Issue 132 (2017)

M. Junger, PhD student

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2017.132.1.15

THE ROLE OF THE HUNGARIAN SAMIZDAT IN INTENSIFYING OF OPPOSITION-MINDED PUBLIC (1976 – 1988)

The paper reviews the origins and development of samizdat in the Hungarian People's Republic. The samizdat for a long time remained the only way of doing opposition activities. It contributed to the spread of uncensored information and dissident's consolidation. The main opposition groups were urban and populist. The principle of the "popular front", which had deep historical roots in Hungary, meant joint efforts of various actors. It played an important role for their consolidation during the work on the collection of papers "In Memory of Bibo". The authors questioned the legitimacy of socialist states in Central and Eastern Europe. They had also written a program for achievement political pluralism, multi-party democracy. There was a positive impact of the political legacy of the philosopher to the ideological development of the urban group. The reaction of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party to the "In Memory of Bibo" testified a deep understanding of the causes of origin and prospects of the opposition's growth. Thematic areas of the leading samizdat journals "Beszélő", "Hirmondó", "Demokrata", their contribution to the consolidation of opposition-minded part of the Hungarian society were estimated. In this paper for the first time in the Ukrainian historiography we gave an account on the image of the Ukrainian dissident movement in the Hungarian samizdat.

Keywords: Hungary, samizdat, urban and populist opposition groups, I. Bibo, L. Kostenko, V. Stus, V. Chornovil.