the UN Security Council demanding that the “Czechoslovak issue” be brought to a meeting of the UN General Assembly, seeking a decision on the immediate withdrawal of troops from the Warsaw Pact countries. Representatives of Hungary and the USSR voted against. The governments of socialist-oriented countries - Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania and China - condemned the military intervention of five states.

On October 16, 1968, an agreement was signed between the governments of the USSR and Czechoslovakia on the conditions for the temporary presence of Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia, according to which part of the Soviet troops remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia “in order to ensure the security of the socialist commonwealth.” The treaty contained provisions on respect for the sovereignty of Czechoslovakia and non-interference in its internal affairs. The signing of the agreement became one of the main military-political results of the entry of troops of five states, which satisfied the leadership of the USSR and the Warsaw Department.

On October 17, 1968, the phased withdrawal of allied troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia began, which was completed by mid-November.

Despite the fact that when the troops of the Warsaw Pact countries entered fighting were not carried out, there were losses. Thus, during the redeployment and deployment of Soviet troops (from August 20 to November 12), 11 military personnel, including one officer, were killed as a result of the actions of hostile persons; 87 Soviet military personnel were wounded and injured, including 19 officers.

Many are now asking the question: why was it necessary to keep all these Czechs, Poles, Germans and Hungarians in the socialist camp? But if we allowed all of them to fall under the West, American military bases would immediately appear on our borders. And therefore, in Poland we were forced to maintain the Northern Group of Forces, in the GDR - the Western, in Hungary - the Southern, and in Czechoslovakia - the Central.

MEMORIES OF OPERATION PARTICIPANTS

Lev Gorelov(in 1968 - commander of the 7th Guards Airborne Division):

There is no such thing in the Airborne Forces regulations; it is not intended to fight in cities. In the combined arms regulations, where the infantry are, there is also nothing there - “peculiarities of combat operations”...

What to do? The guys from the villages, some of them have never even been in the houses, don’t know what a multi-storey building is.

I gathered retired veterans who once took settlements during the war. We are writing temporary instructions for taking over the house. Houses are like houses, not on a global scale, but like taking a large house. We are withdrawing the division and regiments, but the regiments stood separately, and in each city there are microdistricts. So here we are at dawn, until people come home from work, we were training there - we were practicing the capture of a populated area. And this is a different tactic: an assault detachment, a support detachment, fire support, cover squads - this is a whole new tactic for paratroopers, and for everyone. Taking a populated area means creating assault groups. I’ve been training for a month, they say: “The division commander has gone crazy, what’s wrong, they took everyone out, from morning to night, until the working class arrived, they stormed…”

What saved us from bloodshed? Why did we lose 15 thousand of our young guys in Grozny, but not in Prague? Here's why: there were detachments ready there, ready in advance, Smarkovsky was in charge, an ideologist. They formed detachments, but they did not issue weapons, weapons on alert - come, take the weapon. So we knew, our intelligence knew where these warehouses were. We captured the warehouses first, and then we took the Central Committee, the General Staff, and so on, the government. We devoted the first part of our efforts to warehouses, then everything else.

In short, at 2 hours 15 minutes I landed, and at 6 hours Prague was in the hands of the paratroopers. The Czechs woke up in the morning - to arms, and our guards were standing there. All.

— So, there was no resistance?

- Only in the Central Committee. This means that 9 Czechs in the Central Committee were killed by ours. The fact is that they went through the basements and came out on the opposite side, the corridor is long, you know, these are service rooms. And our guard stood in Dubchik’s office, and the machine gunner was sitting 50 meters before this office and saw them coming, running with machine guns. He took aim and fired. He then unloaded the entire belt with a machine gun, killed them, and then the Czechs were taken away by helicopter. I don’t know where they buried him.

NIKOLAY MESHKOV(senior sergeant of motorized rifle regiment PP 50560):

The regiment commander, Colonel Klevtsov, a combat commander, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, as well as a participant in the Hungarian events, said: “I learned from the bitter experience of the Hungarian events; many soldiers were killed because of the orders “not to shoot.” And we were given the order to defend the socialist gains in Czechoslovakia and we will defend them with weapons in our hands, and for every shot from their side, we will respond in kind.”

The first 50 kilometers passed without incident. Passing at about 2 o'clock in the morning some settlement where one of the military units of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was located, we saw that soldiers were withdrawing tanks and vehicles on combat alert. We heard the first machine gun bursts about 40 kilometers short of Prague. Each of us immediately found his helmet, half of the soldiers went down inside the armored personnel carrier. All the soldiers attached the horn to their machine gun and cocked it. The soldier's jokes were put aside.

The city greeted us warily. There are no signs around, the streets are narrow. There are 10-15 storey buildings everywhere. The tank in such a place looked like a matchbox. Almost a kilometer later, the first obstacle stood in the way of the cars - a barricade of cars and buses, all of Soviet production. Our column stopped. From some building, from above, automatic weapons fire began. The bullets clicked against the armor of the armored personnel carrier, and we were blown inside the vehicle as if by the wind. In response, we also opened fire from machine guns. No harm done. The lead tank was ordered to fire a blank charge to clear the road. The shot rang out suddenly, breaking the silence of the early morning. The barricade of cars shattered, some cars overturned and caught fire. The column moved on.

... The road ran along the river, and on the left there were high-rise buildings. The road was very narrow; two tanks on it would not have been able to pass each other. A kilometer and a half later, at a turn, a crowd of armed people appeared, hiding behind small children. They opened fire on us. The front tank began to move to the right, so as not to run over the children, broke the parapet and fell into the river. None of the crew made it out, everyone died, but at the cost of their lives they saved the children. Then people began to run home, and we pushed back the armed militants with fire. Three of them died, and we had two wounded and a dead crew...

On the way to Prague there were two barricades of cars and buses, and also all the equipment was Soviet, where did they get so much of it? A BAT moved ahead of the column with a cleaner and cleared the barricades like a pile of garbage. We were fired at three more times from the houses... An armored personnel carrier caught fire behind us, 40 meters later another one, soldiers jumped out of the cars. A mixture in cellophane was dropped from the windows of the armored personnel carrier, when upon impact the cellophane burst, the mixture immediately ignited like gasoline, the commanders said that this fire could not be extinguished... Having reached the government residence with losses at about 7 a.m. and surrounded it from all sides, we did not We saw not a single paratrooper, there were none. As it turned out later, for some reason they were delayed for almost three hours, and got to their destination using whatever they could. In total, the convoy of motorcycles they arrived on amounted to 100 units. But they were immediately taken to other lines, their task was completed by our unit.

On the northern side there was a regiment of Germans, next to them were Hungarians, and a little further on were the Poles.

By 8 a.m. the city woke up as if on cue, deafened by explosions and machine gun fire. All Allied troops entered the city 6 hours earlier than expected.

The city has healed military life, military patrols appeared. The shooting in the city did not stop, but increased every hour. We could already clearly distinguish where our machine gun was firing and where someone else’s, the shots of our guns and the explosions of alien shells. Only the fan of bullets could not be distinguished; it was the same in flight. The first pickets, students, appeared. They went on strike, then launched an assault; we could barely hold back the onslaught. The howitzer was captured, and our platoon repelled the gunners.

... An incident remains in my memory: Czechs who spoke Russian well came out of the crowd and suggested that we get out of their land in an amicable way. A crowd of 500-600 people became a wall, as if on command, we were separated by 20 meters. From the back rows, they lifted four people in their arms, who looked around. The crowd fell silent. They showed something to each other with their hands, and then instantly pulled out short-barreled machine guns, and 4 long bursts thundered. We did not expect such a trick. 9 people fell dead. Six were wounded, the shooting Czechs instantly disappeared, the crowd was dumbfounded. The soldier in front, whose friend had been killed, emptied his clip into the crowd. Everyone dispersed, carrying away their dead and wounded. This is how the first death came to our “gunners”. Later we became smarter, we rounded up all the strikers and checked everyone for weapons. There was not a single case where we did not confiscate it, 6-10 units each time. We transferred people with weapons to headquarters, where they were dealt with.

The week of fighting and shooting left its mark. One day, when I woke up in the morning, I looked in the mirror and saw that I had gray temples. The experiences and death of our comrades made themselves felt... Somewhere on the fifth day in the morning, a kilometer away from us, a machine gun hit with heavy fire. Bullets clattered along the walls, showering streams of sand. Everyone fell to the ground and covered their heads with their hands and began to crawl. The order was received to suppress the firing point. The machine gun hit, not allowing anyone to raise their heads; the bullets, ricocheting on the paving stones, made a buzzing sound that made the heart skip a beat. I felt something hot in my right leg, crawled around the corner, and took off my boot. It was torn, there was blood all over the footcloth. The bullet tore through the boot and cut the skin on the leg, essentially a scratch. I wrapped it in a bag and gave an injection. There was no pain as such, I was lucky. Received baptism of fire. The guys from the second company, and they were grenade launchers, suppressed the firing point. With one salvo of a grenade launcher, the 4-story building from which the fire was fired became 3-story, one floor collapsed completely. After such a shot, we are filled with pride in the power of our weapons.

... Somewhere on the twentieth day of hostilities, the fighting began to subside, only minor skirmishes occurred, although there were some killed and wounded.

I will describe one more case. One day in September 1968, our company was sent to unload food for the army. 4 railway refrigerators arrived, loaded with pork and beef carcasses, 2 wagons of butter, sausages, stewed meats and cereals. Before unloading, our doctors checked the food for suitability; it turned out that all the meat and other food was poisoned, although all the seals and documents were accompanied by yatsel. The train was moved further from the city, into a field. The military dug trenches. We, wearing chemical protection, unloaded food into the pits, poured diesel fuel on them and set them on fire. Everything was razed to the ground... There was a real war going on...

Alexander Zasetsky (in 1968 - radio platoon commander, lieutenant):

The Czech people greeted us differently: the adult population was calm, but wary, but the youth were aggressive, hostile and defiant. She was heavily “processed” by hostile propaganda. Prague was full of Westerners at that time; they were later caught and expelled. There were mainly attacks, shootings, and burning of cars and tanks from young people. On our tanks, two barrels of fuel were attached above the engine compartment, so they jumped on the tank, pierced the barrels and set them on fire. The tank was on fire. Then there was an order to remove the barrels. There were, of course, human losses. Radio operator Lenya Pestov worked with me on the helicopter, sorry I don’t know from which unit. A few days later, when he was not visible, he asked - where is Lenya? They say he died. The helicopters we were flying on were fired at multiple times. Some were shot down. People were dying. I remember a helicopter carrying journalists was shot down. Two journalists and the pilot were killed.

Although I remember other moments of my combat life back then with pleasure. Near our location there was an estate with a large luxurious garden. Autumn. Everything is ripe, there are a lot of fruits. To avoid the temptation to eat from the garden, the commander organized security for this estate. When everything has calmed down a bit, an elderly Czech man arrives in a three-wheeled car and asks permission to harvest the garden. “If there is anything left,” as he put it. Imagine his surprise when he saw that everything was intact, everything was in perfect order, and a squad of soldiers was assigned to help him clean up. The moved elderly Czech burst into tears and thanked him for a long time.

| USSR participation in Cold War conflicts. Events in Czechoslovakia (1968)

Events in Czechoslovakia
(1968)

Deployment of troops into Czechoslovakia (1968), also known as Operation Danube or the Invasion of Czechoslovakia - in waters of Warsaw Pact troops (except Romania) to Czechoslovakia, which began August 21, 1968 and put an end to Prague Spring reforms.

The largest contingent of troops was allocated from the USSR. The combined group (up to 500 thousand people and 5 thousand tanks and armored personnel carriers) was commanded by Army General I. G. Pavlovsky.

The Soviet leadership feared that if the Czechoslovak communists pursued a domestic policy independent of Moscow, the USSR would lose control over Czechoslovakia. Such a turn of events threatened to split the Eastern European socialist bloc both politically and military-strategically. The policy of limited state sovereignty in the countries of the socialist bloc, including the use of military force if necessary, was called the “Brezhnev Doctrine” in the West.

At the end of March 1968 The CPSU Central Committee sent classified information about the situation in Czechoslovakia to party activists. This document stated: “...recently events have been developing in a negative direction. In Czechoslovakia, there are growing protests by irresponsible elements demanding the creation of an “official opposition” and showing “tolerance” towards various anti-socialist views and theories. The past experience of socialist construction is incorrectly highlighted, proposals are made about a special Czechoslovak path to socialism, which is contrasted with the experience of other socialist countries, attempts are made to cast a shadow on the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia and the need for an “independent” foreign policy is emphasized. There are calls for the creation of private enterprises, the abandonment of the planned system, and the expansion of ties with the West. Moreover, a number of newspapers, radio and television are promoting calls for “the complete separation of the party from the state,” for the return of Czechoslovakia to the bourgeois republic of Masaryk and Benes, for the transformation of Czechoslovakia into an “open society,” and others...”

March 23 A meeting of the leaders of parties and governments of six socialist countries - the USSR, Poland, the GDR, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia - took place in Dresden, at which general secretary HRC A. Dubcek was sharply criticized.

After the meeting in Dresden, the Soviet leadership began to develop options for action regarding Czechoslovakia, including military measures. The leaders of the GDR (W. Ulbricht), Bulgaria (T. Zhivkov) and Poland (W. Gomulka) took a tough position and to a certain extent influenced the Soviet leader L. Brezhnev.

The Soviet side did not exclude the option of NATO troops entering the territory of Czechoslovakia, which carried out maneuvers under the code name “Black Lion” near the borders of Czechoslovakia.

Considering the current military-political situation, spring 1968 The joint command of the Warsaw Pact, together with the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, developed an operation code-named “Danube”.

April 8, 1968 The commander of the airborne forces, General V.F. Margelov, received a directive according to which he began planning the use of airborne assault forces on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The directive stated: “The Soviet Union and other socialist countries, faithful to their international duty and the Warsaw Pact, must send their troops to assist the Czechoslovak People’s Army in defending the Motherland from the danger looming over it.” The document also emphasized: “... if the troops of the Czechoslovak People's Army react with understanding to the appearance of Soviet troops, in this case it is necessary to organize interaction with them and jointly carry out the assigned tasks. If the ChNA troops are hostile to the paratroopers and support conservative forces, then it is necessary to take measures to localize them, and if this is not possible, to disarm them.”

During April - May Soviet leaders tried to “bring some sense” to Alexander Dubcek, to draw his attention to the danger of the actions of anti-socialist forces. At the end of April, Marshal I. Jakubovsky, Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, arrived in Prague to prepare for military exercises of the Warsaw Pact countries on the territory of Czechoslovakia.

May 4th Brezhnev met with Dubcek in Moscow, but no mutual understanding could be reached.

May 8 in Moscow A closed meeting of the leaders of the USSR, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary took place, during which a frank exchange of views took place on measures in connection with the situation in Czechoslovakia. Even then, proposals were made for a military solution. However, at the same time, the leader of Hungary J. Kadar, referring to, stated that the Czechoslovak crisis cannot be solved by military means and it is necessary to look for a political solution.

At the end of May The government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic agreed to conduct military exercises of the Warsaw Pact countries called “Šumava”, which took place June 20 - 30 with the involvement of only the headquarters of units, formations and signal troops. WITH June 20 to June 30 For the first time in the history of the military bloc of socialist countries, 16 thousand personnel were brought into the territory of Czechoslovakia. WITH July 23 to August 10, 1968 On the territory of the USSR, the German Democratic Republic and Poland, the Neman logistics exercises were held, during which the troops were redeployed for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. On August 11, 1968, major air defense exercises “Heavenly Shield” were held. Signal troops exercises were held on the territory of Western Ukraine, Poland and the German Democratic Republic.

July 29 - August 1 A meeting was held in Cierna nad Tisou, in which the full composition of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Communist Party together with President L. Svoboda took part. The Czechoslovak delegation at the negotiations mainly presented a united front, but V. Bilyak adhered to a special position. At the same time, a personal letter was received from candidate member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia A. Kapek with a request to provide his country with “brotherly assistance” from the socialist countries.

IN end of July preparations have been completed military operation in Czechoslovakia, but a final decision on its holding has not yet been made. August 3, 1968 A meeting of the leaders of six communist parties took place in Bratislava. The statement adopted in Bratislava contained a phrase about collective responsibility in defending socialism. In Bratislava, L. Brezhnev was given a letter from five members of the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia - Indra, Kolder, Kapek, Shvestka and Biljak with a request for “effective assistance and support” in order to wrest Czechoslovakia “from the impending danger of counter-revolution.”

Mid August L. Brezhnev called A. Dubcek twice and asked why the promised personnel changes in Bratislava were not happening, to which Dubcek replied that personnel matters were decided collectively, by the plenum of the Party Central Committee.

August 16 In Moscow, at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, a discussion of the situation in Czechoslovakia took place and proposals for the deployment of troops were approved. At the same time, a letter from the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee addressed to the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was accepted. August 17 Soviet Ambassador S. Chervonenko met with the President of Czechoslovakia L. Svoboda and reported to Moscow that at the decisive moment the President would be together with the CPSU and the Soviet Union. On the same day, the materials prepared in Moscow for the text of the Appeal to the Czechoslovak people were sent to the group of “healthy forces” in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. It was planned that they would create a Revolutionary Workers' and Peasants' Government. A draft appeal was also prepared by the governments of the USSR, East Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary to the people of Czechoslovakia, as well as to the Czechoslovak army.

August 18 A meeting of the leaders of the USSR, East Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary took place in Moscow. Relevant measures were agreed upon, including a speech by the “healthy forces” of the Communist Party of Human Rights asking for military assistance. In a message to the President of Czechoslovakia, Svoboda, on behalf of the participants in the meeting in Moscow, one of the main arguments noted the receipt of a request for military assistance to the Czechoslovak people from the “majority” of the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and many members of the government of Czechoslovakia.

Operation Danube

The political goal of the operation was to change the political leadership of the country and establish a regime loyal to the USSR in Czechoslovakia. The troops were supposed to seize the most important objects in Prague, the KGB officers were supposed to arrest Czech reformers, and then the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the session of the National Assembly were planned, where the top leadership was supposed to change. In this case, a large role was assigned to President Svoboda.

The political leadership of the operation in Prague was carried out by K. Mazurov, a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.

Military preparation for the operation was carried out by the Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, Marshal I. I. Yakubovsky, but a few days before the start of the operation, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Army General I. G. Pavlovsky was appointed its leader.

At the first stage, the main role was assigned to the airborne troops. The air defense forces, navy and strategic missile forces were put on heightened combat readiness.

TO August 20 a group of troops was prepared, the first echelon of which numbered up to 250,000 people, and the total number - up to 500,000 people, about 5,000 tanks and armored personnel carriers. To carry out the operation, 26 divisions were involved, of which 18 were Soviet, not counting aviation. The invasion included Soviet troops of the 1st Guards Tank, 20th Guards Combined Arms, 16th Air Armies (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany), 11th Guards Army (Baltic Military District), 28th Combined Arms Army (Belarusian Military district), the 13th and 38th combined arms armies (Carpathian Military District) and the 14th Air Army (Odessa Military District).

The Carpathian and Central fronts were formed:
☑ Carpathian Front was created on the basis of the administration and troops of the Carpathian Military District and several Polish divisions. It included four armies: the 13th, 38th combined arms, 8th Guards Tank and 57th Air Force. At the same time, the 8th Guards Tank Army and part of the forces of the 13th Army began moving to the southern regions of Poland, where Polish divisions were additionally included in their composition. Commander Colonel General Bisyarin Vasily Zinovievich.
☑ Central Front was formed on the basis of the control of the Baltic Military District with the inclusion of troops of the Baltic Military District, the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and the Northern Group of Forces, as well as individual Polish and East German divisions. This front was deployed in the GDR and Poland. The Central Front included the 11th and 20th Guards Combined Arms Armies and the 37th Air Armies.

Also, to cover the active group in Hungary, the Southern Front was deployed. In addition to this front, the Balaton task force (two Soviet divisions, as well as Bulgarian and Hungarian units) was deployed on the territory of Hungary to enter Czechoslovakia.

In general, the number of troops brought into Czechoslovakia was:
☑ USSR- 18 motorized rifle, tank and airborne divisions, 22 aviation and helicopter regiments, about 170,000 people;
☑ Poland- 5 infantry divisions, up to 40,000 people;
☑ GDR- motorized rifle and tank divisions, up to 15,000 people in total (according to press publications, it was decided to abandon the introduction of GDR units into Czechoslovakia at the last moment; they played the role of a reserve on the border;
☑ from Czechoslovakia there was an operational group of the NNA of the GDR of several dozen military personnel);
☑ Hungary- 8th motorized rifle division, separate units, total 12,500 people;
☑ Bulgaria- 12th and 22nd Bulgarian motorized rifle regiments, with a total number of 2164 people. and one Bulgarian tank battalion, armed with 26 T-34 vehicles.

The date of entry of troops was set for the evening of August 20, when a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was held. On the morning of August 20, 1968, a secret order was read to the officers on the formation of the Danube High Command.

Army General I. G. Pavlovsky, whose headquarters was deployed in the southern part of Poland, was appointed commander-in-chief. Both fronts (Central and Carpathian) and the Balaton operational group, as well as two guards airborne divisions, were subordinate to him. On the first day of the operation, to ensure the landing of airborne divisions, five divisions of military transport aviation were allocated to the Commander-in-Chief "Danube".

Chronology of events

At 22:15 on August 20 The troops received the Vltava-666 signal about the start of the operation. IN 23:00 August 20 a combat alert was declared among the troops intended for the invasion. The signal to move was transmitted through closed communication channels to all fronts, armies, divisions, brigades, regiments and battalions. At this signal, all commanders had to open one of the five secret packages stored in their possession (the operation was developed in five versions), and burn the four remaining ones in the presence of the chiefs of staff without opening them. The opened packages contained an order to begin Operation Danube and to continue hostilities in accordance with the Danube-Canal and Danube-Canal-Globus plans.

“Orders for interaction for Operation Danube” were developed in advance. White stripes were applied to military equipment participating in the invasion. All Soviet and Union-made military equipment without white stripes was subject to “neutralization,” preferably without firing. In case of resistance, stripless tanks and other military equipment were subject to destruction without warning and without commands from above. When meeting with NATO troops, they were ordered to stop immediately and not to shoot without a command.

Troops were brought in in 18 places from the territory of the GDR, Poland, the USSR and Hungary. Units of the 20th Guards Army from the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (Lieutenant General Ivan Leontievich Velichko) entered Prague and established control over the main objects of the capital of Czechoslovakia. At the same time, two Soviet airborne divisions were landed in Prague and Brno.

IN 2 a.m. August 21 The advanced units of the 7th Airborne Division landed at the Ruzyne airfield in Prague. They blocked the main facilities of the airfield, where Soviet An-12s with troops and military equipment began to land. The seizure of the airfield was carried out using a deceptive maneuver: a Soviet passenger plane approaching the airfield requested an emergency landing due to alleged damage on board. After permission and landing, paratroopers from the plane seized the airport control tower and ensured the landing of the landing planes.

At the news of the invasion in Dubcek’s office, the Presidium of the Communist Party of the Czechoslovakia urgently convened. The majority - 7 to 4 - voted for a statement from the Presidium condemning the invasion. Only members of the Presidium Kolder, Bilyak, Shvestka and Rigo acted according to the original plan. Barbirek and Piller supported Dubcek and O. Chernik. The calculation of the Soviet leadership was for the superiority of the “healthy forces” at the decisive moment - 6 versus 5. The statement also contained a call for the urgent convening of a party congress. Dubcek himself, in his radio appeal to the residents of the country, called on citizens to remain calm and prevent bloodshed and an actual repetition of the Hungarian events of 1956.

TO 4:30 am August 21 The Central Committee building was surrounded by Soviet troops and armored vehicles, Soviet paratroopers burst into the building and arrested those present. Dubcek and other members of the Central Committee spent several hours under the control of the paratroopers.

IN 5:10 am August 21 A reconnaissance company of the 350th Guards Parachute Regiment and a separate reconnaissance company of the 103rd Airborne Division landed. Within 10 minutes they captured the airfields of Turany and Namešti, after which a hasty landing of the main forces began. According to eyewitnesses, transport planes landed at the airfields one after another. The landing party jumped off without waiting for a complete stop. By the end of the runway, the plane was already empty and immediately picked up speed for a new takeoff. With minimal intervals, other planes with troops and military equipment began to arrive here. Then the paratroopers, using their military equipment and captured civilian vehicles, went deep into the country.

TO 9:00 am August 21 in Brno, paratroopers blocked all roads, bridges, exits from the city, radio and television buildings, the telegraph office, the main post office, administrative buildings of the city and region, printing houses, train stations, as well as the headquarters of military units and military industry enterprises. CHNA commanders were asked to remain calm and maintain order. Four hours after the landing of the first groups of paratroopers, the most important objects of Prague and Brno were under the control of the Allied forces. The main efforts of the paratroopers were aimed at capturing the buildings of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the government, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, as well as the radio and television building. According to a pre-developed plan, columns of troops were sent to the main administrative and industrial centers of Czechoslovakia. Formations and units of the allied forces were stationed in all major cities. Particular attention was paid to protecting the western borders of Czechoslovakia.

At 10 a.m. Dubček, Prime Minister Oldřich Černik, Chairman of Parliament Josef Smrkovský (English) Russian, members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Josef Špaček and Bohumil Šimon, and head of the National Front Frantisek Kriegel (English) Russian. They were taken out of the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China by KGB officers and StB officers who collaborated with them, and then they were taken to the airfield in Soviet armored personnel carriers and taken to Moscow.

By the end of the day on August 21 24 divisions of the Warsaw Pact countries occupied the main objects on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The troops of the USSR and its allies occupied all points without the use of weapons, since the Czechoslovak army was ordered not to resist.

Actions of the Human Rights Committee and the population of the country

In Prague, protesting citizens tried to obstruct the movement of troops and equipment; All signs and street name boards were knocked down, all maps of Prague were hidden in stores, while the Soviet military only had outdated maps from the war. In this regard, control over radio, television and newspapers was belatedly established. The “healthy forces” took refuge in the Soviet embassy. But they could not be persuaded to form a new government and hold a Plenum of the Central Committee. The media have already declared them traitors.

At the call of the president of the country and the Czech Radio, the citizens of Czechoslovakia did not offer armed resistance to the invading troops. However, troops everywhere encountered passive resistance. local population. The Czechs and Slovaks refused to provide the Soviet troops with drink, food and fuel, and exchanged road signs to impede the advance of troops, they took to the streets, tried to explain to the soldiers the essence of the events taking place in Czechoslovakia, and appealed to the Russian-Czechoslovak brotherhood. Citizens demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops and the return of party and government leaders taken to the USSR.

On the initiative of the Prague City Committee of the CPC, underground meetings of the XIV Congress of the CPC began ahead of schedule on the territory of the plant in Vysočany (Prague district), although without delegates from Slovakia who did not have time to arrive.

Representatives of the conservative group of delegates at the congress were not elected to any of the leadership positions in the Communist Party of Human Rights.

Losses of the parties

Almost no fighting took place. There were isolated cases of attacks on the military, but the overwhelming majority of Czechoslovakians did not resist.

According to modern data, 108 Czechoslovak citizens were killed and more than 500 wounded during the invasion, the vast majority of them were civilians. On the first day of the invasion alone, 58 people were killed or mortally wounded, including seven women and an eight-year-old child.

The largest number of civilian casualties was in Prague in the area of ​​the Czech Radio building. Perhaps some of the victims were undocumented. So, witnesses report shooting Soviet soldiers into a crowd of Prague residents on Wenceslas Square, which resulted in the death and injury of several people, although data on this incident were not included in the reports of the Czechoslovak Security Service. There is numerous evidence of the death of civilians, including minors and the elderly, in Prague, Liberec, Brno, Kosice, Poprad and other cities of Czechoslovakia as a result of the unmotivated use of weapons by Soviet soldiers.

Total from August 21 to September 20, 1968 The combat losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 12 people killed and 25 wounded and injured. Non-combat losses for the same period were 84 killed and killed, 62 wounded and injured. Also, as a result of a helicopter crash in the Teplice area, 2 Soviet correspondents were killed. It should be noted that the surviving helicopter pilot, fearing that he would have to bear responsibility for the accident, fired several bullets from a pistol at the helicopter, and then declared that the helicopter was shot down by the Czechoslovaks; this version was official for some time, and correspondents K. Nepomnyashchy and A. Zvorykin appeared, including in internal KGB materials, as victims of “counter-revolutionaries.”

August 26, 1968 An An-12 from the Tula 374th VTAP (captain N. Nabok) crashed near the city of Zvolen (Czechoslovakia). According to the pilots, the plane with a cargo (9 tons of butter) was fired from the ground from a machine gun at an altitude of 300 meters during landing and, as a result of damage to the 4th engine, fell several kilometers short of the runway. 5 people died (burned alive in the resulting fire), the gunner-radio operator survived. However, according to Czech historians and archivists, the plane crashed into a mountain.

Near the village of Zhandov near the city of Ceska Lipa, a group of citizens, blocking the road to the bridge, impeded the movement of the Soviet T-55 tank of sergeant major Yu. I. Andreev, who at high speed was catching up with the column that had gone ahead. The foreman decided to turn off the road so as not to overwhelm people, and the tank collapsed from the bridge along with the crew. Three servicemen were killed.

The losses of the USSR in technology are not precisely known. In units of the 38th Army alone, 7 tanks and armored personnel carriers were burned in the first three days on the territory of Slovakia and Northern Moravia.

Loss data known armed forces other countries participating in the operation. So, Hungarian army lost 4 soldiers killed (all were non-combat losses: accident, illness, suicide). The Bulgarian army lost 2 people - one sentry was killed at the post by unknown persons (and a machine gun was stolen), 1 soldier shot himself.

Subsequent events and international assessment of the invasion

IN early September troops were withdrawn from many cities and towns of Czechoslovakia to specially designated locations. Soviet tanks left Prague on September 11, 1968. On October 16, 1968, an agreement was signed between the governments of the USSR and Czechoslovakia on the conditions for the temporary presence of Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia, according to which part of the Soviet troops remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia “in order to ensure the security of the socialist commonwealth.” October 17, 1968 A phased withdrawal of some troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia began, which was completed by mid-November.

IN 1969 In Prague, students Jan Palach and Jan Zajic committed self-immolation a month apart in protest against the Soviet occupation.

As a result of the introduction of troops into Czechoslovakia, the process of political and economic reforms was interrupted. At the April (1969) plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, G. Husak was elected first secretary. Reformers were removed from office, and repression began. Several tens of thousands of people left the country, including many representatives of the country's cultural elite.

On the territory of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet military presence remained until 1991.

On August 21, representatives of a group of countries(USA, UK, France, Canada, Denmark and Paraguay) spoke at the UN Security Council with a demand to bring the “Czechoslovak issue” to a meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Representatives of Hungary and the USSR voted against. Then the representative of Czechoslovakia demanded that this issue be removed from consideration by the UN. The governments of four socialist countries - Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania (which left the Warsaw Pact in September), China, as well as a number of communist parties in Western countries - condemned the military intervention of five states.

Possible motivations for the deployment of troops and consequences

By official version of the CPSU Central Committee and the ATS countries(except Romania): the government of Czechoslovakia asked its allies in the military bloc to provide armed assistance in the fight against counter-revolutionary groups that, with the support of hostile imperialist countries, were preparing a coup d'etat to overthrow socialism.

Geopolitical aspect: The USSR stopped the possibility on the part of its satellite countries of revising the unequal interstate relations that ensured its hegemony in Eastern Europe.

Military-strategic aspect: voluntarism of Czechoslovakia during foreign policy during the Cold War, it threatened the security of the border with NATO countries; before 1968 year, Czechoslovakia remained the only ATS country where there were no military bases of the USSR.

Ideological aspect: the ideas of socialism “with a human face” undermined the idea of ​​the truth of Marxism-Leninism, the dictatorship of the proletariat and the leading role of the communist party, which, in turn, affected the power interests of the party elite.

Political aspect: the harsh crackdown on democratic voluntarism in Czechoslovakia gave members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee the opportunity, on the one hand, to deal with internal opposition, on the other, to increase their authority, and thirdly, to prevent the disloyalty of allies and demonstrate military power to potential opponents.

As a result of Operation Danube, Czechoslovakia remained a member of the Eastern European socialist bloc. The Soviet group of troops (up to 130 thousand people) remained in Czechoslovakia until 1991. The agreement on the conditions for the presence of Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia became one of the main military-political results of the entry of troops of five states, which satisfied the leadership of the USSR and the Department of Internal Affairs. However, Albania withdrew from the Warsaw Pact as a result of the invasion.

The suppression of the Prague Spring increased the disillusionment of many on the Western left with the theory of Marxism-Leninism and contributed to the growth of ideas of “Eurocommunism” among the leadership and members of Western communist parties - which subsequently led to a split in many of them. Communist parties Western Europe lost mass support, since the impossibility of “socialism with a human face” was practically shown.

Milos Zeman was expelled from the Communist Party in 1970 for disagreeing with the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into the country.

It has been suggested that Operation Danube strengthened the US position in Europe.

Paradoxically, the military action in Czechoslovakia in 1968 accelerated the advent of the so-called period in relations between East and West. “détente”, based on the recognition of the territorial status quo that existed in Europe and the so-called implementation by Germany under Chancellor Willy Brandt. "new eastern policy".

Operation Danube prevented possible reforms in the USSR: "For Soviet Union The strangulation of the Prague Spring turned out to be associated with many serious consequences. The imperial “victory” in 1968 cut off the oxygen to reforms, strengthening the position of dogmatic forces, strengthened great power features in Soviet foreign policy, and contributed to increased stagnation in all spheres.”

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

August 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of Operation Danube: the introduction of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia to prevent a “counter-revolution.”

In modern realities, the actions of the Soviet Union are usually condemned. This tradition was established back in the period Mikhail Gorbachev, it remains to this day.

To say that Operation Danube was not just a “trick of the USSR”, but the work of Czechoslovakia itself, is practically an attack on the sacred.

Post-war reality: who really built the Iron Curtain?

But the fact is that it is impossible to consider certain events without taking them apart from the time when they occurred. After the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies, the anti-Hitler bloc collapsed. Moreover, the United States, having received the atomic bomb, began to make plans for forceful pressure on the Soviet Union, which lay in ruins and had lost 27 million people in the war.

Facts are stubborn things. Not Joseph Stalin, A Winston Churchill delivered the famous Fulton speech that marked the beginning of the Cold War. It was not Soviet, but American pilots who carried out the first combat use of atomic weapons, turning Hiroshima and Nagasaki into radioactive dust and ushering in the era of “nuclear blackmail.” Even before the Soviet Union had its atomic bomb on the table US President Harry Truman there was a plan for massive atomic strikes on the territory of the USSR, which should have claimed tens of millions of lives (and now it is known and not hidden).

The USSR constantly had to respond. Including the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO): a military bloc whose hostile orientation towards Moscow has not been in doubt since the first day of its existence. Today, few people remember that the Soviet Union attempted to join NATO, but was met with refusal, which removed the last questions about what this organization was invented for. And only after this the Warsaw Pact Organization was born: a military structure of socialist countries that acted as a counterweight.

Borders of influence: why Paris and Rome did not become a “red belt”

Soviet leaders were very scrupulous about the dividing lines drawn in Europe on the basis of the agreements of the “Big Three” of the anti-Hitler bloc.

That is why the USSR was silent during the defeat of the communist movement in Greece: this country, according to decisions taken, was assigned to the British sphere of influence.

What can I say: until the second half of the seventies, the USSR had the opportunity to create a “red belt” of pro-Soviet states from the Balkans to the Atlantic, including Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. The positions of the left, oriented toward Moscow, were strong in these states; there were plenty of periods of unrest and fermentation, but the Kremlin did not inspire any “red revolutions,” preferring to maintain stability.

The “Prague Spring” created a threat of destruction of the existing balance of power from the other side: the liberal wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia went far in its desire to get closer to the West. So much so that it began to create a direct threat of Prague falling out of the Warsaw Pact. Moscow tried to prevent this through diplomatic means, but was unsuccessful in this, after which the time came for Operation Danube.

A very strange “occupation”

Today it is known that Western countries provided support to supporters of the Prague Spring through organizing propaganda work. But all talk about military intervention was nipped in the bud. Washington remembered that the USSR was faithful to the “gentleman’s agreement” and did not cross “red lines” in Europe. But there was no doubt that Moscow would not give up even an inch from its “zone of influence.”

Therefore, NATO representatives could wait and hope that Prague would fall into the arms of the West, but under no circumstances would they speed up this process with tanks. The phenomenon of the “Soviet occupation” of 1968 is that there were practically no military operations during Operation Danube. The Czechoslovak army did not take part in the events; minor skirmishes and clashes with civilians in the context of the scale of what was happening were not of key importance.

The losses of Soviet units from road accidents and accidents significantly exceeded those that could be attributed to combat. For some strange reason, stories about dozens of Prague residents shot by Soviet soldiers are not supported by facts. Another myth is the total rejection by the Czechs of the introduction of Soviet troops. Facts, however, indicate that even within the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia there was a split: First Secretary of the Communist Party of Slovakia Vasil Biljak, closest ally Dubcek, opposed the course, which he considered pro-Western, and supported Moscow’s actions.

Preventing the worst

After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, it was no longer common to hear the voices of those citizens of the former Czechoslovakia who believed that in 1968 the country was sliding, possibly into civil war. What would have happened if Czechoslovakia had left the Warsaw Pact in 1968 and found itself in the Western camp? Those who believe that NATO tanks would not have appeared there should study recent history and see how, after the collapse of the socialist bloc, the North Atlantic Alliance gradually found itself at the walls of Pskov, and soon, perhaps, will stand near Bryansk.

Today it is obvious that the process of NATO's eastward expansion has seriously worsened the international situation. If Operation Danube had not happened, destabilization in Europe could have occurred as early as the late sixties, with all the ensuing consequences. Active period The “Soviet occupation” of Czechoslovakia ended in September 1968, when the withdrawal of Warsaw Pact units participating in Operation Danube from major cities began.

On October 16, 1968, an agreement was signed between the governments of the USSR and Czechoslovakia on the conditions for the temporary presence of Soviet troops on the territory of Czechoslovakia, according to which part of the Soviet troops remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia “in order to ensure the security of the socialist commonwealth.” On October 17, 1968, a phased withdrawal of some troops from the territory of Czechoslovakia began, which was completed by mid-November.

Gusak’s stability: growth in prosperity instead of political freedoms

It is usually said that the introduction of troops stopped reforms and disrupted the development of Czechoslovakia. If we talk about politics, then this is probably true.

But he replaced the leader of the Prague Spring, Alexander Dubcek, in April 1969. Gustav Husak focused on the economy, announcing a "normalization" policy. Thanks to Husak’s course, Czechoslovakia gained a foothold in the top 30 leading world economies by the end of the seventies. Products from Czechoslovakia have always been of high quality and were in great demand not only in socialist countries, but also in Western Europe. Objectively speaking, the majority of residents of Czechoslovakia received an increase in their standard of living instead of political upheaval. Leaving the era of socialism in the late eighties, Czechoslovakia was a developed economic power.

For some reason, it is generally accepted that the Prague Spring would have brought prosperity to the country. But the modern experience of all kinds of revolutions “Rose”, “Gidnost”, “Arab Spring” suggests the opposite: such processes much more often bring about the collapse of state foundations and the economy than something positive.

Opponents will object: the experience of the Velvet Revolution suggests that changes can occur without bloodshed. But here we must take into account that the “Velvet Revolution” was a consequence of the actual capitulation of the Soviet Union in the international arena, when pro-Soviet forces in Czechoslovakia were literally forced out of active political life in the shortest possible time. Those who consider this a natural process should turn to the experience of Ukraine, where people who have a different opinion that does not coincide with the line of the politicians who came to power in 2014 found themselves de facto deprived of their representation in government bodies.

They also forget about one more point: the “Velvet Revolution” led to the collapse of Czechoslovakia as a state. The liberals were unable to do what the communists could: convince the Czechs and Slovaks that living together was more promising than “divorce.” Yes, “velvet”, without shooting, but the separation of Czechs and Slovaks into separate national apartments was the end of the once united Czechoslovakia. We all know well that history is written by the winners. The collapse of the socialist bloc and the Soviet Union led to the fact that in both the Czech Republic and Russia the idea of ​​“suppressing the Prague Spring” became dominant.

As a sign of protest against the actions of an illegal and stupid member of the “government” of the Russian Federation, I am posting this material. So that history must be known and protected from rewriting and distortion.

The entry of troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968 did not allow the West to carry out a coup in Czechoslovakia using the technology of “velvet” revolutions and preserved life in peace and harmony for more than 20 years for all the peoples of the Warsaw Pact countries.

The political crisis in Czechoslovakia, as in other countries of the socialist bloc, was bound to arise sooner or later after N. S. Khrushchev came to power in the USSR in 1953.

Khrushchev accused I.V. Stalin, and in fact the socialist socio-political system, of organizing mass repressions, as a result of which millions of innocent people allegedly suffered. In my opinion, Khrushchev’s report at the 20th Congress in 1956 took place thanks to the grandiose victory of Western intelligence services and their 5th column inside the USSR.

It doesn’t matter what motivated Khrushchev when he launched a policy of de-Stalinization in the country. It is important that blaming the socialist socio-political system for organizing mass repressions deprived of legitimacy Soviet power. The geopolitical opponents of Russia and the USSR received weapons with which they could crush the impregnable fortress - the USSR and other countries of the socialist camp.

By 1968, for 12 years, schools and institutes had been studying works that delegitimized the Soviet regime. All these 12 years, the West prepared Czechoslovak society to renounce socialism and friendship with the USSR.

The political crisis in Czechoslovakia was associated not only with the policies of N. S. Khrushchev, which reduced the number of citizens ready to defend socialist system and friendly relations with the Soviet Union, but also with the national hatred fueled by anti-Soviet forces between Czechs and Slovaks. A significant role was also played by the fact that Czechoslovakia did not fight against the Soviet Union and did not feel guilty before our country.

But for the sake of truth, it must be said that no less Russian blood was shed during the war through the fault of Czechoslovakia than through the fault of Hungary and Romania, whose armies, together with Germany, attacked the USSR in 1941. Since 1938 and throughout the war, Czechoslovakia supplied German troops with a huge amount of weapons, which were used to kill Soviet soldiers and civilians in our country.

Gottwald, who built a prosperous socialist Czechoslovakia after the war, died the same year as Stalin in 1953. The new presidents of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic are A. Zapototsky, and since 1957 A. Novotny became like N. S. Khrushchev. They essentially destroyed the country. A. Novotny was a copy of N. S. Khrushchev and caused significant damage with his ill-conceived reforms national economy, which also led to a decrease in the standard of living of the people. All of these factors contributed to the emergence of anti-socialist and anti-Russian sentiments in society.

On January 5, 1968, the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia elected Slovakian A. Dubcek to the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee instead of Novotny, but did not remove Novotny from the post of president of the country. Over time, order was restored, and L. Svoboda became the President of Czechoslovakia.

Liberals call the reign of A. Dubcek the “Prague Spring”. A. Dubcek immediately fell under the influence of people who, under the guise of democratization, began to prepare the country for surrender to the West. Under the guise of building “socialism with a human face,” the destruction of the Czechoslovak socialist state began. By the way, socialism has always had a human face, but capitalism, liberalism has always had the face of the Nazis and similar US liberals who killed the children of Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Syria and other countries that the US considered insufficient democratic. The USA and its citizens were not spared.

After the January 1968 Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, frantic criticism of the situation in the country began. Using the criticism of the leadership voiced at the Plenum, the opposition political forces, calling for the “expansion” of democracy, began to discredit the Communist Party, power structures, bodies state security and socialism in general. Hidden preparations for a change in the political system began.

In the media, on behalf of the people, they demanded to cancel the leadership of the party in economic and political life, declare the Communist Party of Human Rights a criminal organization, ban its activities, dissolve state security agencies and the People's Militia. Various “clubs” (“Club 231”, “Club of Active Non-Party People”) and other organizations arose throughout the country, the main goal and task of which was to denigrate the history of the country after 1945, rally the opposition, and conduct anti-constitutional propaganda.

By mid-1968, the Ministry of Internal Affairs received about 70 applications for registration of new organizations and associations. Thus, “Club 231” was established in Prague on March 31, 1968, although it did not have permission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The club united over 40 thousand people, among whom were former criminals and state criminals. As the newspaper Rude Pravo noted, the club’s members included former Nazis, SS men, Henleinites, ministers of the puppet “Slovak State,” and representatives of the reactionary clergy.

The general secretary of the club, Yaroslav Brodsky, said at one of the meetings: “The best communist is a dead communist, and if he is still alive, then his legs should be pulled out.” Branches of the club were created at enterprises and in various organizations, which were called “Societies for the Defense of Word and Press.” Organization "Revolutionary Committee" democratic party Slovakia” called for holding elections under the control of England, the USA, Italy and France, stopping criticism of Western states in the press and focusing it on the USSR.

A group of employees of the Prague Military-Political Academy proposed the withdrawal of Czechoslovakia from the Warsaw Pact and called on other socialist countries to liquidate the Warsaw Pact. In this regard, the French newspaper Le Figaro wrote: “The geographical position of Czechoslovakia can turn it both into a bolt of the Warsaw Pact and into a gap that opens up the entire military system of the Eastern bloc.” All these media, clubs and individuals speaking on behalf of the people also spoke out against the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

On June 14, the Czechoslovak opposition invited the famous American “Sovietologist” Zbigniew Brzezinski to give lectures in Prague, in which he outlined his “liberalization” strategy and called for the destruction of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, as well as the abolition of the police and state security. According to him, he fully “supported the interesting Czechoslovak experiment.”

It should be noted that Z. Brzezinski and many oppositionists were not interested in the fate or national interests of Czechoslovakia. In particular, they were ready to give up lands to Czechoslovakia for the sake of “rapprochement” with Germany.

The western borders of Czechoslovakia were opened, and border barriers and fortifications began to be eliminated. At the direction of the Minister of State Security Pavel, spies identified by counterintelligence Western countries They were not detained, but given the opportunity to leave.

The population of Czechoslovakia was persistently instilled with the idea that there was no danger of revanchism from the Federal Republic of Germany, and that one could think about returning the Sudeten Germans to the country. The newspaper “General Anzeiger” (FRG) wrote: “The Sudeten Germans will expect from Czechoslovakia, liberated from communism, a return to the Munich Agreement, according to which in the fall of 1938 the Sudetenland ceded to Germany.” The editor of the Czech trade union newspaper Prace, Jirczek, told German television: “About 150 thousand Germans live in our country. One can hope that the remaining 100-200 thousand could return to their homeland a little later.” Probably Western money helped him forget how the Sudeten Germans persecuted the Czechs. And Germany was ready to again seize these lands of Czechoslovakia.

In 1968, consultative meetings of representatives of NATO countries were held, at which possible measures were studied to bring Czechoslovakia out of the socialist camp. The Vatican intensified its activities in Czechoslovakia. Its leadership recommended directing the Catholic Church's activities to merge with the "independence" and "liberalization" movements, and to take on the role of "support and freedom in the countries of Eastern Europe", focusing on Czechoslovakia, Poland and the German Democratic Republic. In order to create a situation in Czechoslovakia that would facilitate Czechoslovakia's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, the NATO Council developed the Zephyr program. In July, a special Monitoring and Control Center began operating, which American officers called “Strike Group Headquarters.” It consisted of more than 300 employees, including intelligence officers and political advisers.

The center reported information about the situation in Czechoslovakia to NATO headquarters three times a day. An interesting remark by a representative of NATO headquarters: “Although due to the entry of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia and the conclusion of the Moscow Agreement, the special center did not solve the tasks assigned to it, its activities were still and continue to be valuable experience for the future.” This experience was used during the destruction of the USSR.

The military-political leadership of the USSR and other Warsaw Pact countries closely followed the events in Czechoslovakia and tried to convey their assessment to the authorities of Czechoslovakia. Meetings of the top leadership of the Warsaw Pact countries took place in Prague, Dresden, Warsaw, Cierna nad Tisou. In the last days of July, at a meeting in Cierna nad Tisou, A. Dubcek was told that if the recommended measures were refused, the troops of the socialist countries would enter Czechoslovakia. Dubcek not only did not take any measures, but also did not convey this warning to the members of the Central Committee and the government of the country, which, when sending troops, initially aroused the indignation of the Czechoslovak communists because they were not informed about the decision to send troops.

From a military point of view, there could be no other solution. The separation of the Sudetenland from the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and even more so of the entire country from the Warsaw Pact, and the alliance of Czechoslovakia with NATO put the grouping of Commonwealth troops in the GDR, Poland and Hungary under flank attack. The potential enemy received direct access to the border of the Soviet Union. The leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries were well aware that the events in Czechoslovakia were NATO’s advance to the East. On the night of August 21, 1968, troops of the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, German democratic republic(GDR) and Poland entered the territory of Czechoslovakia. Neither the troops of Czechoslovakia, nor NATO troops, nor units of Western intelligence services dared to openly oppose such a force.

Troops landed at the Prague airfield. The troops were ordered not to open fire until they were fired upon. The columns walked at high speeds; stopped cars were pushed off the roadway so as not to interfere with traffic. By morning, all the advanced military units of the Commonwealth countries reached the designated areas. Czechoslovak troops remained in barracks, their military camps were blocked, batteries were removed from armored vehicles, fuel was drained from tractors.

On April 17, 1969, G. Husak, who at one time was the head of the Communist Party of Slovakia, was elected head of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia instead of Dubcek. The actions of the Warsaw Pact troops in Czechoslovakia actually showed NATO highest level combat training and technical equipment of the troops of the treaty countries.

In a few minutes, the paratroopers captured Czechoslovak airfields and began to take over weapons and equipment, which then began to advance towards Prague. The guards were immediately disarmed and the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was seized, and the entire leadership of Czechoslovakia was taken to the airfield in armored personnel carriers and sent first to the headquarters of the Northern Group of Forces, and then to Moscow.

The tankers carried out the task accurately and took up positions in an extremely short time according to the operation plan. Several thousand T-54 and T-55 tanks entered Czechoslovakia, and each crew knew its place in the territory where the tank unit was located.

In Czechoslovakia, the most impressive and tragic feat among soldiers was performed on a mountain road by a tank crew from the 1st Guards Tank Army, who deliberately drove their tank into an abyss to avoid running over children posted there as pickets. Those who prepared this vile provocation were confident that the children would die and then would shout to the whole world about the crime of the Soviet tank crews. But the provocation failed. At the cost of their lives, Soviet tank crews saved the lives of Czechoslovak children and honor Soviet army. This clear example shows the difference between the people of the liberal West, who prepared the death of children, and the people of the socialist Soviet Union, who saved the children.

The aviation of the Warsaw Pact countries, including special purpose aviation, also distinguished itself in Czechoslovakia. Tu-16 jamming aircraft of the 226th Electronic Warfare Regiment, taking off from Stryi airfield in Ukraine, successfully jammed radio and radar stations on the territory of Czechoslovakia, demonstrating the enormous importance of electronic warfare in modern warfare.

The West initially understood that it would not be allowed to carry out a coup in Czechoslovakia in a Warsaw Pact country, but cold war against the USSR he carried out with “hot spots”. Almost combat Soviet troops were not carried out on the territory of Czechoslovakia. At that time, the Americans were fighting a war in Vietnam, burning thousands of Vietnamese villages with napalm and destroying dozens of cities. They drenched the long-suffering land of Vietnam with blood. But this did not stop them from broadcasting on all radio and television channels to the USSR, the countries of Eastern Europe and the whole world that the USSR was an aggressor country.

The topic of Czechoslovakia was discussed in the Western media several years after 1968. To give this topic an ominous overtone, they prepared a suicide bomber, just as terrorists prepare suicide bombers today, they did not spare the Czechoslovakian student Jan Palach and set him on fire, doused with gasoline, in the center of Prague, presenting it as an act of self-immolation in protest against the entry of troops of the Warsaw Pact countries.

The deployment of troops to Czechoslovakia was done in order to protect the security of the Warsaw Pact countries from NATO troops. But the security of the United States was not threatened by either Korea or Vietnam, located thousands of kilometers from the US border. But America waged large-scale military operations against them, killing hundreds of thousands of people from these sovereign states. But the world community prefers to remain silent about this. The Sudetenland remained part of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, their state exists within modern borders, and the nation avoided the huge number of casualties that always occur during a coup d'etat.