THE WEST AND THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION OF 1956

Pozitivne spremembe v Sovjetski zvezi po smrti Stalina se na Madžarskem niso v celoti odražale. Kljub temu, da je vlada Imreja Nagya v letih 1954-55 začela z reformami, je ponovni vzpon Rákosija na oblast le-te ustavila. Nezadovoljstvo državljanov je pod vplivom 20. kongresa KP SZ in dogodkov oktobra 1956 na Poljskem privedlo do demonstracij 23. oktobra 1956, ki so pod spletom okoliščin prerasle v oboroženo vstajo. Po intervenciji rdeče armade in ponovnem prihodu Nagya na oblast je kazalo, da se bodo dogodki na Madžarskem mirno razpletli, vendar je vse bolj očitna demokratizacija političnega življenja in opustitev monopola Partije Sovjetsko vodstvo prisilila k novemu vojaškemu posegu, ki je revolucijo popolnoma zatrl, na čelo nove vlade pa postavil Jánosa Kádárja. Zatrtje revolucije je jasno pokazalo, da Zahod brezpogojno priznava Sovjetski primat nad svojo interesno sfero. K pasivnosti Zahoda je pripomogla tudi njegova neenotnost zaradi anglo-francoske vojaške akcije v Egiptu, ki je dogodkom na Madžarskem odvzela veliko publicitete v zahodnih krogih. Kljub temu, da je bil vpliv zahoda na dogodke na Madžarskem zanemarljiv, je bil vpliv revolucije na zahodu velik. Sovjetska intervencija in zatrtje vstaje je zahodne komuniste soočila z nasilno naravo sovjetskega komunizma. Podpora vodstev nekaterih zahodno-evropksih komunističnih partij sovjetski intervenciji je povzročila nemalo trenj med vodstvi in člani teh partij. Nenazadnje je močno upadel tudi ugled Sovjetske zveze in komunizma nasploh v očeh zahodne javnosti.Positive changes in the Soviet Union after Stalin\u27s death were not fully adapted in Hungary. Even though Imre Nagy\u27s government started with reforms in the years 1954-55, they were brought to a standstill by Rákosi\u27s return to power. Citizens\u27 discontent, influenced by the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the October 1956 events in Poland, led to demonstrations on 23 October 1956. In the turn of events the demonstrations culminated into an armed uprising. After the Red Army\u27s intervention and Nagy\u27s return to power it seemed that the events in Hungary will unravel peacefully, but the increasingly obvious democratization of political life and the discontinuity of Party\u27s monopoly forced the Soviet leadership to a new military intervention. The revolution was suppressed and János Kádár appointed as the head of the new government. Suppression of the revolution clearly showed that the West unconditionally acknowledged the Soviet supremacy in its sphere of interest. Also adding up to the passivity of the West was its disunity arising from the Anglo-French military operations in Egypt, which deprived the events in Hungary of publicity in the Western circles. Even though the effect the West had on the events in Hungary was negligible, the revolution had huge impact in the West. The Soviet intervention and the suppression of the uprising faced the Western communists with the violent nature of the Soviet communism. Some leaders of Western European Communist parties supported the Soviet intervention, which led to numerous conflicts and clashes among the leaders and members of these parties. As a result, the reputation of the Soviet Union and communism in general was severely damaged in the eyes of the Western public