hungarian studies - EPA - Országos Széchényi Könyvtár

26 LÁSZLÓ BORHI
lion the following year. 131 The Hungarians did not count on the offer even though
the Soviets had already sold their similar holdings in Bulgaria, Austria and Rumania
and only the German ones remained in Russian hands. Due to the country's
grave financial situation the Political Committee resolved to accept the Soviet
offer, with the provision that Hungary would not be able to pay more in consultation
fees and profit transfers in the forthcoming years than it had in the earlier
period. Hungary announced that it wished to double the period of payment from
the Soviet offer of five years to ten years and that it wanted to purchase the joint
oil company as well. 132 Gerő then transmitted the Hungarian offer to the Soviet
economic advisor in Hungary, Nikolaenko, who had made the original offer to the
Hungarian government. The Kremlin's answer reiterated the original Soviet position,
with the exception that 50% of the payments would be used in Hungary. 133
Budapest tried to have the Soviets accept an eight-year term for payment and also
desired that the Soviet Union omit a clause from the proposed agreement according
to which Hungary would have to take responsibility for all further claims
against the joint companies. 134 The latter provision caused serious problems when
an Austrian-Hungarian treaty was being negotiated, since the Soviet Union, abusing
the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, had taken over properties that had belonged
to Austria. The Soviets made a few additional concessions: according to
the treaty the Soviets agreed to sell the joint oil company, but insisted that they
receive the payment of 2-2.5 billion forints in growing instalments over five years
starting in 1955. Furthermore, Moscow disclaimed all responsibility for any future
claims against these companies. 135 Although the re-acquisition of the joint
companies returned economic sovereignty to Hungary, the exploitation of its natural
resources continued with the Soviet exploitation of Hungarian uranium.
The exploration for Hungarian uranium resources by Soviet experts began in
1953. At this time the Soviet nuclear weapons program started to expand rapidly.
Reserves that had been found in some people's democracies, such as the GDR,
Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, were already being exploited for the USSR's purposes.
Large deposits were found in the Mecsek Mountains in southern Hungary.
According to the preliminary estimates the reserve contained fifteen million tons
of ore, which made it one of the largest deposits in the world. The uranium content
of the discovery, on the other hand, was considered to be average. 136 Well after the
exploitation of this resource had actually begun, the two countries signed a protocol
on June 8,1955, which regulated the reserve's future exploration, exploitation
and sale. This colonial style agreement granted the USSR exclusive rights. The
treaty provided for the exploration for radioactive elements and for their production
to begin even while the exploration continued. The Hungarian government
was obligated to place the sites free of charge at the geological expedition's disposal
and to exempt the equipment imported by the Soviets, as well as the ore