tsar
a Russian Emperor
serf
(Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord
gentry
The most powerful members of a society
means of production
the resources (lands, tools, equipment, factories, transportation, and labor) essential to the production and distribution of goods and services
commune
a body of people or families living together and sharing everything. Together they farmed the communal land
Russian Orthodox Church
The church of Russia, branch of; supported the Tsar; There was a gap between poor parish peasants and rich bishops
Tsar Alexander II
He was a Russian Tsar who attempted reform ("Emancipator") but his appeasement (emancipation of serfs and the establishment of Zemstvos) led to his assassination by the People's Will
Crimean War
a war in Crimea between Russia and a group of nations including England and France and Turkey and Sardinia
emancipation
the act of setting free
zemstvos
elected assemblies responsible for road repair, schools, and agriculture
Tsar Liberator
Alexander II's nickname for his efforts in reforms
populists
A group of educated Russians with extremist views. They opposed industrialization and wanted to keep Russia they way it was
go to the people
to appeal and persuade peasants to join their own cause
Tsar Alexander III
Tsar of Russia from 1881 1894 who strongly resisted the liberal movement emerging in Russia at the time. Undid many of his father's liberal reforms, but allowed institutions like zemstvos to continue.
Russification
the process of forcing Russian culture on all ethnic groups in the Russian empire
land captains
the official term for the police who were given power over the peasants
little tsars
the name that the peasants gave land captains
Marxism vs. socialism
Two opposing ideologies present in tsarist russia
Capital/Communist Manifesto
Two book written by Karl Marx discussing marxism
Tsar Nicholas II
Last Tsar (king) of Russia and of the monarchy. Was executed along with the rest of his family under the order of Lenin.
egalitarianism
the doctrine of the equality of mankind and the desirability of political and economic and social equality
liberals vs. socialists
two opposing classes and political party who possessed completely different views on life
Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)
One political party that was the most extreme
Marxist Social Democrats (SDs)
The other political party that was based on Marx
Vladimir Lenin
Russian founder of the Bolsheviks and leader of the Russian Revolution and first head of the USSR
Mensheviks vs. Bolsheviks
Two divisions of the Social Democratic party
Russo-Japanese War
A conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea.
Winter Palace
The name for the Tsar's palace
Bloody Sunday
In Russia 1905 Russian soldiers inadvertently opened fire on demonstrators, turning them against the tsar. Possibly the start of the Revolution.
Soviet
A workers' council in Russia
Leon Trotsky
Part of the Mensheviks, and a leader
Count Sergei Witte
A senior advisor to the Tsar who provided him with the reforms that were later named the october manifesto
October Manifesto
A list of recommended reforms such as trade unions, political parties, limited monarchy, a government/legislative branch elected by all, and civil liberties
Kadets vs. Octobrists
Two main liberal parties. One was named after the october manifesto and the other concentrated on civil rights/suffrage
Union of the Russian People (URP)
A conservative group who supported the tsar
Black Hundreds
A group formed by the URP which paraded through the streets displaying banners and propaganda, but they were secretly supplied by the tsar with weapons
pogroms
Acts of organized violence
Duma
Russian elected Parliament
Intelligentsia
the highly educated and cultured
Petr Stolypin
The prime minister who supported the monarchy and wanted the crown to survive
Scorched-Earth Policy
Burning live stock and crops to prevent the enemy from living off the land
Tsarina Alexandra
German-born empress who controlled the Russian government when her husband the Tsar went to war
Rasputin
Russian peasant monk who was able to influence Russian politics by gaining the confidence of the Tsarina
Red Guards
armed groups of workers to protect their factories from threat
General Lavr Kornilov
led Russian military forces
All Power to the Soviets
The Bolsheviks slogan
Bolshevik Central Committee
committee founded by Lenin, called secret meeting
Congress of the Soviets
took power when Provisional Government fell
Civil War
in Russia between Bolsheviks and anti-Bolsheviks
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
treaty for Russia to get out of World War I
Red Terror/ "looting the looters
increased violence and lawlessness in society, supported by Lenin
Whites/White Army
anti-bolsheviks
War Communism
end private trade, nationalize industry, collectivize agriculture, and replace money system
Cheka
All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Struggle Against Counter Revolution" russian acronym
New Economic Policy (NEP)
replaced war communism, eased restriction on private trade, and marked temporary retreat from socialism
Alexander Kerensky
major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and served as second prime minister.
Provisional Government
Government formed by Duma leaders until a Constitutent Assembly was created.
Vladimir Lenin
Leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years (1917-1924), leading the country through the Russian Civil War, and worked to create a Socialist economic system.
Constituent Assembly
Constitutional body convened in Russia after the
October Revolution of 1917
First democratically elected legislative body of any kind in Russian history
Land and Liberty
Slogan that middle and upper-class revolutionaries said when spreading the idea of socialism.
February Revolution
First of two Russian revolutions during 1917, the result was the release of the tsar.
Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers Deputies
the soviet (workers' council) in Petrograd, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.
April Theses
After Lenin returned from exile he made a speech that addressed what the bolsheviks were to stand for. It was very controversial and many people were upset with it
Universal Suffrage
The right for all citizens to vote.
'Peace, Land, and Bread
This was the battle cry of the 1917 October Revolution which wanted out of the war, land given back to the peasants and to stop the famine in Russia with everyone getting bread.
Politurbo
executive committee for a number of communist political parties.
Trotsky
One of the leaders of the October Revolution and the founder and commander of the red army.
General Secretary
he chief administrative official of the Communist Party of the soviet union.
Permanent Revolution
The idea that the Soviet Union would help communists in other countries overthrow their government while Russia continued having a revolution of its own
Collectivization
the goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms; thousands of small farms into few larger farms.
GOSPLAN
committee responsible for economic planning
Alexei Stakhanov
He was a miner and became a celebrity in 1935 as part of a movement that was intended to increase worker productivity.
Soviet Union
Government run after the victory of the reds against whites in the civil war of 1917.
Stalin
He assumed the leading role in Soviet politics after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, and gradually marginalized his opponents until he had become the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union.
Kremlin
This name refers to the government of the Soviet Union and its highest members.
Socialism in one country
Theory created by Stalin for a permanent Revolution.
Kulaks
Category of regularly wealthy peasants or independent farmers.
Five Year Plans
Three plans to increase economic development: collecitivization where peasants use technology, producing steel, coal, and iron, and to high amounts of produce consumer goods.
Stakhanovites
A worker in the soviet union who surpassed his expectations of production and was rewarded highly
Sergei Kirov
well know member of the Politburo who was murdered
NKVD
secret police organization of the Soviet Union
Old Bolsheviks
A group of people that were leading communist party members. They were tried and shot due to their part in the overthrow of the provisional government
Show Trials
a trial staged for the benefit of the media. These trials were to justify the purges
Komsomol
The communist youth movements that were introduced outside of schools to smother youth with Stalin's ideas
Apparatchiks
members of a party that were loyal to Stalin and he rewarded with a better life
Gulags
labor camps that people were sent to as punishment. They were in horrible places and treated the laborers horribly
Great Terror
campaigns of repression and persecution in the Soviet Union. The many murders of the old bolsheviks led to be known as this.
Nikita Khrushchev
Leader of the USSR after Stalin
Cult of personality
All the propaganda that supported Stalin and portrayed him as a good person
National Assembly
A new, two-chamber soviet that supposedly was given rights but only met for two weeks a year and didn't truly have any power