History UsefulNotes / Hungary

** President: László Kövér (acting)

Hungary (in Hungarian ''Magyarország'') is a country located in UsefulNotes/{{Central|Europe}} and Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}. [[OverusedRunningGag Not]] [[IncrediblyLamePun a land with a hunger problem]], it's known as Magyarország by those who are from there.

** President: Katalin Novák

* '''Area:''' 93,030 km
(35,920 sq mi) (108th)

* Following the Soviet collapse, Hungary became a democracy and a member of {{UsefulNotes/NATO}} and UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Since 2010, the current government is led by the conservative right Fidesz[[note]]initially an acronym of "Alliance of Young Democrats" - the acronym was kept but the full name was dropped as the party members grew older (and, according to their critics, became less democratic)[[/note]], which despite many unpopular (and some obviously nepotistic) policies, managed to acquire supermajority and even retain it for their second term. Though some gerrymandering may have been involved, and the supermajority was lost a few months into their second term due to interim municipal elections). The party's PM Viktor Orbán is still the most popular politician among the increasingly politically apathetic citizenry. In recent years, Hungary has experienced a geopolitical shift eastward, making a series of economic cooperation treaties with {{UsefulNotes/Russia}} and {{UsefulNotes/China}} in response to many of the government's economic policies sparking controversy and condemnation from Brussels, coupled with a major bribery scandal that saw multiple high-ranking Hungarian government officials being declared ''persona non grata'' in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates.

* After some intense peacemaking, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was born. This was also thanks to the influence of Austrian Empress/Queen Consort of Hungary, Elisabeth of Wittelsbach aka Sisi, who adored Hungary so much that she spent more time in Hungarian lands than in {{UsefulNotes/Vienna}} itself. This lasted until the end of the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar, when about three-quarters of the country were divided between the neighboring countries, leaving large ethnic Hungarian minorities there. This is known as the Treaty of Trianon and is the source of intense [[FlameWar flame wars]] in Hungary even to this day, not to mention some serious conflicts with the neighbors. Thing is, the Entente did the splitting ''intentionally'', with two goals: making Hungary unable to effectively go to war ever again, and giving the new states of Czechoslovakia and UsefulNotes/{{Yugoslavia}}, as well as the enlarged UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}, a common enemy in revanchist Hungary, [[GenghisGambit thus facilitating their cooperation with each other]] (the "Little Entente") and making them dependent on UsefulNotes/{{France}} to guarantee their sovereignty in the face of renewed Hungarian, German, or Soviet aggression.

Hungary (in Hungarian ''Magyarország'') is a country located in UsefulNotes/CentralEurope and Eastern Europe. [[OverusedRunningGag Not]] [[IncrediblyLamePun a land with a hunger problem]], it's known as Magyarország by those who are from there. Most important things are covered by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary The Other Wiki]], so there is just some basic info here.

'''Hungary''' (in Hungarian ''Magyarország'') is a country located in UsefulNotes/CentralEurope and Eastern Europe. [[OverusedRunningGag Not]] [[IncrediblyLamePun a land with a hunger problem]], it's known as Magyarország by those who are from there. Most important things are covered by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary The Other Wiki]], so there is just some basic info here.

** Additionally, Hungary also has bad historical relations with Serbia[[note]]then again, they're like that with ''most'' of their neighbors, considering the events that happened during the [[UsefulNotes/TheYugoslavWars dissolution of Yugoslavia]][[/note]]. An improvement was made in the last couple of years, with presidents of Hungary and Serbia developing quite cordial relations.

* Hungary and UsefulNotes/{{Austria}} meanwhile have what can be best described as a VitriolicBestBuds relationship with all its ups and downs. Despite whatever bad blood spilled over the centuries, such as in [[UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848 the 1848-49 revolts]], ties between the two peoples still remain close if quiet.

* On the other hand, Hungarians and [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Romanians]] don't exactly get along that well. A centuries-long dispute over rightful ownership of Transylvania (with all the attendant UsefulNotes/MisplacedNationalism and abusive historical {{Ret Con}}s), the fact that it was settled by the Trianon treaty at the small price of having Hungary lose 72% of its territory (but surprisingly only about a third of its ethnically Hungarian population the majority of the population of Transylvania actually being ethnically Romanian according to all censuses of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), something that Hungarians can be a bit bitter about, and a [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp War]] in 1919 with a side helping of Romanian occupation, plundering (in retaliation for the Central Powers doing the same thing during UsefulNotes/WW1) and harsh armistice terms didn't help.

* The most famous Hungarian actor of all time is Creator/BelaLugosi, best known as the most iconic {{Dracula}} on film. The most famous Hungarian actress of all time is Zsa Zsa Gabor.

** On the other hand, it's a popular theory that the French words ''hongrois'' and ''[[OurOgresAreHungrier ogre]]'' are etymologically related - in the Middle Ages, Western cultures presumably viewed the nomadic Hungarians as monstrous barbarians, naming a fictional monster after them.

** The country is also still reeling from an economic crisis: although it didn't reach the sort of severity seen in Greece or Spain, it came too close for comfort. In the latest years the economy shows an annual ~3% GDP growth. Additionally, several companies and even a bank had recently left the country due to an ongoing wave of nationalization in the economy.

** The Socialist Party (the legal successor of the state party from the Communist era) gained back some popularity in the '90s and early 2000s and and became Fidesz's primary opponent, but it lost face between 2006 and 2008 from a political scandal of epic proportions. Since then, the political left in Hungary has been bleeding from countless wounds; numerous leftist parties formed, both by former socialist politicians and by new faces, [[WeAreStrugglingTogether resulting in the Hungarian political left being too fragmented to pose much threat to Fidesz]]. Yet these are all eclipsed by nationalist far-right party Jobbik[[note]]literally meaning "the right/better one", shortened from "Movement for a Right/Better Hungary"[[/note]] which [[DarkHorseVictory exploded out of nowhere to get a parliament seat in the 2010 elections]], steadily increasing its popular support to the point where it acquired a seat in the European Parliament, won the 2015 interim municipal election that resulted in Fidesz being [[DecidedByOneVote one representative short of a supermajority]] for the first time since 2010 and as of 2016 are considered Fidesz' primary contender in place of the socialists, even with every other party in the country (and most EP representatives) collectively refusing to cooperate with Jobbik out of concern for their far-right leaning. In the past years, Jobbik carried out repeated purges of its more radical elements in an attempt to make themselves more palatable to those who are put off by their nationalism (they had picked up a reputation as not just far-right but neo-fascist, something they desperately want to shed). Unlike Fidesz and the leftists who maintained their core voter base within the pensioner-age generation that brought them to power in 1989, Jobbik's voters are mostly below the age of 30.

* Following the Soviet collapse, Hungary became a democracy and a member of {{UsefulNotes/NATO}} and UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Since 2010, the current government is led by the conservative right Fidesz[[note]]initially an acronym of "Alliance of Young Democrats" - the acronym was kept but the full name was dropped as the party members grew older (and, according to their critics, became less democratic)[[/note]], which despite many unpopular (and some obviously nepotistic) policies, managed to acquire supermajority and even retain it for their second term. Though some gerrymandering may have been involved, and the supermajority was lost a few months into their second term due to interim municipal elections). The party's PM Viktor Orbán is still the most popular politician among the increasingly politically apathetic citizenry. In recent years, Hungary has experienced a geopolitical shift eastward, making a series of economic cooperation treaties with {{UsefulNotes/Russia}} and {{UsefulNotes/China}} in response to many of the government's economic policies sparking controversy and condemnation from Brussels, coupled with a major bribery scandal that saw multiple high-ranking Hungarian government officials being declared ''persona non grata'' in the UsefulNotes/United States.

* Following the Soviet collapse, Hungary became a democracy and a member of {{UsefulNotes/NATO}} and UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Since 2010, the current government is led by the conservative right Fidesz[[note]]initially an acronym of "Alliance of Young Democrats" - the acronym was kept but the full name was dropped as the party members grew older (and, according to their critics, became less democratic)[[/note]], which despite many unpopular (and some obviously nepotistic) policies, managed to acquire supermajority and even retain it for their second term. Though some gerrymandering may have been involved, and the supermajority was lost a few months into their second term due to interim municipal elections). The party's PM Viktor Orbán is still the most popular politician among the increasingly politically apathetic citizenry. In recent years, Hungary has experienced a geopolitical shift eastward, making a series of economic cooperation treaties with {{UsefulNotes/Russia}} and {{UsefulNotes/China}} in response to many of the government's economic policies sparking controversy and condemnation from Brussels, coupled with a major bribery scandal that saw multiple high-ranking Hungarian government officials being declared ''persona non grata'' in the United States.

* Following the Soviet collapse, Hungary became a democracy and a member of {{UsefulNotes/NATO}} and UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. Since 2010, the current government is led by the conservative right Fidesz[[note]]initially an acronym of "Alliance of Young Democrats" - the acronym was kept but the full name was dropped as the party members grew older (and, according to their critics, became less democratic)[[/note]], despite many unpopular (and some obviously nepotistic) policies, managed to acquire supermajority and even retain it for their second term (though some gerrymandering may have been involved and supermajority was lost a few months into their second term due to interim municipal elections), with its PM Viktor Orbán still being the most popular politician among the increasingly politically apathetic citizenry. In recent years, Hungary has experienced a geopolitical shift eastward, making economic cooperation treaty after treaty with Russia and China in response to many of the government's economic policies sparking controversy and condemnation from Brussels, coupled with a major bribery scandal that saw multiple high-ranking Hungarian government officials being declared ''persona non grata'' in the United States.

* Following the Soviet collapse, Hungary became a democracy and a member of NATO and EU. Since 2010, the current government is led by the conservative right Fidesz[[note]]initially an acronym of "Alliance of Young Democrats" - the acronym was kept but the full name was dropped as the party members grew older (and, according to their critics, became less democratic)[[/note]], despite many unpopular (and some obviously nepotistic) policies, managed to acquire supermajority and even retain it for their second term (though some gerrymandering may have been involved and supermajority was lost a few months into their second term due to interim municipal elections), with its PM Viktor Orbán still being the most popular politician among the increasingly politically apathetic citizenry. In recent years, Hungary has experienced a geopolitical shift eastward, making economic cooperation treaty after treaty with Russia and China in response to many of the government's economic policies sparking controversy and condemnation from Brussels, coupled with a major bribery scandal that saw multiple high-ranking Hungarian government officials being declared ''persona non grata'' in the United States.

** This also resulted in a bit of a conundrum for absent sportsmen (as in, do they return or find a way to stay in the West?), as this was the year of the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames Summer Olympics]] in {{UsefulNotes/Melbourne}}, which were starting/ongoing around this time. Special note should go to the Men's Water Polo semifinals with Hungary vs the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]], aka, the Blood in the Water match (or Melbourne Bloodbath as known in Hungarian), where Hungary won 4-0 despite one of the Soviet players clocking one of the Hungarian ones badly enough to cause a nasty gash above the eye, which bled quite lot.
* After 1956, Hungary went through some more low-key reforms, and became ironically known as "the happiest barracks in the camp", under "Goulash Communism". It was also during this time that they had a really, ''really'' good football team; they won three Olympic gold medals, but sadly never won a [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup World Cup]] (losing the 1954 final to West Germany in a match known in Germany as "The Miracle in Bern"). [[note]]In Hungary, the public regarded the second place as such an act of betrayal and treason that the returning team had to be smuggled off the train about 70 kms from the capital - if they were still on the train when it ran into the main railway station, the team would have been ''lynched by the angry mob waiting for them''.[[/note]]