The 1956 Hungarian Uprising from the Soviet Perspective: A Western-Backed Counter-revolution Attempt

Abstract The 1950s were the tough times of the Cold War between the socialist Eastern and capitalist Western blocs. The events occurred in Hungary on October-November, 1956 were a sign of a serious crack emerged in the Eastern bloc. The uprising which happened in an anti-Soviet and anti-communism line shook the socialist camp deeply. The events in Hungary were defined by the Western sources as the concepts of “revolution“, “popular movement” “freedom struggle”, in accordance with the Cold War mentality. The Soviet Union suppressed this movement with its military power and did not allow Hungary to get rid of the “iron curtain” and become a “free country”. This study attempts to look at this prevailing judgment and approach to the 1956 Hungarian uprising from a different perspective, from the perspective of the Soviet Union. According to the Soviet Union, the Hungarian uprising aimed at terminating the gains of socialism and destroying the power of the proletarian/working class. In this context, the main problematic of the study is that the Hungarian uprising was a counter-revolutionary attempt which aimed to re-establish the old regime and separate Hungary from the Eastern bloc, also supported by the Western imperialist powers