Hungary [antikvár]

Introduction Hungary (Magyarország) is a kidney-shaped country in the centre of Europe whose impact on the continent's history has been far greater than its present size and population would suggest. Hungarians - who call themselves the Magyar - speak a language and form a culture like no other, which has been both a source of pride and frustration for them for more than a 1000 years. Firmly entrenched in the Soviet bloc until late in the 1980s, Hungary is now an independent republic making its own decisions for the first time in almost half a century. Hungarian nationalism has been the cause and the result of an often paranoiac fear of being gobbled up by neighbouring countries - particularly the 'sea of Slavs' that surrounds much of Hungary. Yet, despite endless occupations and wars (which have reduced the size of the country by two-thirds in this century alone), the Hungarians have been able to retain their own identity without shutting themselves off from the world. Having one foot in Europe and the other practically in Asia has not made Hungarians feel any less Western and, except for the fatuous far right, 'cosmopolitanism' has been something to be proud of. Now more than ever Hungary looks to Europe for its future. They may not always win the game, but Hungarians have tried to play their cards right since the start. In Himnusz, their doleful national anthem, they hedge their bets by asking for God's blessing and forgiveness in advance because 'this nation has already atoned for past and future sins'. Under the 'goulash' (consumer-orientated) Commu-