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After the Prague Spring, Gustav Husak replaced Alexander Dubček as the leader of Czech Communist Party. Husák did everything he could to reestablish Czechoslovakia as a commited member of the socialist bloc. A radical purge of Dubček’s supporters and general annulment of their reforms was the first step. In 1968, Constitutional Law of Federation turned the country into Czech and Slovak Socialistic Republic.
Economic enterprises that were given relative independence during the Prague Spring were once again state-controlled. The police power increased and free press was out of the question. Husak also stabilized Czechoslovakia’s relations with the other countries of the Eastern Bloc by arranging student exchanges and visits. He also directed the country’s foreign economics toward the socialist states.
In 1971, Husák reported at the Fourteenth Communist Party Congress, that the process of normalization had been completed. 1970s were characteristic for its economic growth and the consumer frenzy bleared the people’s visions. Exchanging personal freedom for goods was typical in the era of normalization.