Czechoslovak-Soviet Relations, 1938-1945 – An Overview

This article examines the twists and turns of the relationship between the Communist Great Power and the political representation of an occupied country that was gradually establishing its provisional state apparatus in exile. The analysis proves that by the time the Second World War ended, Czechoslovakia had become a part of the emerging Soviet sphere of influence. That happened through a combination of concessions resulting from the Soviet pressure, and the conviction, on the part of the leading Czechoslovak political representatives, that Czechoslovakia, with its Munich experience, had to seek a new powerful strategic ally capable of providing a security guarantee against any repetition of German aggression.