1968: Dubček, martyred by the “Brezhnev Doctrine”

Détente was suspended when the Soviet Union and allies invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968 to stop the reforms of the regime of Alexander Dubček, which had freed the media and introduced elements of democratisation. Brezhnev defended his decision by asserting that saving socialism must take precedence over respect for national sovereignty. This became known as the “Brezhnev Doctrine”, which took an important place in the Helsinki negotiations as Western officials insisted on excluding it from Final Act, thereby denying the Soviet Union special rights in Eastern Europe (see Appendix C).