Russia's Conquest: Austria-Hungary And Germany's Fate

Russia has never taken over Austria, Germany, or Hungary. However, it has had a significant influence on the three countries at various points in history.

Russia and Austria have had bilateral relations since the 16th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the two countries were allies against the Ottomans and France. During the First World War, they were on opposing sides, and after the war, Austria was occupied by the Allies and declared independent from Germany. During the Second World War, the Soviet army occupied Hungary, and in 1948, the Soviet Union took full control of the country.

Russia's invasion of Austria-Hungary in 1945

Russia did not invade Austria-Hungary in 1945. However, in the First World War, Russia did invade Austria-Hungary in 1914.

In the First World War, Russia and Austria-Hungary were on opposing sides, with Russia fighting alongside the Allies and Austria-Hungary fighting with the Central Powers. The invasion of Austria-Hungary by Russia was part of a series of invasions and counter-invasions that occurred during the war.

On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, a Russian ally. In response, Russia issued an ultimatum to Vienna via Saint Petersburg, warning Austria-Hungary against attacking Serbia. As the conflict escalated with the invasion of Serbia, Russia commenced mobilising its reserve army along the border of Austria-Hungary. Consequently, on 31 July, Germany demanded that Russia demobilise. When Russia did not comply, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914.

On 23 July 1914, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum, demanding that all anti-Austrian propaganda within Serbia be suppressed, and that Austria-Hungary be allowed to conduct its own investigation into the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Although Serbia accepted most of the demands, Austria-Hungary broke diplomatic relations with Serbia on 25 July and went ahead with military preparedness measures.

On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia. In response, Russia ordered a partial mobilisation of its armed forces. This was the first major military action not undertaken by a direct participant in the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Russia's partial mobilisation increased the willingness of Serbia to defy the threat of an Austro-Hungarian attack and alarmed the German leadership, who had not anticipated the idea of needing to fight Russia before France.

On 1 July 1914, Germany assured Austria-Hungary of its support, urging it to attack Serbia quickly to localise the war and avoid drawing in Russia. However, Austro-Hungarian leaders deliberated until mid-July before deciding to give Serbia a harsh ultimatum.

The Soviet Union's control of Hungary post-WWII

In the immediate aftermath of WWII, Hungary was in a state of economic chaos, with its cities in ruins and its communications systems wrecked. The Soviet Union, which had already been extracting reparations in kind from Hungary during the war, was granted 80% influence in the country at the Yalta Conference.

In the first post-war election in November 1945, the Smallholders' Party received an absolute majority of the votes. However, the communists, who had been allowed to contest the election as part of a coalition, soon began to exert their influence. They pressured the Smallholders to expel their more courageous members as "fascists" and, in the next election in August 1947, the Smallholders polled only 15% of the votes.

The communists then forced the Social Democrats to form a "workers' bloc" with them, and, in May 1949, voters were presented with a single list of candidates, resulting in a communist victory. A new constitution was enacted, which was a copy of the constitution of the Soviet Union, and Hungary became a "people's republic".

The communists' economic program was focused on turning Hungary into a predominantly industrial country, with an emphasis on heavy industry. Huge sums were devoted to the construction of foundries and factories, but the standard of living did not improve, as the production of consumer goods was throttled.

The communists also sought to consolidate their political power through intimidation and violence. Hundreds were executed or imprisoned as war criminals, and many thousands more were interned. The judiciary, civil service, and army were purged, and party orthodoxy became the criterion for positions in these institutions. The State Security Department was omnipotent, and the trade unions were made into mere executants of party orders.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956

The revolution began on October 23, 1956, when university students appealed to the civil populace to join them at the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest to protest against the USSR's domination of Hungary through the Stalinist government of Mátyás Rákosi. A delegation of students entered the building of Magyar Rádió to broadcast their sixteen demands for political and economic reforms, but were detained by security guards. When the student protestors outside the radio building demanded the release of their delegation, a group of police from the ÁVH (State Protection Authority) fatally shot several of the students.

Consequently, Hungarians organized into revolutionary militias to fight against the ÁVH, and local Hungarian communist leaders and ÁVH policemen were captured and summarily executed. Political prisoners were released and armed, and local soviets (councils of workers) assumed control of municipal government from the Hungarian Working People's Party. The new government of Imre Nagy disbanded the ÁVH, declared Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, intense fighting had subsided.

After initially being willing to negotiate the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Hungary, the USSR repressed the Hungarian Revolution on November 4, 1956, and fought the Hungarian revolutionaries until Soviet victory on November 10. The repression of the Hungarian Uprising killed 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet Army soldiers, and compelled 200,000 Hungarians to seek political refuge abroad, mostly in Austria.

The Russo-Ukrainian War's impact on Hungary

Russia has never taken over Austria, Hungary, or Germany. However, Russia did invade Hungary in 1848 to suppress the Revolutions of 1848 and restore Habsburg sovereignty.

The Russo-Ukrainian War has had a significant impact on Hungary, a member of the European Union and NATO, in several ways. Firstly, it has forced Hungary to change its long-standing attitudes and policies towards Russia and Ukraine. Prior to the war, Hungary's foreign policy was based on building multilateral ties with great economic powers to boost trade and investment, while also maintaining traditional commitments to EU and NATO allies in the security and defence realm. However, with the escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Hungary had to quickly adjust its stance. Any pro-Russian balancing act became practically impossible, and Hungary had to condemn Russia's military aggression and support Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The war has also had economic implications for Hungary, as enthusiasm for Russian prospects has cooled, and exports to and investments from Russia are expected to decline. Additionally, common economic cooperation projects are likely to be halted, and Russian companies' presence in Hungary remains negligible. The war has also disrupted Hungary's relatively peaceful patterns, and the policy boundaries between Russia and the EU/NATO have largely disappeared, making it dangerous to continue former policies.

The war has also had a significant impact on Hungary's refugee reception policies and its relationship with Ukraine. Hungary has had to open its borders to Ukrainian refugees and change its legislation overnight. The Hungarian government has provided humanitarian aid and facilitated the entry of Ukrainian refugees, despite initially denying the possibility of armed conflict. The war has also affected Hungary's energy imports, as Russia provided roughly 75% of Hungary's natural gas, 60-80% of its oil, and all of its nuclear fuel as of 2024.

The war has also led to diplomatic tensions and criticism for Hungary, both domestically and internationally. The Hungarian government has been accused of having a pro-Russian stance and of failing to provide sufficient assistance to Ukrainian refugees. There have also been controversies surrounding the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and Hungary's refusal to provide military aid to Ukraine. Additionally, Hungary has been criticized for its opposition to EU sanctions against Russia and its blocking of financial support for Ukraine.

Overall, the Russo-Ukrainian War has had far-reaching consequences for Hungary, forcing it to adjust its foreign policy, economic strategies, and refugee and energy policies. The war has also highlighted tensions and divisions within Hungary and between Hungary and its EU and NATO allies.

Russia's invasion of Germany in 1941

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in an operation code-named Barbarossa. This was the largest military operation in the history of modern warfare, with over 3 million German soldiers and 690,000 Axis soldiers invading along a 2,900km front. The invasion was a turning point in World War II and the Holocaust.

The invasion was the culmination of Hitler's long-held anti-Bolshevik and anti-Communist convictions, as well as his desire to seize Lebensraum ("living space") in Eastern Europe. Hitler had always viewed the 1939 German-Soviet non-aggression pact as a temporary measure and decided to invade the Soviet Union in July 1940. In December 1940, he signed Directive 21, the first operational order for the invasion.

The invasion began with three army groups attacking across a broad front from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. The Germans were supported by Finnish and Romanian troops, with Italian, Croatian, Slovak, and Hungarian units joining later. The Soviet leadership was taken by surprise, and much of its air force was destroyed on the ground in the initial attack. The Soviet armies were overwhelmed, and millions of soldiers were encircled and forced to surrender.

As the German army advanced, SS and police units, including the Einsatzgruppen, followed. The Einsatzgruppen were tasked with identifying and eliminating potential threats to German rule and began mass shootings of Jews, Communists, and Roma. Hitler decided to deport German Jews to the occupied Soviet Union, initiating the "Final Solution", the physical annihilation of Jews throughout Europe.

By late September 1941, German forces had reached Leningrad in the north, Smolensk and Dnepropetrovsk in the centre, and the Crimean Peninsula in the south. They reached the outskirts of Moscow in early December but were exhausted and ill-equipped for winter warfare. On December 6, 1941, the Soviet Union launched a counteroffensive, driving the Germans back from Moscow and stabilising the front.

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