When did communism end in Hungary?
24259849#1
Decades before the Round Table Talks, political and economic forces within Hungary put pressure on Hungarian communism. These pressures contributed to the fall of communism in Hungary in 1989.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
5298454#1
The People's Republic of Hungary remained in existence until 1989, when opposition forces brought the end of communism in Hungary. The state considered itself the heir to the Republic of Councils in Hungary, which was formed in 1919 as the first communist state created after the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR). It was designated a people's democratic republic by the Soviet Union in the 1940s. Geographically, it bordered Romania and the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian SSR) to the east; Yugoslavia to the southwest; Czechoslovakia to the north and Austria to the west.
Hungarian People's Republic
24259849#5
In 1988, Communist Hungary also started making it easier for its own citizens to travel to the west, which led to May 1989’s removal of Hungary’s barbed wire fence with Austria. This allowed East Germans, who were allowed only to travel to Communist countries, to go to Hungary and escape to West Germany through Austria, never to again return to communist East Germany. Putting foreign and communist relations at risk, Hungary’s Foreign Minister declared in September that it would not stop the thousands of East Germans fleeing to Austria. This reflected Hungary’s general attitude towards the communist satellite setup: popular opinion was against communism, and Hungarians wanted independence.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#0
The Communist rule in the Hungarian People's Republic came to an end in 1989. The events were part of the Revolutions of 1989, known in Hungarian as the Rendszerváltás (lit., "regime change" or "system change").
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
17447879#3
The People's Republic of Hungary ("Magyar Népköztársaság") was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. Following the Soviet occupation of Hungary after World War II, the Soviets set up a police system that persecuted all opposition through direct force and propaganda, hoping this would lead to a Communist victory in the elections of 1946 . Despite these efforts, the Hungarian Communist Party came in third place in the elections, prompting the Soviets to directly impose a puppet government the following year. The next few years were spent consolidating power, using the ÁVH secret police to suppress political opposition through intimidation, false accusations, imprisonment and torture. The worst of the repression came under the rule of Mátyás Rákosi. At the height of his rule, Rákosi developed a strong cult of personality. Dubbed the "bald murderer", Rákosi imitated Stalinist political and economic programs, resulting in Hungary experiencing one of the harshest dictatorships in Europe. He described himself as "Stalin's best Hungarian disciple" and "Stalin's best pupil". After Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" decouncing Stalin's cult of personality, Rákosi was ultimately removed from power and replaced by the reformist Imre Nagy, who attempted to take Hungary out of the Soviet bloc. This led to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which was brutally crushed by the Soviets. Following the crushing of the revolution, the Soviets instituted János Kádár as the leader of Hungary. After an initial period of repressions against the revolutionaries, Kádár implemented a more moderate form of communism, which he referred to as "Goulash Communism." He would rule until 1988, when he was removed from power just before the "revolution" that ended Communism in Hungary.
Hungary–Russia relations
24259849#15
On 16 March 1999, Hungary joined NATO and on 1 May 2004, along with its fellow Visegrad companions, it joined the European Union, strengthening its ties with the United States and the rest of Europe.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#8
Hungarian elites were in agreement that the country was undergoing a severe economic crisis which required radical reforms. However, they disagreed as to whether or not political democratization was a prerequisite for gaining public support for said reforms. Politically, the 1980s brought a wave of discontent and demands for reform. Unlike in 1956, there were many reformers from within as well as outside of the Communist Party, showing the political fragmentation of the Hungarian system. Radical reformers and many others demanded a multi-party system which was impossible to attain under a Soviet system. They did not want the Soviet system, but instead to claim the right to national self-determination. On the other hand, General Secretary Grosz was known for advocating "one-party pluralism." In December 1988, Prime Minister Miklós Németh expressed the attitude of many reformers by stating publicly that "the market economy is the only way to avoid a social catastrophe or a long, slow death." This fear that continued economic decline would lead to social upheaval is usually given as the main reason for the regime’s decision to negotiate with the opposition, and a prime pressure that caused the fall of communism in Hungary.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#12
In October 1989, the Communist Party convened its last congress and re-established itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party. In a historic session from 16 October to 20 October, the parliament adopted legislation providing for multi-party parliamentary elections and a direct presidential election. The legislation transformed Hungary from a People's Republic into the Republic of Hungary, guaranteed human and civil rights, and created an institutional structure that ensured separation of powers among the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government. On 23 October 1989 at Kossuth tér, Budapest, the Republic of Hungary was proclaimed.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#14
Between 12 March 1990 and 19 June 1991 the Soviet troops ("Southern Group of Forces") left Hungary. The last units commanded by General Viktor Silov crossed the Hungarian-Ukrainian border at Záhony - Csap. The total number of Soviet military and civilian personnel stationed in Hungary was around 100,000. The withdrawal was performed with 35,000 railway cars. Since 2001, by a special bill passed in the Hungarian Parliament, 16 June was declared a national memorial day.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#9
After Poland's Contract Sejm, Hungary was next to revert to a non-communist government. Although Hungary had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization during the 1980s, major reforms only occurred following the replacement of János Kádár as General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1988. That same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package", which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among others.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)
24259849#4
By the 1980s, Hungary began to suffer from inflation, which particularly hurt people on fixed incomes. Hungary ran a massive foreign debt, and poverty became widespread. Following the institutionalization of the NEM in the 1970s, price hikes became commonplace in Hungary. However, Kádár, the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party, handled them with adeptness, banking on his continuing political credibility. Kádár had proven his ability to "manage" the Kremlin, and had even stayed in power during the transition from Khrushchev to Brezhnev, remaining one of the only stable political figures in Eastern Europe. Thus, he could explain the higher prices as a down payment to the NEM, and promise good times to come without losing public approval and social order. However, soon enough the NEM "roused more widespread opposition, as many party members who had genuinely supported the strategy of reconciliation with the Soviet system could not make their peace" with the real effects of the economic system. By 1985, with political instability accompanying the economic instability, Kádár and the regime were forced to recognize the impending collapse of communism in Hungary.
End of communism in Hungary (1989)