World: THEY MIGHT AS WELL BE GHOSTS

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THE peremptory summons from Moscow gave barely 24 hours' notice and demanded the strictest secrecy. Not even the flag flying over Hradcany Castle—a sign that the President is in residence—was permitted to be lowered. Most residents of Prague consequently assumed that all was normal. In fact, Czechoslovak's President Ludvik Svoboda and Party Chief Alexander Dubcek, along with three other leaders, had flown hurriedly to the Ukrainian city of Kiev for their fourth summit meeting with Soviet Communist Party Boss Leonid Brezhnev since the Russian invasion. Only after the session ended last week were Czechoslovaks informed that it had been held. That fact, and the manner in which the meeting was convened, constituted bleak proof that Czechoslovakia remained an uneasy prey to Russia's whims.

Brezhnev had several matters on his mind. Mostly, he wanted to talk about a meeting of the Czechoslovak Central Committee to be held later in the week to decide the fate of the country's liberal economic program that once was an integral part of Dubcek's now defunct reforms. Czechoslovakia's economy is in deep trouble; productivity has lagged far behind wage increases, and prices are in a wild upward spiral (120% for furniture, 60% for clothing). Russia, which aims to fasten the nation's industry more securely than ever to its own economic needs, last week proffered a sizable hard-currency loan. As usual, Soviet help would come with plenty of strings.

Ticket in Pocket. The Russians demanded that a large chunk of the loan go to heavy industry, even though the Czechoslovaks had planned to give primary attention to consumer and light industries. The Russians also ruled out expanded trade with the West. Moreover, Brezhnev demanded the ouster of two key liberals: National Assembly President Josef Smrkovsky and Ota Sik, the architect of Czechoslovakia's economic reforms, who retains a seat on the Central Committee despite his self-imposed exile in Switzerland since Russia's invasion. As he was about to fly home for the meeting last week (''He had his ticket in his pocket," said a Swiss official), Sik was warned that he faced disciplinary measures under a new order to "investigate" political figures who live abroad.

To Czechoslovaks loyal to Dubcek's liberal team, the composition of the delegation to Kiev was itself a source of discouragement. Gustav Husak and Lubomir Strougal, party chiefs for the nation's Slovak and Czech peoples, are both "realists" who have enjoyed more prominence under the Russians than they did under an independent Dubcek, and Premier Oldfich Cernik who quickly became adept at compromising with Moscow. There were rumors that Dubcek may soon be given a purely honorific job. That could happen after the federal-socialist state comes into being on Jan. 1, with separate Czech and Slovak governments under an umbrella government in Prague. At that time, the Russians may seek to impose several important personnel changes.