The relationship of soviet servicemen with the local population of Hungary in 1944-45

Veterkov A. I.

The aim of the study is to study various aspects of the relationship between the Red Army servicemen and the Hungarian civilian population at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War. Based on the analysis of archival materials, memoir sources, historical research, various aspects of the relationship between Soviet servicemen and the peaceful Hungarian population during the active hostilities of World War II on the territory of Hungary in 1944-45 are considered. The objectives of the Soviet military command to establish interaction with the civilian population of Hungary are revealed, the ambiguous attitude of citizens to the entry of Red Army units into the country due to the allied relations of Hungary with Nazi Germany is revealed, the measures of the Soviet leadership aimed at changing the attitude of civilians to Soviet servicemen are considered. According to the results of the study, the author concluded that the interaction of Soviet servicemen and the civilian population of Hungary was complex and multidimensional, the ambiguous perception of the Soviet Union was due to a number of reasons. The theoretical and practical significance of the work is to summarize the facts of the relationship between Soviet servicemen and the civilian population of Hungary at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War.

Keywords:Soviet–Hungarian relations, World War II, the Red Army, the local population of Hungary.