Beginning of the Hungarian Revolution On October 23, 1956, students, intellectuals, and workers took to the streets of Budapest demanding the end of Soviet rule and the communist government. On November 4, thousands of Soviet tanks entered the city to quell the uprising, which had by then become a nationwide revolt. The outraged citizenry fought back valiantly, armed with little more than their bare hands, but defeat was inevitable. Approximately 2,500 Hungarians were killed, and countless others were wounded or imprisoned. 200,000 fled. Reformist Prime Minister Imre Nagy was deposed, and the Soviets installed a new pro-Soviet government headed by János Kádár.
