Hungarian Soviet Republic

The Hungarian Soviet Republic was the political regime in Hungary from March 21, 1919 until the beginning of August of the same year, and it is the second Communist (or soviet) government in world history, after the one in Russia (1917).

Birth of the Soviet Republic

The immediate cause of the formation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic was the failure of Count Mihály Károlyi's government of the re-born state of Hungary to reorganize the country's social and economic life on the shambles left over after the lost war and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After less than six months in power, Károlyi was dismissed by a coalition of Socialist Democrats and Communists.

Related Topics:
Mihály Károlyi - War - Austro-Hungarian Empire

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The Hungarian Communist Party was very small at this time, but its members were very active and it grew rapidly. It had a meteoric, if precocious, rise to political power. An initial nucleus of the party had been organized just a few months earlier, in a Moscow hotel on November 4 1918, when a group of Hungarian prisoners of war and some other communist sympathizers formed a Central Committee. Led by Béla Kun, they soon left for Hungary and started to recruit new members and propagate the party's ideas, radicalizing many of the Social Democrats. By February 1919, the party numbered 30,000 to 40,000 members, including many unemployed ex-soldiers, young intellectuals and ethnic minorities.

Related Topics:
Hungarian Communist Party - Moscow - November 4 - 1918 - Béla Kun - Social Democrat - 1919

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Kun founded a communist newspaper, called Vörös Újság (Red News), and concentrated on attacking Károlyi's government. During the following months, the power and influence of the Communist Party grew very quickly. Their supporters began to stage aggressive demonstrations against, among other things, hostile newspapers. In one crucial incident, a demonstration turned violent on February 20 and the protesters attacked the editorial office of the Socialist Democrats' official paper, called Népszava (People's Word). In the ensuing chaos, 7 people - inculding policemen - were killed. The government used this incident as a reason to arrest the leaders of the Hungarian Communist Party, ban the Red News and close down the party's buildings. The arrests were particularly violent, with police officers openly beating the communists. This resulted in a wave of public sympathy for the Communist Party. On March 1, the Red News was given permission to publish again, and the Communist Party's premises were re-opened. The leaders were permitted to receive guests in their prison, which allowed them to keep up with political affairs.

Related Topics:
February 20 - March 1

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After receiving the Vix Ultimatum (that required more Hungarian territorial cessions) on March 20, Károlyi announced that the Dénes Berinkey government would resign. On March 21 he informed the Council of Ministers that only the Socialist Democrats could form a new government, as they were the party with the highest public support. In order to form a governing coalition, the Socialist Democrats started negotiations with the Communist leaders - who were still imprisoned - and decided to unite their two parties under the name of Hungarian Socialist Party. President Károlyi, who was an outspoken anti-communist, was not informed about this fusion. Thus, while believing to have appointed a Socialist government, he found himself faced with a Marxist coalition dominated by Communists instead.

Related Topics:
Vix Ultimatum - March 20 - Dénes Berinkey - March 21

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