How was the 1968 trouble in prague different from hungary 1956?

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1. moravianhawk says

   Czechoslovakian crisis was process started by highest officials of the communist party and it needed momentum to gain popular support. The momentum was achieved when communist party revoked censorship. Czechoslovakian reform process was ongoing project that started with in the middle of the 1960's by leftist cultural front and intellectual, and was looked sceptically by blue collar workers and Slovaks. Prague spring was also Slovakian national revival movement against centralized Czechoslovakia, and creation of federation was only one event that was eventually left by Brezhnev in order to weaken Czechoslovakia and pit Czechs and Slovaks against each other. Brezhnev faced different dilemma in Czechoslovakia. It was friendly state, but surrounded by hostile communist regimes of Poland and East Germany that wanted to invade. Czechoslovak reform movement could not be suppressed immediately and it was exploding violently between August 1968 and 1969 when most of the deaths occurred.
   Hungarian revolution was anticommunist and antisoviet revolt. It also had sign of civil war as various fractions attempted to side a power. It was reactionary revolution happening in hostile country as was perceived by majority of the Soviets. Hungary was occupied country since 1944 and communist regime was hostile occupation force. The storming of Budapest had not changed the balance of power in Europe nor had created any significant reaction from the West. Hungary was surrounded by either communist countries, Yugoslavia, and neutral Austria. Red Army had not achieved much from redistributing conventional forces there. Czechoslovakia was different. Red Army had left in 1945 (together with USA army that was in western Bohemia) and no foreign troops were there till 1968. Invading Czechoslovakia gave Red Army an opportunity to build bases within proximity of the West Germany and having much of Bavaria and central Germany within firing range of conventional weapons just behind the Iron Curtain. This made West Germany and NATO more sensitive toward changing the balance of power within Central Europe. It strengthened bargaining power of USSR.
   Last issue for Brezhnev was a power of mass media. Revolution in Hungary had not received much coverage. It was isolated conflict in internationally isolated country in time, where TV had just appeared in households of the Europeans. Prague Spring happened in country that was already well opened to West and its media was fully integrated with them. The sight of tanks in streets of Prague could be immediately broadcasted to every household around the world as TV was already norm in the 1960's. The international condemnation was swift and permanent. USSR could not hide behind the propaganda. For that reason, Czechoslovakian crisis lasted two year and was not resolved until the end of the 1969, when all reformists were purged one by one from all the level of the government

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