Brezhnev-era defence minister
On 18 August 1968, at the Politburo meeting that finalised the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Grechko declared: 'the invasion will take place even if it leads to a third world war.'
A Civil War cavalry volunteer who rose through formal military education to become a field commander in the Second World War, leading the defence of the Caucasus, the liberation of Kyiv, and the advance on Prague. Appointed Minister of Defence in 1967, he presided over the largest conventional military buildup in Soviet history and was the principal planner and executor of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Elected a full member of the Politburo in 1973, he institutionalised the military's political weight within the Brezhnev leadership.
Career Timeline
- 1941–1945Rises as an army and front commander in the war, including Caucasus and Ukraine operations
- 1953–1957Commander of Soviet forces in East Germany
- 1957–1960Commander-in-chief of Soviet Ground Forces
- 1960–1967Commander-in-chief of Warsaw Pact forces
- 1967–1976Defense minister representing Brezhnev-era military expansion
Related historical events
The 1968 Invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Crushing of the Prague Spring
Grechko took office as Minister of Defence in April 1967; the following year he responded harshly to the 'Prague Spring' reform movement led by Alexander Dubček in Czechoslovakia. He was the principal planner and driving force behind the Warsaw Pact invasion of August 1968 (Operation Danube). At the Politburo meeting that authorised the intervention, Grechko reportedly declared that 'the invasion will take place even if it leads to a third world war.' He told subordinate commanders that 'Czechoslovakia is a friendly country. We are going to our brothers,' justifying the invasion. On the night of 20 August 1968, combined forces from the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and East Germany swept into Czechoslovakia, and Dubček's reform programme was crushed. Grechko maintained a hard line even after the invasion. In March 1969, when Czechoslovak crowds celebrated their national ice hockey team's victory over the USSR at the world championships, he denounced the outpouring as 'counter-revolutionary demonstrations,' summoned Czechoslovak Defence Minister Martin Dzúr, and subjected the leadership to furious pressure.