The “salami tactic,” once used to eliminate opposition in communist Hungary, now illustrates how Russia systematically erases its Gulag history.
The Origins of “Salami Tactics”
The term “salami tactics” (szalámitaktika) is widely believed to have been created by Mátyás Rákosi, who was nominated by Stalin for the post of post-war secretary general of the local communist party and prime minister of Hungary.
Rákosi’s Application of the Method
Rákosi himself intensively applied this tactic, systematically eliminating political groups, land assets, newspapers, judicial independence, universities, parishes, and real and alleged oppositionists.
The Cold War Evolution of the Term
During the Cold War, the term became commonly used to describe a method of eliminating institutions or freedoms not through a single, brutal attack, but by “slicing” them with thin, almost transparent pieces.