In a Nutshell
ALTHOUGH A FAILURE, THE ARMED UPRISING WAS THE FIRST MAJOR THREAT TO SOVIET CONTROL SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR II...
THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION
What was it?
The Hungarian Revolution was a popular uprising in 1956 against Soviet-imposed Communist rule in the country.
What were the people protesting about?
The origins of the revolution date back to the end of World War II, when the Soviet Union’s Red Army defeated the Nazi German occupiers of Hungary and their Hungarian collaborators. After the war - as was the case in much of Eastern Europe - the Soviet Union retained a military presence and sought to bring about a government that was friendly to its interests. With Soviet support, the Hungarian Communist Party marginalised political opposition until, by 1949, Hungary had effectively become a Communist dictatorship, modelled on the Soviet Union. Many Hungarians were opposed to the new regime that had been forced on them and in October 1956, this hostility turned into open revolt.