Soviet response to the Hungarian revolution of 1956 - Essay Example

Only a major and relentless Soviet military incursion quickly put an end to the profound political transformations happening in Hungary, the setting up of the Soviet-ruled administration led by Janos Kadar, and launched the ruthless rebuilding of Soviet rule in the country. This paper discusses the Warsaw Pact and the roots and effects of Hungary’s withdrawal from the pact on Soviet power and alliances. Introduction The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 characterized the unparalleled confrontation to communism in East Central Europe’s postwar history and regarded as one of the most disastrous episode in the series of political reforms after the demise of Stalin and loosening Stalinist rules in the province.

The revolution had three separate stages characterized by transition in leadership. Stalinists were deposed on the 28th of October and the administration of Imre Nagy proclaimed its approval of the revolution, a negotiating period was affirmed, and the Soviet army pulled out from Budapest.2 Janos Kadar declared the establishment of the Hungarian Socialist Worker’s Party, and the formation of revolutionary organizations began. On the 1st of November the Soviet heads declared the initiation of the second military intervention.

3 The Warsaw Pact and Hungary’s Withdrawal The Warsaw Pact is an agreement between the Soviet Union, Romania, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Albania, which was ratified in 1955 and was formally named ‘The Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance’.4 Supposedly the Warsaw Pact was a reaction to an analogous agreement formed in 1949 by Western Allies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the 1955 West Germany’s re-militarization, which raised impending risks to the Eastern nations.

5 Even though it was emphasized by everybody that the Warsaw Pact was founded on absolute global equality and joint intervention in one another’s domestic issues, the agreement rapidly became a potent political instrument for the Soviet Union to control its allies and exploit their military might and influence. When Hungary attempted to pull out from the 1956 treaty, Soviet military responded to defeat the rebellion.6 There are several causes and effect of the withdrawal of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact.

Hungary was the first among ex-Soviet protectorates to raise the possibility of unilaterally retreating from the Warsaw Pact. Rezso Nyers, the Hungarian Socialist Party Chairman, declared in January 1990 that the country withdrew its membership from the Eastern Bloc and that it planned to encourage better alliances with Central European countries, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and West Germany.7 Nyers further appealed to the Soviet military to exit Hungary immediately. Afterwards, Budapest made a settlement for the total extraction of Soviet troops by the 30th of June 1991, which was ratified on the 10th of March 1990, by the foreign representatives of Hungary and Soviet Union.

8 Budapest, in 1990 and 1991, was determined in its resistance to the prolongation of the Warsaw Pact. Prime Minister Jozsef Antall proposed in June 1990 that the