challenges to soviet control - Hungary 1956

• Background of Hungary:

  • controlled by Russa since 1945
  • death of Stalin brought people to hope for freedom and change
  • traditionally a conservative nation with strong Catholic Church and military tradition
• The Rakosi Government:

  • Rakosi became PM and leading anti-communist leaders were in prison or had fled
  • Rakosi was unliked by fellow communists due to his Moscow connection and training
  • had leading ‘Titoist’ in party executed (1949)
  • challenged position of Catholic Church → widely hated by ordinary Hungarians
  • purged all public institutions of non-communists; 2k executed and 200k imprisoned by 1952
• Causes of Hungarian Revolution:

  • Khrushchev’s policy of de-Stalinisation caused issues where people hated hard-line Stalinist regimes enforced by Russia
  • Hungarians were patriotic and hated Russian control (secret police, economic and educational control, censorship)
  • Hungarians were religious and thought that the UN or Eisenhower would help
  • Rakosi forced to resign and replaced by Nagy who was acceptable to the USSR and Hungarian Communists
• Imre Nagy:

  • orthodox communist; believed that communism should be modified to Hungarian conditions
  • signed Warsaw Pact in 1955
• October 1956 in Hungary:

  • Nagy met with demonstrators and agreed with their critiism of the Hungarian Communist Party and USSR
  • appeared to democratise Hungary → Red Army tried to seize control of Budepest
  • street fights broke out and Nagy called on Soviet forces to withdraw (occurred after 10 days)
  • Nagy tried to reassure the USSR
  • students, workers and soldiers attacked the AVH (secret police force), Russian soldiers and a statue of Stalin
• Nagy makes some changes:

  • requested Khrushchev to move Russian troops outs → Russian army pulled out of Budapest (28 October 1956)
  • new Hungarian government introduced democracy, freedom of speech and religion
  • leader of Catholic Church freed from prison
• November 1956 in Hungary:

  • Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the Warsaw Pact (3 November 1956)
  • 1000 Russian tanks rolled into Budapest, destroyed Hungarian army and captured Hungarian Radio (4 November 1956)
  • Hungarians (including children) fought with machine guns → 4k killed
  • Khrushchev put Janos Kadar as PM (Russian supporter)
• Effects of the Hungarian Revolution:

  • thousands of Hungarians arresred and imprisoned
  • 200k Hungarians fled to Russia
  • Russia stayed in control behind Iron Curtain
  • polarisation of Cold War - people in the West horrified, many communists left the Communit Party and Western leaders more determined to contain communism
• Effects of Hungarian Uprising:

  • Soviet control over Eastern Europe brutally and pubicly reasserted
  • Kadar government formed (orthodox communist)
  • US failed to intervene → would not risk war
  • Western Europe (absorbed in crisis in Egypt) shown unwilling to help without US support
  • UN (Nagy appealed to for help) shown powerless in Superpower crisis
  • Western communists dismayed and left their national parties in the following years
  • limits of the thaw clearly demonstrated
• Reasons for Khrushchev’s actions in Hungary:

  • Nagy’s decision to leave the Warsaw Pact
  • China asked Russia to act to stop Communist being damaged
  • Nagy lost control as Hungary was turning capitalist
  • hard-liners in Russia forced Khrushchev to act
  • Khrushevly knew that the West would not help