<P> In the early 1960s, Czechoslovakia underwent an economic downturn . The Soviet model of industrialization applied poorly to Czechoslovakia . Czechoslovakia was already quite industrialized before World War II and the Soviet model mainly took into account less developed economies . Novotný's attempt at restructuring the economy, the 1965 New Economic Model, spurred increased demand for political reform as well . </P> <P> As the strict regime eased its rules, the Union of Czechoslovak Writers cautiously began to air discontent, and in the union's gazette, Literární noviny, members suggested that literature should be independent of Party doctrine . In June 1967, a small fraction of the Czech writer's union sympathized with radical socialists, specifically Ludvík Vaculík, Milan Kundera, Jan Procházka, Antonín Jaroslav Liehm, Pavel Kohout and Ivan Klíma . A few months later, at a party meeting, it was decided that administrative actions against the writers who openly expressed support of reformation would be taken . Since only a small part of the union held these beliefs, the remaining members were relied upon to discipline their colleagues . Control over Literární noviny and several other publishing houses was transferred to the Ministry of Culture, and even members of the party who later became major reformers--including Dubček--endorsed these moves . </P> <P> The Prague Spring (Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II . It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms . </P> <P> The Prague Spring reforms were a strong attempt by Dubček to grant additional rights to the citizens of Czechoslovakia in an act of partial decentralization of the economy and democratization . The freedoms granted included a loosening of restrictions on the media, speech and travel . After national discussion of dividing the country into a federation of three republics, Bohemia, Moravia - Silesia and Slovakia, Dubček oversaw the decision to split into two, the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic . This was the only formal change that survived the end of Prague Spring, though the relative success of the nonviolent resistance undoubtedly prefigured and facilitated the peaceful transition to liberal democracy with the collapse of Soviet hegemony in 1989 . </P>

Prague spring involved the warsaw pact invasion of