Shortly after the failed Hungarian Uprising against Soviet occupation in 1956, Nyíri decided to escape to Vienna, and later to Paris, instead of staying in Hungary and facing a probable death sentence, which was the fate of many of his fellow revolutionaries. Nyíri was forbidden to return to Hungary until the amnesty of 1973, when he was commissioned by the "New Statesman" to return to his native country and write an article, which was published under the title "A Chilly Spring in Budapest".