Alexander Dubcek Biography and Timeline

Birth of Alexander Dubcek

Birth of Alexander Dubcek

Central Committee

Appointed full member of the Central Committee of the KSC

Central Committee of the Communist Party

Appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia

Role range: 1967-1969

First Secretary

Appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia

Role range: 1967-1969

Slovak National Council

Appointed Member of Slovak Parliament (Slovak National Council)

Role range: 1964-1970

Central Committee of the Communist Party

Appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

Role range: 1967-1969

First Secretary

Appointed First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

Role range: 1967-1969

Prague Spring

Starts when Alexander Dubcek comes to power and runs until August 20 when the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies (except for Romania) invade the country

Warsaw Pact

Starts when Alexander Dubcek comes to power and runs until August 20 when the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies (except for Romania) invade the country

First Secretary

Becomes party leader and begins the Prague Spring.

Role range: 1968-1969

Action Programme

Launches reforms known as socialism with a human face.

Role range: 1968-1969

Prague Spring

Dubcek launches an Action Programme of liberalisations which include increased freedom of the press, emphasis on consumer goods, and the possibility of a more democratic multi-party Government

Prague Spring

Announces the Fourteenth Party Congress will convene on September 9 and incorporate the Action Programme into the party statutes, draft a federalization law, and elect a new Central Committee

Prague Spring

Brezhnev and the leadership of the Warsaw Pact countries are concerned about Dubcek's reforms, which they fear weaken the position of the Communist Bloc during the Cold War

Prague Spring

Warsaw Pact military practice manoeuvres are held in Czechoslovakia in late June. Russia agrees with Czechoslovakia to withdraw their troops (still stationed in Czechoslovakia since the June maneuvers) and permit the September 9 Party Congress.

Prague Spring

Representatives from Russia, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia meet in Bratislava and sign the Bratislava Declaration

Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact military practice manoeuvres are held in Czechoslovakia in late June. Brezhnev and the leadership of the Warsaw Pact countries are concerned about Dubcek's reforms, which they fear weaken the position of the Communist Bloc during the Cold War

Bratislava Declaration

In the Bratislava Declaration Russia expresses its intention to intervene in a Warsaw Pact country if a bourgeois system-a pluralist system of several political parties is ever established

Bratislava Declaration

The Bratislava Declaration aaffirms unshakable fidelity to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism and declares an implacable struggle against bourgeois ideology and all antisocialist forces.

Declaration of Bratislava

In the Bratislava Declaration Russia expresses its intention to intervene in a Warsaw Pact country if a bourgeois system-a pluralist system of several political parties is ever established

Declaration of Bratislava

Representatives from Russia, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia meet in Bratislava and sign the Bratislava Declaration.

Declaration of Bratislava

The Bratislava Declaration aaffirms unshakable fidelity to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism and declares an implacable struggle against bourgeois ideology and all antisocialist forces.

Prague Spring

In the Bratislava Declaration Russia expresses its intention to intervene in a Warsaw Pact country if a bourgeois system-a pluralist system of several political parties is ever established

Warsaw Pact

In the Bratislava Declaration Russia expresses its intention to intervene in a Warsaw Pact country if a bourgeois system-a pluralist system of several political parties is ever established

German Occupation

The Dubcek reforms go too far for Russia and Russia invades. Russian troops and vehicles cross the Czech border at 18 points without any resistance

German Occupation

The Soviet Press prints an unsigned request, allegedly by Czechoslovak party and state leaders, for immediate assistance, including assistance with armed forces. The relaxation after the Prague Spring ends when 200,000 Soviet troops invade Czech.

German Occupation

Dubcek calls upon his people not to resist

German Occupation

Eastern Bloc armies from 5 Warsaw Pact countries invaded the CSSR, Russian tanks ranging in number from 5,000 to 7,000 fill the streets, followed by Warsaw Pact troops ranging from 200,000 to 600,000.

German Occupation

The occupation is followed by a wave of emigration, unseen before and stopped shortly after (estimate: 70,000 immediately, 300,000 in total), typically of highly qualified people.

Prague Spring

The Soviet Press prints an unsigned request, allegedly by Czechoslovak party and state leaders, for immediate assistance, including assistance with armed forces

Prague Spring

Dubcek calls upon his people not to resist

Prague Spring

Dubcek, who had been arrested on the night of August 20, is taken to Moscow for negotiations, it was agreed that Dubcek would remain in office and that a program of moderate reform would continue.

Prague Spring

Eastern Bloc armies from 5 Warsaw Pact countries invaded the CSSR, Russian tanks ranging in number from 5,000 to 7,000 fill the streets, followed by Warsaw Pact troops ranging from 200,000 to 600,000.

Prague Spring

The occupation is followed by a wave of emigration, unseen before and stopped shortly after (estimate: 70,000 immediately, 300,000 in total), typically of highly qualified people.

Reform of Government

Tries to introduce more contact with the west and socialism with a human face

Warsaw Pact

Eastern Bloc armies from 5 Warsaw Pact countries invaded the CSSR, Russian tanks ranging in number from 5,000 to 7,000 fill the streets, followed by Warsaw Pact troops ranging from 200,000 to 600,000

Arrest of Alexander Dubcek

Dubcek, who had been arrested on the night of August 20, is taken to Moscow for negotiations, it was agreed that Dubcek would remain in office and that a program of moderate reform would continue

First Secretary

Appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czech

Role range: 1967-1969

Warsaw Pact Invasion

Warsaw Pact armies invade Czechoslovakia.

Role range: 1968-1968 – 1968-1969

German Occupation

The Russians increase their occupation force to 650,000. Dubcek returns from the Kremlin announces the repeal of democratic reforms