Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the tumultuous interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a socialist republic spanning four decades (1949–1989). The country gained widespread international attention as a result of its 1956 revolution . . . On 23 October 1989, Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic" [Wikipedia] "Hungary’s post-communist economic transition went surprisingly smoothly. By the mid-1990s, most government-owned companies had been privatized, and Hungary was attracting significant foreign investment. Ten years later, in 2004, Hungary joined the EU. But soon thereafter its situation began to deteriorate as the Hungarian economy was hit especially hard by the global recession of the late 2000s. . . . As for domestic politics, Hungary has recently taken a turn to the far right . . ." [Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 17th Edition, p. 188]