Attempt to discredit Orban government fails

Hungarian revolutionaries were once branded fascists, anti-Semites, and the hirelings of imperialism by Janos Kadar's propaganda.

Fotó: Fortepan / Matthaeidesz Konrád

News of the new Russian state history textbook for 11th graders, prepared "by order of Russian President Putin", called the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 a fascist rebellion caused a considerable anti-government uproar in the Hungarian left-liberal press. The shocking information also stirred up the opposition parties, which regularly criticize and obstruct the work of the Hungarian government, and immediately spurred an opportunity for another attack.

The Democratic Coalition, Jobbik and Momentum woke up from their temporary slumber and called on the government to respond. In relation to the case, HVG.hu considered it important to mention that a historian at Klubradio discovered the government's "ambiguous" policy, and Telex.hu published an article with this telling headline: "The case of the Russian textbook labeling revolutionaries of 1956 fascist, shows how strongly the government chained itself to Putin".

Regardless of party affiliation, the labeling of Hungarian revolutionaries as fascists, rightly raised eyebrows, and many were waiting for the Hungarian government to react. 

Tamas Menczer, the state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, responded in a short statement and stated that the ominous claim is false, it is a historical fact that in 1956 the Hungarian revolutionaries rebelled against the communist dictatorship, and this topic is not a subject of debate.

The response did not satisfy the critics, with some calling for tough action and for the Russian ambassador to be summoned.

For some reason, an incident that happened last year in Mukachevo, in Transcarpathian Ukraine comes to mind, when, after a decision by the local government, the Turul monument - the turul is an ancient symbol of the House of Arpad and Hungarian military history - was sawed apart and thrown into the moat.  This very same now vocal opposition did not at the time demand diplomatic action against the Ukrainian authorities. Nevertheless, Janos Arpad Potapi, state secretary for policy regarding cross-border native Hungarian communities, expressed indignation on behalf of the Hungarian government.

There has been no similar move by the government, but we can already say that it was wise not to act hastily, for it would have made just as much a fool of itself as those who gave credence to the rumors in question. As it turns out, the Russian embassy denied the original claim in a Facebook post.

According to this - as reported by PestiSracok.hu - the source of the false information widely published in the Hungarian press was presumably the Latvia-based Meduza internet publication, which "specializses in the production and distribution of anti-Russian fake news".

In a post, the Russian embassy considered it important to highlight that when the textbook was presented in Moscow on August 8, officials noted that at least ten different draft versions of the textbook had reached the Russian press, but none of the draft textbooks described the 1956 revolution as fascist. The embassy emphasized that “modern Russia has unfailing respect for the historical memory of the Hungarian people and recognizes that there are complex issues in our shared history, such as the events of 1956.” 

The rumor about the Russian textbook also seemed unlikely because it did not fit in with the Russian apologies that began when Moscow signed the basic treaty between the Soviet Union and Hungary during Jozsef Antall's term as prime minister. At that time, President Gorbachev apologized to the Hungarians for crushing the 1956 revolution, and Boris Yeltsin reaffirmed this in writing on behalf of Russia. President Vladimir Putin also paid his respects to the memorial dedicated to the victims of the revolution when he visited Budapest in 2006.

The Hungarian freedom fighters were once branded in Kadar’s propaganda as fascists, anti-Semites, hirelings of imperialists, who wanted to restore the power of one-time landowners, aristocrats and churches. Our elderly fellow citizens may well remember the slanders spread by the traitors, which have now resurfaced, and the spiritual successors of former Communists would eagerly pin the blame on Putin.

Our left-wing opposition does not like today's Christian Russia and is keen to confuse it with the former communist Soviet Union by all means. Nor do they like Orban’s Christian government, and would gladly see a leftist-liberal-globalist opposition, nurturing communist ideas, at the helm. And they show no understanding for the Russians living in Ukraine, who already had their share of cruel fate before the war broke out, and fail to speak out against the unfriendly – to say the least – measures taken against ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Furthermore, they are indifferent to the hundreds of thousands of victims of the war, unfazed by the death toll rising day after day, as they unconditionally support Western arms supplies to Ukraine.

Let there be no doubt! This bunch would not mind if the revolutionaries of 1956 were branded fascists. However, making political gains on discrediting the Orban government, accused of pro-Russia sentiment, would come in handy for them, but this time they have failed.

The author is a journalist

Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: Fortepan/Konrad Matthaeidesz)