General Information / History

Soviet period

Following the fall of Nazi Germany, Hungary became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union, following a brief interval of democracy in 1946-47. After 1948, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi established Stalinist rule in the country, nearly unbearable for its war-torn citizens. This led to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. The Soviets massively retaliated militarily. Nearly a quarter of a million people left the country during the brief time that the borders were open in 1956. From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Hungary was often satirically referred to as "the happiest barrack" within the Eastern bloc, under the autocratic rule of its controversial communist leader, János Kádár.

Third Hungarian Republic

In the late 1980s, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and shifted toward multiparty democracy and a market-oriented economy. On October 23, 1989, Mátyás Szűrös declared the Third Hungarian Republic and became interim President. Hungary's first free elections were held in 1990. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Hungary developed closer ties with Western Europe as well as with other Central European countries. It became a member of the Visegrad Group in 1991, joined NATO in 1999, and became a member of the European Union on May 1, 2004.

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