Hello, I'm Mr. Marchin, and thank you for joining me for today's history lesson.

I'll be guiding you through all of our resources today, and my top priority is to make sure that by the end of our lesson, you're able to successfully meet our learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our unit on the transformation of the Cold War, where we've been asking ourselves, why did tensions ease by 1972? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the impact of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

There are four key words which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are doctrine, anti-socialist, sphere of influence and deterred.

A doctrine is a statement of government policy.

The word anti-socialist refers to actions which are considered hostile towards or inconsistent with communist beliefs.

A sphere of influence is a region of the world in which one state is dominant, and the word deterred means to make someone less likely to do something or to make something less likely to happen.

Today's lesson will be split into two parts, and we'll begin by asking ourselves, what was the Brezhnev doctrine? In 1968, 500,000 troops from Warsaw Pact states led by the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia.

The invasion occurred despite the fact that Czechoslovakia was also a member of the Warsaw Pact.

In September, 1968, Leonid Brezhnev set out his justification for the invasion in an article for Pravda, the official newspaper of the Soviet Communist Party.

The ideas in the article became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine.

In his article written in Pravda in September, 1968, Leonid Brezhnev wrote that the peoples of socialist countries certainly do have freedom for determining how to advance their own countries.

However, none of their decisions should damage either socialism in their country or the fundamental interests of other socialist countries.

This means that each Communist party is responsible not only to its own people, but also to all socialist countries to the entire communist movement.

The independence of each socialist country cannot be opposed to the interest of the world of socialism.

Anti-socialist groups in Czechoslovakia planned to withdraw from the socialist community.

To help the people of Czechoslovakia and to defend their own socialist gains, the USSR and the other socialist states had to act decisively, and they did act against the anti-socialist forces in Czechoslovakia.

So it holds for us to think about what was said in the Brezhnev Doctrine in just a little bit more detail.

So we've got some extracts from that doctrine on the screen, in it, I've highlighted a couple of key passages, for example, where Brezhnev wrote about having the freedom for determining how to advance their own countries.

In this, Brezhnev was claiming that all communist states were independent.

However, he goes on to say that then decisions should not damage either socialism in their own country or the fundamental interests of other socialist countries.

And this is important because it means that Brezhnev was arguing that there were higher priorities than independence for communist states, and that these were maintaining communism and protecting other communist states.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that says, the Brezhnev Doctrine stated that individual communist states had no independence.

Is that statement true or false? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that it said, the peoples of socialist countries certainly do have freedom for determining how to advance their own countries.

And the second says that it said each Communist party is responsible not only to its own people, but also to the entire communist movement.

So which one of those two justifications is best for showing that our original statement was false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the best and correct justification was A, it said the peoples of socialist countries certainly do have freedom for determining how to advance their own countries.

So this was where the Brezhnev doctrine did acknowledge that individual communist states were independent.

And let's try another question.

What claim did Brezhnev make about the independence of individual communist countries? Was it that national independence was more important than maintaining communism at home and abroad? That national independence was equally important to maintaining communism at home and abroad, or that national independence was less important than maintaining communism at home and abroad? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was, C the Brezhnev doctrine said that national independence was less important, the maintaining communism at home and abroad.

And so now we can return to some of our extracts from Brezhnev doctrine.

And I want us to pay particular attention to similar passages where the doctrine talked about anti-socialist groups in Czechoslovakia and them trying to withdraw from the socialist community.

This suggests that the Prague Spring was anti-communist.

Furthermore, the doctrine went on to talk about countries like the USSR having to defend their own socialist gains that this is significant because it tells us the invasion was defensive, really tries to flip the idea that it was an aggressive action by the Warsaw Pact member states.

And where Brezhnev then went on to say that these countries had to act decisively.

Well, here he's telling us that the military response to reforms in Czech Slovakia was necessary.

They had to do something and it had to be decisive.

So this was a clear future warning about the necessity of military action in such circumstances.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

What key keyword did Brezhnev use to describe the reforms made in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was anti-Socialist.

Brezhnev described the reforms made in Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring as anti-socialist.

In other words, he was saying that they were challenging communism in the country.

And let's try another question.

What was the overall attitude at the Brezhnev doctrine towards reform in individual communist states? Was it that it opposed reforms, that it neither opposed nor supported reforms or that it supported reforms? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A, the Brezhnev doctrine effectively opposed reforms taking place in individual communist states because it suggested that anything that one communist state did would affect all others and that it should never act by itself.

And that if it did, this could be interpreted as anti-socialist, a threat to others, and that they might have to react decisively or in the case of Czechoslovakia, decisively meant with military force.

So we are now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about what the Brezhnev doctrine was into practise.

For Task A, I want you to do two things.

Firstly, I want you to provide a quotation for the Brezhnev doctrine, which demonstrates that the USSR opposed the Prague Spring.

And then for the second part of Task A, we have a statement that says The Brezhnev doctrine supported the right of independent communist states to make the reforms they wanted to.

How can you tell that this statement is inaccurate? Your answer should include quotations from the Brezhnev doctrine.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So for the first part of Task A, I asked you to provide a quotation from the Brezhnev doctrine, which demonstrates that the SSR opposed the Prague Spring.

And your answer may have included that anti-socialist groups in Czechoslovakia plan to withdraw from the socialist community.

This is a really clear quote, and we can tell that it opposes the Prague Spring because it frames it as an anti-socialist event, as something that was challenging communism in the country.

And so now we can think about the second part of Task A where we had this statement, the Brezhnev doctrine supported the right of independent communist states to make the reforms they wanted to.

And I asked how you could tell that that statement was inaccurate.

Your answer may have included, the statement is inaccurate because the Brezhnev doctrine argued there were things more important than the independence of individual communist states.

The doctrine claimed that every communist country needed to be ruled in a way that protected communism and did not negatively impact other communist states.

For example, Brezhnev said that the independence of each socialist country cannot be opposed to the interests of the world of socialism.

This meant that no communist country should introduce reforms in their own country which others considered anti-socialist.

So really well done, especially if your own answer looked something like that model, which we've just seen.

And so now we can move on to the second part of today's lesson where we are going to focus on the consequences of the Brezhnev doctrine.

Czechoslovakia had already been invaded by the USSR and other members of the Warsaw Pact by the time the Brezhnev doctrine was published, the invasion and doctrine had major consequences for the USSR's relations with other communist states.

The Brezhnev doctrine helped the USSR to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the reversal of the Prague Spring reforms and Dubček's removal from power in early 1969.

In doing so, the Brezhnev doctrine also helped to reinforce the idea of a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, whilst making it clear that all member countries had to remain part of the Warsaw Pact.

The Brezhnev Doctrine deterred any attempts at reform that threatened to weaken communism.

And the invasion of Czechoslovakia sent a clear message that the Soviet Union was prepared to use force to be in control over its satellites in Eastern Europe.

This hardline approach was welcomed by some countries, especially the leaders of East Germany and Poland.

In both of these countries, the government had faced pressure from some groups of reformers.

The Brezhnev of doctrine provided a clear rationale for rejecting calls for reform and helped East German and Polish leaders to feel that their power was still secure whilst doing so, these leaders understood that the doctrine meant that if reformers tried to take power away from them, then the USSR would intervene on their behalf.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of everything we've just heard.

Which conclusion about the Brezhnev doctrine is most accurate? That it showed the USSR was no longer interested in maintaining its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, that it showed the USSR was willing to use economic pressure to maintain its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, or that it showed the USSR was willing to use military force to maintain its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Oka, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was, C, the Brezhnev doctrine and the invasion of Czechoslovakia made it clear that the USSR was willing to use military force to maintain its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

And let's try another question.

This time I want you to change one word to correct the following sentence, which reads the Brezhnev doctrine, an invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraged reforms in Soviet satellite states.

So consider which one of those words seems to be incorrect and what should it be changed to? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the incorrect word in this sentence was encouraged.

And who changed it to deterred, the Brezhnev doctrine and invasion of Czechoslovakia deterred reforms in Soviet satellite states.

The invasion of Czechoslovakia had a negative impact on the Soviet Union's relationships with some other communist countries.

For example, it led to increased tension with China, which had been a communist state since Mao Zedong took power in 1949.

Despite both states being communist, rivalry had developed between the two.

Many in China were concerned about what they regarded as Soviet aggression against a fellow communist country.

And it increased fears that the Soviet Union might invade China in the same way, several communist countries in Europe also criticised the Soviet Union's actions.

Albania left the Warsaw Pact in protest whilst President Ceaușescu of Romania refused to send troops to take part in invasion of Czechoslovakia and increasingly took an independent line from the USSR thereafter.

After condemning the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Romania joined Yugoslavia in moving further away from the Soviet Union by making formal alliances with China instead.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Which country left the Warsaw Pact in protest at the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia? Was it Albania, Czechoslovakia, East Germany or Poland? Pause the video here in press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said the correct answer was A, Albania left the Warsaw Pact in protest at the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

And let's try one more question.

This time we have a statement that reads, Romania made new alliances with states other than the USSR in response to Brezhnev doctrine, an invasion of Czechoslovakia.

So is that statement true or false? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was true, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that although it remained in the Warsaw Pact, Romania made a new alliance with China, a major Soviet rival.

And the second says that although it remained in the Warsaw Pact, Romania made a new alliance with the USA, a major Soviet rival.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A, although it remained in the Warsaw Pact, Romania made a new alliance with China, a major Soviet rival and another communist state.

So we're now in a good position for all of our knowledge about the consequences of the Brezhnev doctrine into practise.

To what extent did the Brezhnev Doctrine strengthen the USSR's control over other communist countries in Eastern Europe? And you need to explain your answer.

You may wish to consider the following countries as part of your answer, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Poland.

So pause the video here and press play when you are ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you, to what extent did the Brezhnev Doctrine strengthen the USSR's control of other communist countries in Eastern Europe? And I asked you to explain your answer.

So your response may have included The Brezhnev doctrine was important for helping to strengthen Soviet control over its satellite states in Eastern Europe.

The doctrine made it clear that the USSR would not tolerate reforms that weakened communism or which threatened the Warsaw Pact.

After the invasion of she Slovakia in August, 1968 and the publication at the Brezhnev Doctrine in September, 1968, the risks of challenging Soviet power in Eastern Europe were made clear.

Consequently, it could be argued that the Brezhnev doctrine helped to increase Soviet control over its satellite states by putting a strong deterrent in place against any challenges.

However, the Brezhnev doctrine did lead to a deterioration in relations between the USSR and some communist states in Eastern Europe.

For example, Romania, Albania, and Yugoslavia all opposed the threat the doctrine made to the independence of individual communist states and worried that it might be used to justify attacks against them.

Albania even officially withdrew from the Warsaw Pact as a form of protest.

Meanwhile, both Yugoslavia and Romania forged closer relations with China in preference to the USSR, making it harder for the Soviets to control them.

So really well done if your own response looks something similar to that model there, especially if you managed to refer to a range of different communist countries in Eastern Europe, such as Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland and East Germany.

And so now we've reached the end of today's lesson which puts us in a good position to summarise all of our learning about the Brezhnev doctrine.

We've seen that the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, published the Brezhnev Doctrine to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The Brezhnev doctrine stated that challenges to communism in one state would threaten all communist states and could not be accepted.

The Brezhnev doctrine and invasion of Czechoslovakia deterred reforms and challenges to the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and the USSR's relationship with some communist countries like Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, and China was damaged by the Brezhnev doctrine.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you through our resources and I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about the transformation of the Cold War and continue to ask ourselves, why did tensions ease by 1972?.