Tanques sobre Praga en 1968 (Guerra Fría)

In January 1968, the Central Committee forced President Antonín Novotný, an old Czech communist from the heroic days, to resign and also to step down from the Party secretariat. In his place, the ruling troika appointed Alexander Dubček, a Slovak twenty years younger than his predecessor and famous in his native region for his commitment to reform and modernization. Dubček wanted to lead the Party, not the government, which meant breaking with the communist tradition that had merged the two institutions at the top. Ludvík Svoboda, a veteran communist militant who had first fought honorably in the war and was then purged by Stalin, was brought in as president of the republic. The Dubček-Svoboda tandem set the goal of bringing the New Economic Model into politics. They aspired to "create a new model of a deeply democratic socialist society adapted to Czechoslovak circumstances." And here came the surprise. For the first and last time in history, communist rhetoric found practical application. On April 5, 1968, the "Action Program" was published, an ambitious liberalization plan that included freedom of the press, speech, association, and movement. For the first time in twenty years, Czechoslovaks would be able to say whatever they wanted in public, and if they didn't like the country, they could always pack their bags and go to Germany, Great Britain... or the United States itself. Dubček's Action Program was like a bucket of cold water in Moscow. Leonid Brezhnev shifted in his seat. He couldn't believe this was happening right under his nose. He didn't even call him out in the Kremlin; he sent him a message through the Hungarian communist János Kádár. “Don't you really know the kind of people you're dealing with?” Kádár asked Dubček in a meeting shortly after announcing the reform package. Only twelve years had passed since the Hungarian uprising, and its bitter memory was still fresh in the minds of all the communist leaders in Europe. Script by Fernando Díaz Villanueva We've launched an app with tons of unpublished videos, podcasts, and texts! | Link to the Apple App Store | https://apps.apple.com/es/app/academi... | Link to the Google Play Store | https://play.google.com/store/apps/de... | BUY OUR UNIVERSAL HISTORY BOOK | https://amzn.eu/d/06mH0NlP | BUY OUR SPANISH HISTORY BOOK | https://amzn.eu/d/08nRSHE8 | BUY OUR MYTHOLOGY BOOK | https://amzn.eu/d/07TR9k77 | BUY OUR BOOK OF BATTLES | https://amzn.eu/d/0cRtTT5N | BUY THE BLACK LEGEND BOOK | https://amzn.eu/d/06Xwynqa | SUBSCRIBE | http://bit.ly/2cqyJpp | BECOME A CHANNEL MEMBER |    / @academiaplay   (rewards and benefits) | SPONSOR THE CHANNEL ON PATREON |   / academiaplay   (rewards and benefits) | MAKE A DONATION ON PAYPAL | https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted... BUY OUR EBOOK: https://goo.gl/gJf3TB Thanks to our Patreon supporters: Carlos Siemens, Pedro Romera, Eva L. García Franco, Gian Marco Farina, Pablo de Barreda, and Pablo JP. | FOLLOW US | • Website: http://academiaplay.net/ • Facebook:   / academiaplay   • Twitter:   / academiaplay   • Instagram:   / academiaplay   • Email: [email protected] Want to sponsor an Academia Play video? https://academiaplay.net/patrocina-vi... Music - Credits EPIDEMIC SOUND PURPLE PLANET: https://www.purple-planet.com KEVIN MACLEOD: https://incompetech.com/ PRESS PLAY AND MAKE YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE EPIC!