Czar
a male ruler of Russia before 1917
dictatorship
government by a ruler who has complete power
Bloody Sunday
Incident in 1905 where Russian workers petitioned for rights and were fired upon by the czars soldiers killing 500-1000 unarmed people
censorship
to examine books, films, letters etc to remove anything that is considered offensive, morally harmful, or politically dangerous
Proletariat
the class of workers who own no property and work for wages, especially in factories
Duma
Russia's first parliament
Rasputin
Mystical faith healer and private adviser to the Romanovs. He became an influential figure when Csar Nicholas II took command of the army.
Pograms
Organized violence against the Jews
March Revolution
Incident in 1917 where women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike, soon riots flared up over food and fuel shortages. Climaxed when soldiers refused to follow orders and joined the rebellion
Trans-Siberian Railway
Worlds longest continuous railway, connects European Russian cities in the west to Russian ports on the Pacific Ocean in the east
Bolsheviks
Marxist group that supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for radical change
Provisional government
Temporary government created after the czar stepped down
Soviets
Local councils consisting of workers, peasants and soldiers
Red Army
Bolshevik army, who are able to crush all opposition to Bolshevik rule
Command economy
A system in which the government makes all economic decisions
Bolshevik Revolution
Incident in November 1917 where Lenin and his supporters gained control of the major soviets, stormed the Winter Palace and arrested the leaders of the Provisional government
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Truce between Bolshevik government and Germany to stop all fighting on the eastern front and began peace talks. Russia surrenders a large chunk of territory to Germany.
USSR
Name given in 1922 after Russia is broken up into several self governing republics under the central government. Each republic was controlled from the new capital Moscow
Stalin's Five Year Plan
Goals that would promote rapid industrial growth and to strengthen national defense
Communism
The classless society that would exist after workers had seized power.
Collective farms
Large government controlled farms that produced food for the state
White Army
Russian opponents to the Bolsheviks, aided by United States
Totalitarianism
A government that takes total centralized state control over every aspect of public and private life.
Kulaks
Class of wealthy peasants that resisted government controlled. Many were sent to work camps or executed
Great Purge
Campaign of terror in which Stalin eliminated anyone who threatened his power
Vladimir Lenin
Founder of the Russian Communist Party, this man led the November Revolution in 1917 which established a revolutionary soviet government
Josef Stalin
Man of Steel" . Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communist Party after Lenin's death.
George Orwell
author of Animal Farm