Jan PELIKÁN 

Ondřej VOJTĚCHOVSKÝ 

Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia in the second half of the 1970s 

Abstract: The paper discusses the character and specific forms of the Czechoslovak-Yugoslav relations after 1974, when the two leftwing authoritarian regimes settled their dispute, which sprang up after the crushing of the Prague Spring. In addition to interstate and intergovernmental relations, another aspect that was examined is their economic cooperation. The paper is based on as yet unexplored archival sources.

Key words: Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, collaboration, distance, Eastern Bloc 

Summary: The author analyzes the character and specific forms of relations between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia after 1974, when the two left wing authoritarian regimes settled their dispute, which sprang up after the crushing of the Prague Spring. The authors studied how the two sides experienced the political, economic and social reality of the other state and what impressions they formed of prominent party and government officials. In addition to interstate and intergovernmental contacts, it discusses economic cooperation (unrealized plans to import workforce from Yugoslavia and plans for the expedited construction of the Adriatic oil pipeline); the importance of tourism in bilateral ties, as well as issues related to the emigration of Czechoslovak tourists to Western European countries via the SFRY. Another subject of the research is the attitude of Tito’s regime toward the activities of Czechoslovak dissidents and the effect that the activation of Yugoslav Cominformist emigrés had on the relations between the two leaderships. The paper is based on previously unexplored archival material.