The Background Reports were prepared by the staff of the Radio Free Europe Research Institute for the use of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The Background Reports on Hungary are written in English and represent a variety of documents, including international press summaries concerning events in Hungary or otherwise related to Hungary , analytical papers of different length and degree of detail, statistical reports, summaries of interviews with outstanding personalities, short biographies of significant political and party figures. The content of the Background Reports includes domestic and international economic issues, major political developments within Hungary and the Soviet bloc, Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party's activities and its involvement in the international communist movement, cultural and intellectual life in Hungary , and many other issues.

The documents presented belong to the period of 1954-1989 providing in particular a detailed and multifaceted coverage of the 1956 events, as well as both the developments within the country that preceded and preconditioned the 1956 Revolution, and the revolution's political and social repercussions in the period from November 1956 up to the late 1980s, when the officially accepted views on the events in question were subjected to revision and reevaluation.

For further details on the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Background Reports see the archival description of HU OSA 300-8-3.