Hungary had had five brief days of freedom in October 1956 before the doublecross. Faced with the impressive force of the rebellion, Soviet Vice Premier Anastas Mikoyan had given a solemn pledge to withdraw the Red army. Four days later a horrified Premier Imre Nagy went on the air to "notify the people of our country and the entire world" that the Russians had launched a massive surprise attack on Budapest. Nagy fled to the Yugoslav embassy for sanctuary, while from a Budapest cellar Soviet Commissar Mikhail Suslov ran Hungary.
As Nagy sat in...
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