Soviet-Czechoslovak Agreements

Diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Czechoslovakia on June 9, 1934. A temporary treaty on the establishment of commercial and economic relations, concluded on June 5, 1922, marked Czechoslovakia’s de facto recognition of the RSFSR. A treaty of mutual assistance was concluded on May 16, 1935. At the insistence of the Czechoslovak government, a protocol on the signing of the treaty stipulated that the treaty would go into force only if France gave assistance to the victim of aggression. Following the Munich Pact of 1938 and the occupation of Czechoslovakia by fascist Germany in March 1939, the Soviet Union refused to recognize the end of Czechoslovakia’s independence.

On July 18, 1941, the Soviet Union concluded an agreement with the Czechoslovak government-in-exile on joint action in the war against fascist Germany. Representatives of the supreme commands of the USSR and Czechoslovakia signed a military agreement on Sept. 27, 1941. The Soviet government granted funds to maintain and arm Czechoslovak forces on Soviet territory. A treaty of friendship, mutual assistance, and postwar cooperation was concluded (Dec. 12, 1943), as well as an agreement concerning relations between Soviet chief commanders and the Czechoslovak administration following the entry of Soviet forces into Czechoslovakia (May 8,1944).

In accordance with the desires of the people of the Transcarpathian Ukraine to be reunited with the Ukrainian SSR, a treaty on the Transcarpathian Ukraine was concluded on June 29,1945. Transcarpathia, which had become part of Czechoslovakia by the Treaty of St.-Germain (1919), became part of the Ukrainian SSR. After the restoration of Czechoslovakia’s independence, the two countries signed agreements on mutual deliveries of goods (Apr. 12,1946), trade and payments (Dec. 11, 1947), and scientific and technical cooperation (Dec. 11,1947).

The victory of the people of Czechoslovakia in February 1948 created a more solid basis for Soviet-Czechoslovak relations. An agreement was concluded on Dec. 14, 1948, granting a loan in gold to the Czechoslovak government. The USSR, Czechoslovakia, and other socialist countries created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) in January 1949 and signed the Warsaw Pact on May 14,1955.

The USSR and Czechoslovakia signed agreements on the construction of a main oil pipeline from the USSR to the Hungarian Peoples’ Republic through Czechoslovakia (Dec. 19, 1959), the construction of a high-voltage line on Soviet territory for the transmission of electricity to the Czechoslovak Republic (Mar. 7, 1960), technical cooperation in the construction of a metallurgical complex in East Slovakia (Mar. 31,1960), and mutual deliveries of goods (Apr. 28, 1960). Other agreements have dealt with the creation of an intergovernmental commission on economic, scientific, and technical cooperation (Nov. 27, 1963), the construction of a gas pipeline from the USSR to Czechoslovakia (Dec. 3, 1964), and cultural and scientific cooperation (Apr. 23, 1966; Feb. 28,1972).

On Oct. 16,1968, a treaty was signed on the temporary stationing of Soviet troops on Czechoslovak territory. The treaty guaranteed the security and socialist achievements of Czechoslovakia and protected the interests of all socialist states from the encroaching forces of imperialism and reaction. On May 6, 1970, the two countries signed a 20-year treaty of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance, confirming their adherence to the principles of the treaty of 1943. They agreed to expand cooperation on the basis of the socialist economic integration of the COMECON countries.

The USSR and Czechoslovakia have also signed a protocol on their aims for the coordination of national economic plans for the period 1976–80 (Aug. 21, 1975) and an agreement on trade and payments for the period 1976–80 (Nov. 21, 1975). A communiqué of Nov. 26, 1975, stressed the importance of the further expansion of ties between the CPSU and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.