Greetings from Balmy Looneyburg!
It took me awhile to find this thread again after seeing it the other day.
May I say "
Micsoda?"
I can't conceive of Moscow
not slapping down the 56 revolt. And I can't believe war wouldn't break out if anybody in the west intervened.
Besides, the only way for a western force to get to Hungary is either airborne, through another Warsaw Pact nation, or neutral Austria.
But yes, if Hungary somehow managed to become neutral or western, it would have tremendous butterflies.
First, getting back to Russia not suppressing the revolt, unless this was an aberration, it would be a clear signal that the Soviets were not interested in establishing Communism at bayonet point; nor would they have been the natural successors to the old Tsarist empire.
Second, decades later when the Warsaw Pact collapsed, Hungary's open borders was one reason it happened. How this would change things...
Finally, there wouldn't be a huge wave of people who talked funny surging around the world post 56. "Why can't they give their Christian name, then their family name, like normal people?"
