Soviet executioner of Hungary 1956 – Ivan Serov

Abstract

The history of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 is well known. However, the author of this article looks at these events through the eyes of the other side. The author has relied on new sources; namely, on the recently discovered and published memoirs of the NKVD general Ivan Serov, the bloody pacifier of the 1956 Hungarian revolution. At first Serov was the head of the “civilian” Soviet State Security (KGB) and later of the Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU).

From the beginning of Communist rule in Hungary, intense terror was its main feature. After Stalin’s death, there were signs of a crisis in the totalitarian system. The struggle for power among the communist elite intensified. The author also presents a typically Soviet Hungarian constitution of 1949. All decisions were made in Moscow. All the details of the cruel pacification in 1956 were directed by the head of the KGB – Serov. The Western democratic states kept their agreement with Stalin about the division of Europe. Hungary found itself under Soviet rule. No one helped Hungary – the agreements of Yalta 1945 were honored.