The Danube River flows north to south through the middle of Hungary, splitting this landlocked central European country almost in half. Hungarians (Magyars) migrated here from Asia more than a thousand years ago and are distinct from the Germanic and Slavic peoples that surround them. Hungary's support for Hungarian minorities in other countries is sometimes criticized as interference by neighboring governments.
Fertile plains lie east of the Danube, with hills to the west and north. Soviet tanks crushed an uprising for democracy in 1956, but Hungary rebounded to become Eastern Europe's first purveyor of "goulash communism," blending personal freedom, prosperity, and a pinch of free enterprise. While other countries in the region suffered shortages, boutiques displaying designer fashions and cafés selling caviar lined Budapest streets.