1956 hallmarked the failure and quick downfall of the Rákosi system, however, the fall of the revolution also marked the start of the Kádár era. In the narrative of the Kádár system, ‘56 could only be an aggressive counter-revolution. This gave legitimacy to the system: it was forbidden to see the revolution as a rightful one. Although the Kádár system guaranteed relative well-being and the abuse of authoritarian power was less common in everyday life, the system was economically unstable; therefore, it slowly started to decay in the 80s.
One important moment in the process of the fall of communism was when in January 1989 the communist politician, Imre Pozsgay, called ‘56 a “people’s uprising.” With this the taboo of ‘56 shifted, which sped up the events of the fall of the regime. The third Hungarian Republic was proclaimed on 23rd of October 1989, showing the symbolic importance of the events of ‘56.