The Moscow Protocol ( and , officially ''Protocol of the negotiations of the ČSSR and

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

delegations'') was a document signed by Czechoslovak political leaders in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, after the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. The negotiations took place from 23 to 26 August 1968. The main signatories were President

Ludvík Svoboda Ludvík Svoboda (; 25 November 1895 – 20 September 1979) was a Czech general and politician. He fought in both World Wars, for which he was regarded as a national hero,Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

Alexander Dubček Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovaks, Slovak statesman who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czech ...

, Prime Minister Oldřich Černík, Chairman of the National Assembly Josef Smrkovský and most of the ministers and Communist Party leaders (

Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák ( , ; ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak politician who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the President of Czechoslovakia from 1975 ...

among them). The only person present at the negotiations who declined to sign was František Kriegel. The document included among its many expectations, promises to protect socialism in Czechoslovakia, to act upon the promises made in the

Bratislava Declaration The Bratislava Declaration was the result of the conference held in Bratislava on 3 August 1968 by the representatives of the Communist and Worker's parties of People's Republic of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Hungarian People's Republic, Hungary, E ...

, to denounce the 14th Party Congress and its resolutions, to restrain critical Czechoslovak media, and to reject any interference in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

References

Treaties of the Soviet Union Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations 1968 in the Soviet Union Treaties concluded in 1968 Treaties of Czechoslovakia Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia {{Treaty-stub