Hungary | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

In the wake of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's defeat in World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its population and territory. In the aftermath of World War II (post-1945), Hungary, along with other Central and Eastern European nations, came under the domination of a communist regime supported by the Soviet Union. The official name of the country became the Hungarian People's Republic. In 1955 Hungary joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization and became a member of the United Nations (UN).

After the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, the new leadership in Moscow undertook the so-called New Course—mandating a more flexible policy in Central and Eastern Europe. Perhaps in response to this policy, an anti-communist revolution arose in Budapest on October 23, 1956, and Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy (1896–1958) officially withdrew Hungary from the Warsaw Treaty, abolished the one-party system, and formed a new coalition government, which lasted for two weeks only. János Kádár (1912–1989) immediately formed a counter-government and sought the USSR's military support. The revolution was viciously suppressed by Soviet forces. Kádár became the prime minister of Hungary in 1956 as well as the leader of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party (HSWP). Hungary remained a one-party state, dominated by the Communist Party, until 1989, when the Party was dissolved and a multiparty political system with free elections was established as communist control over Central and Eastern Europe disintegrated.

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