A Spectator's Notebook
IT CAN AT LEAST be said for the Russians that their murder of Imre Nagy was in tune with their earlier treatment of him. I think it is worth while recalling the full tale of their perfidy. When the Hungarian revolt broke out, Mikoyan and Suslov arrived in Buda- pest. A quick appraisal of the situation showed them that there was only one man who had a chance of keeping control: Imre Nagy. In a patronising way Mikoyan endorsed Nagy, as Premier, authorised his 'concessions' and then flew back to Russia. Nagy, believing himself to be free to carry out the agreed programme, was about to make a broadcast to the Hungarian people when two Soviet plain-clothes men stepped out of the shadows. After a struggle they got hold of his script, forced him to delete parts and finally stood behind him, hands in pockets, while he spoke into the microphone. At ten o'clock on the evening of November 3, 1956, General Pal Maleter, Nagy's Minister of Defence, arrived at the Russian Headquarters. He had come at the invitation of the Russians to discuss plans for their withdrawal from Hungary. At daybreak on the next morning the Soviet forces moved in to attack Budapest. Maleter was arrested and Nagy fled for protection to the Yugoslav Embassy.
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