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255 Document No. 42: Brezhnev’s Speech to CPCz CC Politburo April 7, 1981 Leonid Brezhnev’s visit to Prague on the occasion of the XVI Congress of the Czechoslovak communist party came as a surprise to virtually every outside observer . No other Warsaw Pact leaders were expected to attend, and the elderly Brezhnev had not addressed a foreign party congress since 1975. Naturally, his presence prompted widespread speculation about his reasons for being there, which may have included a desire to remind the Poles of the outcome of the Prague Spring of 1968, the last major socio-political outbreak in the Eastern bloc. Although he referred to those events explicitly in his public remarks to the Congress, his main emphasis was on nuclear weapons, not Poland, which also puzzled many experts. But in his private comments to the CPCz Politburo, reproduced below, he spoke more directly about the Solidarity crisis, which he described as “the matter which is disturbing us all first and foremost.” Nonetheless, his language remained moderate as he reiterated that for the time being it would be left to the Poles to resolve their own problems. […] I am sincerely glad that I have the opportunity once again to meet with you. It is always pleasant to see old friends again. It is all the more pleasant when they are healthy and of good cheer. Your congress is interesting—considerable and at the same time principled, substantive and self-critical. I think that you have built a reliable basis for successful work in the future. You have an action program. Communists and workers are resolved to accomplish the plans of the party. I know that you also have difficult problems. Do not consider that, however, to be only your privilege. The socialist states entered the 1980s stronger in all aspects. That is an irreversible reality. But the tasks which are facing us are more difficult than before. For all of us the main front is the economic one. And that is where everything is focused on the need to increase production efficiency, improve the level of management and learn to economize better. We can say that this is the common result of our conferences. It is good that we are approaching the solution of the problem of economic intensification from a uniform viewpoint—from the viewpoint of the maximal exploitation of production potential by each fraternal party and at the same time of unifying our efforts in the production and scientific and technological areas. If we judge Czechoslovak–Soviet cooperation just from this viewpoint, we can rightly express satisfaction. I have evaluated our relations more than once. 256 They are indestructible, firm, founded on the unshakable foundations of Marxism –Leninism and proletarian internationalism. I especially want to stress that we highly regard the relations which have been created between the leaders of our parties, and also our relations with comrade Husák. […] Now, to the matter which is disturbing us all first and foremost—the situation in Poland. I will not speak here about the facts of the situation in that country; you know them as well as we do. The situation, it may be said without exaggeration, is critical. This concerns both politics and the economy as well. However the latter is the result of the former: incorrect policies have also brought the economy to the verge of collapse. To the extent that the actions of the opposition, that is Solidarity and the counter-revolutionaries and enemies of socialism who inspire it, are vigorous and well-thought out in terms of organization and propaganda, to the same extent the actions of the PUWP leadership and Polish government are indecisive and powerless. You know, comrades, that on March 4, after our congress ended, we met with representatives of the Polish leadership and once again we told them directly that the situation is becoming dangerous. We recommended quite emphatically that they finally take decisive action against the counter-revolution. After that, in March I had several more talks with Comrade Kania by telephone during which I presented the same ideas and I pointed out new facts arising from developments. And recently, in April, we had some contact with the Polish leadership. We strongly recommend that the Polish authorities pursue an active and offensive course in internal policy; we directly, boldly and plainly made clear to everyone the situation in the country, its causes, and ways out of the crisis proposed by the party and government in the interests...

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