Clueless Russkies Forget Hungarians Hate Their Guts

While the competition is always pretty tight, this week's award for the most clueless foreigner in Hungary has to go to Russian Ambassador Valery Musatov. From the also often-oblivious state news organ MTI, we hear that Musatov on Saturday held a 'do to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian-Russian Friendship Society. Yes, that's right: Not only is there a Hungarian-Russian Friendship Society, but it was apparently formed in 1945, just in time for our Orosz friends to being their 45-year subjugation of Hungary. Okay, sure, it was Hungary that got things off to a bad start in the relationship, by joining forces with the Germans to invade Russia. But there are some good reason why a celebration of 60 years of Hungarian-Russian friendship should probably not take place until, say, 2030. Here are a few, courtesy of the exhibition Magyar Tragédia 1945 ("Hungarian Tragedy 1945"), which among other horrors features testimonials from some of the estimated seven hundred thousand Hungarian citizens carried off into Soviet captivity following the Second World War, currently on view at Budapest's Terror Háza Múzeum (House of Terror Museum):

"I was laid on the table, my arms and legs were tied, and they beat me, one after the other, as long as they could. After a while I didn't feel anything, I lost consciousness. I woke up to a terrible pain. I saw my friend, his face and hands were covered with wounds. These bastards used a hot poker or cigarettes to burn our hands and faces while we were unconscious." - Gusztáv Bodnár, Tímár

"We never had our periods there. We were given a shot to make it stop." - Andrásné Bodnár (maiden name: Irén Albert), Gávavencsellő

"I came home after three hard years. I was crippled, both of my legs were amputated, and I'm bound to my bed. I don't wish a life like this for anyone." - Mihály Zöldi, Gávavencsellő

"The task was to collect people who were capable of work, that is, in the appropriate age and physical condition. The Soviet patrols brought in people to the Mátyásföld barrack of NKVD (Soviet secret police agency), and we selected those who were taken to the Soviet Union. On one night, I sometimes found 1,000 people capable of this work." - Dr. Sándor Feri, leader of the Communist Party's legal department.

And that was only in the first few years of the Russian-Hungarian friendship league. We could go on and on about the next few decades, but we won't. Instead, we just thought a few samples might explain why the turnout on Saturday may have been a little light.