The Gensek’s Visit - The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the communist party of the Soviet Union and chairman of the supreme soviet Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev in Czechoslovakia, 1978
The Gensek’s Visit - The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the communist party of the Soviet Union and chairman of the supreme soviet Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev in Czechoslovakia, 1978

Author(s): Petr Blažek
Subject(s): Politics, International relations/trade, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), History of Communism
Published by: Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů
Keywords: Czechoslovakia; Gensek; visit; Leonid I. Brezhnev; 1978; communist party; Soviet Union;
Summary/Abstract: A visit by a Soviet Gensek to Czechoslovakia was always an extraordinary event. The preparation, course and sometimes consequences were reminiscent of an emperor’s inspection tour of distant governorates where vice-regents ruled by his grace. Such visits can be used to map the transformation and nature of Czechoslovak-Soviet relations, various methods of mobilising society and the pacification of political opponents in authoritarian regimes. This was clearly visible in the visit of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev in 1978, which is the main subject of this paper. It was of great significance, coming as it did shortly before the tenth anniversary of the August 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

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