Victor Yushchenko and his wife have laid flowers on the monument to the leaders of the 1956 Hungarian revolution in Budapest’s public cemetery, according to the President`s press-office.
When the uprising was suppressed, its three leaders, among them the reforming Prime Minister Imre Nagy, were arrested and executed. In 1961 their remains were secretly reburied in the outskirts of the cemetery.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the Neo-Stalinist government of Hungary and its policies, lasting from October 23 until November 10. The uprising started in Budapest with a spontaneous demonstration by a crowd of about 23,000, the reading of a pro-democracy manifesto and the singing of banned national songs. A giant statue of Stalin was pulled down. Soviet tanks were forced to withdraw, but returned with devastating force a week later. Imre Nagy made a final impassioned plea to the outside world by radio. He and hundreds of others were killed, among thousands of Hungarians who died.
On June 16, 1989, Nagy was ceremonially reburied again and a monument honoring the heroes of the revolution erected. This event marked the beginning of a new democratic era for Hungary and helped initiate social and political changes in the country.
