Under Soviet protection, the Hungarian communists, led by Mátyás Rákosi (1892-1971) were able to seize control of the state by 'salami tactics' (picking off adversaries one by one). Once in power, Rákosi was a fierce Stalinist, even by the standards of the Soviet bloc; he was removed from office and exiled to the Soviet Union under Soviet pressure following the denouncing of Stalin by [[Nikita Khrushchev]] in 1956. | Under Soviet protection, the Hungarian communists, led by Mátyás Rákosi (1892-1971) were able to seize control of the state by 'salami tactics' (picking off adversaries one by one). Once in power, Rákosi was a fierce Stalinist, even by the standards of the Soviet bloc; he was removed from office and exiled to the Soviet Union under Soviet pressure following the denouncing of Stalin by [[Nikita Khrushchev]] in 1956. |