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The 1956 Hungarian Revolution

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Although the 1956 Hungarian Revolution only lasted for a short period, there are many who believe that this revolution was the first step in decreasing the Soviet Union’s control over the Hungarian government. Despite the lack of an immediate change, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution had a major long-term effect by unifying the Hungarian civil society for future conflicts that took place between the Hungarians and the Soviet government. Towards the end of the Second World War the Soviet army came and occupied Hungary, and remained there until 1991. From the end of World War Two until the Cold War ended in 1991 the relationship between Hungary and the Soviet Union was characterized by the soviet intervention in the domestic politics of Hungary. …show more content…

The period of communist rule in Hungary was portrayed as a period of terror and hardship due to the methods, which the Soviets implemented in order to ensure the success of a communist regime in Hungary. Although there were a number of rulers who led the Hungarian government throughout the Soviet era, Hungary became a communist country under the leadership of Matyas Rakosi, the leader of the Hungarian Working Peoples Party from 1945 until 1956. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 began as a student protest regarding the harsh conditions and methods used by the Hungarian and Soviet governments to implement a strict communist society. This paper will analyze the main motivations behind the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, using the historical and political processes that took place leading up to this …show more content…

Although the Soviets imposed a Stalin type of regime in Hungary during the beginning of the Soviet occupation, things continued to get worse after the failed election of the communist party in Hungary (Country Report, 2010). For example Vyachslev Molatav, a diplomat for the Soviet Union, commanded Matyas Rakosi, the leader of the Communist Party in Hungary, to use tougher actions against the Hungarian citizens in order to make a more pronounced class struggle (Wettig, 2008). The electoral loss of the Communist Party in the 1945 Hungarian elections illustrated the reality that the Central European Communists parties were weak; thus the Soviet Union felt that it was necessary to apply harsh measures onto the Hungarian people in order to ensure the survival of a communist government (Naimark, 1995). Although the Soviets believed that these measures would enforce communism as a way of life over the Hungarian population, this ended up driving the Hungarians to revolt in

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