After continuous economic reforms under the more liberal administration of Kosygin the Eastern Bloc became more open to democratic ideals which were seeded during the revolutions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia two decades earlier and now had grown mature. In spite of the economic reforms, the Soviet Union was faced with increasing demands of greater political reforms and freedom of expression. This would pave way for the Invasion of Afghanistan in 1981 to aid the fledgling Communist government to retain power and recover instability in neighboring Soviet ally.