Zealots and Rebels

Fülszöveg

In May of 1956, Czech leaders unveiled an enormous statue of Stalin in Prague. In spring of 1968, the Czech government announced the reforms that began the experiment in Socialism with a Human Face. These two events typify the history of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia—on the one hand, unswerving loyalty to what was perceived as the current Soviet line; and on the other, a commitment to some traditions of Western liberalism. In the interwar period, the Czechoslovak party combined attempts to implement the decrees of the Third Internadonal with efforts to function successfully in the open society that. characterized Eastern Europe's only democracy. In the postwar period, the Czech party heartily supported Stalinism, even long after Soviet leaders had discarded it; yet for a brief period, the party restored a degree of genuine freedom. This alternate acquiescence and resistance to Soviet dominadon is the basis for this review of the Czechoslovak communist movement—the first... Tovább

Fülszöveg

In May of 1956, Czech leaders unveiled an enormous statue of Stalin in Prague. In spring of 1968, the Czech government announced the reforms that began the experiment in Socialism with a Human Face. These two events typify the history of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia—on the one hand, unswerving loyalty to what was perceived as the current Soviet line; and on the other, a commitment to some traditions of Western liberalism. In the interwar period, the Czechoslovak party combined attempts to implement the decrees of the Third Internadonal with efforts to function successfully in the open society that. characterized Eastern Europe's only democracy. In the postwar period, the Czech party heartily supported Stalinism, even long after Soviet leaders had discarded it; yet for a brief period, the party restored a degree of genuine freedom. This alternate acquiescence and resistance to Soviet dominadon is the basis for this review of the Czechoslovak communist movement—the first comprehensive history of the Czechoslovak party written in the West.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zdenek Suda was graduated from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, (M.A. in economics and international studies) and Charles University of Prague (Ph.D. in Sociology). He is currently Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburg. Besides numerous journal ardcles and newspaper reports, he is the author of The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and La Division international socialiste du travail.
Richard F. Staar, general editor of the Histories of Ruling Communist Parties series, is Director of International Studies at the Hoover Institution. His most recent publications include the third revised edition of Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe (1977) and the 1980 Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, which he edited. Vissza