Brezhnev Doctrine

The Brezhnev Doctrine was a policy established by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in the late 1960s. It asserted that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in countries within its sphere of influence if those nations threatened Communist rule or the interests of socialism. This doctrine justified military interventions, notably the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, to maintain control over Eastern Europe. Essentially, it meant that the Soviet Union would actively prevent any movements towards democracy or capitalism in these countries, aiming to uphold Communist governments.