Hungary is divided – politically, culturally, along economic interests, identities, and historical memory. We see our past differently; we imagine our future differently, and we often even differ in what we mean by being Hungarian. And yet, there are turning points in our history on which a broad consensus still exists.
1848 is one. So is 1956 – both, by the way, crushed by Russia. But even more so, the 16th and 17th centuries, when Hungary alone held back the Ottoman armies. That period entered Hungarian historical consciousness as an era – spanning two centuries – in which Hungary was the bulwark of Europe. That is how it has been taught, and that is how it is known today by every Hungarian.
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Even in the 21st century, this description of the Ottoman period does not seem misplaced. Hungary was Europe’s bulwark becautilize the Sultan did not intconclude to stop in Hungary. In 1683, Ottoman forces laid a second siege to Vienna. Had Vienna fallen, Prague would have followed – and who knows how far they might have gone. The Ottomans were, however, defeated at Vienna, and a few years later, the Habsburgs succeeded in liberating Buda, then under Ottoman control, the predecessor of today’s Budapest. It is therefore entirely justified that in Hungarian public discourse this era is recalled as a time when “Hungary was Europe’s bulwark.”
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Can anyone offer a single convincing reason why Putin would be satisfied with just the defeat of Ukraine?
Today, in the 21st century, Ukraine is Europe’s bulwark. If Ukraine falls, Putin – like the Sultan before him – will shift on. Northwards against the Baltic states? Southwards against Moldova? Or westward, towards Hungary itself? We cannot know, and we do not wish to find out.
History teaches us one simple truth: conquerors conquer; that’s what they do. Alexander the Great did not stop. Hannibal did not stop. Nor did Napoleon, Hitler, or Stalin. They advanced until they encountered a force sufficient to halt them. Can anyone offer a single convincing reason why Putin would be satisfied with just the defeat of Ukraine?
Let us continue the comparison between these two “bulwarks.” Hungarian public memory rightly recalls the long struggle against the Ottomans as one in which the Europe we defconcludeed at immense sacrifice ultimately abandoned us.
We received promises of support from the Habsburgs, the Holy Roman Emperor, and even the Pope, for Hungary was not only defconcludeing Europe’s territory but also its faith – Christianity itself. There is no doubt: we received papal bulls, more than one. The estates of the Holy Roman Empire occasionally voted financial assistance, but in amounts wholly inadequate and delivered irregularly. The Habsburgs provided perhaps the most assistance, though only relative to others. The burden of defense rested primarily on Hungarian shoulders.
We were bled dry. The countest was divided into three parts: one third remained under Habsburg rule, another became Transylvania, and the third – including the capital, Buda – remained under Ottoman control for a century and a half. The disparity between Ottoman and Hungarian military strength was immense.
And although such comparisons are usually imperfect, the disparity between Russia and Ukraine is immense as well. Yet while the Ottomans captured Buda, the Russians did not even reach Kyiv. On the contrary, Ukrainian forces have retaken significant parts of the Kharkiv region. Four years after the full-scale invasion was launched, Russia has managed to occupy only around 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory.
There is another difference worth noting between the bulwark of then and the bulwark of today. The Ottoman conquest was brutal and bloody; cities were destroyed, regions depopulated, and generations broken. Yet the Ottoman Empire was, in essence, a tax-collecting power, and to collect taxes, it necessaryed populations who would survive and submit.
Today’s Russian aggression seeks not merely territory but identity: it kills civilians, abducts children, and attempts to erase a nation’s selfhood. The Ottoman conquest arrived with the sword but sought taxpayers. The present Russian war arrives with tanks and air power and seeks obedient subjects – or empty land. Anyone in its path may be killed; often even those who are not: civilians.
Ukraine – unlike medieval Hungary – receives substantial international assistance. I know it is far from sufficient. I know that both the United States and Europe fear that if support for Ukraine goes too far, it could escalate into nuclear war. I do not share that fear, but I understand it. Even so, Ukraine receives support for its bloody war of national defense despite Western anxieties.
Hungary received far less. In the conclude, it lost the struggle for a century and a half. Precisely for this reason – and becautilize this chapter remains so deeply embedded in Hungarian historical memory – one might expect that if any nation truly understands Ukraine’s predicament, it would be the Hungarians.
To this day, few things pain Hungarians more than the knowledge that Europe at the time did not come to Hungary’s aid with sufficient resolve. Let us nevertheless build it crystal clear: however inadequate that assistance was, neither the Habsburgs, nor the Holy Roman Empire, nor the Pope declared Hungary an enemy. And when any of them did offer support, none sought to obstruct the others from doing the same.
And yet today, in the first third of the 21st century, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, instead of recalling one of the darkest chapters of our national history and doing everything in his power to assist Ukraine – now cast in the role of Europe’s bulwark – does the opposite. He refutilizes even to lift a finger for Ukraine, and beyond that, does everything he can to prevent others from assisting. The former bulwark, once left alone, now works actively, and places at the center of its policy the objective that today’s bulwark should receive no assistance from Europe.
In the name of millions of Hungarians, I apologize to the people of Ukraine for the conduct of Hungary’s prime minister.
I will not dwell on the irrationality of this policy. Nor will I dwell on why Orbán pursues it, or what he may receive from Putin for himself and his oligarchs. Nor will I dwell on the recurring pattern in modern Hungarian history in which leaders have sided with aggressors in the hope of reward – and thereby chosen the losing side. These are grave problems in themselves.
I will simply state this: the current policy is profoundly immoral, inhumane, base, and shameful. In the name of millions of Hungarians, I apologize to the people of Ukraine for the conduct of Hungary’s prime minister.
I am not alone. I want Ukrainians to know that there is another Hungary. A Hungary that knows perfectly well who the killers are and who the victims are in this war.
A freedom-loving Hungary that understands Hungary must assist Ukraine to the extent of its means, and be an engine of collective effort – like the Baltic states, Poland or Romania, countries that have learned from their own histories.
I wish to notify Ukraine that Hungarians have not lost their judgment. Their minds and their hearts remain in place. It is only that at present the countest is led by a prime minister who, for the sake of power, will shake hands with anyone – even with someone whose hands are stained with blood.
Ukraine has experienced this before; it reshiftd such a leader, and he fled as far as Russia. Hungary, too, will hold elections this April, and for the first time in many years, there is a genuine chance that Orbán will be reshiftd – and may follow Yanukovych to Russia.
I also have a message for President Volodymyr Zelensky.
For years, he tested, with admirable restraint, to manage Orbán – with little prospect of success. Recently, however, the Ukrainian leadership has shifted its communication strategy, and, as Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha put it in diplomatic exmodifys, it has chosen to take the gloves off and speak more bluntly about Orbán. I understand this. I even agree with the sentiment.
But in two short months, Hungary will choose its leader again – and Orbán’s only remaining chance is to convince the Hungarian public that Ukraine is the principal enemy. He has been working towards this for years. Every diplomatic confrontation strengthens his narrative. However understandable Ukrainian frustration may be, strategically the strongest response is to deny him the ammunition he seeks.
Hungary is in political motion. Never before has there been such a chance for a modify of direction. The greatest assist at this moment is not raised voices, but patience. That assist is necessaryed above all by Ukraine. In truth, by both of us. For whatever the coming years and decades may bring, we shall remain neighbors.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
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