When the Soviet Union annexed the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it began to spread its communist influence among the countries. After the death of Joseph Stalin, the new leader of the Soviet Union, Nika Khrushchev, began to change Stalin's repressive policies, which opened the door for Eastern Central European countries to challenge the Soviets' rule. In both Hungary and Czechoslovakia there were uprisings for independence from the Eastern Bloc. Although the Hungarian Revolution and the Prague Spring suffered a similar crushing defeat at the hands of a Soviet invading force, the two uprisings differed in outcomes due to the Hungarian nationalist attempt to free itself from communism compared to the Czechoslovakian attempts to reform communism altogether. interior of the country. During the Second World War, the Hungarian people experienced the possibility of voting in elections for the first time in more than a hundred years and created their own government on the basis of democratic principles. The Soviets had troops on the Hungarian border and did not bother to evaluate their control of Hungary until 1948. At that time local favorites Imre Nagy and Laszlo Rajk were removed and replaced by the hardline Stalin Rakoski. Rakoski asserted his absolute control over Hungary. He purged the Hungarian Communist Party of “Titotists” and forced the indoctrination of Stalinism into educational intuitions throughout Hungary. Hungary was one of the most repressed countries in Central and Eastern Europe until 1953 with the death of Josef Stalin. When Josef Stalin died and the leadership of the Soviet Union passed to Nika Khrushchev, the period of the Soviet thaw had a profound effect on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Nagy was appointed Prime Minister... middle of paper... asked allies for help and gave the impression that the entire Warsaw Pact would not tolerate Dubcek's reforms. The Czechs lacked the military strength to oppose the Warsaw Pact countries and renounced all reforms of the Dubcek era. Unlike Nagy of Hungary, Dubcek was arrested but the Soviets spared his life. The Prague Spring ended similarly to the Hungarian Revolution. Brezhnev would not allow any Warsaw Pact country to reform or change communism within the country. He called on all Warsaw Pact countries to invade Czechoslovakia to end the reforms. The difference compared to the Hungarian revolution was that the loss of life was not huge. The invasion of Prague was swift and swift, and Soviet control was re-established. Brezhnev said “