108 The Hungarian Revolution

In 1956 the Hungarians revolted against the regime that the Soviet Union imposed on them. Earlier that year, Khrushchev had launched a de-Stalinization campaign, and over the summer riots in Poland had led to some liberalization in that country. Throughout Hungary, councils seized power, and a new government was formed under Imre Nagy (1896-1958). Then Soviet troops intervened, and order was restored. This photograph shows a Russian soldier with a machine gun on a Budapest street.

Russian soldiers on patrol in Budapest
Budapest, 1956
Photograph, 15 x 21
BG A62/821 (from Het Vrije Volk collection)