Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact
Signed in April 1941; recognized the territorial integrity of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.
Belavezha Accords
Signed on December 8, 1991, by the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus; declared the Soviet Union dissolved; established the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Signed on March 3, 1918, ending the Soviet involvement in World War I; ceded the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) to Germany, renounced Russia's claims on Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, and recognized Ukraine's independence; also included a monetary fee on the Soviet Union.
Warsaw Pact
Signed on May 14, 1955; a collective defense treaty among 8 communist states of Central and Eastern Europe that bound them in a military alliance and turned them into satellite states of Russia; included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union (the Eastern Bloc).
Lisbon Protocol
Signed on May 23, 1992; an agreement by representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan that all nuclear weapons of the former Soviet Union on the soil of those four states would be destroyed or transferred to the control of Russia.
Peace of Riga
Signed with Poland on March 18, 1921; split disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between the Republic of Poland and Soviet Russia
Central Committee
The highest body of the Communist Party between Party Congresses; directed all Party and government activities. Its members were elected at the Party Congresses.
Council of Ministers
The highest executive and administrative body of the Soviet Union; the collective decision-making body of the government, made up of 7 chairmen.
Supreme Soviet
The highest legislative body of the three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union; the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments and approve all decisions made by the party; made up of two chambers with members elected for four-year terms.
Nicholas II
The last Russian Tsar; ruled from 1894-1917 until his abdication after the February Revolution of 1917.
Developments after the Khrushchev Era
- Increasingly apparent crumbling of the Soviet Union's economic and political structures - Patchwork attempts at reforms to reverse that process.
Russian Civil War
1917-1923; the war between the Bolshevik Reds and the Anti-Communist Whites; resulted in victory for the Reds
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side and the United States on the other; involved secret negotiations between President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev over Soviet missiles in Cuba and the defensive American Naval blockade; ended on October 28, 1962 at 6:45 PM EST. Resulted in Khrushchev's eventual removal from power in 1964.
Bolsheviks
A Communist faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, who pushed for socialist revolution in the workers' councils after the February Revolution.
Project Socrates
A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency program established in 1983 within the Reagan administration to determine why the United States was unable to maintain economic competitiveness with the Soviets.
Berlin Wall
A barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on August 13, 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from East Berlin. Its fall paved the way for German reunification, which concluded on October 3, 1990.
Great Purge
A campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1934-1940. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials, repression of peasants and Red Army leadership, widespread police surveillance, and arbitrary executions.
Khrushchev Thaw
A complex shift in political, cultural, and economic life in the Soviet Union initiated by Khrushchev; included some openness and contact with other nations and new social and economic policies with more emphasis on commodity goods, allowing living standards to rise dramatically while maintaining high levels of economic growth. Censorship was relaxed as well.
Sino-Soviet Split
A confrontation with China in the late 1950s regarding the USSR's rapprochement with the West and Mao Zedong's perception of Khrushchev's revisionism; resulted in a break in the Marxist-Leninist Movement when the governments in Albania, Cambodia, and Somalia chose to ally with China over the USSR.
August Coup
A coup d'état attempt from August 19-21, 1991, by by hardline members of the government and the KGB who sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms and reassert the central government's control over the republics.
Era of Stagnation
A period of economic, political, and social stagnation which began in 1964 under Brezhnev and ended with Gorbachev in 1991
Prague Spring
A period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia from January 5 to August 21, 1968, during the country's domination by the Soviet Union after World War II; began when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and attempted to grant additional rights to the citizens in an act of partial decentralization of the economy and democratization; ended when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.
Glasnost
A policy that called for increased openness and transparency in government institutions and activities in the Soviet Union; enacted by Gorbachev in 1986, with the main goal being to make the country's management transparent and open to debate.
Perestroika
A political movement for reformation enacted by Gorbachev in 1986; allowed more independent actions from various ministries and introduced some market-like reforms, the goal being to make socialism work more efficiently to better meet the needs of Soviet consumers.
De-Stalinization
A process of political reform that took place after the death of Stalin in 1953. Reforms consisted of changing or removing key institutions created by Stalin that helped him hold power:from 1922-52 - the cult of personality that surrounded him - the Stalinist political system - the Gulag labour-camp system
Commonwealth of Independent States
A regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union. Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikistan Uzbekistan
Russian Revolution
A series of revolutions in Russia in 1917 which dismantled the Tsarist autocracy and led to the the creation of the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
German-Soviet Nonagression Pact
A.k.a. the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; signed between Germany and the USSR in August 1939; made possible the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, northern Bukovina, and eastern Poland.
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Abbreviated CPSU, the founding and ruling party of the USSR; the only legal party and ultimate policymaker in the country. It was organized around the idea of democratic centralism, a principle conceived by Lenin that entails democratic and open discussion of policy issues and the requirement of unity in upholding agreed policies.
People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs
Abbreviated NKVD; a law enforcement agency of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Communist Party
Third Soviet Constitution
Adopted in October 1977 under Brezhnev; defined the USSR as a socialist state but stated that the government no longer represented the workers and peasants alone.
New Union Treaty
Agreed upon by eight republics in the summer of 1991; an attempt to avert the collapse of the Soviet Union; would have turned the Soviet Union into a much looser Union, but was never implemented in the wake of the August Coup.
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
Also known as CoMEcon; an economic organization from 1949-1991 under Soviet leadership that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc and socialist states around the world; it was the Eastern Bloc's reply to the formation of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation in Western Europe.
Permanent members of the UN Security Council
Also known as the Big Five: - China - France - Soviet Union - United Kingdom - United States
New Soviet Man
An archetype of a person with certain qualities that were said to be emerging as dominant among all citizens of the Soviet Union, irrespective of the country's cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity, creating a single Soviet people. He was to be selfless, learned, healthy and enthusiastic in spreading the socialist Revolution.
New Economic Policy (NEP)
An economic policy proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who called it "state capitalism"; represented a more capitalism-oriented economic policy, deemed necessary after the Russian Civil War of 1917-1922, to foster the damaged economy of the country; abolished by Stalin in 1928.
February Revolution
Began with a popular uprising in Petrograd and toppled the imperial government in March 1917.
Boris Yeltsin
Elected chairman to the Congress of People's Deputies in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1989; elected President of Russia in July 1991 and challenged Gorbachev's power in the Soviet Union; took over power of the Soviet government, including the Kremlin, in late 1991.
GOELRO Plan
Envisioned a major restructuring of the Soviet economy based on total electrification of the country; it was developed in 1920 by Vladimir Lenin and covered a 10-15 year period. It included construction of a network of 30 regional power plants, including ten large hydroelectric power plants, and numerous electric-powered large industrial enterprises. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans and was fulfilled by 1931.
Congress of People's Deputies
Established as the new Congress of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1989; elected Boris Yeltsin as chairman; declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory on June 12, 1990, and passed laws that attempted to supersede USSR laws.
Referendum for the Preservation of the USSR
Held on March 17, 1991, in nine republics, with the majority of the population voting for preservation of the Union.
First Five-Year Plan
Introduced by Stalin in 1928; aimed at building socialism in one country in place of internationalism expressed by Lenin during the revolution. Impact on industry: the state took control of all existing enterprises and implemented an intensive program of industrialization Impact on agriculture: the state forced the collectivization of farms all over the country, resulting in famines.
Soviet Constitution
Introduced by Stalin on December 5, 1936, and redesigned the government of the Soviet Union
Politburo
Known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policy-making and governing body of the Communist Party. Its members were elected by the Party's Central Committee.
Battle of Stalingrad
Lasted from 1942-1943; dealt a blow to the German Army and became a turning point in the war; Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the south-western Soviet Union. Marked by constant close quarters combat and disregard for military and civilian casualties, it is amongst the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare.
Vladimir Lenin
Leader of the Social Democratic Labour Party, which began a civil war by leading a second revolution to overthrow the provisional government and establish the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR).
Committee for State Security (KGB)
Main security agency for the Soviet union from 1954-1991; attached to the Council of Ministers, and acted as internal security, intelligence, and secret police.
Joseph Stalin
Named General Secretary of the Communist Party on April 3, 1922, and rose to become the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union, establishing totalitarian rule by the end of the 1920s; died on March 5, 1953.
Battle of Moscow
October 1941-January 1942; the first major defeat for the German Army in World War II; the battle in which the Soviet Red Army stopped the German Army during an unusually harsh winter.
Soviet Union
Officially established in December 1922 with the union of the Russian, Ukranian, Byelorussian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics, each ruled by local Bolshevik parties.
Invasion of Finland
Ordered by Stalin after the country would not agree to move its border back 16 miles from Leningrad.
Revolutions of 1989
Part of a revolutionary wave that resulted in the Fall of Communism in the Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Red Army
Pro-revolutionaries during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922)
Secretariat
Responsible for the central administration of the Communist Party; members were elected by the Party's Central Committee.
Centrally planned economy
Stalin's initiation; a complete restructuring of the economy in which Russia underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization, laying the basis for war effort and dominance during World War II.
Mikhail Gorbachev
The 7th and last leader of the Soviet Union, ruling from 1985-1991; made significant changes in the economy and party leadership; moved to end the Cold War; withdrew military forces from Afghanistan in 1988; enacted many reforms within the country.
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League; the youth division of the Communist party and a political party of the Soviet Union represented in the Supreme Soviet; established in urban centers in 1918.
December 25, 1991
The date on which Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, turning the power vested in the presidency over to Yeltsin and declaring the office extinct.
Leonid Brezhnev
The General Secretary during the period of collective leadership after Khrushchev; established himself as the preeminent Soviet leader in the early 1970s; his rule was marked by a period of "stand-still" in Russia, with a general aversion to change; he died in 1982.
Key factors of Soviet Power
The Soviet Union maintained its status as one of the world's two superpowers for four decades through: - hegemony in Eastern Europe - military strength - economic strength - aid to developing countries - scientific research, especially in space technology and weaponry.
Article 72
The article of the Soviet Constitution of 1977 that stated that any constituent republic was free to secede; influential in the dissolution of the USSR.
Soviet of the Union
The chamber of the Supreme Soviet elected on the basis of population with one deputy for every 300,000 people in the Soviet federation.
Soviet of Nationalities
The chamber of the Supreme Soviet which was supposed to represent the ethnic populations, with members elected on the basis of 32 deputies from each union republic, 11 from each autonomous republic, 5 from each autonomous region, and 1 from each autonomous district.
War Communism
The economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War, from 1918-1921; included the following policies: - nationalization of all industries and the introduction of strict centralized management - introduction of State control of foreign trade - strict discipline for workers, with strikes disallowed - imposition of obligatory labor duty onto non-working classes - requisition of agricultural surpluses from peasants for centralized distribution among the remaining population - rationing of food and most commodities, with centralized distribution thereof in urban centers - private enterprise became illegal - the State introduced military-style control of railways
Collectivization
The economic policy enforced by Stalin which consolidated individual land and labor into collective farms, for the purpose of increasing the food supply for urban population, the supply of raw materials for processing industry, and agricultural exports.
Industrialization
The economic policy enforced by Stalin which resulted in a massive expansion of the country's industrial base. Iron and coal productive increased; industrial complexes, auto plants, heavy machinery plants, and tractor plants underwent rapid construction.
Serfdom
The economic system in place before the rise of the Soviet Union; abolished in 1861 on terms unfavorable to the peasants.
Soviet-Japanese War
The event in 1945 in which the USSR denounced the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, invaded Manchukuo, and won victory over the Japanese, bringing them to surrender and helped end World War II.
October Revolution
The event led by the Bolsheviks in which the Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, ending the rule of the Provisional Government and leaving all power in the hands of the Soviets
Ukraine's Secession
The event on December 1, 1991, that ultimately ended any chance of the Soviet Union's preservation.
Operation Barbarossa
The event on June 22, 1941, that moved the USSR from an interest in joining the Axis Powers during World War II, what was known as the "Great Patriotic War" in the USSR. The plan called for the German capture of Moscow within 4 months.
Anatoly Lunacharsky
The first People's Commissar for Education of Soviet Russia
Sputnik 1
The first artificial satellite launched into space in 1957.
Yuri Gagarin
The first human being in space, launched in 1961.
Laika
The first living dog in space, launched in 1957.
Lunokhod 1 and 2
The first moon rovers
Alexey Leonov
The first person to walk in space; 1965.
Luna 9
The first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the moon; 1966.
Valentina Tereshkova
The first woman in space, launched in 1963.
Aeroflot
The flag carrier, national airline of the USSR, and largest airline of the Russian Federation; established in 1923.
Troika
The form of collective leadership that was supposed to be established after Lenin's death in 1924, with the three leaders being Joseph Stalin of Georgia, Lev Kamenev of Moscow, and Grigory Zinoviev of Ukraine.
Alma-Ata Protocols
The founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States; signed on December 21, 1991, by the representatives of all Soviet republics except Georgia, confirming the Belavezha Accords.
Congress of the Communist Party
The gathering of the delegates of the Communist Party and its predecessors; the supreme ruling body of the entire Communist Party, held every five years.
December 26, 1991
The official date of the final dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the Supreme Soviet (the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union) voted itself and the Union out of existence.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The official name of the Soviet Union, abbreviated to USSR
Czech & Slovak Republics
The only change that survived the end of the Prague Spring; the two countries that came from the split of Czechoslovakia under Secretary Dubček.
UN Security Council
The organization in which the Soviet Union became one of the five permanent members, giving them the right to veto any of the organizational resolutions
League of Nations
The organization that the Soviet Union joined in September 1934
State Duma
The parliament established by Tsar Nicholas II in 1906 after the Revolution of 1905
Military results
The results of War communism in which it was largely successful at its primary purpose of aiding the Red Army in halting the advance of the White Army and reclaiming most of the territory of the former Russian Empire.
Economic results
The results of war communism in which a black market emerged, the Russian ruble collapsed, and bartering became more common. Heavy industry fell to output levels of 20%; 90% of all wages were paid with goods rather than money; 70% of locomotives were in need of repair; food requisitioning, combined with the effects of 7 years of war and a severe drought, contributed to a severe famine.
Social results
The results of war communism in which the population experienced a series of strikes and rebellions, food shortages, and a migration of cities' populations to the country.
Decembrist Revolt
The start of revolutionary activity in Russia in 1825
Konstantin Chernenko
The successor to Andropov; assumed power in 1984 at age 72 and died thirteen months later.
Yuri Andropov
The successor to Brezhnev; assumed power in 1982 at age 68 and died 15 months later.
Iron Curtain
The term that symbolized the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War in 1991.
General Secretary
The title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; elected by the Party's Central Committee.
1933
The year in which President F.D. Roosevelt formally recognized Stalin's Communist government and negotiated a trade agreement between the USSR and the U.S.
1945
The year in which the Germans surrendered after Soviet forces drove them back through Eastern Europe to Berlin
Nikita Khrushchev
Won the power struggle after Stalin's death; denounced Stalin's use of repression in 1956 and began the process of de-Stalinization
