title: The Prague Spring and its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968-1970
author:  Kieran Williams 
description: "Williams's study is richly detailed, clearly written and organized, and focuses mostly on political elites. It provides new information for specialists as well as insight to those who come to the topic for the first time." Choice<br /><br />"This book is, however, distinctive in its thorough use of Czechoslovak archival sources, which offer striking documentation of the attitudes of the principal actors in the story." H. Gordon Skilling, American Historical Review<br /><br />"...Williams skillfully reconstructs the events leading up to the August 1968 invasion and the period of `normalization' that followed." Fred Eidlin, Slavic Review
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  Socialism With a Human Face: 
   
  The Leadership and Legacy of the Prague Spring 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Anna Stoneman 
   
  Senior Division 
   
  Historical Paper 
   
  2,499 Words 
   
   
   
  
   
  1 
  They may crush the flowers, but they cannot stop the Spring. 
   
  - Alexander Dubček, 19681 
   
   
  In January of 1968, Czechoslovakian leader Alexander Dubček introduced a program of 
  unprecedented economic and political liberalization, intending to revitalize the nation. After two 
  decades of harsh and oppressive Communist rule, the reforms ended the censorship of the media, 
  press, and travel, and granted citizens the right to think, speak, and behave freely. Dubček’s 
  leadership gave rise to an explosion of artistic expression, free discussion, and alignment with 
  democratic ideology known as the Prague Spring. Although forcibly suppressed by a Soviet-led 
  invasion in August of 1968, the Prague Spring left as a legacy the renewal of active citizenship 
  and democ