Ronald Reagan, champion of freedom

Fifty-five years ago, freedom reigned for a brief moment in Communist Hungary. On October 23, 1956, student protesters marched through the streets of Budapest demanding an immediate end to their Soviet-dominated government.

Before long, the demonstrators had dissolved the Communist regime and set up an interim government based on democratic principles.

But the miracle was short-lived. Two weeks later, Soviet troops invaded Budapest to crush the revolt, which they did swiftly and ruthlessly. In total, more than 2,500 Hungarians were killed in the two-week revolution. The flicker of freedom behind the Iron Curtain had been extinguished.