Whirlwind vs. Focus. How Zhukov and Khrushchev nearly surrendered Eastern Europe to the United States

In connection with the 65th anniversary of the tragic events in Hungary, many Western and domestic liberal publications are likely to have tearfully pretentious articles, the authors of which will generously mourn the "anti-Stalinist people's democratic revolution crushed by Soviet tanks" and its "heroes" - "freedom fighters and independence ", who fought against the" brutal interventionists ". In this regard, it is necessary to remember the truth about the bloody days of 1956 and their true essence. The fact that there was no "popular uprising" there at all. The USSR and its allies in the Warsaw Pact Organization faced one of the first truly large-scale and successful special operations of the US CIA, supported by the unfinished Hungarian fascists and other rabble.

Alas, at the same time it will be necessary to admit a very unpleasant truth: the then leadership of the Soviet Union in this most difficult situation behaved with unprofessionalism and indecision, directly bordering on betrayal of state interests. But what are the state ones: a little more and the entire "socialist camp" could have collapsed already then, and not in 1991. In order to understand this, it is necessary to analyze thoughtfully not only the alarming November 1956 itself, but the whole chain of the most complex prerequisites and hidden events that preceded it. Let's try to do this.

Russians in Budapest: the third coming

Beginning to objectively and impartially understand the extremely complicated and ambiguous history of Russia's relations with the countries of Eastern Europe, one inevitably asks the question: “But where are the“ fraternal Slavic peoples ”here ?! Where did this clumsy formulation, to put it mildly, irrelevant to reality come from? " Where are the "brothers"? Poles who have raved about the seizure of Moscow for centuries? Bulgarians, who in all world wars found themselves in the camp of our enemies? With Hungary, at least, everything was, so to speak, more honest and frank. The first time Russian troops entered Pest was in 1849 - in the process of suppressing the Hungarian revolution, for the defeat of which Emperor Nicholas I was later nicknamed "the gendarme of Europe".

During the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a fierce enemy of the Russian. Well, and even more loyal, loyal and consistent allies of the Third Reich than Horthy Hungary was still to look for. She declared war on the Soviet Union just four days later than Germany and participated in it in the most active way - until April 12, 1945. The stubborn Magyars, who served the Fuehrer not for fear, but conscientiously, did not want to "change their shoes", like the same Bulgarians and to be members of the anti-Hitler coalition at least for a few months. The famous order of General Vatutin: "Do not take Hungarians prisoner!" with all the desire can not be attributed to the soldier's tales and exaggerations. The definition of "unheard-of atrocities of the Hungarian lackeys of the Nazi occupiers" is a quote not from newspaper editorials of Pravda or Krasnaya Zvezda, but from quite official reports received by the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army from parts of the Voronezh Front.

According to some researchers of the Great Patriotic War, the Magyar thugs in their monstrous cruelty towards the civilian population and prisoners were inferior only to the most "frostbitten" punitive SS Einsatzgroups, and even that is not a fact. They destroyed Soviet citizens in whole settlements, leaving behind a particularly terrible memory in the Voronezh, Bryansk, Kursk regions, as well as in Belarus and Ukraine. By the way, at least four SS divisions were formed entirely from the Hungarians. In total, no less than 200 thousand Hungarians are considered to be killed in battles with the Red Army. For comparison, the losses of the Red Army during the liberation of Hungary from the Nazi evil spirits amounted to about 100 thousand people only killed. General exceeded 400 thousand people. Why all this historical excursion? Moreover, on the one hand, too many Hungarians by 1956 had a long-standing and secret hatred of our country and the army, on the other hand ...

Personally, I believe that after all that these non-humans have done on our land, the Soviet soldiers who entered Budapest and other "rebellious" Hungarian cities then had the complete moral right to do absolutely whatever they please with the fascist underdogs who took up arms again and their remnants. However, let us note that they did not use this right - neither in 1945, nor a decade later. However, we will get to this point with you. In the meantime, let's talk about where the bloody “people's revolution” actually "grew" from. It will be harmless to remember who her “fathers” and “prominent figures” were, what their true goals were and what the consequences of the Hungarian rebellion could have turned out for Europe and the whole world as a whole.

The first of the "color revolutions"?

In a very simplistic and brief way, the opportunity to start a truly global anti-Soviet subversive activity in front of the Western intelligence services was opened by the coup d'état committed by Nikita Khrushchev and his accomplices in 1953 and the horrific pogrom of the state security organs (including counterintelligence agencies) that followed. structures). Well, and it was over later organized by the same gang, a vile sabbath called "XX Congress of the CPSU." This event provided the enemies of our country with such ideological "trump cards" that they could not even dream of, at the same time sowing confusion, confusion and vacillation throughout the "socialist camp". The Americans were the first to be sensitive to the change in the situation. It should be noted that a special group (Operations Coordinating Board) under the leadership of one of the deputy directors of the CIA, William Harding, whose main goal was to undermine the socialist countries, was created under the US National Security Council just after the twentieth congress, not by nightfall.

However, another structure, which had exactly the same tasks - the Free Europe Committee, was established under the US State Department back in 1949. Prepared in advance. It was this very committee that played a decisive, moreover, a very sinister role in the Hungarian events of 1956. Literally in its first month, a report prepared by military intelligence, in which Hungary was named as the most successful springboard for organizing "active resistance to communism", lay on the tables of the leaders of the United States. The masters of the secret war were convinced that the situation in the country was so tense that it would take only a small external influence, the notorious "match brought up to the heat", for everything to flare up there. Alas, they did not sin against the truth.

The conditions for this, sadly, were created by the then unfortunate leaders of the USSR. Matthias Rakosi, who ruled the country (and kept it in an "iron grip") until 1953, was not without reason called "the best student of Stalin." It is clear that at the time of bald nonentity, such a person could not hold on to power, and was removed from the post of head of government, although he retained the party leadership, which was subsequently taken away from him. Moscow, looking for a counterbalance to the “Stalinists”, began to flirt with the local “moderates”, whose main representative was Imre Nagy, who, despite belonging to the cohort of “old Bolsheviks,” was a figure not only with low social responsibility, but with a complete absence of it. Throwing began in the country, abrupt changes in both political and economic course, intra-party confrontation, and bickering in power. In a word, it was a complete mess, which for some reason they looked at from Moscow with almost affection. But the Americans did not sit idly by. An unprecedented information war was launched against the socialist government of Budapest. I will give just one example: from the territory of Austria and Germany in the direction of Hungary, not tens, not even hundreds - thousands of balloons stuffed with anti-Soviet leaflets were released. On July 19, 1956, their dominance in the sky even caused the accident of a civilian plane ...

A huge role in "rocking" the situation, spreading the most ridiculous rumors was played by the radio stations "Free Europe" and "Voice of America" ​​(recognized in Russia by foreign agents), controlled from Langley. These horns poured poison into the ears of the Hungarians, like ravings about the impending ban on baking white bread "which proletarians should not eat," which led to panic buying up of flour by the population and its artificial shortage. Or "accurate information" about the export of coal from the country - while the trains with it went to Hungary from the USSR. It must be said that poisonous information "grains" fell on quite fertile soil.

And "Focus" failed ...

The Americans themselves are not particularly trying to deny that the events of October-November 1956 in Hungary were the result of Operation Focus carried out by the US special services. And it would be difficult to do this - given the amount of evidence and witnesses, as well as documentary evidence that there is. At the meeting of the students of the Budapest Polytechnic Institute (with the demonstration of which, in fact, everything began), at least two representatives of the US Embassy were present. Apparently, it was under their dictation that the famous "14 demands" were written, which for some reason included not only calls for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country, but also the clause on "stopping the export of Hungarian uranium to the USSR" (which, by the way, , in reality it was not). Well, who, tell me, at that moment could benefit from something like that, besides Washington? The answer is clear.

Much more can be said about the "oddities", secrets and other "white spots" of the Hungarian rebellion - like the fact that every single armed clash that took place in its first days began with the actions of some "provocateurs", whose personalities and nationalities were remained unclear. Or about the cars of the "Red Cross", which transported from all the same Austria and Germany for some reason not bandages and medicines, but grenades, rifles and cartridges for them. The participation of the West (and, first of all, the USA and the FRG) in the organization of the anti-Soviet armed coup was, I repeat, so clear that it is simply impossible to hide it. However, with all this, much more interest, in my opinion, is the question of how all this was allowed by the leadership of the USSR. Despite the complete collapse that reigned in counterintelligence, the structure as a whole continued to work. The most detailed reports that "Hungary is about to blaze" were sent to the Kremlin by Soviet Ambassador Yuri Andropov (yes, the same one), KGB Chairman Ivan Serov, and intelligence officers from various stations in Budapest. And what? And absolutely nothing!

It should also be mentioned that the events of the so-called “Poznan Uprising” in Poland, which were mass riots suppressed by the local police and army in the summer of 1956, were the “prelude” to the Hungarian rebellion, which inspired its instigators and participants. However, in the end, the participants in the pogroms there escaped with a slight fright, and the USSR, despite the presence of a group of troops in Poland, did not "interfere in the internal affairs of Warsaw." This was perceived as a manifestation of weakness by those who were already preparing the putsch in Hungary. With all the desire, it is impossible to find intelligible answers to the questions about why the Soviet troops, introduced on the second day of the riots, October 24, in the revolted Budapest, instead of the decisive assault on the rebel nest planned for October 28, stupidly stamped on the spot, suffering losses. On October 30, they were given the strictest order: "Do not open fire in any case!", Followed by a new directive on the complete withdrawal of troops.

It's hard to believe it, but "Victory Marshal" Georgy Zhukov, during a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, pitifully bleated that the troops "must be withdrawn not only from Budapest, but also from Hungary in general" and carried some kind of gil about "military-political lesson ". Indeed, Zhukov before 1945 and he after (starting with the "trophy case") are like two different people. The "late version" of the once great commander is absolutely incapable of evoking any feelings other than anger and disgust. However, the collective madness engulfed the entire Kremlin - on October 31, the official press published the Declaration of the Soviet government "on the new foundations of relations with the socialist countries." One of the points in this was an expression of readiness to withdraw our troops from all the states of Eastern Europe, where they would not want to be seen ...

There was nowhere to go further. The fate of not only the Warsaw Pact Organization, but the entire socialist camp hung literally by a thread. 1991, with its complete collapse, could have come much earlier. They saved the situation ... the British and the French, in the company of Israel, soaked the number that went down in history as the "Suez Crisis". A nuclear war between the Soviet Union and NATO (and the matter was going exactly to its beginning) was completely unnecessary for the United States - at least at that moment and according to this scenario. Washington made it clear that they would not interfere in the establishment of order in Hungary. Khrushchev cheered up, "changed his shoes" and on November 4, Operation Whirlwind began, during which it took less than five days for the complete and final defeat of the rebels. The Hungarian army habitually surrendered in rows and columns, and the bandit groups could not effectively resist tanks and artillery. Nevertheless, about 700 of our soldiers and officers gave their lives in the process of suppressing the rebellion. Hungarians? Yes, according to official figures, during the events of the fall of 1956, about 2700 inhabitants of this country were killed. However, according to many historians, almost half of this number (perhaps more) are communists and law enforcement officers - victims of the savage terror unleashed by the "rebels", during which people were exterminated in the most brutal and sadistic ways imaginable.

Imre Nagy finished with a well-deserved noose. Georgy Zhukov received the fourth Star of the Hero for Operation Whirlwind. After the defeat of the putschists and the coming to power of Janos Kadar, Hungary became almost the most prosperous and free country of the "socialist camp".