{"id":254,"date":"2026-06-10T05:42:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T05:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-06-10T05:42:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T05:42:29","slug":"january-5-1968-the-prague-spring-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"January 5, 1968: the Prague Spring Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<div>\n<article>\n<header>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>World<\/li>\n<li>January 5, 2015<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>January 5, 1968: the Prague Spring Begins<\/h1>\n<h1>January 5, 1968: the Prague Spring Begins<\/h1>\n<h2>\n<p>What would later become known as the Prague Spring began with the ascension, on this day in 1968, of the reformist Alexander Dub\u010dek to the post of first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=252\">The Revolution Heard Around the World<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<time>January 5, 2015<\/time><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>What would later become known as the Prague Spring began with the ascension, on this day in 1968, of the reformist Alexander Dub\u010dek to the post of first secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Dub\u010dek attempted to decentralize the economy and loosen restrictions on media, free expression and travel for Czech citizens. To reverse such reforms, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Ji\u0159\u00ed Mucha, who wrote \u201cThis Spring in Prague\u201d (April 1, 1968) for <em>The Nation<\/em>, was a Czech journalist and author who had been arrested, tortured and imprisoned by the government in the early 1950s.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It seems to me that never, since Stalin\u2019s dethronement, has there been so much frank public criticism. The difference is that after Stalin comment smacked of bitter disillusion, while now there is good will and people are ready to lend a hand. After years of stock phrases and resigned lassitude, one hears words worth thinking about.<\/p>\n<p>All this sounds surprisingly cheerful given the Czechs\u2019 ingrained skepticism, but it is the feeling that prevails here today. A tooth that stops aching produces euphoria, even though one knows the hole is still there and must be filled eventually. And in any case, I do not think a return to the old methods is possible. The people now at the top know that they can succeed only if they attract wide popular support. Should they fail the public, the country would revert to morose indifference and it would be almost impossible to rouse it again. Every new society must reclaim all the freedoms that had been attained in the past, but were then lost in the process of gaining others\u2026. If we succeed, we shall prove that it has been worth while living through these last twenty years.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>January 5, 1968<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7729220222793488\" data-auto-height=\"false\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"600\" id=\"doc_91552\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/249922776\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-Wx5iozU5kQ1cctcYLzaF&amp;show_recommendations=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>To mark<\/em> The Nation\u2019<em>s 150th anniversary, every morning this year The Almanac will highlight something that happened that day in history and how <\/em>The Nation <em>covered it.<\/em> <em>Get The Almanac every day (or every week) by signing up to the e-mail newsletter.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<footer>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>                Submit a correction<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>                Send a letter to the editor<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>                Reprints &amp; permissions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2><i>Support <\/i>The Nation<i>\u2019s June Fundraising Campaign<\/i><\/h2>\n<p>With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=250\">The Centuries-Long Struggle to Make the Constitution Equal for All<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn\u2019t \u201cthink about Americans\u2019 financial situation,\u201d millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-\u201cd\u201d populist ideas\u2014not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.<\/p>\n<p><i>The Nation<\/i> elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court\u2019s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.<\/p>\n<p><b>We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we\u2019re raising $20,000 to power <i>The Nation<\/i>\u2019s independent journalism in the run-up to November\u2019s immensely consequential elections.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you\u2019ll donate today.<\/p>\n<p>Onward, <\/p>\n<p><span>Katrina vanden Huevel<br \/>Editor and Publisher, <i><span>The Nation<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span> Richard Kreitner<svg>\n<\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span>Richard Kreitner is a contributing writer and the author of <em>Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America\u2019s Imperfect Union<\/em>. His writings are at richardkreitner.com.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=248\">Trump Wants You Talking About His Manners\u2014Not His Election Lies<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span> The Almanac<\/span>Today in history\u2014and how\u00a0<em>The Nation<\/em> covered it.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p><input\/><br \/>\n<input\/><br \/>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<p>Ad Policy<br \/>\n<!-- <a class=\"inifiniteLoader\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/new_infi_loader.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a> -->\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nation Magazine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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