1956 in 2021
Tuesday, October 26th, 2021In their speeches on October 23, both Prime Minister Orbán and the leaders of the opposition claimed that they are the true heirs of the 1956 freedom fighters. READ MORE
Pro-government weeklies on the anti-Gyurcsány movie film
Monday, October 25th, 2021Pro-government film producer Gábor Kálomista’s new thriller on the street clashes and brutal police clampdown before and on the anniversary of the 1956 revolution in 2006 is proving a great success among the pro-government public. 15 years after the controversial events took place with Ferenc Gyurcsány as Prime Minister, remembering those days has been one of the main themes of this year’s celebration of the anniversary on the government side. (For the 2006 riots, see e.g., BudaPost, September 5, 2011.) READ MORE
65 after 56
Saturday, October 23rd, 2021On the 65th anniversary of the 1956 revolution, a left-wing commentator and his right-wing counterpart draw diametrically opposing lessons for the present from the history of the popular uprising. READ MORE
A mix of history and politics in interpretations of 1956
Monday, October 26th, 2020Articles on the 64th anniversary of the revolution tend to reflect the well-known polarisation of public opinion on cultural and political issues. READ MORE
Remembering the 56 revolution
Friday, October 23rd, 2020Sporadic references of the revolution appear on media outlets one day before the anniversary – a national holiday, with no newspapers published. READ MORE
Hungary remembers the 1956 revolution
Friday, October 25th, 2019A left-wing commentator accuses Prime Minister Orbán of turning his back on the ideals of the 1956 revolution. A pro-government columnist finds such accusations absurd. READ MORE
Imre Nagy’s statue removed
Monday, December 31st, 2018A left-wing columnist interprets the removal of Imre Nagy’s monument from the immediate vicinity of Kossuth Square as the completion of Viktor Orbán’s ideological turn and his betrayal of his 1989 democratic vision. A conservative historian welcomes the decision, claiming that Imre Nagy was a nationalist communist rather than a hero of democracy. READ MORE
Hungarians deeply divided on the anniversary of the revolution
Thursday, October 25th, 2018Commentators are just as divided on the speeches by leading politicians as the latter were in their interpretations of 1956 and current political matters. READ MORE
Lessons of the 1956 revolution
Monday, October 22nd, 2018A conservative and a liberal pundit recall the 1956 revolution and interpret contemporary politics in the light of past events. READ MORE
Imre Nagy statue to be removed to new site
Tuesday, July 24th, 2018A conservative critic of the government accuses the governing party of failing to find a place in its ideology for the remembrance of the martyred Prime Minister of the 1956 revolution. READ MORE