In June 1956, the Hungarian people began to protest against Rákosi’s regime, and Moscow replaced him with Ernő Gerő.
He was no more popular and on 23 October 1956, students took to the streets and were supported by the workers and the Hungarian army. As riots spread, the Soviets agreed to the formation of a new government under the leadership of the more liberal Imre Nagy - a popular communist leader. On 28 October, Soviet tanks began to withdraw and many Hungarians were now confident of American support. This led to more pressure for a series of sweeping reforms. Nagy's reformsNagy’s reforms included:
However, the Soviets could not allow Hungary to overthrow its government and leave the Warsaw Pact as such an action would destroy the unity of the Soviet blocand weaken the defences of the USSR. |
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