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29. Kosygin Reforms: The 1965 Soviet economic reform, sometimes called the Kosygin reform were a set of planned changes in the economy of the Soviet Union
A centerpiece of these changes was the introduction of profitability and sales as the two key indicators of enterprise success. Some of an enterprise's profits would go to three funds, used to reward workers and expand operations; most would go to the central budget. The reforms were introduced politically by Alexei Kosygin—who had just become Premier of the Soviet Union following the removal of Nikita Khrushchev. With prices more reflective of the costs of production there were short term improvements in the economy. However, they were quickly rolled back as they threatened the power of the nomenklatura. Significance: They were an attempt to make the economy more efficient and similar to the West, but their failure ultimately they showed how difficult it was to change the soviet economy.
23. Hungarian Revolution: A nationwide revolt against the communist government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956
After the new reformist government put in place by revolutionaries announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact forces, the USSR moved to crush the revolution. On 4 November, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. The Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition. Significance: These Soviet actions, while strengthening control over the Eastern Bloc, alienated many Western Marxists, leading to splits and/or considerable losses of membership for communist parties in capitalist states. The Eastern bloc was now clearly dominated by the government of the USSR.
31. Helsinki Accords/Detente: Thirty-five states, including the US, Canada, and all European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West
All parties involved promised to respect post WWII borders, and recognized the importance of human rights. Significance: It established the legitimacy of human rights ethics as being more important than communist forms of morality. The USSR was now bound to these ethics symbolically. It was also part of a general reduction in tensions.
42. The Baltic Way: A peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989
Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the three Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, considered at the time to be constituent republics of the Soviet Union. In march 1990 Lithuania declared independence, followed later by Estonia and Latvia. Significance: The Baltic Way was part of the peaceful process of breaking up the USSR. The Baltic states were the first to leave, and heralded what was soon to come.
12. Babiyar:
Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of massacres carried out by German forces and by local Ukrainian collaborators during their campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. Significance: It is illustrative of the horrors of the holocaust, and the complicity of many Soviet ethnic minorities in supporting these acts.
10. Molotov ribbentrop pact: nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II and which divided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence
Baltics and half of Poland were given to the USSR. Both Hitler and Stalin knew that this was only a temporary holding mechanism. Significance: The Molotov Ribbentrop pact delayed war on the Eastern front, but in doing so meant Stalin was taken somewhat unaware by operation Barbarossa, believing he had more time to react. It also placed the Baltics within the USSR, where they would remain until the breakup of the Soviet Union.
34. Soviet Intelligentsia: The Soviet intelligentsiya arose from the ideological commitment of the Communist government for the education (professional, scientific, technical) of Russia
Certain professional jobs came to be seen as higher status than communist party leadership. There was a resurgence in the 1970's of an unofficial intelligentsia similar to that of the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire as an alternative locus of power. They cut across ideological and generational lines. Significance: The intelligentsia were part of a shift away from public life, which seemed fake, and towards an internal and more authentic life in which a genuine search for truth could be made.
9. collective security:
Collective security is the theory or practice of states pledging to defend one another in order to deter aggression or to punish transgressor if international order has been breached. In the Soviet context, this meant accomodation with the West in order to push back the mutual threat of Fascism. The USSR emphasized Socialism in one country to soften Moscow's image to the west and joined the league of nation. Foreign minister Maxim Limonov got the USA to recognize the USSR in 1930. Significance: Part of the longstanding Soviet trend away from world revolution, and provided the framework that became the allied powers during WWII.
17. "Fellow Travelers": Traditional Soviet term for leftists who sympathized with the Revolution but were not formal members of Communist parties
Critically important in the postwar reconstruction and consolidation in Eastern Europe, as fellow traveller parties were coopted into popular fronts and sympathetic intellectuals were recruited for the Party. Fell out of use as Communist-aligned leftist movements were absorbed or eliminated. Significance: Cooperation with fellow travelers allowed for pro-Moscow forces to democratically take power in Eastern Europe by granting Communist popular fronts power even though they lacked majorities on their own, though this would soon be replaced by communist dictatorship.
1. Kulaks: a peasant in Russia wealthy enough to own a farm, have surplus grain, or hire labor
Emerging after the emancipation of serfs in the 19th century, the kulaks resisted Stalin's forced collectivization, but millions were arrested, exiled, or killed. These were used both as a means of removing traditional village authority and as an excuse for the terror. Stalin blamed the campaigns against Kulaks on overzealous lower level communists even though he was personally responsible for much of it. Significance: The campaign against Kulaks was a critical part of collectivizing Soviet agriculture, and the general exploitation of the countryside that was necessary for the massive urban industrialization of the 5 year plan.
48. Dzhokhar Dudayev: was a Soviet Air Force general and Chechen leader, the first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a breakaway state in the North Caucasus
Following the failure of the coup d'état, the Soviet Union began to disintegrate rapidly as the constituent republics took moves to leave the beleaguered Soviet Union. Taking advantage of the Soviet Union's implosion, Dudayev and his supporters acted against the Zavgayev administration. On 6 September 1991, the militants of the NCChP invaded a session of the local Supreme Soviet, effectively dissolving the government of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. Grozny television station and other key government buildings were also taken over. Dudayev continued to lead Chechnya until 1996 when he was killed during the First Chechen war. Significance: Dudayev helped initiate Chechen independence, a matter which has been a thorn in the side of Russia for decades. He demonstrated the threat of breakaway Republics within Russia, and the response to him showed the degree Russia would go to retain control and prevent any internal breakdown.
28. Novocherkassk: City near Rostok, notable in the course for the labor unrest that occurred there in 1962
Food prices had been raised and work quotas increased, leading to a strike by railway workers that developed into general unrest. Brutally suppressed by Soviet forces, led to a series of show trials of alleged organizers, total around 100 dead and executed. Significance: The harsh crackdown on labor unrest was part of a series of events leading to a perception that the thaw was over, and that weakened Kruschev, allowing Brezhnev to take power.
37. Vladimir Vysotsky: was a Russian singer-songwriter, poet, and actor whose career had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet and Russian culture
He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often humorous street jargon. He was part of a bardic tradition celebrating the poet outlaw. He took the internal life which had become part of the soviet intelligentsia and made it public. His fame transcended official culture, and his death during the 1980 olympics was remembered as a sincere moment of national unity. Significance: Vysotsky's popularity was part of a growing culture of irony that sought authenticity and went beyond official sanctioned soviet culture. He was a different kind of hero from the communist model.
44. Lenin Grib: Segment appearing on Soviet evening TV in 199 with no warning, featuring two comedians playing the role of an academic and a reporter interviewing him
He gradually lays out his case that Lenin was a regular user of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and was in fact himself a mushroom. Using a traditional Soviet format to deliver a completely absurd message.. Lenin-Grib was a cultural moment that millions watched and saw as symbolizing the era. Significance: Emblematic of the total change in mood in Soviet society and of Glasnost. Lenin-Grib showed the deep disaffection and sardonicism around the revolutionary past.
50. The Constitutional Crisis: Yeltsin was not doing well in 1993 - economic policy deeply unpopular
He had called a referendum which returned a fairly convincing vote of confidence in him, but he was having major problems dealing with the legislature, which had recently tried and failed to impeach him. He soon moved to dissolve the Congress of People's Deputies and create a new constitution, this turned violent and the legislature simply refused to obey. This escalated to open street fighting, with a militia organized by the Duma, which only ended when the army chose sides and backed Yeltsin. Significance: The Constitutional crisis allowed for the passage of a new constitution giving the executive branch more power.It also helped create a sense of crisis in the 1990's which led Russians to search for stability in their politics.
51. Loans for Shares: Questionable economic program launched by Yeltsin in 1995
He needed capital to run his campaign and government revenue to avert economic problems. So, shares of remaining state-owned property were leased to the highest bidder, which usually ended up being oligarchs, political allies of Yeltsin, or other insiders and enemies of the communist candidate for president. Significance: Loans for shares reinforced massive inequality in Russia, leaving the nation's resources in the hands of a few people. 2/3rds of Russia's wealth is owned by 1.5% of its population. It also established a political connection between those investors and the government, leading to a powerful Russian oligarchy that began with Yeltsin and continues to this day.
25. Khrushchevki: an unofficial name of type of low-cost, concrete-paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment building which was developed in the Soviet Union during the early 1960s, during the time its namesake Nikita Khrushchev directed the Soviet government
Housing tripled under Kruschev, marking a departure from the shortages and shared apartments of the Stalin era. Similar to suburbs in the US, but linked to cities by Metro systems. Significance: Emblematic of the growth and upward mobility of the thaw, as well as general optimism and a faith that communism was coming soon. They were also part of a trend of urbanization that happened throughout the USSR's entire history.
52. Aral Sea Disaster:During the 1960's, multiple rivers were rerouted to make the Uzbek desert into cotton fields
However, these rivers fed the Aral Sea, and over several decades it evaporated. Water that reached the sea contained toxic deposits, which now are toxic dust that blows through the region causing high cancer rates and environmental devastation as well as a local water crisis and a decimation of local life around the Sea. Significance: The Aral Sea Disaster shows the negative environmental effects that rapid Soviet industrialization had, and can be more broadly seen as an example of the negative lingering effects of Soviet influence on a periphery that never really recovered.
16. Doctors plot: An antisemitic campaign organized by Joseph Stalin
In 1952-1953, a group of predominantly Jewish doctors from Moscow were accused of conspiring to assassinate Soviet leaders. This was later accompanied by publications of anti-Semitic character in the media, which talked about the threats of Zionism and condemned people with Jewish names. Many doctors, officials and others, both Jews and non-Jews, were promptly dismissed from their jobs and arrested. A few weeks after the death of Stalin, the new Soviet leadership stated a lack of evidence and the case was dropped. Significance: The doctor's plot demonstrates Stalin's turn towards anti-Semitism after the war, especially as zionism and the legacy of the holocaust caused Jews to think of themselves as increasingly separate. Anti-zionism had become a major part of Soviet rhetoric.
13. Functionalism vs
Intentionalism: Distinct from the other definition of functionalism so be careful not to confuse these. These refer to two different interpretations of the origins of the Holocaust. Functionalist interpretations generally argue that the policies of the Holocaust evolved over time, directed by general ill-will towards Jews, but that the goal of extermination was not defined from the beginning. Intentionalist interpretations argue that Hitler and other Nazi leadership did intend on extermination or at the very least ethnic cleansing from the very beginning and that it was directed from above throughout. There are varying degrees of each of these theories. It is pretty clear from Nazi records that the holocaust was very intentional. Significance: Related to the many different forms of anti-semitism in Europe, from the clear ideological anti-semitism of the Nazis to the generalized anti-semitism of many in the Soviet Union.
15. Zhdanovshchina: Zhdanovshchina was the cultural policy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War period following World War II, calling for stricter government control of art and promoting an extreme anti-Western bias
It was formulated by the party secretary and cultural boss Andrey Aleksandrovich Zhdanov. Originally applied to literature, it soon spread to other arts and gradually affected all spheres of intellectual activity in the Soviet Union. Everything was seen as needing to be Marxist, including science. Agriculture was governed by the false belief that genetic traits could be inherited from the environment. A doctrine of no-conflict permeated literature, leading to boring and saccharine narratives. Russia was given credit for almost every historical achievement to the point of absurdity. Significance: Zhdanovshchina reflects the cultural attitude of post-war Stalinist Russia. It was an extension of earlier socialist realist propaganda and a reflection of an ideal in which every sphere of life was demonstrative of the fact that things were perfect.
39. Glasnost: Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues
It was instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s and began the democratization of the Soviet Union. Censorship was ended and a free press developed. The doors were open to free thought, and people were enormously excited by this policy. However, it also lead to revelations about all the past crimes of the Soviet state and led to a proliferation of fake news. Significance: Glasnost represented the opening up of the Soviet Union and a more free way of life, but it was also a key element in destabilizing the country. The enormous speed of these reforms was hard to adjust to, and contributed significantly to the USSR's collapse. Soviet citizens couldn't overlook the past sins of their government, and they were left with no hope for the future.
53. Astana:Astana is the new capital of Kazakhstan after it was moved from Almaty, the country's largest city, in 1998
It was moved to Astana to make the center of Kazakh power closer to the more Russian north. Oil money has led to major development in the city and several impressive architectural projects. Significance: Astana is an example of the desire of post-Soviet republics to remain close to Russia for economic and political reasons. Its development also shows the effect that newfound oil and gas revenues have had on the region. However, it also reflects the desire by Kazakhstan to maintain control on its Russian minority, fearing possible breakaway in the north if it is not tightly controlled.
18. Cominform: The common name for what was officially referred to as the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties
It was the first official forum of the international communist movement since the dissolution of the Comintern, and confirmed the new realities after World War II, including the creation of an Eastern Bloc. Like the Third International (Comintern) in its later phases, the Cominform served more as a tool of Soviet policy than as an agent of international revolution. The Cominform was located in Belgrade, and Stalin had hoped that this would encourage cooperation. However, it only made Tito cockier, and eventually he is expelled from the Cominform, which calls for a rebellion against Tito. Significance: The Cominform represents a further shift away from international revolution and towards a more limited Socialist scope, this time focused not just on the USSR but on the Eastern Bloc as well. It also creates a formal framework for ostracizing Tito for not cooperating with the USSR.
21. Collective Leadership: Considered an ideal form of governance in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and other socialist states espousing communism
Its main task was to distribute powers and functions among the Politburo, the Central Committee, and the Council of Ministers to hinder any attempts to create a one-man dominance over the Soviet political system by a Soviet leader, such as that seen under Joseph Stalin's rule. On the national level, the heart of the collective leadership was officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party. After the deaths caused by the terror, the Soviet elite prioritized its own safety by encouraging collective leadership. Kruschev was the face of the party, but not a new Stalin. Significance: Collective leadership was a key part of the destalinization process in government, and ensured that a new Stalin did not arise.
22. Secret Speech: in Russian history, denunciation of the deceased Soviet leader Joseph Stalin made by Nikita S
Khrushchev to a closed session of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The speech was the nucleus of a far-reaching de-Stalinization campaign intended to destroy the image of the late dictator as an infallible leader and to revert official policy to an idealized Leninist model. Outstanding among these was Stalin's use of mass terror in the Great Purge of the mid-1930s, during which, according to Khrushchev, innocent communists had been falsely accused of espionage and sabotage and unjustly punished, often executed, after they had been tortured into making confessions. Significance: It caused shock and disillusionment throughout the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc, harming Stalin's reputation and the perception of the political system and party that had enabled him to gain and misuse such great power. It also helped give rise to a period of liberalization known as the "Khrushchev thaw," during which censorship policy was relaxed, sparking a literary renaissance of sorts. Thousands of political prisoners were released, and thousands more who had perished during Stalin's reign were officially "rehabilitated." Began the long decline in Soviet perception of the state that would culminate in the breakup of the Soviet Union.
7. Sergei Kirov:A prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union and a close friend of Stalin's
Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the party organization in Leningrad. On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed by a gunman at his offices in the Smolny Institute. Some historians place the blame for the assassination on Joseph Stalin or believe inside parties of the NKVD organized his execution, but conclusive evidence for this claim remains lacking and the circumstances disputed, historians argue at the lack of a motive for Stalin killing Kirov, while some pessimistically proclaim it evidence of Stalin's repression. This culminated in the Great Purge of the late 1930s in which a number of the Old Bolsheviks were arrested, expelled from the party, and sometimes executed. Complicity in Kirov's assassination was a common charge to which the accused confessed in the show trials of the period Significance: Stalin used Kirov's assassination as an excuse to purge all in the party who had disagreed with him, and one of the notable sparks that set off the terror.
27. Laika: a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth
Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on 3 November 1957. Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. Significance: Laika was a popular figure that represented the success of the Soviet Space Program. The space program itself was enormously important, and a demonstration of Soviet power in the postwar era that contributed to optimistic attitudes.
41. Nagorno Karabakh: Disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Located within internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan but heavily Azeri Turkish. Was an autonomous oblast under Soviet rule, petitioned the central government to join Armenia in 1987 but it didn't happen. In 1988 Armenians begin protesting for independence and in response Azeris carried out a pogrom in Baku for 3 days killing at least 32. Conflict would rage until 1994 leading to tens of thousands dying on each side. This was only exacerbated by a major earthquake hitting Armenia. Substandard construction led to massive destruction, and the USSR had to ask the West for disaster aid. Significance: Disputes in Nagorno Karabakh were a sign of resurgent nationalism and national tensions in the late 1980's. Morevor, the conflict there and the earthquake contributed to the overall sense that things were crumbling at the seams. Conflict continues to this day.
6. Riutin Platform:
Manifesto written by Martemyan Riutin, an Old Bolshevik and follower of Bukharin which delivered a blistering critique of Stalin's politics and personality, denouncing him as a mediocre theoretician, an 'unscrupulous intriguer' and, through his disastrous policies, the 'gravedigger of the Revolution'. In September of 1932 Rituin's follower's were rounded up and imprisoned. Significance: The Riutin Affair set Stalin on his way to the Great Terror. It left him with a paranoid conviction that 'enemies' were everywhere. He became obsessed by the memory of the criticism he had faced in 1932 and by his desire for vengeance not just against his critics but against those moderates in the Party leadership who had prevented him from dealing them a mortal blow.
46. Referendum on continued union: March 1991 referendum, asking voters whether to renovate the USSR as a federation of equal, individual republics with protection of human and civil rights
Passed in every country that participated by an average margin of 76%, boycotted by Georgia, the Baltics, Armenia, Moldova. Support was lowest in Russian cities Sort of Gorbachev's brainchild but never ended up mattering at all because of the August Coup. Significance: It demonstrated the popular desire to keep the union together, especially given the degree to which the periphery dependent on the economic center. The fact that support was lowest in Russia shows the beginning of Russian nationalism, and the threat of Russian control ultimately drove the peripheral Republics away.
38. Perestroika, (
Russian: "restructuring") program instituted in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s to restructure Soviet economic and political policy. Seeking to bring the Soviet Union up to economic par with capitalist countries such as Germany, Japan, and the United States, Gorbachev decentralized economic controls and encouraged enterprises to become self-financing. The economic bureaucracy, fearing the loss of its power and privileges, obstructed much of his program, however. Gorbachev also proposed reducing the direct involvement of the Communist Party leadership in the country's governance and increasing the local governments' authority. Freedom was seen as way of ending stagnation, but perestroika did not give the benefits immediately desired and its implementation coincided with a fall in the price of oil. Significance: Perestroika was one part of a series of reforms to reduce the control of the Communist Party over Soviet society. These reforms spelled the beginning of the end, and after being constrained by a top heavy state for so long the USSR would begin to fragment due to its newfound freedom.
45. Abkhazia: Disputed territory of Georgia
Separate ethnic group, the Abkhaz. Abkhazians had a long independent history and had allied with the Bolsheviks during the Civil War and against the Georgians. Had semi-independent status within USSR, and had been petitioning to be an independent Republic as early as 1978. At the 19th Party congress the Abkhaz sent another petition after seeing what was happening to ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan. This caused hundreds of thousands of Georgians to protest against Abkhazian independence. Protests on both sides led to Soviet intervention in 1989, shocking public opinion and radicalizing Georgian nationalist sentiments. This culminated in Georgian independence and later independence movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. From 1992-1994 there was a civil war for independence, ending in Abkhazia gaining de-facto independence while still technically being part of Georgia.Significance: Abkhazia was a key flash point in the ethnic tensions that emerged along with nationalism in the late 1980's. It was one of several conflicts in the earl post-Soviet era, and is emblematic of the chaos in the periphery of the Soviet Union once the center could not maintain control.
49. Shock Therapy:
Shock therapy is a term used by some non-economists to refer to the sudden release of price and currency controls (economic liberalization), withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization within the USSR including large-scale privatization of previously public-owned assets. American economists were brought to Moscow and encouraged these kinds of policies. Communist economic dogma was replaced with free market dogma that promoted a top down program of complete privatization. The theory was that after an initial shock, the economy would heal itself. This produced runaway inflation and enormously destructive social change, such as the loss of welfare and pensions. Signifigance: Shock therapy caused an enormous crisis in Russia during the 1990's and helped create an atmosphere of chaos and desperation. The wave of privatization also lead to massive wealth inequality, organized crime, and oligarchic control networks that continue to be enormously influential in Russia to this day.
4. Socialist realism:
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was imposed as the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is characterized by the glorified depiction of communist values, such as the emancipation of the proletariat, by means of realistic imagery. However, this was a very vague prescription. In general, art was subordinate to whatever Stalin liked. Although related, it should not be confused with social realism, a type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern. Significance: Socialist Realism embodied the culture of the Stalin era. The futurist depictions of the 1920's were thrown aside in favor of a glorified understanding of the present, idealizing power and intended for popular consumption.
20. Lavrentii Beria:
Soviet politician of Georgian ethnicity, Marshal of the Soviet Union and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus (NKVD) under Joseph Stalin during World War II and after II. Beria administered the vast expansion of the Gulag labor camps and the Soviet nuclear programme. He, and his ally Malenkov, were seen as Stalin's successors after his death, and they began the process of destalinization. However, in a surprise move Kruschev exposed his crimes in front of the presidium and had him kicked out and then executed. Significance: Ironically, Beria was both the executor of much of Stalin's purges and the man who began de-stalinization. His death destroyed the last remnant of the terror in Soviet government.
11. Stalingrad: Arguably the defining battle of the Eastern Front
Stalingrad was a major industrial hub and strategically located on the Volga river. The German Sixth Army pushed into the city and managed to drive the Russians to the east bank, with the exception of a handful of buildings; the Russians held, eventually pushed back slightly, and then launched a counterattack in spring 1943, knocking out the Hungarian and Romanian troops on the flanks of the city and pocketing the German forces in the city. Significance: Stalingrad was emblematic in the Soviet narrative of the war, especially since it was the namesake of Stalin himself. The fighting was some of the most intense and brutal in the war, and victory there turned the tide in favor of the USSR.
19. Yugoslav path to socialism: Tito's particular conception of socialism, unique more for its independence from the shifts in policy directed from Moscow than for any massive ideological distinctions
That said, it emphasized worker self-management and decentralized economic planning. The state set wages and prices, but businesses established their own production levels. Was just as aggressive about collectivization and nationalization as most Stalinist policies. Significance: It represents an alternative method of implenting socialism, and was part of cementing the breakoff in tensions between the USSR and Yugoslavia that culminated in them being embargoed and expelled from the Cominform.
43. Congress of People's Deputies: was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was created as part of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform agenda, and was enabled by Gorbachev's first constitutional change. It represented the first real element of Democracy in the USSR, and even though most delegates were Communists, it was not a requirement. Significance: The CDP ended the Communist Party's monopoly on power and created alternative national centers of power that would come to form the power structures of new post-Soviet republics. It also gave the Russian Republic a larger political impact, creating framework for Russian independence and encouraging other states to leave to avoid Russian control.
14. Organization of ukrainian nationalists`: was a Ukrainian nationalist political organization established in 1929 in Vienna; it first operated in Western Ukraine (at the time part of interwar Poland)
The OUN emerged as a union between the Ukrainian Military Organization, smaller radical right-wing groups, and right-wing As revolutionary ultra-nationalists the OUN have been characterized by some historians as fascist. During WWII, the OUN recieved arms from the Nazis and used them to kill Jews and Poles within Ukraine. Newely independent Ukraine has tried to rehabilitate their image, and has made it a crime to accuse Ukraine of collaborating with the Nazi's. Significance: The OUN are an example of the extensive collaboration between nationalists and fascist forces in the Soviet republics. These nations were victimized by both Hitler and Stalin, and also had different people support each leader. The OUN also represents part of the continued fault lines of history in which new nation states must grapple with the dark side of nationalist legacies.
24. The virgin lands campaign: was Nikita Khrushchev's 1953 plan to dramatically boost the Soviet Union's agricultural production in order to alleviate the food shortages plaguing the Soviet populace
The campaign bore the stamp of Nikita Khrushchev and his efforts to rekindle popular identification with and participation in state economic initiatives. Significance: It was massive effort with enthusiastic popular participation emblematic of the thaw, and it succeeded in preventing starvation from occurring during droughts in 1957. However, it also faced long term limitations and led to environmental problems.
40. Chernobyl: A reactor at Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine burned for 2 weeks releasing radioactive dust
The city was evacuated on 27 April 1986, 30 hours after the Chernobyl disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant which was the most disastrous nuclear accident in history. A cover-up was attempted, but on April 28 Swedish monitoring stations reported abnormally high levels of wind-transported radioactivity and pressed for an explanation. The Soviet government admitted there had been an accident at Chernobyl, thus setting off an international outcry over the dangers posed by the radioactive emissions. The government told their citizens things were fine, while secretly moving the children of high up party officials out of Kiev. Soviet citizens couldn't trust their own government, only Western broadcasts. Helped empower environmental movement in the USSR. Significance: The government's lackluster response led to enormous mistrust, and Chernobyl was seen as representative of their failures. It was more of a demonstration that the regime was too corrupt to be depended upon. It also bolstered the environmental movement, which would later be tied to protests against the USSR in the Soviet Republics.
47. August coup:An attempt by members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet President and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev
The coup leaders were hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) who were opposed to Gorbachev's reform program and the new union treaty that he had negotiated which decentralised much of the central government's power to the republics. They were opposed, mainly in Moscow, by a short but effective campaign of civil resistance led by Russian president Boris Yeltsin, who had been both an ally and critic of Gorbachev. Significance: Although the coup collapsed in only two days and Gorbachev returned to government, the event destabilised the Soviet Union and is widely considered to have contributed to both the demise of the CPSU and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Before the August Coup there was the possibility of maintaining the USSR under a new treary, but that was firmly ended by the miscalculated coup.
33. SALT (First Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty): Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at curtailing the manufacture of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons
The first agreements, known as SALT I and SALT II, were signed by the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1972 and 1979, respectively, and were intended to restrain the arms race in strategic ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons. Significance: SALT indicates that the USSR wanted to reduce its defense spending and focus on consumer economy. It is part of a decline in cold war tensions with the US and marks the beginning of mitigating nuclear tensions and controlling arms.
36. Soviet Afghan War (1979-89): Prior to the arrival of Soviet troops, Afghanistan's communist party took power after a 1978 coup, installing Nur Mohammad Taraki as president
The party initiated a series of radical modernization reforms throughout the country that were deeply unpopular, particularly among the more traditional rural population and the established traditional power structures. The government's Stalinist-like nature of vigorously suppressing opposition, executing thousands of political prisoners and ordering massacres against unarmed civilians, led to the rise of anti-government armed groups, and by April 1979 large parts of the country were in open rebellion. The government itself experienced in-party rivalry, and in September 1979 Taraki was murdered under orders of his rival and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hafizullah Amin, which deteriorated relations with the Soviet Union. Worried about a nation so close to its borders, the USSR decided to deploy the 40th Army on December 24, 1979. Arriving in the capital Kabul, they staged a coup, killing president Amin and installing Soviet loyalist Babrak Karmal from a rival faction. The Soviet Union experienced mission creep over the next decade, getting drawn further and further into war. Unlike Vietnam in the US, citizens in the USSR only had a vague idea of how bad things were. Body bags came back without anyone in the government saying where they had come from. Significance: The Soviet-Afghan war was a major drain on the Soviet economy and made people further lose faith in the Soviet government.
3. Stakhanovites:
The term Stakhanovite originated in the Soviet Union and referred to workers who modelled themselves after Alexey StakhanovThese workers took pride in their ability to produce more than was required, by working harder and more efficiently. The Stakhanovite Movement was encouraged due to the idea of socialist emulation. It began in the coal industry but later spread to many other industries in the Soviet Union. The movement eventually encountered resistance as the increased productivity led to increased demands on workers. Significance: Demonstrates the ethos of the 5 year plan and how Soviet ideology became a part of personal life. It also shows a shift during the Stalin era from collective heroes (such as the working class) to individual heroes.
35. Anekdoty: The most common form of Soviet joke, humorous stories with punchlines, often featuring political or popular culture figures and taking a deeply sardonic and cynical tone
These jokes often mocked the difference between official statements and the truth. People told them across the USSR, including in the halls of power. A series of jokes mocked Chapaev, providing a sardonic look at a figure that was supposed to be revered. Significance: Anektdoty were part of an increasing culture of irony that showed how disillusioned people were with the Soviet State.
26. Moscow Youth Festival: The festival attracted 34,000 people from 130 countries for 13 days in 1957
This became possible after the bold political changes initiated by Nikita Khrushchev. It was the first World Festival of Youth and Students held in the Soviet Union, which was opening its doors for the first time to the world. The Khrushchev reforms, known as Khrushchev's Thaw, resulted in some changes in the Soviet Union. Foreigners could come for a visit, and people were allowed to meet foreigners, albeit only in groups under supervision. However, that did not stop people from making friends. Russian foreign language students volunteered as interpreters. Significance: The Moscow youth festival was symbolic of the optimism of the that and the opening up of the USSR to the rest of the world. It was seen as a moment of peace and prosperity that people hoped would be just around the corner. The Thaw itself was a youthful period.
32. Brezhnev Doctrine: When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries
This doctrine was announced to retroactively justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 that ended the Prague Spring, along with earlier Soviet military interventions, such as the invasion of Hungary in 1956. These interventions were meant to put an end to liberalization efforts and uprisings that had the potential to compromise Soviet hegemony inside the Eastern Bloc, which was considered by the Soviets to be an essential defensive and strategic buffer in case hostilities with NATO were to break out. Significance: The Brezhnev doctrine ended the hopes of worldwide communists for unity, as well as the dreams of revisionist communists. Demonstrated that the USSR had a conservative political philosophy about backing up existing regimes.
30. Nomenklatura: a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy, running all spheres of those countries' activity: government, industry, agriculture, education, etc., whose positions were granted only with approval by the communist party of each country or region
This status was earned largely through patronage, not merit. They were called the Nomenklatura because they were drawn off of lists of names for those who were eligible for certain jobs. Significance: The nomenklatura meant the creation of a Soviet oligarchy, they would run things throughout the Brezhnev era, and contributed to the sluggish Soviet economy and state. They would also form the structure of what would become post soviet patronage networks.
54. United Russia:
United Russia is the dominant political party in Russia, controlling 75% of the seats in the Duma and the executive branch. It is largely controlled by Vladimir Putin. UR appeals to non-political voters, promising stability instead of any ideological agenda. It has destroyed reasonable opposition while allowing radicals to exist so as to stoke the ever present fear of chaos. It uses language of nationalism frequently, but is not a far right party. Significance: UR controls Russia today, and it shows the current desire to stave off the chaos of the 1990's. People are still looking for stability, and UR provides that at the expense of true multi-party democracy.
2. Magnetogorsk:
Urban center that represented one of the Soviet Union's largest industrial powers that was effectively constructed in the middle of nowhere/ ⅓ of Magnitogorsk steel was substandard. Significance: The creation of Magnitogorsk out of nothing demonstrated the rapid industrial growth of the Soviet Union during the 5 year plan and was a testament to the power of the Soviet union. However, it also demonstrates some of the weaknesses and quality problems that came along with industrialization.
8. Palace of the Soviets:
a project to construct an administrative center and a congress hall in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (present-day Russian Federation) near the Kremlin, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The architectural contest for the Palace of the Soviets (1931-1933) was won by Boris Iofan's neoclassical concept, subsequently revised by Iofan, Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh into a skyscraper. If built, it would have become the world's tallest structure of its time. Construction started in 1937, and was terminated by the German invasion in 1941. In 1941-1942, its steel frame was disassembled for use in fortifications and bridges. Construction was never resumed. In 1958, the foundations of the Palace were converted into what would become the world's largest open-air swimming pool, the Moskva Pool. The Cathedral was rebuilt in 1995-2000. Significance: The palace of the Soviets provides an excellent metaphor for the USSR itself. It was to be constructed glorifying the success of the Stalin era and the abduncance created by the five year plan. However, it was stalled due to the war, like the USSR's economic growth itself.
5. Shakhti Trial:
ajor 1928 show trial, targeting 53 engineers in the North Caucasus town of Shakty. They were accused of sabotaging production, or wrecking, and of having bourgeois sympathies. Prompted by failure to meet production figures, so it demonstrates the pace of the first five-year-plan and also Stalin's rhetoric that class struggle would intensify and demand further repression as socialism was built. Significance: It was the first of the show trials, and began the pattern of using sabotage as an excuse for any failures in the 5 year plan. Set off paranoia that a vast conspiracy existed within the USSR.
