Anti-Soviet speeches and demonstrations in post-war countries building socialism began to appear even under Stalin, but after his death in 1953 they took on a wider scale. In Poland, Hungary, the GDR, there were massive protests.
The decisive role in the initiation of the Hungarian events was played, of course, by the death of I. Stalin, and the subsequent actions of Nikita Khrushchev to "expose the personality cult."
As you know, in World War II, Hungary took part on the side of the fascist bloc, its troops took part in the occupation of the territory of the USSR, three SS divisions were formed from the Hungarians. In 1944-1945, Hungarian troops were defeated, its territory was occupied by Soviet troops. Hungary (as a former ally of Nazi Germany) had to pay significant indemnities (reparations) in favor of the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, which accounted for up to a quarter of Hungary's GDP.
After the war, the country held free elections under the Yalta Agreements, in which the Smallholders Party won the majority. However, the control commission, which was headed by Soviet Marshal Voroshilov, gave the winning majority only half of the seats in the Cabinet of Ministers, while the key posts remained with the Hungarian Communist Party.
The Communists, with the support of Soviet troops, arrested most of the leaders of the opposition parties, and in 1947 they held new elections. By 1949, power in the country was mainly represented by the communists. In Hungary, the regime of Matthias Rakosi was established. Collectivization was carried out, mass repressions began against the opposition, the church, officers and politicians of the former regime and many other opponents of the new government.
WHO IS RAKOSHI?
Matthias Rakosi, nee Matthias Rosenfeld (March 14, 1892, Serbia - February 5, 1971, Gorky, USSR) - Hungarian politician, revolutionary.
Rakosi was the sixth child in a poor Jewish family. During the First World War, he fought on the Eastern Front, where he was captured, and joined the Communist Party of Hungary.
He returned to Hungary, participated in the government of Bela Kun. After his fall, he fled to the USSR. Participated in the governing bodies of the Comintern. In 1945 he returned to Hungary and headed the Hungarian Communist Party. In 1948 he forced the Social Democratic Party to unite with the CPV into a single Hungarian Labor Party (HLP), of which he was elected General Secretary.
Rakoshi's dictatorship
His regime was characterized by the political terror carried out by the state security service AVH against the forces of internal counter-revolution and the persecution of the opposition (for example, he was accused of "Titoism" and orientation towards Yugoslavia, and then the former Minister of the Interior Laszlo Raik was executed). Under him, the nationalization of the economy and the accelerated cooperation of agriculture took place.
Rakosi called himself "the best Hungarian student of Stalin", copying the Stalinist regime in the smallest detail, up to the fact that in the last years of his reign, the Hungarian military uniform was copied from the Soviet one, and rye bread, which had not been eaten in Hungary before, began to be sold in Hungarian stores …
Since the late 1940s. launched a campaign against the Zionists, eliminating his political rival, Interior Minister Laszlo Rajk.
After Khrushchev's report at the XX Congress of the CPSU, Rakosi was removed from the post of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the VPT (instead of him, this position was taken by Ernö Gerö). Shortly after the 1956 uprising in Hungary.was taken to the USSR, where he lived in the city of Gorky. In 1970, he was asked to give up his active participation in Hungarian politics in exchange for returning to Hungary, but Rakosi refused.
He was married to Theodora Kornilova.
WHAT DIRECTLY CAUSED THE RISE?
When it comes to the reasons for the many thousands of demonstrations that began in Budapest in October 1956, which then escalated into mass riots, as a rule, they talk about the Stalinist policy of the Hungarian leadership headed by Matthias Rakosi, repression and other "excesses" of socialist construction. But it's not only that.
To begin with, the overwhelming majority of Magyars did not consider their country to be to blame for the outbreak of World War II and believed that Moscow acted extremely unfairly with Hungary. And although the former Western allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition supported all the clauses of the 1947 peace treaty, they were far away, and the Russians were nearby. Naturally, the landlords and the bourgeoisie, who had lost their property, were dissatisfied. Western radio stations Voice of America, BBC and others actively influenced the population, urging them to fight for freedom and promising immediate assistance in the event of an uprising, including the invasion of Hungarian territory by NATO troops.
The death of Stalin and Khrushchev's speech at the XX Congress of the CPSU gave rise to attempts at liberation from the Communists in all Eastern European states, one of the most striking manifestations of which was the rehabilitation and return to power in October 1956 of the Polish reformer Vladislav Gomulka.
After the monument to Stalin was knocked down from the pedestal, the rebels tried to inflict maximum destruction on him. The insurgents' hatred of Stalin was explained by the fact that Matthias Rakosi, who carried out repressions in the late 1940s, called himself a faithful disciple of Stalin.
An important role was played by the fact that in May 1955 neighboring Austria became a single neutral independent state, from which, after the signing of a peace treaty, the allied occupation troops were withdrawn (Soviet troops were in Hungary since 1944).
After the resignation of the General Secretary of the Hungarian Labor Party, Matthias Rakosi, on July 18, 1956, his closest associate Ernö Gerö became the new leader of the VPT, but such minor concessions could not satisfy the people.
The highly publicized Poznan Uprising in July 1956 in Poland also led to an increase in critical sentiment among the people, especially among the students and the writing intelligentsia. From the middle of the year, the Petofi Circle began to operate actively, in which the most acute problems facing Hungary were discussed.
UPRISING STUDENTS
On October 16, 1956, university students in Szeged organized an organized exit from the pro-communist Democratic Youth Union (the Hungarian equivalent of the Komsomol) and revived the Hungarian University and Academy Students' Union, which existed after the war and was dispersed by the government. Within a few days, branches of the Union appeared in Pecs, Miskolc and other cities.
On October 22, students of the Budapest University of Technology joined this movement, formulating a list of 16 requirements for the authorities and planning a protest march on October 23 from the monument to Bem (Polish general, hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848) to the monument to Petofi.
OCTOBER 23
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a demonstration began, in which, in addition to students, tens of thousands of people took part. The demonstrators carried red flags, banners on which slogans were written about Soviet-Hungarian friendship, about the inclusion of Imre Nagy in the government, etc. Radical groups joined the demonstrators in Yasai Mari squares, on March 15, on Kossuth and Rákóczi streets, shouting slogans of a different kind. They demanded the restoration of the old Hungarian national emblem, the old Hungarian national holiday instead of the Day of Liberation from Fascism, the abolition of military training and Russian language lessons. In addition, demands were made for free elections, the creation of a government headed by Nagy, and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary.
At 20 o'clock on the radio, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the VPT Erne Gere made a speech sharply condemning the demonstrators. In response, a large group of demonstrators tried to infiltrate the broadcasting studio of the House of Radio, demanding to broadcast the program requirements of the demonstrators. This attempt led to a clash with the units of the Hungarian state security AVH defending the House of Radio, during which, after 21 hours, the first killed and wounded appeared. The rebels received or took weapons from reinforcements sent to help guard the radio, as well as from civil defense depots and captured police stations.
A group of rebels infiltrated the Kilian barracks, where three construction battalions were located, and seized their weapons. Many construction battalions joined the rebels. The fierce battle in and around the House of Radio continued throughout the night.
At 23:00, on the basis of the decision of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces Marshal VD Sokolovsky ordered the commander of the Special Corps to start moving to Budapest to assist the Hungarian troops "in restoring order and creating conditions for peaceful creative work." Parts of the Special Corps arrived in Budapest at 6 a.m. and entered into battles with the rebels.
On the night of October 24, about 6,000 Soviet army personnel, 290 tanks, 120 armored personnel carriers, 156 guns were brought into Budapest. In the evening they were joined by units of the 3rd Rifle Corps of the Hungarian People's Army (VNA).
Members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee A. I. Mikoyan and M. A. Suslov, Chairman of the KGB I. A. Serov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff General of the Army M. S. Malinin arrived in Budapest.
On the morning of October 25, the 33rd Guards Mech Division approached Budapest, in the evening - the 128th Guards Rifle Division, which joined the Special Corps.
At this time, during a rally near the parliament building, an incident occurred: fire was opened from the upper floors, as a result of which a Soviet officer died and a tank was burned. In response, Soviet troops opened fire on the protesters, as a result 61 people were killed on both sides and 284 were wounded.
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO FIND COMPROMISE
On the night before, on the night of October 23, 1956, the leadership of the Hungarian Communist Party decided to appoint Imre Nagy as Prime Minister, who already held this post in 1953-1955, distinguished for reformist views, for which he was repressed, but rehabilitated shortly before the uprising. Imre Nagy was often accused of the fact that a formal request to the Soviet troops to assist in suppressing the uprising was not sent without his participation. His supporters claim that this decision was made behind his back by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party Ernö Gerö and former Prime Minister Andras Hegedüs, and Nagy himself was against the involvement of Soviet troops.
In such a situation, on October 24, Nagy was appointed to the post of chairman of the council of ministers. He immediately sought not to fight the uprising, but to lead it.
On October 28, Imre Nagy acknowledged the popular outrage as just, speaking on the radio and stating that "the government condemns the views according to which the current grandiose popular movement is viewed as a counter-revolution."
The government announced a ceasefire and the beginning of negotiations with the USSR on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary.
Until October 30, all Soviet troops were withdrawn from the capital to their places of deployment. The state security organs were disbanded. The streets of Hungarian cities were left practically without power.
On October 30, the government of Imre Nagy decided to re-establish a multi-party system in Hungary and to create a coalition government composed of representatives of the UPT, the Independent Smallholders Party, the National Peasant Party and the re-established Social Democratic Party. The upcoming free elections were announced.
And the uprising, already out of control, continued.
The insurgents captured the Budapest town committee of the UPT, and over 20 communists were hanged in a crowd. Photos of the hanged communists with traces of torture, with faces disfigured by acid, went around the world. This massacre was, however, condemned by representatives of the Hungarian political forces.
There was little Nagy could do. The uprising spread to other cities and spread … The country quickly fell into chaos. The railway service was interrupted, airports stopped working, shops, shops and banks were closed. The rebels scoured the streets, catching the state security officers. They were recognized by their famous yellow boots, torn to pieces or hung by their feet, sometimes castrated. The captured party leaders were nailed to the floors with huge nails, and the portraits of Lenin were placed in their hands.
OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 4
The development of events in Hungary coincided with the Suez Crisis. On October 29, Israel, and then NATO members Great Britain and France, attacked Egypt, backed by the USSR, with the aim of seizing the Suez Canal, next to which they landed their troops.
On October 31, Khrushchev said at a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee: “If we leave Hungary, it will cheer up the Americans, the British and the French imperialists. They will understand how our weakness is and will attack. " It was decided to create a "revolutionary workers 'and peasants' government" headed by Janos Kadar and conduct a military operation to overthrow the government of Imre Nagy. The plan of the operation, called "Whirlwind", was developed under the leadership of the USSR Minister of Defense Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
The Hungarian government on November 1, when the Soviet troops were ordered not to leave the location of the units, made a decision on Hungary's termination of the Warsaw Pact and handed the corresponding note to the USSR Embassy. At the same time, Hungary turned to the UN with a request for help in defending its neutrality. Measures were also taken to protect Budapest in the event of a "possible external attack".
Early in the morning of November 4, the introduction of new Soviet military units into Hungary began under the general command of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
4 NOVEMBER. OPERATION "VORTEX"
On November 4, the Soviet operation "Whirlwind" began and on the same day the main objects in Budapest were captured. Members of the Imre Nagy government took refuge in the Yugoslav embassy. However, units of the Hungarian National Guard and individual army units continued to resist the Soviet troops.
Soviet troops inflicted artillery strikes on pockets of resistance and carried out subsequent sweeps by infantry forces with the support of tanks. The main centers of resistance were the workers' suburbs of Budapest, where local councils were able to lead a more or less organized resistance. These areas of the city were subjected to the most massive shelling.
Against the rebels (more than 50 thousand Hungarians took part in the uprising), Soviet troops (totaling 31,550 soldiers and officers) were thrown with the support of Hungarian workers' squads (25 thousand) and Hungarian state security agencies (1,5 thousand).
Soviet units and formations that took part in the Hungarian events:
Special case:
- 2nd Guards Mechanized Division (Nikolaev-Budapest)
- 11th Guards Mechanized Division (after 1957 - 30th Guards Tank Division)
- 17th Guards Mechanized Division (Enakievsko-Danube)
- 33rd Guards Mechanized Division (Kherson)
- 128th Guards Rifle Division (after 1957 - 128th Guards Motorized Rifle Division)
7th Guards Airborne Division
- 80th parachute regiment
- 108th parachute regiment
31st Guards Airborne Division
- 114th parachute regiment
- 381st parachute regiment
8th Mechanized Army of the Carpathian Military District (after 1957 - 8th Tank Army)
38th Army of the Carpathian Military District
- 13th Guards Mechanized Division (Poltava) (after 1957 - 21st Guards Tank Division)
- 27th mechanized division (Cherkasy) (after 1957 - 27th motorized rifle division).
In total, the operation was attended by:
• personnel - 31,550 people
• tanks and self-propelled guns - 1130
• guns and mortars - 615
• anti-aircraft guns - 185
• BTR - 380
• cars - 3830
THE END OF THE REBELLION
After November 10, even until mid-December, the workers' councils continued their work, often entering into direct negotiations with the command of the Soviet units. However, by December 19, 1956, the workers' councils were dispersed by the state security organs, and their leaders were arrested.
Hungarians emigrated en masse - almost 200,000 people (5% of the total population) left the country, for whom refugee camps in Traiskirchen and Graz had to be created in Austria.
Immediately after the suppression of the uprising, mass arrests began: in total, the Hungarian special services and their Soviet colleagues managed to arrest about 5,000 Hungarians (846 of them were sent to Soviet prisons), including "a significant number of members of the UPT, military personnel and student youth."
Prime Minister Imre Nagy and members of his government on November 22, 1956 were fraudulently lured from the Yugoslav embassy, where they took refuge, and were taken into custody on the territory of Romania. They were then returned to Hungary and tried. Imre Nagy and former Defense Minister Pal Maleter were sentenced to death on charges of high treason. Imre Nagy was hanged on June 16, 1958. In total, according to some estimates, about 350 people were executed. About 26,000 people were prosecuted, of which 13,000 were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. By 1963, all participants in the uprising were amnestied and released by the government of Janos Kadar.
After the fall of the socialist regime, Imre Nagy and Pal Maleter were solemnly reburied in July 1989.
Since 1989, Imre Nagy has been considered the national hero of Hungary.
The speeches were initiated by students and workers of large factories. The Hungarians demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet military bases. In fact, throughout the country, workers' committees have assumed power. The USSR sent troops to Hungary and restored the pro-Soviet regime, brutally suppressing resistance. Nagy and several of his government associates were executed. Several thousand people died in the battles (according to some sources - up to 10,000).
In the early 50s, other demonstrations took place on the streets of Budapest and other cities.
In November 1956, the director of the Hungarian News Agency, shortly before artillery fire razed his office to the ground, sent a desperate telex message to the world, heralding the beginning of the Russian invasion of Budapest. The text ended with the words: "We will die for Hungary and for Europe!"
Hungary, 1956. Self-defense units on the Hungarian border await the appearance of Soviet military units.
Soviet tanks were brought into Budapest by order of the communist leadership of the USSR, which took advantage of a formal request from the Hungarian government.
The first Soviet armored vehicles on the streets of Budapest.
The massacre of the rebels against a communist, Hungary, 1956. Yes. There was such a thing.
Factory committee in a small Hungarian town.
Contents of a bookstore selling communist propaganda products. The rebels smashed the store, throwing the contents onto the street and setting it on fire. November 5, 1956.
Budapest, 1956. Soviet tanks enter the city, they are surrounded and agitated not to shoot.
General Pal Maleter - a participant in the Second World War, Minister of Defense of the Nagy government, is negotiating with the rebels. He sided with the rebels, took part in battles, was treacherously captured during negotiations with the Soviet command and executed in 1958.
Cardinal Mindzenti, sentenced to life imprisonment on February 8, 1949, was released by the rebels on October 31, 1956. A few days later, he took refuge on the grounds of the American embassy. The photograph shows Cardinal Mindzenti accompanied by his liberators on November 2, 1956. Budapest, Hungary.
Rebels against tanks.
Budapest, 1956. Destroyed and captured Soviet tanks.
Passers-by are looking at a Soviet anti-tank gun knocked out during street battles between Hungarian units and Soviet troops with interest.
During the battles in Budapest in November 1956, Soviet troops used tanks of various modifications, including heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin - 3"), which appeared at the very end of World War II. Budapest, Hungary, November 1956.
Passers-by look at the killed Soviet servicemen who lie near the damaged Soviet armored personnel carrier. November 14, 1956.
Budapest, 1956.
Budapest, 1956. Broken Soviet tank.
Corpses on the streets of cities.
Photojournalists stand near the corpse of a man who has become a victim of street fighting.
Two Hungarian insurgents with weapons serenely walk past the corpses of Hungarian state security officers.
Budapest, 1956. Execution of a member of the Hungarian secret police (Allamvedelmi Hatosag).
The rebels rejoice at the execution of a Hungarian state security officer. At the end of the 40s, the Hungarian state security, following the orders of Matthias Rakosi, carried out terror in the country against political opponents similar to the Stalinist repressions in the USSR. In 1956, many who suffered during those repressions and their family members were the most active participants in the massacres of state security officers.
Young rebel.
A young Hungarian woman in the ranks of the rebels.
Streets of Budapest after the uprising.
After the street fighting between the insurgent Hungarians and Soviet troops, the streets of Budapest were solid ruins.
