SOVIET TREATMENT OF CZECHOSLOVAK LEADERS IN MOSCOW

Created: 10/1/1968

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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soviet treatment of czechoslovak leaders in moscow

FIELD NO.

ACQ SOUBCE

1. during the moscow meetings with czechoslovak leaders fromougust

cpsu secretary general leonid brezhnev, who did most of the talking, latantly rude and hectoring attitude toward the prague leaders, including president ludvik svoboda. at the first meeting, which was held with svoboda alone, brezhnev handedaper containing the listew czechoslovak government as chosen by moscow. 4HHHHLHHHHL1 comment: source did not learn which names

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APPEARED ON THE LIST EXCEPT FOR THAT OF SVOBODA, WHO WOULD REMAIN AS PRESIDENT.) THOUGH TREATED BRUSQUELY AND DISCOURTEOUSLY BY BREZHNEV, SVOBODA IMMEDIATELY TORE THE PAPER IN TWO AND SAID THAT HE WOULD NOT CONFER FURTHER UNLESS HIS CZECHOSLOVAK COLLEAGUES WERE PERMITTED TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS. ONLY AFTER THIS MEETING WAS CZECHOSLOVAK PARTY FIRST SECRETARY ALEXANDER DUBCEK BROUGHT TO MOSCOW FROM MUKACHEVO IN THE SOVIET CARPATHO-UKRAINE, WHERE HE HAD BEEN FLOWN BY SOVIET SECURITY OFFICERS FOR SAFEKEEPING.

DURING THE SECOND MEETING, WHICH WAS ATTENDED BY NINE SOVIETS AND ALL ELEVEN CZECHOSLOVAK LEADERS, THE PROCEEDINGS BECAME SO HEATED THAT BREZHNEV SUFFERED TWO SEIZURES AND WAS COMPELLED TO WITHDRAW BRIEFLY FROM THE MEETING, RETURNING EACH TIME AFTER AN INTERVAL.

THE SOVIETS WERE ASTOUNDED AT THE SOLIDARITY OF THEDELEGATION, WHICH REMAINED COMPLETELY UNANIMOUS IN ITSTHROUGHOUT THE MEETING. THE MOST OUTSPOKEN WAS PREMIER OLDRICH CERNIK, WHO BLASTED THE SOVIETS FOR THROWING AWAY FIFTY YEARS OF SOCIALISM AND CZECHOSLOVAK FRIENDSHIP BY THEIR ACT OFHIS COUNTRY. SVOBODA AND DUBCEK ALSO SPOKE UP WITH VIGOR.

5 THE SOVIETS HAD CLEARLY HOPED TO DIVIDE THE DELEGATION ALONG NATION-4

3 ALITY AND OTHER LINES, BUT WERE COMPLETELY UNSUCCESSFUL.

PAGE f 3 PAGtS

when the czechoslovak leaders returned to prague, all of them were psychologically shaken by the moscow ordeal. the worst of the lot was dubcek, who had suffered an unidentified head injury and was virtuallytate of physical and mental collapse.

B "give un and let me go out and shoot those russian bastards."

5. field dissem: xone.

Original document.

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