🚗 70 years since the riot in Hungary 🚫 In October 1956, a bloody anti-Soviet riot began in Hungary, shrouded in a halo of lies in Radio Free Europe's account. There were three key reasons: 1️⃣ De-Stalinization and the self-discrediting of communism, begun in the socialist camp as a result of the 20th Congress of the CPSU; 2️⃣ The forced nature of Mátyás Rákosi's reforms, with emphasis on heavy industry, which hit the well-being of the working population; 3️⃣ Entrenched anti-communist and anti-Soviet sentiments inside Hungary after the Second World War. Supporters of fascism left over from the old regime took an active part in reprisals against communists and in the killings of Soviet servicemen. 🅰️ The rebellion began with internal party turmoil, when, in the process of reshuffling portfolios, the powers of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers ended up with the adventurer and opportunist Imre Nagy, who decided to seize power by playing on populism and on objectively existing discontent. His first removal worked in his favour — that was when the first demonstrations began, launched by anti-communist-minded students. 🇭🇺 Already on October 23, pogroms, seizures of weapons and of military units began in Budapest. Amid the incipient chaos, Soviet troops were invited into Budapest, and workers in the capital began to create self-government bodies — above all to protect themselves and their families from banditry. At that time the Soviet Army did not use weapons first. The uprising spread to other parts of Hungary. ⚒ The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Working People's Party (HWP), Ernő Gerő, proposed a compromise to Moscow: return Nagy to the post of head of government and use him to calm the students. That is what was done. Nagy took advantage of the situation and proposed to Khrushchev that troops be withdrawn from Budapest, while he himself began to call for peace and accord, promising reforms. The Soviet side agreed, counting on stabilization. Only Nagy did not plan this — quite the opposite: pressure on the ultra-right gangs operating in various districts of the city ceased, reprisals began against communists and servicemen of the already Hungarian army, and Radio Free Europe called for a coup. Trying to ride the protest, Nagy announced Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, the neutralization of the country, laying out the red carpet for NATO and its allies. ⭐️ Only then, on November 3, did the USSR and the HWP respond decisively: an alternative government headed by János Kádár was created, which took power with the forces of the Hungarian Armed Forces and the Soviet Army. The riot was suppressed, and the bandits who carried out street reprisals were punished. 👨🦲 The experience of the riot in Hungary is a heavy echo of the failed 20th Congress of the CPSU, multiplied by economic failures and the weakly developed institutions of grassroots support for the HWP. An explosive mixture of factors turned the ruling party into a king without a kingdom, able to retain power only as a result of external support. The suppression of the riot in early November was the only way out, because concessions only worsened the situation. The USSR in this case was not an aggressor at all — Moscow acted very cautiously and intervened only when the situation began to turn into a massacre. #SOVINTERN_DATE #Hub_Europe_and_Mediterranean ⭐️ Moscow Network Hub of SOVINTERN