The Hungarian People's Republic was a socialist state that administered Hungary from 20 August 1949 until 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing upon the government to abandon communism. The state considered itself the heir to the Hungarian Soviet Republic, which was formed in 1919 as the first communist state created after Soviet Russia. It was designated a people's democratic republic by the Soviet Union in the 1940s.