Brezhnev's Dilemma after the Prague Spring

The Prague Spring made life very difficult for Soviet Premier Brezhnev. On the one hand, he regarded Dubcek as a friend and Dubcek had made no attempt to leave the Warsaw Pact or damage the USSR. On the other hand, secret Soviet intelligence reports suggested that Dubcek’s reforms would lead to a weakening of Soviet control over Czechoslovakia and, in the long run, the break-up of the Eastern Bloc. From April through to July, Brezhnev was in constant contact with Dubcek and attempted to persuade him that the reforms had gone too far. However, Dubcek failed to take the hint and took little action to control political opposition. By late August, Brezhnev had had enough and ordered a full-scale invasion of Czechoslovakia in order to overthrow Dubcek.