Czechoslovak Hockey Riots (1969)
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The Czechoslovak Hockey Riots were a short lived series of protests, mildly violent on occasion (several people were injured), that took place in response to a Ice Hockey World Championships game in 1969.
After Soviet invasion into Czechoslovakia political ideals of Prague Spring were slowly but steadily replaced by politics of accommodation to demands of Soviet Union. People in Czechoslovakia, unable to find other ways to express their opinion, reacted with few very visible but ultimately ineffective manifestations of disagreement.
On March 21 and 28, 1969, the Czechoslovak national ice-hockey team beat the Soviet team in the first round of the World Championships in Stockholm. Throughout Czechoslovakia, possibly 500,000 fans crowded the streets of their cities to celebrate the win.[1] In some places, particularly Prague, the celebrations turned to protests against the Soviet military who continued to occupy the country after the Warsaw Pact invasion the previous August. While the majority of these demonstrations were peaceful, some turned violent as protesters attacked Soviet military units. In Prague, protesters ransacked the Soviet Aeroflot office, though some have suggested they were encouraged by State Security agents.
The protests were suppressed by Czechoslovak military and police, now under full control of the hardliners from the Communist Party. The events were used as a pretext to oust remaining leaders symbolizing Prague Spring from power. Among them, Alexander Dubček was forced to resign as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, to be replaced by Gustáv Husák who started politics of "normalisation".
No active protests against presence of Soviet troops had occurred afterwards, the society became entirely passive and accommodated the situation. During years of normalisation citizens of Czechoslovakia saw hockey matches with Soviet Union as quiet, symbolic way of protest. Police forces were regularly set on alert but never got a chance to be used.
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- ^ Williams, Kieran (1997). The Prague spring and its aftermath : Czechoslovak politics, 1968-1970. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58803-0.
