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

Four decades ago, the first major anti‐Soviet uprising in Eastern Europe ‐ the 1956 Hungarian revolution ‐ took place. To Western observers, Soviet military interventions have usually appeared flawlessly executed. However, newly declassified documents from KGB, Central Committee and Foreign Ministry archives reveal the difficulties Soviet leaders had in getting their Hungarian communist colleagues to fight resolutely. The violent student demonstration of 23 October caught off‐guard the Soviet ‘Special Corps’ stationed in Hungary under General Lashchenko, despite earlier signs of popular discontent. The intervention and subsequent ‘pacification’ were far removed from the ‘neat’ operation as they have been portrayed. Pro‐Soviet Hungarians found themselves in a particularly difficult position, the Soviet military operations displayed serious flaws, and KGB officials faced substantial obstacles in the ensuing period of ‘normalization’.