Cultural and political patterns of Communism in central Europe: A case study of the Soviet-Hungarian relationship, 1948-5

The dissertation seeks to explain the two different patterns in Central and Eastern/Southern Europe: in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary Sovietization provoked major resistance, while in the other European countries the Soviet rule has been tolerated for four decades without any serious challenge.;The thesis of the paper is that the Central European nations, with strong western traditions, have rejected Soviet style communism since it has the "birthmarks" of the Byzantine Russian Orthodox culture, while the Eastern and Southern European countries that have Orthodox cultures themselves, including the Russian people, do not find the Soviet system too alien to their own culture.;The dissertation is a case study proving that the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was more a desperate rejection of Russification than anything else. As part of this study, the dissertation also analyzes the relationship between the Kremlin and the Hungarian "puppet" government.;Chapter One analyzes the Russian Mind, tracing it back to its Byzantine roots, through the Slavophile School, Russian Messianism and Panslavism, and Orthodox Authoritarianism. Chapter Two reviews the relevant aspects of Hegel's and Marx's systems, arguing that their system IS compatible with the Russian Mind. Chapter Three argues that the Soviet Union is not only a direct descendant of Orthodox Russia, but is "the political expression of Russian nationalism.".;Chapter Four reviews Hungary's thousand year old western orientation, up to World War Two. Chapter Five details Russification in Hungary from 1948 to 1956. Chapter Six shows how the cultural conflict has sharpened in Hungary to the point when Hungarians could not tolerate it anymore. The Conclusion shows that even today Russification is a major burning issue in Hungary.;The author left Hungary in 1956.