1956 When the world changed

It all began in 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev initiated the destalinization. The Soviet troops left the naval base Port Arthur in China. On the 26th of January 1956 the border gates to Porkkala were re-opened: The Soviet lease-period was over. Urho Kekkonen who was inaugurated as president of Finland on the 1st of March. On this very day the general strike began. It lasted for 19 days, half a million Finns were affected by the strike. On 26th of July the Egyptian president decided on nationalizing the Suez Canal. Until then, the Canal had been under French and British supervision. Both countries launched an invasion. The war was cancelled, the former colonial powers lost their position of power, from now on the US and the Soviet Union set the rules in world politics. The democratization of Hungary resulted in an attack by Soviet troops and tanks. In the US as well as in Europe the interest was focused on the new megastar Elvis Presley.