# Canonical recap data for Hungarian Revolution Against Soviet Rule (1956)
# Source: https://recap.at/1956/hungarian-revolution
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: hungarian-revolution
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1956/hungarian-revolution"
title: Hungarian Revolution Against Soviet Rule
subtitle: Hungarian citizens rose against Communist Soviet domination, and the brutal Soviet tank response became a defining Cold War confrontation that exposed the limits of Soviet hegemony.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1956-10-23
endDate: 1956-11-10
datePrecision: day
year: 1956
decade: 1950
country:
name: Hungary
slug: hungary
summaryShort: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The uprising lasted 15 days b
summaryLong: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The uprising lasted 15 days before being crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on 7 November 1956. Thousands were killed or wounded, and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.
lede: In October 1956, Hungarians took to the streets to demand independence from Soviet control and democratic reform. The uprising lasted two weeks before Soviet tanks rolled in, killing an estimated 2,500 people and crushing the revolt. It became a watershed moment of the Cold War—proof that Eastern Bloc populations would fight for freedom, even against overwhelming odds.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956_collage.jpg/1280px-Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956_collage.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Hungarian Revolution of 1956"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956"
  title: Hungarian Revolution of 1956
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
- revolution
- protest
metaDescription: "Hungarian Revolution of 1956: The uprising against Soviet rule that ended in tanks and bloodshed."
wikidataQid: Q164348
taxonomy:
domain: social_movement
eventTypes:
- riot
canonicalClasses:
- mobilization
- conflict
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: emergent
intentionality: spontaneous
domainCoupling: multi_domain
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260609180202/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-09
  label: Hungarian Revolution of 1956
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956"
