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Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968 was a public address byNicolae Ceaușescu,General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and President of theState Council of Romania, strongly condemning theWarsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. On the night of 20–21 August 1968, fourWarsaw Pact nations (theSoviet Union, Bulgaria,Hungary andPoland) invadedCzechoslovakia in an effort to quell thereformist ideology ofAlexander Dubček, the First Secretary of theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia.
On 21 August, in what became one of his most well-known speeches,[1] Ceaușescu denounced the invasion in a public address before 100,000 people inPalace Square inBucharest, calling the invasion a "grave error" that "constituted a serious danger to peace in Europe and for the prospects of world socialism".[2] His address was perceived as a gesture of disobedience towards the Soviet Union both at home and abroad. The speech was part of the Romanian government's efforts since 1956 to assert its independence fromMoscow.
Ceaușescu's response consolidated Romania's independent voice in the next two decades, with Ceaușescu encouraging the population to take up arms to meet any similar maneuver in the country. He received an enthusiastic initial response, with many people willing to enroll in the newly-formed paramilitaryPatriotic Guards.[citation needed]
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