In the line of fire: The Soviet crackdown on Hungary, 1956-57

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics

Volumn 13, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 67-107

  Granville, Johanna ^a  

^a CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL STUDY;

EID: 0031428494     PISSN: 13523279     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13523279708415345     Document Type: Review

References (172)

1. Telephone call from US Secretary of State Dulles to UN Ambassador Lodge, 'Regarding the Desire of the British and French for US Support in the UN Against the USSR', Friday, 2 Nov. 1956, 4.11 p.m., Washington, DC, from National Security Archive, Washington, DC.
2. See Paul E. Zinner, Revolution in Hungary (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962), p.339. Also, Stephen J. Genco, 'The Hungarian Revolution, 1956', in Alexander L. George and Richard Smoke, Deterrence in American Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1974), p.303.
3. See Paul E. Zinner, Revolution in Hungary (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962), p.339. Also, Stephen J. Genco, 'The Hungarian Revolution, 1956', in Alexander L. George and Richard Smoke, Deterrence in American Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1974), p.303.
4. These include the former top secret working archive of the Communist Party's Central Committee called the Centre for the Preservation of Contemporary Documents [TsKhSD]; the Archive of the Russian Foreign Ministry [AVP RF]; the Russian Centre for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Contemporary History [RTsKhIDNI]; and the State Archive of the Russian Federation [GARF].
5. Kennedy appealed several times to the Central Committee of the CPSU for political asylum in the USSR. He published two books there - Guidebook on Racist America and I was in the Ku Klux Klan: AVP RF; [Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation], Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.248 - from the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, Second Secretary of the Soviet Union Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with American Émigré Writer Stetson Kennedy', 8 Dec. 1956.
6. These include, for example, Mátyás Rákosi, Erno Gero, József Révai, András Hegedüs, and István Kovács. Rákosi left Hungary for the USSR after the July Plenum, 1956, when he was demoted as First Secretary. He lived in Moscow, then was exiled to Krasnodar, Tokmak (Kirgizia), Arzamas and finally Gorky, where he died in 1971.
7. See, for example, Endre Marton, The Forbidden Sky (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1971), and Paul Zinner, Revolution in Hungary (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962).
8. See, for example, Endre Marton, The Forbidden Sky (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1971), and Paul Zinner, Revolution in Hungary (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962).
9. 'This was a historic moment. We were faced with a crucial choice: should we move our troops into the city and crush the uprising, or should we wait and see whether internal forces would liberate themselves and thwart the counter-revolution? If we decided on the latter course, there was always the risk that the counter-revolution might prevail temporarily, which would mean that much proletarian blood would be shed [emphasis added]': Nikita S. Khrushchev, Khrushchev Remembers (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1970), p.417. See also Veljko Micunovic, Moscow Diary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980), pp.130-42. Micunovic, the Yugoslav Ambassador to the USSR, was present at the Brioni meeting between Khrushchev, Malenkov and Tito; he writes that the murder of communists was explicitly mentioned as a reason for intervening.
10. 'This was a historic moment. We were faced with a crucial choice: should we move our troops into the city and crush the uprising, or should we wait and see whether internal forces would liberate themselves and thwart the counter-revolution? If we decided on the latter course, there was always the risk that the counter-revolution might prevail temporarily, which would mean that much proletarian blood would be shed [emphasis added]': Nikita S. Khrushchev, Khrushchev Remembers (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1970), p.417. See also Veljko Micunovic, Moscow Diary (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980), pp.130-42. Micunovic, the Yugoslav Ambassador to the USSR, was present at the Brioni meeting between Khrushchev, Malenkov and Tito; he writes that the murder of communists was explicitly mentioned as a reason for intervening.
11. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.259. From the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, Second Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with Comrade Sándor Ek', 13 Dec. 1956.
12. Ibid.
13. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L.11-7. 'Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct. 1956.
14. In another conversation with Gorbachev on 12 December 1956, Hidvegi specifies 'the morning of 30 October' as the exact time of this event: see 'Notes of a Chat with Hidvegi', AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.257, 22 Nov. 1956. From the Diary of Boris Gorbachev, Second Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary.
15. The Communist Party and Social Democratic Party were forcibly merged in the spring of 1948, thus completing the power seizure in Hungary.
16. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.234-5. From the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, 'Notes of a Conversation with István Monori', 28 Nov. 1956.
17. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.11, L.2, 'Information of Serov to Mikoyan and Suslov about the situation in Hungary on 29 October 1956', to Mikoyan and Suslov.
18. TsKhSD, F.89 Per.45, Dok.17, L.6, 1 Nov. 1956, 'Notes of Kirichenko with enclosed reference report by the Commander of the Second Section of the Headquarters of the Administration of Border Guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Southwest Military Region'. To avoid confusion with MID (Ministerstvo Inostrannykh Del), the initials MVD are used in this report to signify Ministry of Internal Affairs, or Ministerstvo Vnutrennykh Del.
19. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.266, from the Diary of Satuchin, First Secretary and M.I. Petunin, Second Secretary, 'Notes of a conversation with the Secretary of the Temporary Executive Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party of the Fourth Region of Budapest, János Ambrus', 17 Dec. 1956.
20. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.17, L.4, 1 Nov. 1956, 'Notes of Kirichenko with enclosed reference report by the Commander of the Second Section of the Headquarters of the Administration of Border Guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Southwest Military Region'.
21. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.242, from the Diary of M.I. Petunin, 'Notes of a Conversation with a Member of the Gyor Regional Executive Committee of the HSWP, Comrade András Takacs', 29 Nov. 1956.
22. Ibid.
23. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.270, from the Diary of V.K. Gulevskii, First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Hungary', 18 Dec. 1956.
24. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.266, from the Diary of Satuchin, First Secretary and M.I. Petunin, Second Secretary, 'Notes of a conversation with the Secretary of the Temporary Executive Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party of the Fourth Region of Budapest, János Ambrus', 17 Dec. 1956.
25. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.258, from the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, 'Notes of a Conversation with Comrade Sándor Ek', 13 Dec. 1956.
26. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.261-2, from the Diary of L.S. Yagodovsky, Secretary of the Consular Department of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Director of the Foreign Department of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Comrade Tivadar Siklos', 14 Dec. 1956.
27. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.236, from the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, Second Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Budapest, 'Notes of a Conversation with Margit Gáspár, Former Director of the Budapest Theatre of Operetta'.
28. AVP RF Fond 077, Delo 036, L.1, from the Diary of V.M. Baskakov and V.N. Kazimirov, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Secretaries of the Regional Organizations of the Hungarian-Soviet Society, Comrades Felvegi (Baranya), Endredi (Somogi), and László (Zala)'.
29. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.237, from the Diary of B.V. Gorbachev, Second Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Budapest, 'Notes of a Conversation with Pál Feher, Former Director of the Music Section of the Hungarian-Soviet Society'.
30. It should be noted that Soviet diplomats conversed most often with pro-Soviet Hungarians who visited the Soviet Embassy in Budapest on their own initiative. Reflecting on the 'mistakes' of the Rákosi and Gero governments, Sall (Hungarian chargé d'affaires) pointed out that the Hungarian leaders were unaware of the real disposition of the Hungarian population. These leaders had lived in the USSR for 20-30 years. They - and Soviet Embassy officials - speak mostly with 'Soviet émigrés to Hungary who speak Russian', and pro-Soviet Hungarians like Altomare, Minister of the Food Industry, and others. 'The workers of the embassy [that is, Soviet diplomats] created the impression among Hungarians that it is impossible, useless and even dangerous to speak openly with them, because bringing them bad news is regarded as sedition [kramola]': TsKhSD, O.28, Rolik 5195, Delo 479, L.1-2, from the Diary of K.A. Krutikov, 'Notes of a Conversation with Sall, the chargé d'affaires of Hungary in the People's Republic of China', 17 Dec.1956.
31. After the Twentieth Congress speech, there was talk about how 'the cult of personality is not over in Hungary'. Pressure rose for Rákosi to admit his past mistakes and to rehabilitate unfairly repressed individuals: See AVP RF, Fond: 077, O.37, Por.7, P.187, L.170. Anti-Soviet sentiment was also evident in Petofi Circle discussions: see, for example, TsKhSD, Rolik 5169, F.5, O.28, D.394, from the Diary of Andropov, 'Notes of a Conversation with András Hegedüs', 26 June 1956, L.112-19.
32. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L.7, 24 Oct.1956, Ciphered Telegram of the CPSU CC Presidium Members A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest. 'We have the impression that all the Central Committee members with whom we met related well, in a friendly manner, to our appearance at such a time. We said the purpose of our arrival was to lend assistance to the Hungarian leadership in such a way as to be without friction and for the public benefit, referring especially to the participation of Soviet troops in liquidating the riots. The Hungarian citizens, especially Imre Nagy, related to this with approval.'
33. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Waging Peace, 1956-61 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965), p.58.
34. AVP RF, F.077, O.37, D.18, P.188, L.19. 'From General-Lieutenant Pyotr Lashchenko, Commander of Soviet Troops in Hungary, to Soviet Ambassador Andropov'. See also Ye. I. Malashenko, 'Special Corps in the Budapest Fire, Part 1', Military-Historical Journal, 1993, No. 10, p.24. (This article appears in four parts, spanning four different issues of the same journal. Each part will be referred to below by the issue number of the journal in which it appears.)
35. Ibid.
36. AVP RF, Guidebook [Putevoditel'], Vol.1, 'Hungary'.
37. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.7, L.1, 'Notes of Perevertkin' (Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs), 24 Oct. 1956:
38. Malashenko, op. cit. At one point Malashenko asserts: 'Many Hungarian soldiers took part in the struggle with the armed insurgent groups and helped our troops. The Hungarian army as a whole did not go over to the other side and did not fight against the Soviet troops' (1994, No.1, p.35). This contradicts other versions. Mikoyan and Suslov wrote in a telegram dated 24 October: 'The comrades express the opinion that the Hungarian army conducted itself poorly.' Another source claims that the Hungarian army basically collapsed and was useless to the Russians: see United Nations Report of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary [UN Committee Report], General Assembly, 11th Session, No.18 (New York: 1957), Ch.5, p.28.
39. UN Committee Report, p.28.
40. United Nations Report of the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary, June 1957, Ch.2, p.6. ÁVO is the acronym for Állam-Védelmi Osztály (Department for the Defence of the State). The acronym was later officially changed to ÁVH, but the old name (ÁVO) was more commonly used. There is some confusion as to whether 'the employees of the BM' represent a different body from the ÁVO. Probably the BM and ÁVO are one and the same security organ, simply being referred to differently in the Soviet, Hungarian and American accounts.
41. Mikoyan and Suslov noted in their 24 October telegram, however, that Hungarian patrols were on the streets together with the Soviet troops; this information has not been verified: see AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L1. 1-7. Ciphered telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU, 24 Oct. 1956.
42. Malashenko, op. cit., p.28.
43. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L1.1-7. 'Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct.1956.
44. UN Committee Report, loc. cit., p.7.
45. Eisenhower, Waging Peace, p.67. According to another source, Soviet officers in several centres contacted the new Hungarian revolutionary councils, denying all intention of interfering in Hungarian affairs: J.M. Mackintosh, Strategy and Tactics of Soviet Foreign Policy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963), p.171.
46. Eisenhower, Waging Peace, p.67. According to another source, Soviet officers in several centres contacted the new Hungarian revolutionary councils, denying all intention of interfering in Hungarian affairs: J.M. Mackintosh, Strategy and Tactics of Soviet Foreign Policy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963), p.171.
47. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L1.1-7. 'Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct.1956.
48. Ibid.
49. Malashenko, op. cit., p.24.
50. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.6, L.1, 'Report of Zhukov on 24 October'.
51. Malashenko, op. cit., p. 30.
52. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.9, L.3, 'Information from Mikoyan on 27 October 1956'.
53. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D.5, L1.1-7. Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct. 1956. Of course, by the following day, in Pest, the Russians did more of the shooting than either the pro-Soviet Hungarian patrols or the Hungarian insurgents: 'To solitary shots we replied with salvoes': AVP RF, F.059a, O. 4, P.6, D.5, L1.1-7. 'Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct. 1956.
54. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.12, L.1 'Information of Mikoyan and Suslov', 30 Oct. 1956.
55. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.17, L.4, 1 Nov. 1956, 'Notes of Kirichenko with enclosed reference report by the Commander of the Second Section of the Headquarters of the Administration of Border Guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Southwest Military Region'.
56. According to the report by András Takacs mentioned above, on 25 October a Hungarian prison guard in Gyor allegedly opened fire on a group of 500-600 youths when they attempted to break into a prison and free the convicts: AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.242, from the Diary of M.I. Petunin, 'Notes of a Conversation with a Member of the Gyor Regional Executive Committee of the HSWP, Comrade András Takacs', 29 Nov. 1956.
57. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.255, from the Diary of N. Sudarnikov, Adviser of the Soviet Embassy in Peking, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Trade Representative of Hungary to the PRC Lászlo Újházi', 4 Dec. 1956. Throughout the documents in the CPSU Central Committee and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) Archives, the employees of the ÁVO and MVD are referred to collectively as 'employees of the security organs'. Thus Újházi's reference to the MVD employees as having initiated gunfire does not necessarily contradict Barnes's reference to the ÁVO employees as being the first to shoot.
58. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-57, Vol. XXV, p. 260. Malashenko insists in his account, however, that the Hungarian insurgents first opened fire. 'Only when several of the defenders [that is, employees of the Hungarian security organs] had been killed and wounded did the guards receive permission to fire', he wrote. 'In a little while the Radio Building was captured by the attackers [Hungarian insurgents]. That's how the armed uprising in Budapest began': 'Malashenko', op. cit., 1993, No.10, p.26. Barnes's comment about 'Russian-speaking men in ÁVO uniforms' probably reflects his knowledge of CIA practices more than the practices of the Soviet military.
59. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955-57, Vol. XXV, p. 260. Malashenko insists in his account, however, that the Hungarian insurgents first opened fire. 'Only when several of the defenders [that is, employees of the Hungarian security organs] had been killed and wounded did the guards receive permission to fire', he wrote. 'In a little while the Radio Building was captured by the attackers [Hungarian insurgents]. That's how the armed uprising in Budapest began': 'Malashenko', op. cit., 1993, No.10, p.26. Barnes's comment about 'Russian-speaking men in ÁVO uniforms' probably reflects his knowledge of CIA practices more than the practices of the Soviet military.
60. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.11, L.1, 'Information from Serov to Mikoyan and Suslov about the situation in Hungary on 29 October 1956'. See also UN Committee Report, loc.cit., p.6.
61. Malashenko, op. cit., 1994, No.1, p.33.
62. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.12, L.2.
63. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.26, L.1, 'Information from Zhukov on the Situation in Hungary at 9 a.m., 5 November 1956'.
64. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.34, 'Draft of a Telegram to Andropov from the CPSU Central Committee, 9 November 1956'.
65. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.23, L.1, 'Information from Zhukov to Mikoyan and Suslov on November 4, 1956 On the Situation in Hungary as of 12 noon, 4 November 1956'.
66. Malashenko, op. cit., 1994, No.1, p.30.
67. Ibid., p.37.
68. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, P.6, D 5, L.17-19, 'Telegram of the Soviet Ambassador Andropov from Budapest', 1 Nov. 1956.
69. Ibid.
70. UN Committee Report, loc.cit., p.9.
71. Ibid., Ch.7, p.45. Since this report is largely based on interviews with refugees - who could not have been eyewitnesses of these negotiations - the view that the Soviet delegation itself was surprised is probably only a rumour.
72. Iene K'erkei, 'Kto byl togda komandirom: ob osobom korpuse i odnoi osobo strannoi stat'e' [Who Was the Commander Then: About the Special Corps and One Especially Strange Article], Most, 1992, Nos.1-2, p.42.
73. Telegram from Ambassador Charles Bohlen in Moscow to Secretary of State Dulles, 'Regarding Bohlen's Belief that the Soviet-Hungarian Commission to Negotiate the Withdrawal of Soviet Troops is a Sham', p.1 of three pages, 4 Nov. 1956, 12.00 noon Moscow time, No. 1048, National Security Archive, Washington, DC.
74. Malashenko, 1993, No.12, p.35.
75. TsKhSD, Rolik 5169, F.5, O.28, D 394, 'From Andropov to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. S. Patolichev, 21 September 1956'.
76. Eisenhower, Waging Peace, p.64.
77. Ibid., p.67.
78. Ibid.
79. UN Committee Report, Ch.2, p.7.
80. Khrushchev, Khrushchev Remembers, pp.417-18.
81. Already by 27 October, as reported by Antal Apro, there were about three thousand wounded Hungarians in the hospital, 250 of whom died: TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.9, L.3 'Information of Mikoyan from 27 October 1956'.
82. Malashenko, 1994, No.1 p.36.
83. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.36, L.1, 'Information from Zhukov on the Situation in Hungary as of 9 November 1956, 9 a.m.'.
84. TsKhSD, F.89, O.2, L.9-11, Information by Zhukov, 'Data About the Losses of the Soviet Troops on the Territory of Hungary in the period of the 1956 Events'.
85. Ibid.
86. AVP RF, F.059a, O.4, Por.5, P.6, L.20, 'Telegram from Andropov to the CPSU CC, 4 November 1956'. Kádár and Münnich, in fact, did not arrive back in Budapest from Szolnok until 6.10 a.m. on 7 November: see TsKhSD, F.89, O.2, D 3, L.27, 'Information from Zhukov to the CPSU CC'.
87. AVP RF, Delo No. 170 Information on Hungary, 'Questions of the Press - Telegram from Yu.V. Andropov to I.K. Zamchevskii, 4 December 1956'. The document did not specify exactly how these documents were destroyed, that is, whether the Soviet Embassy was attacked, or whether the Russians shredded documents themselves as a precaution.
88. Ibid.
89. Malashenko, no.12, 1993, p.34.
90. TsKhSD, F.89, O.2, D 3, L.39, 'Letter of Andrei Gromyko to János Kádár', 9 Nov. 1956.
91. TsKhSD, F.89, O.2, D 5, L.3-4, 'Information from Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov from Budapest', 17 Nov. 1956.
92. TsKhSD, F.89, O.2, D.3, L.13-15, 'Information by V. Nikolaev', 26 Nov. 1956.
93. 'K polozheniyu v Vengrii' [About the Situation in Hungary], Pravda, 6 Nov. 1956, p.4.
94. 'K polozheniyu v Vengrii' [About the Situation in Hungary], Pravda, 8 Nov. 1956, p.5.
95. The British and French paratroopers landed at Port Said early in the morning on 5 Nov. 1956.
96. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.41, L.1-2. 'Notes of Serov on 11 November 1956, to the CPSU (Khrushchev)'.
97. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.273, from the Diary of A.P. Kovalev, Adviser of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with Hungarian Minister of Trade Taus', 18 Dec. 1956.
98. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.34, L.5 'Telegram from the Soviet Ambassador Andropov in Hungary to Malenkov, Zhukov, Aristov, Pospelov and Gromyko', 9 Nov. 1956.
99. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.43, L.11.
100. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.39, L.2, 'Excerpts from Protocol 54 of the CPSU CC Presidium Session'.
101. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.49, L.3, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and A. Aristov from 22 November 1956'.
102. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.49, 14 pages, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and A. Aristov, 22 November 1956'.
103. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.51, L.3, 'Notes of Serov', from 24 Nov. 1956.
104. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.49, L.5, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov' to the CPSU CC Presidium, 22 Nov. 1956.
105. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.73, from the Diary of L.F. Ilichev, 'Notes of a Conversation with Hungarian Writer Béla Illés', 30 July 1957.
106. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.69, L.2, 'Protocol 80 of the CPSU CC Presidium Session on 4 March 1957, with Enclosed Telegram from A. Yepishev from Bucharest, Romania, to Khrushchev and the CPSU CC', 27 Jan. 1957.
107. TsKhSD, Fond 5, Opis 28, Rolik 5195, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Deputy Secretary of the United Nations Phillippe de Seine, and the Representative of the International Red Cross, Meyer'. Also TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.58, L.1-6, N. Ivanov, Head of the Department on Economics in Europe, 'Reference About Free Aid Given to Hungary By Other Countries'.
108. TsKhSD, Fond 5, Opis 28, Rolik 5195, Delo 479, 'Notes of a Conversation of Ambassador Andropov with the Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Karoly Szarka', 29 Jan. 1957. This 'shuffling of cadres' [peretasovka kadrov] applied, for instance, to the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where diplomats to the USSR, China, France, Belgium, Austria, USA, etc. were all replaced.
109. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.39, L.1, 'Excerpts of Protocol 54 of the Central Committee Presidium Session on 10 November 1956'. The economic workers were instructed 'to help restore order' in the railway system, newspapers and radio, provision of goods and overall management of the economy in the city of Budapest. They were 'located unofficially' in Hungary, and instructed to act strictly in accordance with Kádár's instructions alone.
110. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.48, L.2, 'Notes of Ivan Serov', 19 Nov. 1956.
111. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.57, L.1, 'Excerpts from Protocol 63 of the CPSU Presidium session of 8 December 1956'.
112. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.59, L.1, 'Protocol 64 of the Central Committee Presidium of 14 December 1956, About Sending Soviet Specialists and Party Workers to Hungary'.
113. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.60, L.1, 'Protocol 64, of the Presidium session of the CPSU Central Committee of 14 December 1956, The Issue of the Committee of State Security'.
114. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.76, L.2-3, 'Protocol 116 of the CPSU CC Presidium session on 11 October 1957, to Suslov, Belyaev, Pospelov, Furtseva and the Secretary of the CPSU Khrushchev'. Enclosure: From the Diary of V.S. Baikov, Adviser of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Director of the Department of Party and Mass Organizations of the CC HSWP, member of the Hungarian CC HSWP, József Sándor', 16 Sept. 1957. 'Recently a Soviet delegation of economic planners came to Hungary', continued Sándor, 'to give us a consultation for preparation of the three-year economic plan to develop the country. ... It is possible to ask our Hungarian economists: why, indeed, do we need Soviet specialists to look for Hungarian resources? We have enough economic specialists who are scholars and professors from academic institutions and research institutes, who study the economy of our country.'
115. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.46, L.4, 'Notes by Dudorov, Ministry of Internal Affairs, USSR', 16 Nov. 1956.
116. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.42, L.1, 'Notes of Serov to the CPSU (Khrushchev), 13 November 1956'.
117. László Zalai, 'Glazami prostovo vracha' (Through the Eyes of an Ordinary Doctor), Most, 1992, no. 1-2, p.43.
118. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.46, L.2, 'Notes of Dudorov, Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs', 16 Nov. 1956.
119. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.41, L.1, 'Notes of Serov', 11 Nov. 1956.
120. AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary, O.37, Por.4, P.187, from the Diary of I.K. Zamchevskii, 'Notes of a Conversation with Hungarian Ambassador to the USSR, János Boldocki', 18 Dec. 1956.
121. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.42, L.1, 'Notes of Serov', 13 Nov. 1956.
122. 'Skol'kikh lyudei zatronuli repressii?' (How Many People Were Repressed?) Most, 1992, Nos. 1-2, p.54. (The journal Most is a collection of essays written by Hungarian scholars, but translated into Russian for the Russian reading public). The number of executions given here may be a bit high; it has been estimated to be around 350 by the Institute for the History of the 1956 Revolution in Budapest.
123. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.46, L.2, 'Notes of Dudorov', Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs, 16 Nov. 1956.
124. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.46, L.7, 'Notes of Dudorov', Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs, 16 Nov. 1956.
125. Ibid.
126. However, in late November Kádár became tougher in his position on the arrests. In a speech at a workers' council, he allegedly said: 'Among the demands that are constantly repeated is the demand to stop the arrests. The arrests will not stop! The arrests will continue in the future! And if it is necessary, then they will become even stricter. ... Let the murderers stop their banditism, stop frightening the miners and workers, and then we will stop the arrests': TsKhSD, F.8, Per.45, Dok.52, L.4, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov on 26 November 1956'.
127. TsKhSD, F. L.89, Per.45, Dok.39, L.3, 'Excerpts from Protocol 54 of the CPSU CC Presidium Session of 10 November 1956'.
128. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.43, L.6, 'Telegram of Suslov and Aristov of 12 November 1956'.
129. See AVP RF, F.2, O.1, D 259, 'Stenographic Account of the June 1957 CPSU CC Plenum'. Also published as 'Poslednyaya "antipartiinaya" gruppa' [The Last Anti-Party Group], Istoricheskii arkhiv, 1993, Nos.3-6; 1994, Nos.1-2; I am grateful to Professor Mark Kramer, of Brown University, for bringing this point to my attention. See also TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.1, L.4, 'Telegram from Andropov in Budapest to the CPSU (Moscow)', 29 April 1956. 'Rákosi noted that he [Kádár] over the course of many years has shown himself to be an unstable person. ... It is advisable to have a talk with the Hungarian comrades, candidly expressing our fears in connection with the decision to include Révai and especially Kádár into the Politburo' [emphasis added].
130. See AVP RF, F.2, O.1, D 259, 'Stenographic Account of the June 1957 CPSU CC Plenum'. Also published as 'Poslednyaya "antipartiinaya" gruppa' [The Last Anti-Party Group], Istoricheskii arkhiv, 1993, Nos.3-6; 1994, Nos.1-2; I am grateful to Professor Mark Kramer, of Brown University, for bringing this point to my attention. See also TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.1, L.4, 'Telegram from Andropov in Budapest to the CPSU (Moscow)', 29 April 1956. 'Rákosi noted that he [Kádár] over the course of many years has shown himself to be an unstable person. ... It is advisable to have a talk with the Hungarian comrades, candidly expressing our fears in connection with the decision to include Révai and especially Kádár into the Politburo' [emphasis added].
131. On the day of Nagy's abduction from the Yugoslav Embassy, Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov also wrote 'Kádár has begun to understand better the need to conduct a harder line in the struggle with the reaction': TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.49, L.9, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov', 22 Nov. 1956.
132. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.42, L.3, 'Notes of Serov on 13 November 1956 to the CPSU (Khrushchev)'. Apparently this was simply a rumour; the prisoners were not sent to Siberia, but to various camps in the Soviet Ukraine.
133. Ibid., L.4-5.
134. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.46, L.4, 'Notes of Dudorov', Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs, 16 Nov. 1956. The arrested people asked Kholodkov, 'How did we - Hungarian citizens - end up on Soviet territory?' Assuring him that they had not acted against the Hungarian Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Party [under Kádár], nor against the Soviet troops, they demanded that their cases be processed more quickly, that their relatives in Hungary be informed of their fate, and that they be permitted to read Hungarian newspapers (ibid. L.3).
135. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.42, L.2, 'Notes of Serov of 13 November 1956, to the CPSU (Khrushchev)'.
136. New York Times, 23 March 1956, citing the Manchester Guardian.
137. New York Times, 23 March 1956, citing the Manchester Guardian.
138. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.48, L.1, 'Notes of Ivan Serov to the CPSU CC (Khrushchev)'.
139. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.48, 'Notes of Serov', 19 Nov. 1956.
140. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.48, L.1, 'Notes of Ivan Serov to the CPSU CC (Khrushchev)'.
141. Ibid.
142. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.44, L.1-2, 'Information of Serov and Andropov', 14 Nov. 1956.
143. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.52, L.6, 'Information of Malenkov, Suslov and Aristov', 26 Nov. 1956, to the CPSU CC.
144. RFE/RL News Briefs 3:7, 7-11 Feb. 1994, pp. 17-18.
145. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, 'Excerpts from Protocol 51 of the CPSU CC Presidium', 4 Nov. 1956. In fact, on 5 November at around 3 p.m. Soviet tanks fired on the Yugoslav Embassy, resulting in the death of Milovanov, the cultural attaché: AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, P.188, D. 18, L.38. In another document the date of this event is given as 6 November at 12.45 p.m.: TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.29, L.1 from the Diary of Shepilov, 'Copy of the Notes of the Conversation with Veljko Micunovic, the Yugoslav Ambassador to the USSR'.
146. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.11, L.4, 'Telegram of A.I. Mikoyan from Budapest to the CPSU CC with a Report from I.A. Serov', 29 Oct. 1956. See also AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.242, from the Diary of M.I. Petunin, 'Notes of a Conversation with Member of the Gyor Regional Executive Committee of the HSWP, András Takacs', 29 Nov. 1956.
147. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.64, L.6, 'Letter of István Kovács to the CPSU CC (Khrushchev) of 10 January 1957 - Request for a Reception to Discuss Hungarian Matters'.
148. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.10, L.2, 'Information of Serov', 28 Oct. 1956.
149. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.47, L.5, 'Letter to the CPSU CC from E. Gero, A. Hegedüs and I. Kovács' of 18 Nov. 1956.
150. AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary, O.37, Por.10, P.188, from the Diary of N. Sudarnikov, Adviser of the Soviet Embassy in Peking, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Trade Representative of Hungary to the PRC László Újházi', 4 Dec. 1956.
151. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.10, L.1, 'Information of Serov', 28 Oct. 1956.
152. Charles Gati, Hungary and the Soviet Bloc (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1986), p.145.
153. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.11, L.3, 'Telegram of A.I. Mikoyan from Budapest to the CPSU CC with a Report from I.A. Serov', 29 Oct. 1956.
154. Ibid.
155. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.39, L.4-5, 'Excerpts from Protocol 54 of the CC Presidium of the CPSU, with enclosed letter from Ivan Serov to the CPSU CC (Khrushchev)', 10 Nov. 1956.
156. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.39, L.2.
157. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.60, L.7, 'Protocol 64 of the CC Presidium Session of 14 December 1956 - The Issue of the Committee of State Security'.
158. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.53, L.3, 'The Notes of Ivan Serov', of 27 Nov. 1956.
159. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.53, L.3, 'The Notes of Ivan Serov', of 27 November 1956. See also TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.17, L.3, 'Notes of Kirichenko with Enclosed Report by Colonel Starovoitov'. The commander of the militia of the Hungarian People's Republic, Pocze [sic] opposed decisive measures against the individuals occupied in hostile activities against the democratic structure of Hungary.
160. AVP RF, F.059a, O. 4, P.6, D.5, L.1, 'Ciphered Telegram from A.I. Mikoyan and M.A. Suslov from Budapest to the Central Committee of the CPSU', 24 Oct. 1956.
161. AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary, O.37, Por.10, P.188, L.275, from the Diary of V.A. Kryuchkov, Third Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Hungary, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Secretary of the Union of Journalists, Ferenc Vadas, and the Secretary of the Organization of the HSWP of this Union Roza Peti [sic]', 18 Dec. 1956.
162. TsKhSD, F.89, Per.45, Dok.12, L.2, 'Information of Mikoyan and Suslov', 30 Oct. 1956.
163. AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary, O.37, Por.9, P.187, L.55, From the Diary of V.N. Kelin, 'Notes of a Conversation with the Employee of the Newspaper Népszava Lóránt and the editor of the journal Csillag Király', 17 June 1956.
164. Major Plyukhin, completely sober, was walking across the intersection of Rákosi and Beloiannisz streets in the city of Székesfehérvar. A Hungarian truck, appearing out of nowhere, ran over Plyukhin and killed him. It was discovered that the Hungarian truck driver was breaking the speed limit, failed to beep his horn to alert Plyukhin, and had defective breaks. Nevertheless, the Chief of the Department of the Supreme Procurator of Hungary, Endre Szenvedi, sided with the Hungarian truck driver against the Soviet military officer; Szenvedi concluded that it was Plyukhin's fault, because he was 'intoxicated'.
165. AVP RF, F.77, O.37, D 18, P.188, L.15, 'Note from Ambassador Andropov in Budapest to V.V. Kuznetsov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR', 18 May 1956.
166. AVP RF, F.77, O.37, D 18, L.25, 'From Major-General Sokolov to the Director of the Fifth European Division of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs', 7 Aug. 1956.
167. AVP RF, Fond: Information on Hungary: Political Issues, O.37, Por.17, P.188, L.31, 'The Suggestions of the Hungarians on the Realization of the Declaration of 30 October 1956', 30 Nov. 1956.
168. Ibid., L.39.
169. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.38, Por.14, P.193, L.27, 'Letter from János Kádár to N.A. Bulganin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of USSR', 23 May 1957.
170. AVP RF, Fond 077, O.37, Por.17, P.188, L.2, 'Notes of a Conversation of Comrades K.E. Voroshilov and A.I. Mikoyan with Comrade Rákosi', 27 Feb. 1956.
171. On 29 and 30 January 1957 the Soviet delegation, headed by Marshal Ivan Konev, the Supreme Commander of the Combined Armed Forces of the USSR, met the Hungarian delegation, led by Ferenc Münnich, Minister of the Armed Forces of Hungary. Apparently, the Hungarian army was discussed more than the Soviet army in Hungary. At the January meeting the military staff and number of troops of the Hungarian Army was discussed, as were the 'weapons system', 'anti-aircraft defence measures' and 'military advisers' in the country: AVP RF, Fond 077, O.38, Por.14, P.193, L.3, 'From the Ministry of Defence General Staff, Deputy Minister of Defence of the USSR, V.D. Sokolovskii, to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, N.S. Patolichev', 26 Feb. 1957. As for the presence of Soviet troops, Sokolovskii wrote to Patolichev, 'We think the issue about the legal status of the Soviet troops temporarily located on Hungarian territory can be examined later after a significant improvement of the situation' (ibid.). Another round of talks took place in Moscow on 20-28 March 1957 about the status of Soviet troops, 'temporarily' stationed on the territory of Hungary: ibid., L.8, 'From Marshal G. Zhukov and A. Gromyko, Minister of Foreign Affairs to the CPSU CC', 26 April 1957. An agreement was drafted by 26 April, and finalized in Budapest: ibid., L.11-20, 'Resolution of the CPSU CC about the Conduct of Talks with the Hungarian Government about the Conclusion of an Agreement about the Legal Status of the Soviet Troops in Hungary'.
172. Ibid., L.11-20, 'Resolution of the CPSU CC about the conduct of talks with the Hungarian government about the conclusion of an agreement about the legal status of the Soviet troops in Hungary'. See also 'From the Declaration of the Governments of the USSR and Hungary', 28 March 1957, Sovetsko-Vengerskie otnosheniya: 1948-70 (Moscow: Izdatel'stvo politicheskoi literatury, 1974), p.112.