Beginning of Prague Spring

Date: January 5, 1968 • Location: Staré Město, Czech Republic

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1968–1969.

Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the "Prague Spring".

Alexander Dubček was a Slovak statesman who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) from January 1968 to April 1969 and as Chairman of the Federal Assembly from 1989 to 1992 following the Velvet Revolution. He oversaw significant reforms to the communist system during a period that became known as the Prague Spring, but his reforms were reversed and he was eventually sidelined following the Warsaw Pact invasion in August 1968.