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The Contradiction Apparent

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Nationalism and Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union

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Abstract

The previous four chapters have argued that because of Communism’s inability to come to terms with nationalism an ever-widening gap between national political cultures and Communist ways was opened up, which manifested itself in a cyclical pattern of action and reaction that centrifugally pulled the regimes ever farther from legitimacy. Although there were some observers, even Party elites, who were conscious of this phenomenon at the time (especially after the events of 1956), it was not until the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 that the antagonistic nature of the contradiction between nationalism and Communism became apparent for all to see.

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Notes

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© 1999 Walter A. Kemp

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Kemp, W.A. (1999). The Contradiction Apparent. In: Nationalism and Communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230375253_6

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