Hungary and Czechoslovakia – what’s similar and what’s different

Similar

Different

Context and nature of unrest

Both sought greater political freedom: H free elections and impartial courts; C less censorship, more freedom of speech and competitive elections

Both wanted a better standard of living

H – Khrushchev and de-Stalinisation (Ks Secret Speech) seemed to be heralding a more tolerant period

C – Brezhnev, having replaced K, wanted a return to Stalinism

What happened

Both in H and C The protests led by students or intellectuals

And as a result, Soviet backed leaders were forced to resign

In each case the USSR feared that such ideas might spread

H wanted to leave the Warsaw Pact

In C the USSR was under pressure from other Eastern bloc countries to act

The USSRs reaction

Soviet troops and tanks moved in …

… though in C these were complemented by troops from other Eastern bloc countries

Consequences

Resentment of the USSR only increased

America and the West did not intervene

H – bitter fighting with many dead

C – mostly passive resistance

H – Nagy executed

C – Dubcek humiliated but survived