Russia 1917-91: From Lenin to Yeltsin Flashcards
1
Q
Anticolonial
A
Dedicated to the overthrow of imperialism.
2
Q
Arms race
A
A competition to develop and produce increasingly deadly weapons. During the Cold War the arms race focused on nuclear missiles.
3
Q
Authoritarian
A
A policy, or a style of government that emphasises the importance of strong government control and obedience. Authoritarian governments often have extensive powers with few limits. A form of government that has strict limits on individual freedom.
4
Q
Autonomy
A
Self-government.
5
Q
Black market
A
The illegal trading of goods and services.
6
Q
Bourgeoisie
A
The owners of factories, industries and shops. That is, those who own the means of production. The term used by Karl Marx to describe the middle class.
7
Q
Building Socialism
A
The process of building a new, more equal economy and society.
8
Q
Bureaucratic regime
A
A government that is dominated by administrative officials.
9
Q
Cadres
A
Small groups of specially trained people. A term used to refer to Communist Party officials.
10
Q
Capitalism
A
An economic system based on free trade and the private ownership of property.
11
Q
Central Committee
A
The body within the Communist Party that was responsible for investigating and disciplining Party members who were accused of corruption.
12
Q
Centralised
A
A form of organisation in which power is concentrated at the centre. For instance, in the Soviet Union, power was centralised in the sense that it was exercised by the leaders of the Communist Party, rather than being dispersed throughout the government or country.
13
Q
Cheka
A
A political police force created by Lenin.
14
Q
Cold War
A
A period of heightened political tension between the capitalist West, led by America, and the Communist East, led by Russia.
15
Q
Consumer goods
A
Products that are designed to be used by individuals for their own benefit, such as shoes, refrigerators or cigarettes.
16
Q
Cult of personality
A
An idealised image of a leader created by the media.
17
Q
Decrees
A
Laws usually issued by the central government.
18
Q
De-Stalinisation
A
The process of ending some of the policies introduced by associated with Stalin.
19
Q
Detente
A
Name given to the process of removal of tensions between the superpowers in the late 1960s and 1970s; features included arms limitations agreements and state visits.
20
Q
Eastern Bloc
A
A term for the Communist states of central and eastern Europe, which were allied with the Soviet Union.
21
Q
Factions
A
Groups of people within a political party who share a common set of beliefs and who are in opposition to the leadership of the party.
22
Q
General Secretary
A
The most senior administrator in the Communist Party. Over time, the role became increasingly important. By 1928 the General Secretary was effectively the leader of the Communist Party.
23
Q
Gosplan
A
The organisation responsible for economic planning for the Soviet Union.
24
Q
Glasnost
A
Political reforms introduced by Gorbachev, which aimed to make Soviet politics more open.
25
Great Terror
The period from 1936 to 1938 in which Stalin purged the Communist Party, the army and industry, resulting in around 10 million deaths.
26
Greens
This group fought against the Reds & the Whites during the Civil War. They drew support from peasants & their policies focused on redistributing land to the peasants.
27
House arrest
A form of imprisonment in which the prisoner is forced to stay in their own house.
28
Hyperinflation
An economic situation in which inflation increased dramatically, usually for a sustained period.
29
Kulaks
A group of peasants who owned their own farm, usually a smallholding. They were usually slightly richer than those peasants who did not own land but worked as farm labourers.
30
Labour productivity
A measure of the amount produced by workers in a specified period.
31
Leningrad
Russia's second city. It as known as Petrograd until 1924, when it was renamed Leningrad to commemorate Lenin's death. Since 1991 it has been known as St Petersburg.
32
Light industry
Manufacturing that produces consumer goods.
33
Minister of the Interior
The member of the government responsible for law and order within the Soviet Union.
34
Mixed economy
An economy in which the state and private enterprise both play an important role.
35
Nationalisation
The process by which private property is taken over by the state.
36
New Economic Policy (NEP)
A semi-capitalist economic introduced by Lenin in 1921 to help revive Russia's economy after a famine.
37
Nobility
The traditional ruling class, also known as the aristocracy.
38
Nomenklatura system
A system of appointing people to jobs from a list approved by the Party leadership. Evidence of commitment to the Party cause was necessary in order to remain on the list. this system also encouraged corruption as favours were expected from those who were placed on the list and promoted.
39
October Revolution
The Revolution in which the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia.
40
Orthodox Church
Russia's traditional Church. Until 1918 the Church represented Russia's official religion.
41
Perestroika
Economic reforms introduced by Gorbachev, which were designed to restructure the Soviet economy.
42
Politburo
The most senior committee of the Communist Party. For much of the period 1917-91 the Politburo was effectively the government of the Soviet Union.
43
Polytechnic
A type of education which teaches many practical skills.
44
Pragmatic
A policy which is designed to achieve specific results, rather than to reflect certain values. Pragmatic policies are often contrasted with idealist policies.
45
Private ownership
The ownership of capital or property by private individuals or private companies.
46
Profiteering
Making money through illegal trade.
47
Pronatalist
Propaganda, policies and politicians that advocate childbirth.
48
Provisional Government
The government that rule the Russian Empire on a temporary basis after the fall of the Tsar. The Provisional Government was deposed by Lenin's October Revolution.
49
Rabkrin
The Workers and Peasants Inspectorate. A body set up by Lenin to investigate allegations of corruption in the Communist Party. It had the power to discipline and sack members of the Communist Party.
50
Red Terror
A period from 1918 to 1921 in which the Communists used violence and intimidation to suppress their political opponents.
51
Rehabilitated
The process by which Communists who were considered criminals by Stalin were pardoned or found not guilty of their alleged crimes after Stalin's death.
52
Resolution
A proposal submitted to the Communist Party Congress.
53
Samizdat
An underground publication produced by dissidents.
54
Satellite states
Countries that are technically independent, which are nonetheless dominated politically and economically by another state.
55
Social malaise
A situation in which there are widespread social problems, as well as widespread cynicism, despair and anxiety.
56
Socialism
An ideology and a political system based on the belief that people should be treated equally. Communists also use the term to refer to a historical period that occurs after capitalism but before Communism.
57
Soviets
Small, democratically elected councils, which emerged spontaneously after the February Revolution.
58
Sovnarkom
The Council of People's Commissars. In 1917 it took the role of a cabinet of top government ministers who were, in theory, responsible for making key decisions and giving government orders. It was a small group that could make quick decisions and it met on a daily basis during the civil war.
59
Supranational
An organisation that has influence over several states.
60
Supreme Soviet
The organisation that made laws in the Soviet Union. Until Gorbachev's reforms it had very little power.
61
Tax in kind
A tax in which producers pay the government a proportion of what they make, rather than paying in money.
62
Tsar
The Russian Emperor and head of the Russian state, until his overthrow in 1917.
63
Vesenkha
The organisation that controlled the economy during War Communism.
64
Vozhd
A term meaning leader.
65
War Communism
A policy designed by the Communists to win the Russian Civil War through strict economic, political and military centralisation.
66
1905 Revolution
A series of events during 1905 in Russia which threatened to overthrow the Tsar. The 1905 revolution did not destroy Tsarism, but it did lead to some reforms.
67
9 + 1
An agreement between the Soviet government & nine Republics to create a federation to replace the Soviet Union.
68
OGPU (All-Russian Congress of Soviets)
An organisation representing the whole of Russia. The Congress was elected by Soviets across the whole nation. It met semi-regularly between 1917 and 1922 to decide policy for the whole of Russia. In theory it was the highest law making organisation in the Soviet Union from 1922. However, in reality the leadership of the Communist Party exercised the real power.
69
Anarchists
Political radicals or groups of radicals who wanted the Russian revolution to destroy capitalism and the state. Anarchists were critical Communists for reintroducing a political police, and for recreating an army after the revolution. The anarchists believed that the Communist government, like all governments, would be repressive.
70
Bolsheviks
A faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, led by Lenin. The Bolsheviks led the 1917 Revolution & later called themselves the Communist Party.
71
CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
72
Class enemies
Individuals and groups who were considered to oppose the working class and therefore the Communist Party.
73
Class, or social class
Groups of people who have a similar economic and social status, for example the working class and middle class.
74
Co-education
Education of female and male students in the same institution.
75
Command economy
An economic system that is centrally directed. Production is organised in accordance with orders issued by the central government.
76
Constituent Assembly
An elected body which was supposed to agree a constitution for Russia after the Tsar was deposed. The Assembly met once and was then dissolved by force by Lenin's revolutionary government.
77
Constitution of 1918
A document published in 1918 setting out the structure and powers of Lenin's new revolutionary government. Significantly, the Constitution did not reflect the actual nature of Lenin's government which was based on the power of the Communist Party rather than the democratically elected Soviets.
78
Co-operatives
Businesses that are owned & operated by their workers.
79
Counter-revolutionaries
Individuals and groups who opposed the Communist Party.
80
Coup d'etat
A violent seizure of power.
81
Dacha
A holiday house.
82
Decrees
Laws usually issued by the central government.
83
Despotism
A kind of government in which one person or one group holds all the power.
84
English, America and French Revolutions
Russian Communists and Marxists more generally believed that the English, American and French Revolutions had swept away aristocratic governments and created capitalist governments.
85
Exit Visas
Documents allowing Soviet citizens to leave the Soviet Union.
86
First World War
A global conflict, mainly fought in Europe, between 1914 and 1918. The main participants in the conflict were the French, British and Russian Empires, fighting the Central Powers.
87
Forced confessions
Confessions obtained under interrogation or torture.
88
Free love
A social movement that rejected marriage.
89
Freedom of assembly
The right to meet with others and organise politically or socially.
90
Freedom of expression
The right to speak in public or private, as well as to publish.
91
Freedom of religion
The right to believe in or practice whatever religion you choose, or to refrain from religious faith and practice.
92
Grain requisitioning
The policy of seizing grain from peasants without payment. Grain requisitioning was often accompanied by violence.
93
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The total wealth produced by a country in a given period.
94
Gulags
The Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps. It became a vast system of forced labour camps whose appalling conditions gave it the nickname 'the meat grinder'. The period of its greatest expansion was 1929 to 1953 when a total of about 18 million prisoners, out of a population of 180 million, passed through the system.
95
Hardliners
A political group reluctant to accept new ideas.
96
Helsinki Agreement
An agreement aimed at improving relations between the communist bloc and the West - finally reached in 1975.
97
Idealists
People who believe that governments, organisations and individuals should do what is morally right, regardless of the consequences.
98
Imperialism
Either the belief that creating, expanding and defending an empire is beneficial, or policies designed to create, expand and defend an empire.
99
Institutions
Organisations that have a social purpose. This can include groups such as churches, schools, government departments and political parties. Social structures such as the family or marriage can also be described as institutions.
100
Internal passports
Documents that allow citizens to travel from one region of a country to another.
101
Labour camps
Prison camps built in the late 1920s to house tens of thousands of prisoners. The prisoners were forced to work on big construction projects such as dams or factories. Prison camps were often built in extremely cold parts of Russia. Prisoners were fed barely enough food to survive and, as a result, were effectively worked to death.
102
Mensheviks
A communist group, more moderate than the Bolsheviks. They had split from the Bolsheviks in 1903 over differences of policy. The Mensheviks were prepared to work with the bourgeoisie in order to bring about gradual reform. They had a larger membership than the Bolsheviks in 1917, but they had been weakened by their co-operation with the Provisional Government. They demanded a role in the new Bolshevik government in the form of a coalition, which Lenin refused. Their opposition to Bolshevik rule was weakened by divisions among their leadership. Rival factions led by Fyodor Dan and Yuli Martov did not reunite until May 1918. By September 1920, Martov had left Russia for Germany. Dan was arrested in 1921 and sent into exile.
103
Non-conformity
A type of social deviance when a person or group refuse to conform to expected customs, rules, standards or expectations.
104
Party theorist
The party leader responsible for analysing the progress of the revolution and explaining it in Marxist terms.
105
People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs
The part of the Communist government that dealt with relations with other countries.
106
People's Commissariat of Nationality Affairs
The part of the Communist government that dealt with relations between the different nationalities within the Soviet Union.
107
Pluralistic
Containing a variety of different groups and points of view.
108
Power vacuum
A political situation in which there is no obvious leader.
109
Pretext
A reason that is given which conceals the genuine motive for an action.
110
Proletariat
A term used by the Marxists to describe the class of industrial workers and their families.
111
Raw materials
Materials such as oil, coal and iron. These are not finished goods, but are used to create finished goods.
112
Red Army
The Soviet Army.
113
Redistribution
Taking property from one group and giving it to another.
114
Russian Federation
The largest nation to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
115
Show Trials
Trials to illustrate an issue where the guilt of the accused is never in doubt.
116
Slavs
An ethnic group largely located in central and eastern Europe, the majority ethnic group in Russia.
117
Social insurance
Usually government run schemes that provide unemployment benefits and healthcare for working people.
118
Industrial Revolution
The change from industry organised largely through small workshops of craftworkers to a system based on factory production using machines. This development, which was termed 'capitalism', occurred in Western Europe in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It produced two new social classes: a middle class of factory and business owners and a working class of industrial labourers.
119
Marx's ideas
Karl Marx (1818-83) was a German philosopher who believed that the industrial workers should seize power from the people who owned the factories, businesses and land. All property should then be owned by the government on behalf of 'the people', a system termed 'socialism'. From this phase communism would develop whereby people co-operated and worked collectively.
120
Soviet Union
A term used to refer to Russia under Communism. A soviet was a workers' council, formed by workers to represent the interests of their members. They were run by the workers themselves. They were often based in areas or cities. Thus, the country was a union of the workers.
121
Tsarist regime
The government headed by the tsar or emperor.
122
Proletariat
A term used by Karl Marx to denote the industrial workers, a new class that had emerged as a result of the Industrial Revolution.
123
Dictatorship of the proletariat
A government that rules on behalf of the working class. It would take over the reins of power and use that power to smash the bourgeoisie and prevent counter-revolution.
124
The Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)
A group committed to democratic socialism who believed in the right of groups to govern themselves, for example, peasant organisations. They gained support from sections of the peasantry and often stirred up peasant discontent. They were one of several groups who continued the Russian revolutionary tradition of populism, targeting their ideas at the peasantry, by far the largest social group in Russia at the time. The Social Revolutionaries won the elections to the Constituent Assembly but were weakened by divisions into right-wing and left-wing groupings. SRs were implicated in an assassination attempt on Lenin on 30th August 1918 by Fanya Kaplan. This led to a wave of arrests of SR members.
125
Whites
Those opposed to the Bolsheviks during the civil war of 1918-20. The Whites were largely conservative groups within Russia who did not want the old social order changed. The leaders of the Whites were generals and military leaders from the Tsar's armed forces.
126
Reds
The name given to the Bolsheviks and their supporters during the Civil War. Bolshevik support was made up of the industrial workers and many peasants who saw the Bolsheviks as the best guarantors of their gains from the Revolution.
127
Kronstadt Mutiny (1921)
The mutiny of sailors stationed at the Kronstadt naval base against the imposition of orders on the local soviet from the Bolshevik government. The slogan of the mutineers was 'Soviets without Bolsheviks'. The mutiny was brutally crushed by the Red Army, but the affair was a severe shock to the regime because the sailors had previously been strong supporters of the Bolshevik Revolution.
128
Tambov Rising (1920-21)
A peasant uprising in the Tambov region of central Russia that was sparked off by the arrival of Bolshevik units to requisition grain for use in the cities and for the army. The uprising was largely spontaneous at first, but the peasants were able to build on their strength by forming a Green Army and establishing control over a large area. It took over 50,000 Bolshevik troops to put down the revolt.
129
Trade Union
An organisation that represented workers' interests according to trade, for example railway workers or steel workers.
130
Factory committee
A small group that represented workers within a particular factory and often contained workers of different trades but who were based in the same workplace.
131
USSR
The initials of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the official name of the area controlled by the Communist Party, sometimes referred to as the Soviet Union. It was established in 1922. The USSR was made up of four republics and this expanded to 15 after WWII. Russia was the dominant republic, but it also encompassed substantial non-Russian nationalities.
132
Chistka
Russian term for cleansing. Usually applied to the purges of Party members that occurred periodically under Lenin. They were non-violent and those who were 'cleansed' had their Party membership withdrawn.
133
Right Opposition
Those in the Communist Party who wished to see the continuation of the NEP rather than Stalin's forced industrialisation of the USSR under the First Five-Year Plan. Its leaders were Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky. By 1930, they had been removed from their positions of power within the Party. The Right Opposition was finally dealt with by the purges in 1938: most of its members were executed.
134
Socialism in one country
Stalin's policy of modernisation through industrialisation, by using the resources of the Soviet Union. It was put forward by Stalin as an argument against Trotsky's call for world revolution.
135
The Great Purge
The term used to describe the wave of terror that Stalin and his supporters used to remove enemies. The targets were so-called enemies of the state or people who were accused of crimes they often could not possibly have committed. Victims of the purge were either sent to labour camps or shot.
136
Left Opposition.
Those in the Party who had supported the call for Permanent Revolution in the 1920s. This had put them against Stalin, who had called for 'Socialism in one country'. The Left had also called for rapid industrialisation and the abandonment of the NEP before Stalin was ready to do so. Because the Left were associated with the views of Trotsky, it was relatively easy to attack them as enemies of the state. Trotsky, although he had fled abroad, continued to denounce Stalin.
137
Commissar
A top government official, in charge of a specific area of policy.
138
Trust in cadres
A reference to Brezhnev's principle of letting Party members (cadres), who served in official posts at all levels, get on with their jobs without interference.
139
Oligarchy
Rule by a small elite who govern in their own interests. It is often applied to the way the Communist Party ruled the USSR under Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko.
140
The Dnepropetrovsk mafia
As Soviet leader, Brezhnev relied on colleagues he had worked with earlier in his career, especially while in Dnepropetrovsk in the Ukraine. These cronies were extremely loyal to Brezhnev and he used them to strengthen his position against more independent Politburo members. Leading members of this 'mafia' included Andrei Kirilenko, Nikolai Shchelokov and Konstantin Chernenko.
141
Collectivisation
The policy of creating larger agricultural units where the peasants would farm collectively rather than on individual farms.
142
State capitalism
The term given by Lenin to the transitional stage between the old bourgeois economy and a new proletarian one.
143
Bartering
Paying for goods with other goods rather than with money. During War Communism in Russia, it was seen by some as a liberation from capitalism, but it was in fact a result of economic collapse.
144
Nepmen
A term of abuse used by Bolsheviks to describe those private business people and traders who profited from the NEP.
145
Holodomor
Literally meaning murder by starvation. It is applied to Stalin's actions against Ukraine during the process of enforced collectivisation.
146
The Liberman Plan, 1962
This plan was drawn up by Evsei Liberman, a Soviet economist, to address the issues of underperformance in the Soviet economy. He believed that it was vital to encourage greater initiative in the command economy in order to improve productivity.
147
GPU
The State Political Administration, the name given to the secret police in 1922. it was reorganised as the Unified State Political Administration (OGPU) in 1923.
148
SMERSH
A branch of the secret police whose task was to root out hostile elements in the Red Army. SMERSH was an acronym based on the phrase 'death to spies'. It was created in 1943 and later became a branch of the KGB whose main job was to arrange assassinations of opponents and dissidents.
149
KGB
The Committee for State Security. it as established in 1954 and was the organisation that controlled the secret police. Its main tasks were to deal with internal security, intelligence gathering both home and abroad, and espionage. It also provided the bodyguard for Politburo members.
150
Komsomol
The youth organisation of the Communist Party.
151
Moonlighting
Unofficial working, usually in a worker's spare time, using tools and materials that in many cases were stolen from factories and businesses. Many workers used this as a way to supplement their income.
152
Nepotism
Appointing relatives to key positions irrespective of their merits.
153
Russification
The policy of imposing Russian language and culture on the ethnic minorities of the USSR in order to provide a greater sense of unity throughout the country.
154
Rabfak
Schools set up after the Bolshevik Revolution to teach basic literacy and numeracy to those who had dropped out of education.
155
Go into deficit
To allow the state to spend more money than it has available. It is a method often used by governments during economic downturns in the hope that the economy will improve soon.
156
Strategic Defence Initiative
The US programme for the development of anti-ballistic missile systems in space, known by the nickname 'Star Wars'. It was a system that would require vast sums of money and resources to develop, and in order for the USSR to keep pace with this it faced bankruptcy.
157
Market mechanism
Using the practices of a capitalist economy, such as the forces of supply and demand of goods to determine prices rather than the state.
158
Democratisation
An attempt by Gorbachev, to get more people involved in the Communist Party and political debate.
159
'Liberals' versus 'conservatives'
The terms 'liberal' and 'conservatives' are often applied to those either in favour of reform or against it, respectively. There were die-hard Stalinists, like Andrei Gromyko on the one hand, and radical reformers such as Boris Yeltsin on the other.
