Key Words Flashcards
Autocracy
A system of government in which one person has total power.
1855 - March 1917, Russia was governed as an autocracy. Tsars had absolute power (claimed to be ordained by God).
The three strands to tsarist autocracy:
- All Russians had to obey the Tsar’s orders, he expected total willingness and submission of his subjects. There was no constitutional government.
- The Tsar was obligated to act as a ‘moral judge’ on behalf of God. He had a paternalistic duty to protect his subjects, as well as control their behaviour for the good of the nation. The Russian Orthodox Church helped him do this.
- Autocracy was viewed as a practical necessity: due to the vastness and diversity of the Russian Empire, it was said a liberal democracy and constitutional government would have been disastrous for Russia as too many people would be wanting too many different policies, so it was better if one person had total control.
All of the Tsars consistently promoted and justified autocracy, even when making reforms, it was still clear that the Tsar had ultimate power and control.
Bolsheviks
A radical, far left, and revolutionary Marxist faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, founded by Vladimir Lenin.
In October 1917, led by Lenin, they seized control of the government in Russia, seizing power from the provisional government and murdering Nicholas 11 and his family.
Command economy
An economy that is controlled totally by the state.
Stalin set up command economy in Russia to try and give the nation some economic stability.
Democratic centralism
The Bolsheviks promoted they were working to create an egalitarian society based on democratic centralism - where the people would agree to be led by a cadre (group of key personnel) based in Moscow, until a genuine workers’ government could be put in place.
De-Stalinisation
The denunciation of Stalin’s polices, by Khrushchev. Stalin was still associated with the years of unprecedented repression, and he had gained support through fear and high-level repression. The non-communist world took advantage of this, proclaiming Russia to be the great enemy of the ‘free’ world. Khrushchev tried to deal with this by denouncing the rule of Stalin with de-stalinisation.
Duma
A Russian assembly with advisor or legislative functions.
Eastern question
The issues that arose over the decline of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - which still ruled large numbers of Balkan Christians who were Slavs, and believed in the same Orthodox religion as the Russians. Many people in Russia wanted to establish Russian dominance to protect the Balkan Christians and end Turkish rule. However, Austria-Hungary, another Balkan power, was opposed to this as they didn’t want Russia forces in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the route to British India.
Gosplan
A group originally set up in 1921 to plan for industrialisation and economic growth. Its main task was the creation and administration of a series of 5 year plans which governed the economy.
Land and liberty
A pressure group consisting of intellectuals who believed that it important to live among peasants so as to understand their plight. They demanded the Russian empire should be dissolved, and believed 2/3 of the land should be transferred to the peanuts where it would be organised in self-governing communes.
The group was infiltrated by Okhrana agents, and members were arrested and imprisoned.
Narodniks
A socialist movement in Russia who believed that political propaganda among the peasantry would lead to the awakening of the masses and, through their influence, to the liberalization of the tsarist regime. The movement gained momentum in the 1870s.
Okhrana
The tsarist secret police (that replaced the Third section) whose main job was to search for those who were determined to undermine the work of the government.
Gulags
Forced labour camps that were used mainly to house political dissidents and those suspected of being anti-communist. They also housed a range of other convicts such as petty criminals. They were set up by Lenin, and reached their peak during Stalin’s rule. They were a big part of the political repression in the Soviet Union.
After the death of Stalin, the Soviet establishment took steps to dismantle the Gulag system. After Khrushchev was elected, and he initiated de-stalinisation, there was a mass release and rehabilitation of political prisoners.
New economic policy
The economic policy of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928. Included the return of most agriculture and retail trade small-scale light industry to private ownership and management while the state retained control of heavy industry, transport, banking, and foreign trade. It was Lenin’s main plank in his strategy to stabilise Russia and modernise the economy, and replaced war communism.
Proletariat
Those who worked in industry and lived in urban areas.
Russification
A policy aimed at transforming the different peoples of the Russian Empire into ‘pure’ Rus (the supposedly original inhabitants of Russia). It was the persuasive and forceful transmission of Russian values to people of national minorities, in order to bring regions under control.
Under Alexander III and Nicholas II, Russification was spread through areas without much opposition, such as the Ukraine, the Baltic provinces, and the Caucuses, to create a unified Russian Empire.
Russification was continued by Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev too, mainly with constitutional changed.
