Key Terms Flashcards
Absolute monarch
A monarch who wields unrestricted political power over the state and its people.
Agrarian Socialism
taking estates from landowners and dividing the land between the peasants to be farmed communally.
anti-semitic
being prejudiced against and persecuting jews
apparat
The party ‘apparatus’ or administrative system
autocratic
Having no limits on a ruler’s power.
Black hundreds
nationalist gangs, devoted to ‘Tsar, church and Motherland.’
bureaucracy
a system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
burzhui
anyone considered a hindrance to worker or peasant prosperity
Capital accumulation
building up money reserves in order to invest
capitalism
private enterprise, which includes making money out of a capital investment.
Central committee
elected by the party congress and, in turn, elected the Politburo between each party congress.
Cheka
the name given to the Bolshevik secret police
civil servant
someone working for the government.
civil society/institutions and rule of law
all members of society a society where all members enjoy the protection of laws, which are applied equally and fairly, while organisations exist in which the people of the country can express their views and influence decisions.
closed court sessions
a trial held in secret to which no observers were permitted and where no reporting was allowed.
command economy
making the government responsible for economic coordination
conscription
compulsory enlistment of a person into military service
constitution
set of rules by which a country is governed
constitutional monarch
a monarch who rules in conjunction with an elected assembly and whose powers are limited by that assembly.
cottage industry
work done in the worker’s own home or a small workshop
Dacha
a second home in the country often used by russians in the summer.
democratic centralism
communist idea of democracy whereby members of the local soviets were elected who, in turn, chose those who would sit on higher-level soviets and the All Russian Congress of the Soviets.
dual power
whereby Russia was governed by an alliance of the Provisional Government and the Soviet
Duma
an elected governing assembly; a state or national duma is usually capitalised, while town dumas are lower-case.
edict
an official order issued by a person of authority
electorial colleges
in a system of electoral colleges, individuals vote for others who then cast votes on their behalf.
emancipation
freeing from bondage
former people
dispossessed old elites who had no place in the new Russia
general strike
a strike that involves all workers so that the country is at a standstill.
Gosplan
the state general planning commission (1921-91) helped coordinate economic development and, from 1925, drafted economic plans.
great turn
the move from NEP to the five-year plans and collectivisation of agriculture entailed a move to central planning and a ‘command economy’
gulags
economic colonies where millions of prisoners were used to dig mines and canals, build railways and clear forests.
Holy Synod
A group of bishops, which forms the ruling body of the Orthodox church
indirect voting
a citizen elects a delegate to vote in the general election on their behalf.
Intelligentsia
the more educated members of Russian society, including writers and philosophers with both humanitarian and nationalist concerns.
Internal market demand
the desire and ability to buy the products of manufacturing within the country.
Kolkhoz
a collective operated by a number of peasant families on state-owned land.
Komunalki
communal family dwellings formed of formally private apartments that were resettled shortly after the revolutions.
Kulak
a prosperous landed peasant
Landowning elite
those who owned land and who were a privileged minority in Russian society.
Land-Lease
a programme under which the USA supplied the USSR with food and wartime material between 1941-45
mandate
the authority to carry out a policy; this is usually given by the electorate to a party or candidate that wins an election.
martial law
an extreme measure involving the use of military force; military leaders are used to enforce the law and normal civil liberties are suspended.
military colony
where the conscripts lived and trained, all under strict military discipline.
mir
a peasant commune
mortgage
involves borrowing money by providing a guarantee
national ideology
a belief in the strength of the country, language and traditions
nationalisation
taking businesses out of private hands and placing them under state control.
nepmen
speculative traders who bought up the produce from peasants to sell in the towns, and consumer items in the towns to sell in the peasant market - making a profit on both transactions
nomenklatura
a category of people who held key positions in areas such as government, industry, agriculture and education, appointed by the Communist Party in the region.
Orthodox church
following a split in the Christian church, the eastern orthodox church developed its own beliefs and rituals.
Over-Procurator
appointed by the Tsar from the laity; this was the highest church official.
