russia containment 50s Flashcards
who was matyas rakosi
communist leader of hungary from 1949 to 1956
- he led and allowed moscow ot control hungary through a puppet control. he also cereated a cult of personality
why was russia involved in hungary?
hungary was in their sphere of influence
why did hungarians resent matyas rakosi?
no freedom of speech,
secret police created terror (named the AVH)
thousands of soviet troops were present in hungary
russian street signs were replaced with hungarian ones,
russian was taught i schools - i.e. russification
hungarians had to pay for soviet occupation
in the 40s other political parties were banned and there was a political purge of 7000 ‘enemies’ and 100,000 were sent to prison creating that sense of fear
what was rthe economic situation of Hungary at the time?
there was a period of industrialisation which decreased qualtiy of life
22% of GDP was lost to reparations and they had no acccess to mashall aid
what happened to rakosi in ‘56
in June 1956 reformists in the Hungarian Communist party opposed rakosi, and moscow ordered him to retire for ‘health reasons’
note rakosi tried to oppose them and appealed to Moscow, saying he wanted to arrest 400 other leading opponents but theuy wouldnt back him
note this was after stalin died in ‘53
who replaced rakosi?
Erno Gero, but he was disliked aswell
what were peoples reactions to Gero? who was involved?
there was a huge demonstration in budapest, and hungarians pulled down a giant statue of stalin
- 23rd october
- there was open fire involve and the situation escalated
- the main people involved were the MEFESZ, whichch were comprised of students who had demands, alonf with otherr unions
what were the 16 points of the protesters? what like were some of the points?
it was demands they had in hungary in october 23rd
16 points:
We demand the immediate evacuation of all Soviet troops, in conformity with the provisions of the Peace Treaty.
We demand the election by secret ballot of all Party members from top to bottom, and of new officers for the lower, middle and upper echelons of the Hungarian Workers Party. These officers shall convene a Party Congress as early as possible in order to elect a Central Committee.
A new Government must be constituted under the direction of Imre Nagy: all criminal leaders of the Stalin-Rákosi era must be immediately dismissed.
We demand public enquiry into the criminal activities of Mihály Farkas and his accomplices. Mátyás Rákosi, who is the person most responsible for crimes of the recent past as well as for our country’s ruin, must be returned to Hungary for trial before a people’s tribunal.
We demand general elections by universal, secret ballot are held throughout the country to elect a new National Assembly, with all political parties participating. We demand that the right of workers to strike be recognised.
We demand revision and re-adjustment of Hungarian-Soviet and Hungarian-Yugoslav relations in the fields of politics, economics and cultural affairs, on a basis of complete political and economic equality, and of non-interference in the internal affairs of one by the other.
We demand the complete reorganisation of Hungary’s economic life under the direction of specialists. The entire economic system, based on a system of planning, must be re-examined in the light of conditions in Hungary and in the vital interest of the Hungarian people.
Our foreign trade agreements and the exact total of reparations that can never be paid must be made public. We demand to be precisely informed of the uranium deposits in our country, on their exploitation and on the concessions to the Russians in this area. We demand that Hungary have the right to sell her uranium freely at world market prices to obtain hard currency.
We demand complete revision of the norms operating in industry and an immediate and radical adjustment of salaries in accordance with the just requirements of workers and intellectuals. We demand a minimum living wage for workers.
We demand that the system of distribution be organised on a new basis and that agricultural products be utilised in rational manner. We demand equality of treatment for individual farms.
We demand reviews by independent tribunals of all political and economic trials as well as the release and rehabilitation of the innocent. We demand the immediate repatriation of prisoners of war (World War II) and of civilian deportees to the Soviet Union, including prisoners sentenced outside Hungary.
We demand complete recognition of freedom of opinion and of expression, of freedom of the press and of radio, as well as the creation of a daily newspaper for the MEFESZ Organisation (Hungarian Federation of University and College Students’ Associations)
We demand that the statue of Stalin, symbol of Stalinist tyranny and political oppression, be removed as quickly as possible and be replaced by a monument in memory of the martyred freedom fighters of 1848-49.
We demand the replacement of emblems foreign to the Hungarian people by the old Hungarian arms of Kossuth. We demand new uniforms for the Army which conform to our national traditions. We demand that March 15th be declared a national holiday and that the October 6th be a day of national mourning on which schools will be closed.
The students of the Technological University of Budapest declare unanimously their solidarity with the workers and students of Warsaw and Poland in their movement towards national independence.
The students of the Technological University of Budapest will organise as rapidly as possible local branches of MEFESZ, and they have decided to convene at Budapest, on Saturday October 27, a Youth Parliament at which all the nation’s youth shall be represented by their delegates.
tell em more about the oct rev in hungary (idk if its called that but ygm)
23rd october
- demostraters were ouside of radio station
- tensions were so high and spiralled - AVH opened fire on the crowd and 3 were killed
- violence flared
- troops were dispatched but they joined rebels and the reovlutionareis had access to arms as they opened their arm deposits
The Stalin statue in Budapest was pulled down by demonstrators
24th oct
- tanks wee all over the city in strees and squares. many reformers decide to fight back
25th oct
- fire was opened on crowd and 75 died and support for rebels sky rocketed - about 2000 armed rebels now
by oct 28th nagy had try to win some reforms and a ceasefire was arranged where soviet troops were to leave, AVH woudl be dissolved,and 8000 political prisoners released
- the crowd lunched people including avh members - 23 officers executed - communists wwanted to put them down forcibly but KH didnt was to intervene
what happened as a result of remonstrations in hungary?
Imre Nagy was allowed to step forwrd and become leader on the 24th October
what changes did Imre Nagy make?
- soviet tanks withdrew from hungary in october 56
- sefral thousand ungarian soldiers defected from the army to the rebel cause, taking hteir weapons with them
- thousands of local councils formed ot replace soviet power
what did Nagy’s government plan?
free elections
impartial courts
restore farms to private ownership
0 to ask for the total withdrawal of the Soviet army from hungary
to leave the Warsaw Pact and declare Hungary neutral in the cold was
what did Nagy hope woudl protect Hungarians if needed?
President Eisenhower of the USA
What did the USSR in response to Nagy’s plans? what was the result of this? when?
- Hardline communists were threatened
- Khrushchev couldnt accept that Hungary wanted to leave the warsaw pact
in nov 1956 he sent thousands of tanks and troops into Budapest, and in two weeks of bitter fighting, over 3000 hungarians were killed and 7000-8000 russians - 200,000 Hungarians fled into austria ot avoid communism
- Khrushchev but Janos Kadar into power instead of Nagy ands he crushed the resistance eby arresting 35000 anti-communists and executing 300
what did Janos Kadar do in power?
he crushed the resistance in Hungary eby arresting 35000 anti-communists and executing 300
he kept hungary in the warsaw pact
what happened to Nagy in the end?
he was arrested and later executed
what did the Western powers do in reaction to what was happening in Hungary?
they did nothing
they protested it but that didnt help
they were preoccupied by the suez canal in the middle east
when was fighting over in hungary by?
nov 9th
what was the outcome of the Hungarian revolution
- 35000 anticommunists arrested and 300 members executed
- they stayed in the warsaw pact
what is the warsaw pact
etabilshed in 1955 in response to W Germany adimissinon into nato
0 military alliance of USSR and Eastern european stated to defend against attakc and conserve communist control in Eastern Europe
- ygoslacvia was not a part of it
when was the prague spring
1968
who was the ruler of russia at the time of the prague spring?
brezhnev
what was Czechoslovakia in relation to russia?
it had been a satellite state singce 1948
what happened in ‘67 to the leaders in Czecho?
- at the end of ‘67 Novotny was blamed for half hearted redorms, which failed to prevent economic decline.
Brezhnev orchestrated his replacement - in nov ‘67 dubcek came into power and proposed ‘socialism with a human face’
