The Hungarian Experience of Building Socialism in the Era of János Kádár in a Historical Retrospective

Abstract

The Hungarian Communist politician János Kádár, having come to power with direct Soviet military support in November 1956 in the days of a deep internal political crisis in the country, had to fully comply with the will of Moscow at the early stage of his tenure as the head of the government. However, having consolidated his power and proven to the Soviet leaders that he was in complete control of the situation in Hungary, he could allow himself more independence in foreign and domestic policy. Since the early 1960s, the regime has steadily developed along the path of liberalization in accordance with the declared principle “whoever is not against us is with us”. In 1968, an economic reform was launched aimed at making the economy more efficient, but in 1972–1974 it was forced to be curtailed due to internal contradictions and ongoing Soviet pressure. With the refusal of reforms, the Hungarian model of socialism entered a period of crisis; it was only possible to maintain the already achieved level of welfare and to minimize public discontent with the help of a growing external debt. The specifics of this model, however, ensured a fairly smooth transition to an entirely different model in the context of a “change of systems” at the turn of the 1980s – 1990s.

Received: 09.12.2024.
Revised: 12.02.2025.
Accepted: 18.03.2025.

Citation
Stykalin A. S. The Hungarian Experience of Building Socialism in the Era of János Kádár in a Historical Retrospective // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 139–160 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.06