The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the whims of Soviet power; by Iji O. Solomon. Cold War History
Research Center, Budapest Hungary
2012
The Cold War History Research Center
Corvinus University
Budapest Hungary
International Student Conference 2012
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Whims of Soviet
Power
Hungary’s place in the history of the Cold War is permanently stamped in its fight
for self determination as a free nation. Hungary made a revolutionary breakaway
struggle in 1956 form Soviet domination and the Warsaw Pact under the
government of Prime Minister Imre Nagy. This attempt was crushed by Soviet
forces in what has historically come to be known as the Hungarian Revolution of
1956. However such revolutionary struggles are historically not foreign to the
Hungarian people; Often spurred by other revolutions around Europe such at the
‘War of Spanish Succession’ in the early 1700’s and the French Revolution of 1848
which influenced Hungary’s “Lawful Revolution” of 18481.
The memorialization of Hungary’s Cold War History and communist past have as
matter of fact been very politicized in its representation in post-cold war
Hungarian politics2 , however its Cold War happenings is always an important
reference point in modern European politics.
A recent example was when British member of the European Parliament, Nigel
Farage3 made a point of how the Hungarian revolutionaries were the first to take
1
“This revolution, led by Lajos Kossuth, was crushed by the Hapsburgs with the use of Russian forces in 1849; but
aspirations for an independent Hungary eventually led to the agreement of 1867 which established the Dual
monarchy. From 1867, Austria and Hungary were linked only by the Hapsburg dynasty and by common ministries
of foreign affairs, war and finance. Francis Joseph (r. 1848-1916) and Charles (1916-18) were both simultaneously
Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.” Erwin A Schmidl, Laszlo Ritter. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956,
(OSPREY Publishing 2006), 4.
2
“ We do not understand that the very same party and government leaders who told us to learn from
books falsifying the history of the revolution, now vie with each other to touch these coffins as if they
were lucky charms.” Alliance of Young Democrats speaker, Viktor Orban at the reburial of Imre Nagy on
June 16th 1989, John Mason, “Hungary’s Battle for Memory,” HistoryToday (March 2000): 32, accessed (Print
Copy) May 30, 2012, doi: http://www.historytoday.com/john-mason/hungarys-battle-memory.
3
Nigel Farage is a member of the UK Independent Party ( UKIP) and a supporter of the Eurosceptic movement,
official website: http://nigelfaragemep.co.uk/
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the whims of Soviet power; by Iji O. Solomon. Cold War History
Research Center, Budapest Hungary
2012
up arms against Communist Russia during the Cold War4, more daring was that
Hungary had been under the Soviet sphere of influence during the cold war. This
statement was addressed to the then serving president of the European
Parliament, the Hungarian Prime Minister Mr. Viktor Orban.
In this paper I shall examine Cold War events in Europe leading up to the
Hungarian Revolution, the failure which is often attributed to the Suez Crisis and
other cold war international events.
Ousting of Matyas Rakosi in the process of de-Stalinization:
From 1948 to 1956 Hungary was ruled by a staunch Stalinist, Matyas Rakosi. The
regime of Matyas Rakosi had maintained close ties with Moscow, and used the
Hungarian State Security Department ( Allamvedelmi Osztaly, AVO) to maintain a
very harsh and repressive regime which imprisoned thousands of dissidents and
opposition, including communists5. However by 1953, Stalin was dead and the
new soviet leadership under the Fist Secretary of the Soviet Party, Nikita
Khrushchev was poised towards more liberal reforms6 in a process known as deStalinization.
Nikita Khrushchev at the death of Stalin had proposed that a special commission
be set up to look into the show trials of the 1930s under the leadership of Stalin7.
This special commission was headed by comrade Pyotr Pospelov a central
committee secretary of the Soviet party. The Pospelov commission (1955) from its
investigations into past documents and testimonies came up with a conclusive
document which stated that there was great number of evidence to show that
Stalin had unbelievable abused power8.
With the approval of the Central Committee Plenum, Nikita Khrushchev
presented the report before the 20th congress of the Soviet party which begun on
February the 14th 1954 till the 25th of February. The First Secretary termed the
crimes of Stalin as “the perishing of honest people and worker due to the abuses
4
YouTube EurActive, “Farage Urges Orban to Fight the E.U in the Name of Democracy.” Last modified January 20,
2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTVrncCG3NY.
5
.” Erwin A Schmidl, Laszlo Ritter. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, (OSPREY Publishing 2006), 7.
6
.” Erwin A Schmidl, Laszlo Ritter. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, (OSPREY Publishing 2006), 7.
7
Sergei Khrushchev, “From the Nineteenth Party Congress to the Twentieth.” Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev (
Volume 2 Reformer 1945-1964), trans. George Shriver, Stephen Shenfied, edited by Sergei Khrushchev.( The
Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 201-221
8
Sergei Khrushchev, “ From the Nineteenth Party Congress to the Twentieth.” Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev (
Volume 2 Reformer 1945-1964), trans. George Shriver, Stephen Shenfied, edited by Sergei Khrushchev.( The
Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006), 206-208
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the whims of Soviet power; by Iji O. Solomon. Cold War History
Research Center, Budapest Hungary
2012
of Stalin’s power with crimes being committed against old Bolsheviks and young
Communists.” Khrushchev’s condemnation of Stalin’s crimes and the system he
had instituted, which made use of arrests, trials and executions had ultimately left
many in prisons, others in exile and was still being followed as policies. The First
Secretary sought reforms form these old policies, and his critical address of
Stalin’s regime to the sitting of the 20th Part Congress of the Soviet party is what
has come to be known as the “Secret Speech” of Nikita Khrushchev.