Table of Contents

Preface by Arpad Goncz; Foreword by Charles Gati; Introductory Essay:; Forty Years On by Timothy Garton Ash; Editors' Introduction and Acknowledgements; Acronyms and Abbreviations; Chronology of Events. PART ONE - HUNGARY BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: Introduction; Document No. 1: Notes of Meeting between CPSU CC Presidium and HWP Political Committee Delegation in Moscow, June 13 and 16, 1953; Document No. 2: "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Worker's Party concerning the Mistakes Committed in the Policy and Practice of the Party, and the Tasks Necessary to Correct These Mistakes," June 28, 1953; Document No. 3: NSC 174, "United States Policy toward the Soviet Satellites in Eastern Europe," December 11, 1953; Document No. 4: Notes of Discussion between the CPSU CC Presidium and a HWP Leadership Delegation in Moscow, May 5, 1954; Document No. 5: Notes of Discussions between the CPSU CC Presidium and a HWP Leadership Delegation in Moscow, January 12, 1955; Document No. 6: Dispatch 1086, "Balloons to Hungary," March 24, 1955; Document No. 7: National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 12-56, "Probable Developments in the European Satellites," January 10, 1956; Document No. 8: Study Prepared for U.S. Army Intelligence, "Hungary: Resistance Activities and Potentials," January 1956; Document No. 9: Soviet Foreign Ministry Notes on Current Issues in Soviet Global Policy, January 4, 1956; Document No. 10: British Foreign Office Minutes concerning Developments in Eastern Europe, June 5, 1956; Document No. 11: Memorandum from Kliment Voroshilov to the CPSU CC Presidium regarding His Meeting with Matyas Rakosi, June 26, 1956; Document No. 12: NSC 5608, "U.S. Policy toward the Soviet Satellites in Eastern Europe" (Excerpts), July 6, 1956; Document No. 13: Minutes of 290th NSC Meeting, July 12, 1956; Document No. 14: Nikita Khrushchev's Letter to Matyas Rakosi and other Socialist Leaders, July 13, 1956; Document No. 15: Report from Anastas Mikoyan on the Situation in the Hungarian Workers' Party, July 14, 1956; Document No. 16: Memorandum from J.G. Ward to the British Foreign Office, "British Policy towards the Satellites," July 17, 1956; Document No. 17: National Security Council Report NSC 5608/1, "U.S. Policy toward the Soviet Satellites in Eastern Europe," July 18, 1956; Document No. 18: Letter from Erno Gero to Josip Broz Tito, July 19, 1956; Document No. 19: Report from Ambassador Yurii Andropov on Deteriorating Conditions in Hungary, August 29, 1956; Document No. 20: North Atlantic Council Document C-M(56)110, "The Thaw in Eastern Europe," September 24, 1956; Document No. 21: Record of Conversation between Yurii Andropov and Erno Gero, October 12, 1956; Document No. 22: Memorandum from the British Foreign Office to the British NATO Delegation, October 16, 1956; Document No. 23: Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium, October 20, 1956; Document No. 24: The "Sixteen Points" Prepared by Hungarian Students, October 22-23, 1956. PART TWO - FROM DEMONSTRATIONS TO REVOLUTION: Introduction; Document No. 25: Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium, October 23, 1956; Document No. 26: Situation Report from Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov in Budapest to the CPSU CC Presidium, October 24, 1956; Document No. 27: Jan Svoboda's Notes on the CPSU CC Presidium Meeting with Satellite Leaders, October 24, 1956; Document No. 28: Memorandum of Conversation between John Foster Dulles and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge, October 24, 1956; Document No. 29: Minutes of Czechoslovak (CPCz) Politburo Meeting, October 24, 1956; Document No. 30: Notes on the 38th Meeting of the Special Committee on Soviet and Related Problems, Washington, October 25, 1956; Document No. 31: Memorandum from Thomas Brimelow to the British Foreign Office News Department, October 25, 1956; Document No. 32: Situation Report from Anastas Mikoyan to CPSU CC Presidium, October 26, 1956; Document No. 33: Report from Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov to the CPSU CC Presidium on Talks with HWP Leaders, October 26, 1956; Document No. 34: Memorandum of Discussion at the 301st Meeting of the National Security Council, October 26, 1956, 9-10:42 a.m.; Document No. 35: Memoranda of Conversation between President Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles, October 26, 1956; Document No. 36: Minutes of the 55th Meeting of the Romanian Workers' Party Political Committee, October 26, 1956; Document No. 37: French Foreign Ministry Instructions to United Nations Representative M. Cornut-Gentille, October 27, 1956; Document No. 38: Report from Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov in Budapest to the CPSU CC, October 27, 1956; Document No. 39: HWP CC Political Committee Meeting, October 28, 1956; Document No. 40: Working Notes from the CPSU CC Presidium Session, October 28, 1956; Document No. 41: Soviet Foreign Ministry and CPSU CC Presidium Instructions to Yurii Andropov and Arkadii Sobolev, October 28, 1956; Document No. 42: Report from Yuri Andropov Transmitting a Back-Dated Request for Soviet Intervention from Andras Hegedus to the CPSU CC Presidium, October 28, 1956; Document No. 43: Minutes of the First Meeting of the Hungarian National Government, October 28, 1956; Document No. 44: Radio Message from Imre Nagy Announcing the Formation of a New Government, October 28, 1956, 5:25 p.m.; Document No. 45: Transcripts of Radio Free Europe Programs, Advising on Military Tactics to Use Against a Superior Enemy, October 28, 1956; Document No. 46: Proclamation by Imre Nagy on the Creation of a Multi-Party System, October 30, 1956; Document No. 47: Situation Report from Anastas Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov in Budapest, October 30, 1956; Document No. 48: Cable from Italian Communist Party Leader Palmiro Togliatti to CPSU CC Presidium, October 30, 1956; Document No. 49: Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium on October 30, 1956 (Re: Point 1 of Protocol No. 49); Document No. 50: "Declaration by the Government of the USSR on the Principles of Development and Further Strengthening of Friendship and Cooperation between the Soviet Union and other Socialist States," October 30, 1956; Document No. 51: Minutes of the 58th Meeting of the Romanian Politburo, October 30, 1956; Document No. 52: Information Report from Bulgarian State Security on the Activities of "Hostile Elements," October 30, 1956; Document No. 53: Working Notes and Attached Extract from the Minutes of the CPSU CC Presidium Meeting, October 31, 1956; Document No. 54: Draft telegram to Italian Communist Leader Palmiro Togliatti on the Situation in Hungary (CPSU CC Protocol 49), October 31, 1956; Document No. 55: Instructions from Koea Popoviae, Yugoslav Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Ambassador Dalibor Soldatiae, October 31, 1956 (Excerpt); Document No. 56: Record of Conversation between Yugoslav Ambassador Dalibor Soldatiae and Janos Kadar, October 31, 1956 (Excerpt); Document No. 57: Minutes of the Nagy Government's Second Cabinet Meeting, October 31, 1956; Document No. 58: Telegram from Imre Nagy to Kliment Voroshilov Proposing Negotiations on the Withdrawal of Soviet Troops, October 31, 1956; Document No. 59: Draft Minute by British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd to Prime Minister Anthony Eden, October 31, 1956; Document No. 60: Minutes of the 59th Romanian Politburo Meeting, October 31, 1956; Document No. 61: Minutes of the Nagy Government's Third Cabinet Meeting, November 1, 1956; Document No. 62: Memorandum of Discussion at the 302d Meeting of the National Security Council, Washington, November 1, 1956, 9-10:55 a.m.; Document No. 63: Cryptogram from the Polish Ambassador in Budapest, Adam Willman, to Warsaw, November 1, 1956; Document No. 64: Minutes of the Nagy Government's Fourth Cabinet Meeting, November 1, 1956; Document No. 65: Report from Yuri Andropov in Budapest to the CPSU CC Presidium, November 1, 1956; Document No. 66: Telegram from Imre Nagy to Diplomatic Missions Declaring Hungary's Neutrality, November 1, 1956; Document No. 67: Telegram from Imre Nagy to U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, November 1, 1956; Document No. 68: Imre Nagy's Declaration of Hungarian Neutrality (Radio Broadcast), 1 November 1956; Document No. 69: Minutes of the PZPR Politburo Meeting Reacting to the Soviet Decision to Use Military Force in Hungary, November 1, 1956; Document No. 70: Working Notes from the CPSU CC Presidium Session with the Participation of Janos Kadar and Ferenc Munnich, November 2, 1956; Document No. 71: Minutes of the Nagy Government's Fifth Cabinet Meeting, November 2, 1956; Document No. 72: Hungarian Government Protest, November 2, 1956; Document No. 73: Imre Nagy's Note Verbale to the Chiefs of Diplomatic Mission in Budapest Informing of Soviet Military Movements and Hungarian Intentions to Negotiate, November 2, 1956; Document No. 74: Telegram from Imre Nagy to U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, November 2, 1956; Document No. 75: Resolution of the CPCz CC Politburo Supporting Planned Soviet Measures, November 2, 1956; Document No. 76: Notes of Yugoslav Ambassador to Moscow Veljko Miaeunoviae on Negotiations between Yugoslav and Soviet Leaders at Brioni, November 3, 1956; Document No. 77: Nikita Khrushchev's Recollections of Discussions between the CPSU CC Presidium and Hungarian Leaders Janos Kadar and Ferenc Munnich in Moscow, November 3, 1956 (Excerpt); Document No. 78: Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium, with the Participation of Janos Kadar, Ferenc Munnich, and Imre Horvath, November 3, 1956; Document No. 79: Working Notes of Imre Horvath from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium, November 3, 1956; Document No. 80: Hungarian Government Instructions to Acting U.N. Representative Janos Szabo, November 3, 1956; Document No. 81: Telegram from Jean Laloy, Head of the European Department of the French Foreign Ministry, to the French Delegation in New York, November 3, 1956. PART THREE - HUNGARY IN THE AFTERMATH: Introduction; Document No. 82: Radio Statement by Imre Nagy Announcing an Attack by Soviet Forces on the Hungarian Government, November 4, 1956; Document No. 83: Report from Georgii Zhukov to the CPSU CC, November 4, 1956, 12 a.m.; Document No. 84: Working Notes from the Session of the CPSU CC Presidium, Protocol No. 51, November 4, 1956; Document No. 85: Instructions to Soviet Ambassador Nikolai Firyubin to Inform the Yugoslavs of the Soviet Position concerning Imre Nagy, November 4, 1956; Document No. 86: Action Taken as a Result of White House Decision, November 4, 1956; Document No. 87: RFE Press Review on U.N. Action against the Soviet Union, November 4, 1956; Document No. 88: Yugoslav Foreign Ministry Instructions to Dalibor Soldatiae, November 4, 1956; Document No. 89: Notes from the CPSU CC Presidium Meeting Reflecting a CPSU Leadership Split, November 6, 1956; Document No. 90: Letter from Nikita Khrushchev to Josip Tito, November 7, 1956; Document No. 91: Josip Tito Letter to Nikita Khrushchev, November 8, 1956; Document No. 92: Memorandum of Discussion of the 303rd Meeting of the NSC, November 8, 1956 (Excerpts); Document No. 93: Message from Andrei Gromyko to Janos Kadar, November 9, 1956; Document No. 94: Memoranda of Telephone Conversations between President Eisenhower and Henry Cabot Lodge, and between President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, November 9, 1956; Document No. 95: Minutes of the HSWP Provisional Central Committee Meeting, November 11, 1956 (Excerpts); Document No. 96: Speech by Josip Tito at Pula, November 11, 1956; Document No. 97: Report by Soviet Deputy Interior Minister M. N. Holodkov to Interior Minister N. P. Dudorov, November 15, 1956; Document No. 98: Report by Georgii Malenkov, Mikhail Suslov, and Averki Aristov on Hungarian-Yugoslav Negotiations, November 17, 1956; Document No. 99: National Security Council Report NSC 5616/2, "Interim U.S. Policy on Developments in Poland and Hungary," November 19, 1956 (Excerpts); Document No. 100: Notes of the Meeting between Dobrivoje Vidiae and the Nagy Group, November 19, 1956; Document No. 101: Hungarian Minutes of the Negotiations between Janos Kadar and Dobrivoje Vidiae, November 20, 1956; Document No. 102: Situation Report from Georgii Malenkov, Mikahil Suslov, and Averki Aristov, November 22, 1956; Document No. 103: Extracts from Josip Tito's Letter to Nikita Khrushchev on the Tensions between Belgrade and Moscow Caused by the Hungarian Revolution, December 3, 1956; Document No. 104: Resolution of the Provisional Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, December 5, 1956 (Excerpts); Document No. 105: "Policy Review of Voice for Free Hungary Programming, October 23-November 23, 1956," December 5, 1956; Document No. 106: Vladimir Baikov's Telegram to the CPSU CC Suggesting a Multilateral Meeting on the "Imre Nagy Group," December 28, 1956; Document No. 107: Memorandum from Boris Ponomarev to the CPSU CC on the Hungarian Government's Draft Declaration concerning "Major Tasks," December 29, 1956; Document No. 108: Romanian and Czech Minutes on the Meeting of Five East European States' Leaders in Budapest (with Attached Final Communique), January 1-4, 1957; Document No. 109: Minutes of a Meeting between the Hungarian and Chinese Delegations in Budapest, January 16, 1957; Document No. 110: National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 12-57, "Stability of the Soviet Satellite Structure," February 19, 1957; Document No. 111: HSWP Provisional Central Committee Resolution concerning the Evaluation of the Nagy Group's Role, February 26, 1957 (Excerpts); Document No. 112: Kadar's Report before the HSWP Provisional Executive Committee on the Soviet-Hungarian Negotiations in Moscow, April 2, 1957; Document No. 113: Notes of Talks between the Party-State PPR Delegation and the Party-State USSR Delegation, Moscow, May 24-25, 1957; Document No. 114: CPSU CC Plenum Transcript from June 24, 1957 (Excerpt from Evening Session); Document No. 115: Minutes of the HWSP Central Committee Meeting, December 21, 1957 (Excerpts); Document No. 116: Letter from Yuri Andropov to the CPSU CC regarding the Trial of Imre Nagy, August 26, 1957; Document No. 117: Memorandum from Yuri Andropov to the CPSU CC, August 29, 1957; Document No. 118: National Security Council Report 5811, "Policy toward the Soviet-Dominated Nations in Eastern Europe," May 9, 1958; DOCUMENTARY EPILOGUE; Document No. 119: Extraordinary Meeting of the HSWP Political Committee Discussing Imre Pozsgay's Declaration on 1956 (Excerpt), January 31, 1989; Document No. 120: Remarks on the Hungarian Revolution by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, December 6, 1991, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, November 11, 1992. Main Actors. Organizations. Bibliography. Index.

About the Author

Csaba Bekes is Director of the Cold War History Research Centre and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Budapest. Malcolm Byrne is Deputy Director and Director of Research at the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C. Janos Rainer is General Director of the Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Reviews

"One cannot stop reading. It is a sad story of hopeless struggle, of reckless Soviet actions, of the passivity of the west, and of the death of thousands of Hungarians. Nevertheless, it is also the tale of a heroic struggle that fatally wounded the Soviet empire and undermined the communist regimes, leading to victory in the long run."
*Slavic Review*

"The Hungarian revolution began with mass demonstrations in Budapest in October that shocked the Russians and encouraged American officials hoping for a crack in the Soviet empire...Today, Hungary is in NATO and the Soviet Union is no more. But the experience faced by American officials, as they tried to balance two crises and watched events spin out of their control, is illuminated in "The 1956 Hungarian Revolution: A History in Documents," a new book of archival material published by the Central European University Press in cooperation with the National Security Archive in Washington."
*New York Times*

"This collection of documents on the 1956 Hungarian revolution-perhaps the last in Europe that can be called truly spontaneous-is well worth its hefty price. Two prominent scholars from the Institute for the History of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Budapest (Csaba Bekes and Janos Rainer) and one from the National Security Archive (Malcolm Byrne) have edited this third volume in the series of Cold War readers published by the Central European University Press.... The 1956 Hungarian revolution is an indispensable research tool for scholars and advanced graduate students."
*International Affairs*

"...scholars and general readers alike will find The 1956 Hungarian Revolution extremely handy in collecting these and many more documents under one cover ... an indispensable research tool."
*H-Net Book Review*

"With the use and inclusion of hitherto unknown material recovered from Russian archives, the book will be a gold mine for any future interpretive work... an unsurpassed, thoroughly up to date collection of documents that is likely to stimulate further research and interpretation by future generations of scholars."
*Contemporary Austrian Studies*