The initiator of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, former member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Vasil Bilyak, died in Slovakia. This was reported by the Associated Press with reference to the Slovak Communist Party.

Biljak died on Tuesday, February 4, in Bratislava. He was 96 years old. Nothing has been reported about the cause of death.

Biljak was part of a group of five Czechoslovak communists who in 1968 turned to the USSR for help in repealing the liberal reforms of the then leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek. The remaining authors of the letter to then Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev asking for military assistance are no longer alive.

Related materials:

Yesterday there were Russian tanks, today there are Russian banks How the Czechs feel about Russia 45 years after the entry of troops into Prague August 23, 2013

The purpose of the operation of the Warsaw Pact countries was to end anti-communist unrest, remove supporters of reforms in the leadership of Czechoslovakia and restore the influence of the USSR there. More than 100 people became victims of the events of 1968.

Slovak prosecutors tried to bring Biljak to justice for his role in the events of 1968. However, in 2011 the case against him was closed due to lack of evidence.

The initiator of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia died