Circular Despatches of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1969–1980. Vol. III (1981–1985)

The third part – in reality sixth volume – of the project of former "secret" Circular instructions and information of the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the years of the communist period brings a critical edition of more than 920 relevant documents from the years 1981–1985. From the chronological point of view, documents from the third quarter of the so-called normalization – regime in CSSR are published in this volume. The atmosphere of this period was marked significantly by the effects of the so-called Second Cold War, which was definitively started by the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan at the end of 1979.  Czechoslovakia's position has also been greatly affected by the crisis in neighbouring Poland, most notably the declaration of a state of emergency there by general W. Jaruzelski at the end of 1981. The deployment of new Soviet missiles with nuclear warheads in Czechoslovakia in the years 1983–1984 was also a manifestation of the militarisation of international relations. While the emergence of a new party leader, M. S. Gorbachov, in the USSR in march 1985 hinted the possibility of change in the foreign policy area, it was not until the following period that he emerged into concrete international politics.