Soviet & Post-Soviet Russia

Politburo

The highest policy-making government authority under the CPSU. It was founded in October 1917, and re-founded in March 1919, at the 8th Congress of the Bolshevik Party. The existence of the Politburo ended in 1991 with the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Stalin

The leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Holding the post of the General secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was effectively the dictator of the state. Consolidated power by suppressing Lenin's critics. Replaced New Economic Policy with a command economy. Was responsible for the Great Purge

Leon Trotsky

A Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army. One of the first Politburo members, Trotsky was removed from power, expelled from the Communist Party, and finally exiled from the Soviet Union after leading a failed struggle of the Left Opposition against the policies and rise of Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and against the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union. Assassinated in Mexico on the orders of Stalin in 1940.

Nikolai Bukharin

A Russian Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician and prolific author on revolutionary theory. Within the bitterly divided Bolsheviks, his gradual move to the right positioned him favorably as Stalin's chief ally, and together they ousted Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev from the party leadership. Bukharin enjoyed great power as General Secretary of Comintern's executive committee. But Stalin's decision to proceed with collectivization drove the two men apart, and Bukharin was expelled from the Politburo.

Kerensky

A Russian lawyer and politician who was the second Minister of the Provisional Government. As a leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, he was a key figure in the Russian Revolution. His government was overthrown by the Vladimir Lenin-led Bolsheviks in the October Revolution. He spent the remainder of his life in exile.

Boris Yeltsin

A Russian politician and the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. During the late 1980s, Yeltsin had been a member of the Politburo, and in late 1987 tendered a letter of resignation in protest, which no one had done before. This act branded Yeltsin as a rebel and led to his rise in popularity as an anti-establishment figure.

Nikita Krushchev

A Russian politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. Khrushchev's party colleagues removed him from power in 1964, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier. Denounced Stalin's actions in the Secret Speech

Yuri Andropov

A Soviet politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1982 until his death fifteen months later. Attempted to improve the economy by raising management effectiveness without changing the principles of socialist economy. He began to fight violations of party, state and labour discipline, which led to significant personnel changes during an anti-corruption campaign against many of Brezhnev's cronies

Konstantin Cherenko

A Soviet politician and the fifth General Secretary of the CPSU. He led the Soviet Union from February 1984 until his death thirteen months later, on 10 March 1985. Did not have a lasting impact in office

stability of cadres (personnel)

A cadre was a party member who holds a responsible position (usually administrative) in either the party or the government apparatus.In a more restricted sense, a person who has been fully indoctrinated in party ideology and methods and uses this training in his or her work. By introducing the slogan "Trust in Cadres" in 1965, Brezhnev won the support of many bureaucrats wary of the constant reorganizations of the Khrushchev era and eager for security in established hierarchies.

Great Purge

A campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union which occurred from 1936 to 1938. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials, repression of peasants and the Red Army leadership, and widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and arbitrary executions.

nomenklatura

A category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in all spheres of those countries' activity whose positions were granted only with approval by the communist party of each country or region.

totalitarianism

A political system in which the state holds total control over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever possible.

Petrograd Soviet

City council of Petrograd, capital of the Russian Empire. During the revolutionary days, it tried to extend its jurisdiction as a rival power center of the provisional government. Created the dual power.

kulaks

A category of relatively affluent farmers in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union. Kulak originally referred to independent farmers in the Russian Empire who emerged from the peasantry and became wealthy following the Stolypin reform, which began in 1906. The label of kulak was broadened in 1918 to include any peasant who resisted handing over their grain to detachments from Moscow. During 1929-1933, Stalin's leadership of the total campaign to collectivize the peasantry meant that "peasants with a couple of cows or five or six acres more than their neighbors" were being labeled "kulaks".

cult of personality

A communist propaganda tool using public image and altering history to give Stalin a presence as almighty leader and savior of Russia. Soon after his rise to power in 1924, Stalin portrayed himself as the heir to Lenin and the only one who could interpret the ideals of the party. By 1929 Stalin's cult grew as he established himself as the ultimate expert in fields other than politics

October Manifesto

A document that served as a precursor to the Russian Empire's first constitution. Issued by Tsar Nicholas II as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905. Established the Duma, although the Duma proved to be unpopular.

Bolsheviks

A faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Ultimately became the CPSU. Came to power during the October Revolution of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Founded by Lenin and Bogdanov.

Mikhail Gorbachev

A former Soviet statesman. He was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, having served as General Secretary of the CPSU from 1985 until 1991 when the party was dissolved. Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika and his reorientation of Soviet strategic aims contributed to the end of the Cold War. He removed the constitutional role of the Communist Party in governing the state, and inadvertently led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union

Anti-Party Group

A group within the leadership of the CPSU that unsuccessfully attempted to depose Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Party in June 1957. The group rejected both Khrushchev's liberalization of Soviet society and his denunciation of Joseph Stalin.

Five Year Plan

A list of economic goals, created by General Secretary Joseph Stalin and based on his policy of Socialism in One Country. It was implemented between 1928 and 1932. The key points in this plan were rapid industrialization, agricultural collectivization, and prison labor in order to bolster the economy.

stagnation

A period of little of no growth in the economy. A period of economic, political, and social stagnation in the Soviet Union, which began during the rule of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) and continued under Yuri Andropov (1982-1984) and Konstantin Chernenko (1984-1985).

perestroika

A political movement for reformation within the CPSU during the 1980s (1986), widely associated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform. Dealt with the restructuring of the Soviet economic and political system.

Komsomol

A political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the CPSU, although it was formally independent and referred to as "the helper and the reserve of the CPSU". During 1922, with the unification of the USSR, it was reformed into an all-union agency, the youth division of the All-Union Communist Party.

Commonwealth of Independent States

A regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union. The CIS is a loose association of states. It is aimed at being more than a purely symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security.

Secret Speech

A report by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev made to the 20th Party Congress of the CPSU in 1956. Khrushchev's speech was sharply critical of the reign of the deceased Joseph Stalin, particularly with respect to the purges of the CPSU which had especially marked the last years of the 1930s. Khrushchev charged Stalin with having fostered a leadership personality cult despite ostensibly maintaining support for the ideals of communism

"war of laws"

A series of conflicts between the central government of the Soviet Union, and the governments of the Russian Federation and other constituent republics during the last years of the USSR, which eventually led to the dissolution of the union. When Gorbachev and the CPSU decided to formally release their control of the non-Russian Soviet Socialist Republics, the individual governments began to reassert their own sovereignty and dominance in their respective areas. This included making their own laws separate from the USSR and refusing to pay taxes to the Moscow government. This worsened the Soviet Union's economic disintegration, and was a major factor in its 1991 collapse.

April Theses

A series of directives issued by the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin upon his return to Petrograd. The Theses were mostly aimed at fellow Bolsheviks in Russia and returning to Russia from exile. He called for soviets to take power, denounced liberals and social democrats in the Provisional Government, called for Bolsheviks not to cooperate with the government, and called for new communist policies.

intelligentsia

A social class of people tasked with a leadership role in shaping a society's culture and politics. In the ideology of Bolsheviks, intelligentsia does not have a "real" place in the structure of the society. The Russian Revolution essentially disintegrated the intelligentsia. Eventually the Bolsheviks got rid of all opponents by various means, ranging from forced deportation to execution.

autocracy

A system of government by one person with absolute power.

Proletariat

A term used to describe the class of wage-earners (especially industrial workers), in a capitalist society, whose only possession of significant material value is their ability to work; a member of such a class is a proletarian

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. The Soviet man was to be selfless, learned, healthy, muscular, and enthusiastic in spreading the socialist Revolution. Adherence to Marxism-Leninism, and individual behavior consistent with that philosophy's prescriptions, were among the crucial traits expected of the New Soviet man, which required intellectualism and hard discipline

New Economic Policy

An economic policy of Soviet Russia proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who called it "state capitalism". The NEP represented a more capitalism-oriented economic policy to foster the economy of the country, which was almost ruined. The complete nationalization of industry, established during the period of War Communism, was partially revoked and a system of mixed economy was introduced, which allowed private individuals to own small enterprises, while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade, and large industries

state capitalism

An economic system in which commercial economic activity is undertaken by the state, where the means of production are organized and managed as business enterprises, including the processes of capital accumulation, wage labor, and centralized management. State capitalism is characterized by the dominance of state-owned business enterprises, corporatized government agencies, and states that own controlling shares of publicly listed corporations

command economy

An economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are made by a central authority, usually by a public body such as a government agency. A planned economy may consist of state-owned enterprises, private enterprises directed by the state, or a combination of both.

Provisional Government

An emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. Set in place in Russia after the execution of Tsar Nicholas II. Russia's provisional government was replaced by the Soviet Union

Dualism/ Dual personality

Essentially, this is when people said/believed one thing, but did another. This term is associated heavily with the socialization of soviet people. It positively showed the stability/unity of beliefs of the soviet people to outsiders. However, we now know that dualism actually masked the instability of the soviet system and the popular discontent. It is also associated with the common involvement in political party activities by the soviet people.

terror

Extreme fear employed by Stalin during his reign, especially during the Great Purge. Included police surveillance, imprisonment of suspected dissidents in the Gulag, and executions.

Mensheviks

Faction of the Russian socialist movement in 1904 that emerged after a dispute in the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, leading to the party splitting into two factions. They were the minority on a crucial vote about Party membership. Believed that socialism could not be achieved in Russia due to its backward economic conditions

dissidents

Groups of opposition to Soviet Regime; fairly diverse groups with diverse opinions and objectives. Some wanted reform within the framework of a Leninist system, some wanted a western parliamentary system, some wanted national-religious authoritarianism. Dissidents were harassed by KGB and forced into labor or exile.

hare-brained schemes

Khrushchev retired as a private citizen after his successors denounced him for his "hare-brained schemes" Yet along with his failed policies, Khrushchev must also be remembered for his public disavowal of Stalinism and the greater flexibility he brought to Soviet leadership after a long period of monolithic terror.

Tsar Nicholas II

Last Tsar of Russia. He and his family were executed in the middle of the night. His reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse.

glasnot

Meaning openness. In 1986 the term was revived by Mikhail Gorbachev as a generalized appeal for increased openness and transparency in government institutions and activities in the Soviet Union. In the six years when the USSR attempted to reform itself glasnost was often linked with the similarly vague slogans of perestroika and democratization. Glasnost was frequently invoked by Gorbachev in connection with policies aimed at reducing corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government and moderating the abuse of administrative power in the Central Committee

Virgin Lands campaign

Nikita Khrushchev's plan to dramatically boost the Soviet Union's agricultural production in order to alleviate the food shortages plaguing the Soviet populace. Khrushchev's plan proposed that 13 million hectares of previously uncultivated land be plowed and cultivated by 1956. This land was located on the right bank of the Volga, the northern Caucasus, Western Siberia, and Northern Kazakhstan. The plan failed due to droughts and sub-par production.

Vladimir Illyich Lenin

Russian Communist revolutionary who was head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union. Played a leading role in the October Revolution and is a founding father of the Soviet Union. General Secretary of the Soviet Union until his death.

Leonid Brezhnez

The General Secretary of the CPSU, presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. During his rule, the global influence of the Soviet Union grew dramatically, due to the expansion of the Soviet military during this time. His tenure as leader was marked by the beginning of an era of economic and social stagnation in the Soviet Union.

Duma

The State Duma in Russia is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (parliament). The legislative body known as the Duma was flawed from its inception. One major flaw of the Duma was that the Tsar maintained the power to veto any legislation that he wished. The Duma was also weakened by the influence of the Russian bureaucracy, as well as the fact that the body could be disbanded by Nicholas if he and the Duma could not reach an agreement

War Communism

The economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War, from 1918 to 1921. This policy was adopted by the Bolsheviks with the goal of keeping towns and the Red Army stocked with weapons and with food. The system had to be used because the ongoing war disrupted normal economic mechanisms and relations.

gap between words and deeds

The example set by leading party members on the kinds of matters with which the resolutions on ideology have typically been concerned. This problem was most acute during the Brezhnev era.

rapid industrialization

The fear of invasion from the West left the Soviets feeling a need for rapid industrialization to increase Soviet war making potential, and to compete with the western allies. Tensions had the potential to destroy the young Soviet Union and forced Joseph Stalin to introduce rapid industrialization of heavy industry so that the Soviet Union could address these threats if needed.

Communist Party

The founding and ruling political party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The CPSU was the sole governing party of the Soviet Union until 1990.

Duma (1990s)

The lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (parliament). Under Russia's 1993 constitution, there are 450 deputies of the State Duma, each elected to a term of four years. In previous elections of 1993, 1995, 1999 and 2003 one half of the deputies were elected by a system of proportional representation and one half were elected by plurality in single member districts

collectivization

The policy aimed to consolidate individual landholdings and labor into collective farms. The Soviet leadership expected that the replacement of individual peasant farms by collective ones would immediately increase the food supply for the urban population, the supply of raw materials for processing industry, and agricultural exports. Planners regarded collectivization as the solution to the crisis of agricultural distribution that had developed from 1927

Marxism

The political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that emphasized a socialist order and classless society. Later developed by their followers to form the basis for the theory and practice of communism.

nationalization

The process of taking a private industry or private assets into public ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization was one of the major means advocated by reformist socialists for transitioning from capitalism to socialism. Socialist ideologies that favor nationalization are typically called state socialism.

General Secretary

The title given to the leader of the CPSU. With some exceptions, from 1929 onwards the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin elevated the office to overall command of the Communist Party and by extension the whole Soviet Union.

"squeezing the peasantry"

This term is associated with Stalin's rule (although it may be associated with Lenin & Bolsheviks after seizure of power). To fund the new economic plans and industrialization, resources had to be extracted from the peasants. This included taxing the peasants.