In 1956 protests erupted in Hungary against its communist government, the first widespread uprising against the communist governments of Eastern Europe. However, the Soviet Union crushed it violently, establishing that Eastern Europe would remain a communist stronghold until the late 1980s.
Hungarian Revolution Summary
Like the rest of the Eastern European countries that were liberated from Nazi rule and occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II, Hungary had a communist government under the strong influence of the USSR.
Discontent in Hungary over the USSR's domination of its affairs and over slow economic and social reforms led to the outbreak of protests that grew into a full-scale uprising in Hungary in 1956. A new government was formed and declared it would assert Hungary's independence from the USSR.
In the context of the Cold War, Soviet leaders decided this rebellion was unacceptable and sent troops to crush the rebellion. After fighting in the streets and countryside, the Soviet forces repressed the revolution, arresting its leaders and reinstalling communist leaders subservient to them.
Fig. 1 - A Soviet tank on the streets of Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Hungarian Revolution Timeline
See the Hungarian Revolution timeline below.
Fig. 2 - Hungarian Revolution Timeline. Made by the author Adam McConnaughhay, a StudySmarter Original.
History of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was an important event in the Cold War. It revealed the deep discontent of the people living in the communist bloc. However, it also confirmed that the US would not act to overthrow the communist governments within the Soviet sphere of influence and that the USSR would act to ensure their hegemony over the region.
Hegemony
The leadership or dominance of one country in a particular region or over an alliance or group of other countries.
The Hungarian Revolution's Cold War Context
After World War II, the Soviet Union had occupied most of Eastern Europe, and they gradually installed communist governments loyal to them there.
Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities...lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow."1
Fig. 3 - Map showing Cold War blocs.
In Hungary, a coalition government was established in 1945, when the Hungarian communist party received about 17% of the votes. In 1947, the communists became the single largest party, but they still lacked a majority. However, by 1949, they had forced out other parties and communists ran unopposed in what were essentially rigged elections that year.
Stalinist Matyas Rakosi led the country and declared it the Hungarian People's Republic. It joined both COMECON and the Warsaw Pact.
COMECON and Warsaw Pact
COMECON was an economic and trade partnership between the communist countries and the Warsaw Pact was a defensive military alliance similar to NATO.
Western Response to the Spread of Communism in Eastern Europe
The spread of communism in Europe alarmed the Western Allies and contributed to the tensions of the early Cold War. Winston Churchill declared an "iron curtain" had descended across Europe. US President Harry Truman issued his Truman Doctrine, declaring that the US would work to contain the spread of communism.
However, no action was taken to roll back the spread of communism in the countries where it had already taken power, even as Marshall Plan aid was given to Western Europe and US troops were deployed in the Korean War.
The Hungarian Revolution would be a test of both US and Soviet policy towards challenges to communist rule inside the communist bloc.
[We] should not withdraw our troops from Hungary and Budapest...If we depart from Hungary, it will give a great boost to the Americans, English, and French—the imperialists. They will perceive it as weakness on our part and will go onto the offensive. We would then be exposing the weakness of our positions."2
Immediate Causes of the Hungarian Revolution
The main cause of the Hungarian Revolution was a desire for economic, social, and democratic reforms and a reestablishment of Hungarian sovereignty.
Rakosi had allowed no space for dissent. However, in 1953, new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had renounced the totalitarianism of Stalin in his Secret Speech of February 1956. This prompted hopes for change in. Protests broke out in Poland but were quickly repressed. Hungarians also hoped for change.
Additionally, in 1955, neighboring Austria had announced neutrality in the Cold War. Many Hungarians also wanted to walk a third path that left them tied to neither of the competing superpowers.
Development of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
The 1956 Hungarian Revolution began with student protests before progressing to a general uprising.
Protests Begin
In July 1956, Rakosi was replaced as General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party by the more moderate Erno Gero. In October, university students in Budapest began agitating for reforms. Intellectuals and opposition figures joined them.
Protestors gathered on October 23 and small clashes with the police ensued. The protestors tore down a statue of Stalin. The secret police opened fire when protestors tried to seize control of a radio station. The Hungarian Army arrived to restore order, but some soldiers joined the protestors rather than suppress the demonstrations.
Fig. 4 - Protesters at the start of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 tore down a statue of Stalin.
By early in the morning of October 24, Soviet tanks and Red Army troops entered Budapest. Protestors barricaded streets, and many people in the capital and the countryside armed themselves.
In Budapest, there was fighting in the streets, while in the countryside, workers' councils took control of local government buildings and called strikes. The situation had become one of practical anarchy.
Reform minded Imre Nagy took over as Prime Minister during the crisis and tried to broker a ceasefire between the revolutionaries and the Red Army.
Towards Reform?
There was considerable debate among the Soviet leadership about how to respond to events in Hungary.
Nagy, though reform minded, was a communist, and some, including Khrushchev at first, argued for withdrawing Soviet troops and working with Nagy's government on reforms. For the Soviet leadership, controlling the narrative was important, and some believed allowing reforms within the context of discontent did not mean a full anti-communist counterrevolution.
However, hardliners worried reforms would encourage uprisings elsewhere.
At first, it appeared the USSR would withdraw the Red Army and allow reforms. Soviet troops were withdrawn from Budapest, and Nagy announced a ceasefire.
However, when Nagy declared that one of his government's goals was the withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact and neutrality in the Cold War, Khurschev considered this a step too far. Allowing Hungary to leave the Soviet sphere and risk it allying with the US was an unacceptable outcome.
Warsaw Pact Intervention
On November 1, after Nagy declared his intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, more Soviet troops entered Hungary. On November 3, they surrounded Budapest, reentering the city the next morning. Nagy gave an impassioned plea for help from the international community, but none was forthcoming.
Over the course of November 4, Warsaw Pact troops took control of Budapest. Various degrees of resistance in rural areas continued until November 11 by which time the Hungarian Revolution had been defeated.
The Soviet troops operating in Budapest, having broken the resistance of the insurgents, occupied the Parliament building, the Central Committee of the Hungarian Workers Party, and even the radio station in the region near the Parliament building. Also seized were three bridges across the Dunai [Danube] River, joining the eastern and western parts of the city, and the arsenal of weapons and military supplies."3
Fig. 5 - A Soviet armored vehicle burns on the streets of Budapest.
Why did the US not intervene?
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower adopted an aggressive posture against the USSR and communism. However, it took no action to intervene in events in Hungary.
This was likely due partly to the Suez Crisis, which began during the Hungarian Revolution. Britain and France had conspired with Israel to invade Egypt and retake control of the Suez Canal. This put the US in an uncomfortable position where it could not so easily criticize Soviet imperialism while its allies engaged in their own.
The Eisenhower administration also preferred to focus on covert actions rather than formal military intervention, and advisors to Eisenhower did not consider intervention in Hungary feasible. While Eisenhower denounced the Soviet occupation of Hungary, his administration took no action to stop it or to support the Nagy government.
Consequences and Outcome of the Hungarian Revolution
The immediate outcome of the Hungarian Revolution was the reinstallation of a communist government loyal to the USSR under new Prime Minister Janos Kadar in Hungary. Nagy was arrested along with at least 26,000 other Hungarians. Hundreds of thousands more fled into exile.
Around 2,500 Hungarians died in the fighting. Approximately 700 Soviet soldiers and officials died. Two years later, Nagy was executed after a secret trial. The Hungarian Communist government remained firmly in control until the wave of collapses beginning in 1989.
Fig. 6 - A child looks on as Soviet tanks patrol the streets of Budapest.
Impact and Significance of the Hungarian Revolution
Ultimately, the Hungarian Revolution failed to bring about democratic change in Hungary. It did establish patterns that continued throughout the Cold War.
Despite Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin, it was now clear the Soviet Union would act to preserve communism in countries considered strategically important, even if it meant suppressing popular movements. Intervention in Czechoslovakia during the 1968 Prague Spring followed a similar pattern to Hungary.
The Brezhnev Doctrine was declared by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev after the intervention in Czechoslovakia. It held that a threat to communist rule in one country in the bloc was a threat to communist rule in all countries and justified intervention. Brezhnev used this to retroactively justify the intervention in Hungary as well, and it would be used later to justify the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
We in the Presidium thought a great deal about the situation in Hungary and were very concerned that the events playing out in Hungary did not spread to other countries."4
Exam Tip
Exam questions can ask you about the concepts of change and continuity. After reading this article, read about the 1968 Prague Spring, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, and the collapse of communism in 1988-1989 and compare and contrast them. How did events play out similarly in Czechoslovakia in 1968? How and why were they different in 1988?
It also was made clear the US would not intervene directly in Eastern Europe. When communism fell in the region, it was because of internal politics and the ending of the Brezhnev Doctrine by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
In Hungary, after the dissolution of the communist government, the new Hungarian Republic was declared on October 23, the anniversary of the start of the uprising, and the date continues to be celebrated as a national holiday.
Hungarian Revolution - Key takeaways
- The Hungarian Revolution took place in late October and early November 1956.
- It began as a series of protests for reforms and against Soviet domination of Hungary.
- The protests turned violent, and after reformist Prime Minister Imre Nagy attempted to declare Hungarian neutrality, the Soviet Union intervened to stop the rebellion.
- Within a few days, Soviet troops had restored communist control, which would remain in place until 1989.
- The events made clear the Soviet policy of intervening to save communist governments in Eastern Europe and the US policy of not intervening directly in the region.
References
- Winston Churchill, The Sinews of Peace, March 5, 1946
- Nikita Khruschev, at Meeting of CPSU Presidium, October 31, 1956
- Georgii Zhukov, Report on Situation in Hungary, November 4, 1956
- Nikita Khrushchev, Speech to Party Activists, November 4, 1956
- Fig 1 - Soviet tanks in Budapest (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ter%C3%A9z_(Lenin)_k%C3%B6r%C3%BAt_-_Oktogon_(November_7._t%C3%A9r)_sarok._A_szovjet_csapatok_ideiglenes_kivonul%C3%A1sa_1956._okt%C3%B3ber_31-%C3%A9n._T-54-es_harckocsi._Fortepan_23557.jpg) by FORTEPAN / Pesti Srác2 (http://www.fortepan.hu/_photo/download/fortepan_32791.jpg) licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
- Fig 4 - Stalin statue head (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1956_a_budapesti_Szt%C3%A1lin-szobor_elgurult_feje_fortepan_93004.jpg) by Fortepan adományozó HOFBAUER RÓBERT, licensed under licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
- Fig 5 - Armored vehicle burns (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fortepan_12830_R%C3%A1k%C3%B3czi_%C3%BAt_-_Ak%C3%A1cfa_utca_sarok._Ki%C3%A9gett_szovjet_BTR-152_p%C3%A1nc%C3%A9lozott_l%C3%B6v%C3%A9szsz%C3%A1ll%C3%ADt%C3%B3_j%C3%A1rm%C5%B1..jpg) by Házy Zsolt, licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
