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Hungary
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The Soviet army invades and occupies German-occupied Hungary.
Elections to the Hungarian National Assembly are held. The Communist party receives less than one fifth of the votes. The Independent Smallholders' Party wins.
Read more about
the elections in Hungary
on this site created by the British Helsinki Human Rights Group.
Leaders of the Smallholders' Party are arrested by the Hungarian Communist, who have taken control of the police.
Parliamentary elections are held in Hungary. Voters are presented with a single list of candidates who are all Communist. Because of this, Hungary becomes a Communist state and changes its name to the Hungarian People's Republic. Anyone suspected of being an opponent of the Communist regime is sent to labour camps.
After the death of Stalin, the Hungarian government liberalises some of its policies. Political prisoners are granted amnesty and labour camps are abolished.
Due to popular discontentment with the government, Hungarians revolt against Communist rule and make futile pleas for assistance from the United States. Soviet forces are called in by the government to crush resistance. Hundreds of Hungarians are executed. A new Communist dictatorship is set up with Janos Kadar as the leader.
Read more about the
Hungarian Revolution
of 1956 on this site by Radio Free Europe.
Hungary increases trade and cultural contacts with non-Communist countries.
The Hungarian Communist party votes to dissolve itself. The government provides for a democratic multiparty system. The People's Republic of Hungary is changed to the Republic of Hungary.
Hungary becomes the first Eastern European nation to join the Council of Europe. Legislations are passed granting free press, freedom of assembly and the right to own a private business. The last Soviet troops leave in the summer of 1991. In 1999, Hungary becomes a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
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