Why was Matyas Rakosi’s Soviet-backed government so unpopular?

• The country was run by the Communist Party despite them only initially achieved 17% of the vote

• Rakosi accepted no opposition to his regime

• There were thousands of Soviet troops and officials in the country and Hungarians had to pay for them

• Over 2,000 had been executed; and more than 200,000 had been put in prison or concentration camps

• Its people were aware and proud of their culture, traditions and history

• But in schools, children were obliged to learn Communist history as well as the Russian language

• And the government controlled the press, theatre, art and music

• Hungarians lost their freedom of speech and they lived in fear of the secret police, the State Protection Group (AVO)

• Soviet control of education meant the children were taught a Communist version of history

• Hungarians were Christian but the Church was seen as subversive and was persecuted; Cardinal Mindszenty was imprisoned

• There were Russian street signs, schools and shops

• The standard of living, already poor, had dropped alarmingly

• Many of the best goods made in Hungary went to the Soviet Union

• Food shortages were blamed on the collective farms which had been forced on Hungary

• Workers were poorly paid