Antoshin, A. V. 20th Century as Perceived by a Hungarian Left Intellectual. Review of: Krausz, T. (2020). Sud’ba idei v istorii SSSR i posle… [The Fate of Ideas in the History of the USSR and after…]. Moscow: Akvilon. 332 p.

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of a collection of studies by Tamбs Krausz, a famous Hungarian historian, professor at the Eцtvцs Loránd University of Budapest. The collection contains articles by the scholar for the period between 1980 and 2020. The Review highlights the key topics of the articles presented in the collection: the history of the Russian Revolution, the Second World War, and the role of the Hungarian troops in it, youth movements in Europe and the world in the 1960s–1970s, and the crisis and collapse of the USSR. The review proves that the key processes of the world’s development in the twentieth century are assessed by Tamбs Krausz through the prism of his worldview, from the standpoint of a left-wing intellectual who was formed in the atmosphere of socialist Hungary, where the degree of spiritual freedom was higher than in the Soviet Union. The Hungarian historian critically assesses both the experience of the USSR in the 1940s–1980s and the current situation in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The review substantiates the conclusion that, according to Tamás Krausz, the socialist experiment was an attempt to implement an alternative variant of the development of society, and to ensure compliance with the principles of social justice.

Keywords

• венгерская русистика
• тамаш краус
• русская революция
• вторая мировая война
• перестройка