China and Russia Quiz Flashcards
“Men of power” who have their origins in the security agencies and are close to president Putin.
Silkovi
Russian people noted for their control of large amounts of the Russian economy, their close ties to the government, and accusations of corruption surrounding their rise to power.
Oligarchs
WhPutin’s hand-picked successor, who ruled as the president from 2008-2012 and as prime minister from 2012-2020. Now is the head of the United Russia Party.
Medvedev
A variant of Christianity separate from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, originally centered in what is now Turkey. They don’t have as much of a separation of church and state and do not draw a line between religious and political leaders.
Orthodox Christianity
What is the Russian term for emperor?
Tsar (also spelled czar).
Russian revolutionary who led the 1917 Russian revolution and headed the Soviet Union from 1917-1924.
Lenin
Soviet secret police society tasked with domestic and foreign intelligence.
The KGB
Politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, and economy that were staffed with people chosen or approved by the Communist Party.
Nomenklatura
Succeeded Lenin as head of the Soviet Union until his death in 1953. Established totalitarian rule + mass famine ensued. His power was solidified with a cult of personality.
Stalin
Agriculture was forcibly controlled during Stalin’s rule, and farmers would often destroy their farms rather than surrendering them to the state. This is the process of consolidating small private firms of businesses into large state-controlled or collectively managed enterprises.
Collectivization
Top policy-making and executive body of the communist party.
Politburo
Took office in 1953 after Stalin’s death. He tried to reform but was forced from his position by the Politburo.
Khrushchev
After Khrushchev. He supported the nomenklatura and rejected reform. Economic growth slowed and corruption was prominent.
Brezhnev
Became general secretary in 1985 with his reform ideas called glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring).
Gorbachev
Policy of political liberalization and openness implemented by Gorbachev.
Glastnost
Policy of political liberalization through restructuring implemented by Gorbachev.
Perestroika
President of Russia from 1991-1999. He led a failed coup d’etat against Gorbachev and banned the Communist party, effectively destroying Gorbachev’s political base. He named Putin president in 1999.
Yeltsin
Current president of Russia as of 2012, also president of Russia from 1999-2008 and prime minister from 2008-2012.
Putin
Eleventh century fortress in the heart of Moscow that has been the historical center of power in Russia.
The Kremlin
Successor to the KGB (the Russian intelligence agency).
The FSB (Federal Security Service)
War in a Russian republic that has been a source of military conflict since 2012.
The war in Chechnya
Russia’s bicameral parliament.
Federation Assembly
The lower house in the Federal Assembly. 5 year terms, they have the right to initiate and accept or reject legislation.
The Duma
A government order administered to dispel the prime minister from office.
Vote of no confidence
Upper house of the Russian Parliament. Varied term lengths depending on the federation they represent. Holds less power than the Duma.
Federation Council
A government action meant to spur the state into motion to dispel the president.
Impeachment
Russia seized this territory from Ukraine in 2014.
Crimea
A massive Genocidal famine inflicted upon Ukraine by the Soviet Union perpetrated by Joseph Stalin. It lasted from 1932-33 and ended up killing millions of Ukrainians.
Holodomor
A system in which power is divided unevenly between regional bodies.
Asymmetric Federalism
Main political party in Russia and supporter of Putin. They have a supermajority in the Duma.
United Russia Party
Successor party to United Russia (second largest in the Duma). Banned by Yeltsin in 1991, it was allowed to reorganize in 1993
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF)
A small party in the Duma that embraces leftist social-democratic ideals.
A Just Russia Party
Political party in Russia with a nationalist and nondemocratic orientation
What is the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)?
A punk band that got arrested for charges of religious hate.
The Pussy Riots
Political activist who has been detained repeatedly for his opposition to Putin and United Russia and recently passed away in imprisonment.
Alexei Navalny
Former deputy prime minister under Yeltsin who was assassinated.
Boris Nemtsov
Southwest Russia, near the Black Sea and Turkey, where there is a diverse mix of non-Slavic peoples with distinct languages and customs.
The Causcasus
Current leader of Chechnya who is thought to have been involved in the death of Nemtsov.
Ramzan Kadyrov
A process in Russia in which the nomenklatura directors of firms were able to acquire the largest amount of shares when it became privatized.
Insider Privatization
Oligarch arrested and imprisoned for his opposition to Putin.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Where natural resources are a major part of the economy, this runs the risk of giving the state too much economic power while stifling other forms of economic development.
The Resource Trap
A loosely integrated body that incorporates many former Soviet republics.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIV)
Conflict between Russia and the UK when they both expanded their power into Caucasus and Central Asia in the early 1900s.
The Great Game
China’s current paramount leader serving simultaneously as the head of the party, head of state, and head of military.
Xi Jiping
China’s self-described period (1839-1949) of intervention and exploitation at the hands of Western and Japanese imperialists.
The Century of Humiliation
Founder of the People’s Republic of China and leader of the Chinese communist revolution.
Mao Zedong
China’s paramount leader that came after Mao Zedong, introduced ‘reform and opening’ that grew the economy and boosted the wellbeing of the population.
Deng Xiaoping
Authoritarian political party that rules China’s government from 1949-present.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
The largest dam ever constructed, completed in 2008, generates a lot of energy and helps prevent flooding.
The Three Gorges Dam
Over 90% of the population is made up of this ethnic identity.
Han ethnic identity
Due to China’s massive population, the government enacted this policy, leading to children being over-coddled and under-socialized.
The One Child Policy
A political philosophy that preaches social harmony, emphasizing hierarchical norms, obedience to authority, and meritocracy.
Confucianism
1839-1842 war between GB and China resulted in a Chinese defeat, forcing China to secede Hong Kong to Britain.
The First Opium War
China’s Nationalist party that was overthrown by Mao’s communists in 1949.
Kumintang
China’s communist military built out of mainly the peasant class.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLO)
The Chinese Communist Party’s 6,000 mile retreat (1934-1935) to northwestern China during the civil war with the KMT.
The Long March
List the five most important leaders of China in order:
- Mao Zedong (1935-76)
- Deng Xiaoping (1997-92)
- Jiang Zemin (1992-2002)
- Hu Jintao (2002-12)
- Xi Jinping (2012-current)
The communists formed this after forcing the Kumintang to flee.
The People’s Republic of China
What happened to Taiwan/KMT?
The PRC made the KMT flee to Taiwan after the civil war.
Mao’s effort to modernize China in 1958-1960 through communes, localized industrial production, and agricultural productions that failed disastrously.
The Great Leap Forward
Student groups that banded together, serving as Mao’s shock troops during the cultural revolution.
Red Gaurd
Mao’s radical movement, launched in 1966 to regain political control from rivals that resulted in a decade of social and economic chaos.
The Cultural Revolution
A large group of protesters in favor of political reform occupied this place, and, on June 4th, the party leadership brought in the military.
Tiananmen Square
How the CCP exercises control over the state, society and economy.
The Chinese Nomenklatura
All government agencies are matched by a corresponding ‘party organ’ in China.
Parallel Organizational System
Maoist program providing all Chinese people a lifetime affiliation with a work unit governing all aspects of their lives.
Danwei
The Danwei was enforced through this maoist program that tied all Chinese to a specific geographical location.
Hukou
China’s roughly 300 million peasants that have been leaving the countryside to seek urban employment since the 1990s.
Floating Population
Originally Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s policy vision calling for China’s national rejuvenation, modernization, and prosperity.
The Chinese Dream
Meditative martial arts movement outlawed for being an ‘evil cult.’
Falun Gong
China’s legislature. They are the highest organ of the state.
National People’s Congress
The representative body that announces changes in leadership and doesn’t do much because they meet infrequently.
The National Party Congress
Comprises China’s army, navy, and air force. World’s largest military.
People’s Liberation Army
Private entrepreneurs that are also members of the CCP.
Red Capitalists
The party-state’s project of media censorship and control, commonly known as the ‘Great Firewall of China.’
The Golden Shield
State-implemented behavioral modification system that tracks economic and social actions of Chinese citizens and businesses.
The Social Credit System
Term for Mao’s promise of ‘cradle to grave’ healthcare, work, and retirement security.
The Iron Rice Bowl
Term describing Mao’s policy favoring politically indoctrinated party cadres (reds) over those who had economic training (experts).
Reds Vs. Experts.
State sponsored industrial policies that insure the party-state maintains control over the economy.
State Capitalism
