Editing Brezhnev Doctrine (section)

==Origins==
===1956 Hungarian Revolution and Soviet invasion===
The period between 1953 and 1968 was saturated with dissidence and reformation within the Soviet satellite states. 1953 saw the death of Soviet Leader [[Joseph Stalin]], followed closely by [[Nikita Khrushchev]]'s 1956 "[[On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences|Secret Speech]]" denouncing Stalin. This denouncement of the former leader led to a period of the Soviet Era known commonly as "De-Stalinization." Under the blanket reforms of this process, [[Imre Nagy]] came to power in [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]] as the new prime minister, taking over for [[Mátyás Rákosi]]. Almost immediately Nagy set out on a path of reform. Police power was reduced, [[Collective farming|collectivized farms]] were split up and being returned to individual peasants, industry and food production shifted and religious tolerance was becoming more prominent. These reforms shocked the [[Hungarian Communist Party]]. Nagy was quickly overthrown by Rákosi in 1955, and stripped of his positions. Shortly after this coup, Khrushchev signed the [[Belgrade declaration|Belgrade Declaration]] which stated "separate paths to socialism were permissible within the Soviet Bloc."<ref name="Ouimet 2003 10–11">{{Cite book|title=The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim|url-access=limited|last=Ouimet|first=Matthew J.|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8078-2740-1|location=Chapel Hill and London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim/page/n24 10]–11}}</ref> With hopes for serious reform just having been extinguished in Hungary, this declaration was not received well by the Hungarians.<ref name="Ouimet 2003 10–11"/> Tensions quickly mounted in Hungary with demonstrations and calls for not only the withdrawal of Soviet troops, but for a Hungarian withdrawal from the [[Warsaw Pact]] as well. By October 23 Soviet forces landed in Budapest. A chaotic and bloody suppression of revolutionary forces lasted from October 24 until November 7, ending with thousands of Hungarians murdered and many more fleeing the country.<ref>Matthew Ouimet, (2003) ''The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 9-16 {{ISBN|0-8078-2740-1}}</ref> Although order was restored, tensions remained on both sides of the conflict. Hungarians resented the end of the reformation, and the Soviets wanted to avoid a similar crisis from occurring again anywhere in the Soviet Bloc.

===A peaceful Brezhnev Doctrine===
When the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]] was suppressed, the Soviets adopted the mindset that governments supporting both [[communism]] and [[capitalism]] must coexist, and more importantly, build relations. This idea stressed that all people are equal, and own the right to solve the problems of their own countries themselves, and that in order for both states to peacefully coexist, neither country can exercise the right to get involved in each other's internal affairs. While this idea was brought up following the events of Hungary, they were not put into effect for a great deal of time. This is further explained in the '''Renunciation''' section.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Law and the Use of Force by States: The Brezhnev Doctrine|last=Rostow|first=Nicholas|publisher=Yale Journal of International Law|year=1981|pages=209–243}}</ref>

===1968 Prague Spring===
Notions of reform had been slowly growing in [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]] since the early-mid 1960s. However, once the Stalinist President [[Antonín Novotný]] resigned as head of the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]] in January 1968, the [[Prague Spring]] began to take shape. [[Alexander Dubček]] replaced Novotný as head of the party, initially thought a friend to the Soviet Union. It was not long before Dubček began making serious liberal reforms. In an effort to establish what Dubček called "[[Socialism with a human face|developed socialism]]", he instituted changes in Czechoslovakia to create a much more free and liberal version of the socialist state.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Suri|first=Jeremi|date=2006-01-01|title=The Promise and Failure of 'Developed Socialism': The Soviet 'Thaw' and the Crucible of the Prague Spring, 1964–1972|jstor=20081303|journal=Contemporary European History|volume=15|issue=2|pages=145–146|doi=10.1017/S0960777306003183|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=154618928 }}</ref> Aspects of a market economy were implemented, travel restrictions were eased for citizens, state censorship loosened, the power of the [[StB]] secret police was limited, and steps were taken to improve relations with the west. As the reforms piled up, the Kremlin quickly grew uneasy as they hoped to not only preserve their power within Czechoslovakia, but to avoid another Hungarian-style revolution as well. Soviet panic compounded in March 1968 when student protests erupted in [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] and Antonín Novotný resigned as the Czechoslovak president. On March 21, [[Yuri Andropov]], the [[KGB]] Chairman, issued a grave statement concerning the reforms taking place under Dubček. "The methods and forms by which the work is progressing in Czechoslovakia remind one very much of Hungary. In this outward appearance of chaos…there is a certain order. It all began like this in Hungary also, but then came the first and second echelons, and then, finally the social democrats."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim|url-access=limited|last=Ouimet|first=Matthew|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8078-2740-1|location=Chapel Hill and London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim/page/n32 18]–19}}</ref>

[[Leonid Brezhnev]] sought clarification from Dubček on March 21, with the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]] convened, on the situation in Czechoslovakia. Eager to avoid a similar fate as Imre Nagy, Dubček reassured Brezhnev that the reforms were totally under control and not on a similar path to those seen in 1956 in Hungary.<ref name=":1" /> Despite Dubček's assurances, other Soviet allies grew uneasy by the reforms taking place in an Eastern European neighbor. The First Secretary of the [[Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union)|Ukrainian Communist Party]] called on Moscow for an immediate invasion of Czechoslovakia in order to stop Dubček's "socialism with a human face" from spreading into the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]] and sparking unrest.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Rise and Fall of the Brezhnev Doctrine in Soviet Foreign Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim|url-access=limited|last=Ouimet|first=Matthew J.|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8078-2740-1|location=Chapel Hill and London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risefallbrezhnev00ouim/page/n33 19]–20}}</ref> By May 6, Brezhnev condemned Dubček's system, declaring it a step toward "the complete collapse of the [[Warsaw Pact]]."<ref name=":2" /> After three months of negotiations, agreements, and rising tensions between Moscow and Czechoslovakia, the Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion began on the night of August 20, 1968, which was to be met with great Czechoslovak discontent and resistance for many months into 1970.<ref name=":0" />