Coach Rr Glossary

Front 1

Abdication

Back 1

Resignation of monarch from their political role

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Agrarian

Back 2

Nation whose economy is based primarily on producing foodstuffs in the countryside

Front 3

Allies

Back 3

The group of countries who united to fight the Germans' Axis in WWI

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Armand

Back 4

Inessa Armand became Lenin's mistress after meeting Lenin in Paris in 1910; she was a passionate revolutionary

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Assassination

Back 5

Murder of a public figure for political reasons

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Autocratic

Back 6

A political system where the ruler has complete political power; unlimited by formal constitution or a parliament

Front 7

Bolshevik

Back 7

means 'majority'; taken by Lenin and followers after the split in the SD Party in 1903

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Bourgeoisie

Back 8

Marxist term for exploiting capitalist middle class

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Buchanan

Back 9

British Ambassador in Russia from 1910 to 1918

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Bund

Back 10

Revolutionary Jewish Organisation

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Bureacracy

Back 11

System of officials that ensure a country operates effectively

Front 12

Capitalism

Back 12

Economic system whereby investment and ownership of the means of production distribution and exchange of wealth is privately owned

Front 13

CCCP

Back 13

Central Committee of the Communist Party

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Cheka

Back 14

All Russian Extraordinary Committee for fighting Counter-Revolution i.e. Bolshevik Secret Police!

Front 15

Chernov

Back 15

Revolutionary who was involved with the Socialist Revolutionaries and later the Mensheviks

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Comintern

Back 16

The Communist International Organisation; established in 1919 for the purpose of bringing revolution in other countries

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Commissar

Back 17

Minister or Official in the Soviet Govt or CPSU (while the new Bolshevik govt was officially called the 'Government of People's Commissars', the individual ministerial roles were renamed Commissar)

Front 18

Communism

Back 18

Ideology with the goal of a classless society whereby the system of economic and social organisation is premised on the idea that industry, capital, land and other means of production are owned and controlled by the community as a whole.

Front 19

Communist Manifesto

Back 19

Published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 - promoted the decline of capitalism and the inevitable rise of communism

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Constituent Assembly

Back 20

The name given to an elected political group

Front 21

Constitution

Back 21

The set of rules by which a country is governed

Front 22

Cossacks

Back 22

A fiercely independent people from the region on the Don River near the Black Sea

Front 23

Coup d'etat

Back 23

A forced replacement of the govt

Front 24

CPSU

Back 24

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Formerly the Bolshevik Party)

Front 25

Democracy

Back 25

A liberal concept where citizens of a country have a say in how the country is to be governed and by whom

Front 26

Diktat

Back 26

A settlement imposed by threat of force

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Dual Government

Back 27

The term given to the eight-month period between February and October 1917

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Duma

Back 28

The Imperial Russian Parliament between 1906 - 1917 (Russian word for elected parliament)

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Durnovo

Back 29

A member of the upper class who became Minister of the Interior under PM Witte

Front 30

Dzerzhinsky

Back 30

The Chairman of the powerful secret police organisation, the Cheka

Front 31

Economic

Back 31

Theme that involves any issues to do with money (taxation, inflation, unemployment, wages, prices)

Front 32

Edict of Emancipation

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Issued in 1861 to provide greater freedom for the Russian serfs (peasants)

Front 33

Emigres

Back 33

Those who fled Russian to avoid Govt Oppression

Front 34

Exile

Back 34

Many revolutionaries were imprisoned by the Tsar in the isolated region of central Russia called Siberia or banished from Russia altogether

Front 35

Famine

Back 35

A desperate situation where food is scarce, resulting in severe malnutrition and death

Front 36

Feudal

Back 36

The medieval social system where the privileged nobles controlled the hardworking peasants

Front 37

French Revolution

Back 37

1789 revolution that replaced the absolute monarch with a republic that inspired many revolutionaries including Lenin

Front 38

Gapon

Back 38

Father Gapon was an active revolutionary who led the peaceful march to petition the Tsar for political representation and better working conditions

Front 39

Ghetto

Back 39

The Jewish quarters in a town or city

Front 40

Glasnost

Back 40

Russian for 'openness', adopted as a description of the new Soviet approach of the late 1980s and 1990s

Front 41

GOELRO

Back 41

A Special State Commission, established in 1920 to organise the electrification of Russia

Front 42

Gorky

Back 42

Maxim Gorky was a famous revolutionary whose writings inspired and mentored aspiring revolutionaries

Front 43

Gosplan

Back 43

Superceded 'Vesenkha' in 1921 as the body responsible for integrated nations' economic planning

Front 44

Government

Back 44

The official Political body that runs the country

Front 45

Harvest

Back 45

Collection of mature grain for eating, storage or market

Front 46

Historians

Back 46

Fabulous men and women who attempt to make sense of the past and who usually specialise in one country or period of history

Front 47

Ideas

Back 47

Abstract concepts or beliefs that provide hope and a solution to problems

Front 48

Ideology

Back 48

Set of ideas or beliefs that characterise a particular revolutionary movement

Front 49

Industrialisation

Back 49

Process of making a country more modern by developing machines and factories

Front 50

Intelligentsia

Back 50

The educated and more enlightened members of Russian society, who were usually supporters of reform (thinkers, writers, artists)

Front 51

Iskra

Back 51

Russian for 'the spark', an SD newspaper founded by Lenin and Martov in 1898 (taken from a phrase used by the Decembrists of 1825 - 'a spark will start a big blaze')

Front 52

Izvestiya

Back 52

Russian for 'the news', taken as the title of a Bolshevik newspaper

Front 53

Kadets (KDs)

Back 53

The Constitutional Democrats; a liberal party founded in 1905 - conservative revolutionary group which played an important role in the First Duma of 1906 and in the Provisional Govt of 1917.

Front 54

Kaplan

Back 54

A radical anarchist who shot Lenin twice in a failed assassination attempt in August 1918

Front 55

Kerensky

Back 55

Key member of the PG who later became the PM

Front 56

Khabalov

Back 56

General Khabalov was the Chief of the Petrograd Military District during the Feb Revolution

Front 57

Kolchak

Back 57

Admiral who led a White Army against the Feb Revolution

Front 58

Koliontai

Back 58

A prominent Bolshevik revolutionary who became the first woman selected to join Lenin's powerful Central Committee

Front 59

Kolkhozy

Back 59

The Collective farms

Front 60

Kronstadt

Back 60

A major naval base situated on an island near St Petersburg

Front 61

Krupskaya

Back 61

Lenin's wife; they met in Siberia after she had also been exiled there for her own revolutionary activity

Front 62

Kulaks

Back 62

The class of rich peasants - derogatory name given by Lenin's govt to peasants who were deemed to be selfishly hoarding grain for their benefit rather than that of the nation.

Front 63

Leaders

Back 63

Men and women who influence ordinary people

Front 64

Lenin

Back 64

The most recognised Marxist revolutionary who led the Bolshevik Party and eventually overthrew the PG in October 1917

Front 65

Liberal Movement

Back 65

Argued that the dire need for change did not require an overthrow of the tsarist system

Front 66

Martov

Back 66

A serious disagreement with Lenin led to the establishment of the Mensheviks in 1903; Martov was elected their first leader

Front 67

Marxism/Leninism

Back 67

The official Bolshevik/Communist ideology based on the ideas of Karl Marx

Front 68

Masses

Back 68

General name given to the anonymous crowds of ordinary workers and peasants

Front 69

Mensheviks

Back 69

Word meaning 'minority' used to describe the followers of Plekhanov after the split in the SD Party in 1903 from the Bolsheviks

Front 70

Mir

Back 70

The Village Commune where Village governments that were formed under tsarism to provide cooperation and coordination in rural areas

Front 71

MRC

Back 71

The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet - influential body established by the Bolsheviks in 1917 and coordinated by Trotsky to effect the October Revolution

Front 72

Miliukov

Back 72

Member of the conservative Kadet Party who opposed Rasputin and became leader of the PG in 1917

Front 73

Moscow

Back 73

Along with Petrograd (St Petersburg), a major city in Russia

Front 74

Movements

Back 74

Popular outbreaks of mass actions by ordinary people

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Narkompod

Back 75

The People's Commission of Supply

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Narodniks

Back 76

Russian for 'the people'; the Populist movement that looked to the peasants to take the lead in the transformation of Russia

Front 77

NEP

Back 77

The New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin in 1921

Front 78

Neva River

Back 78

Majestic river that flowed through St Petersburg directly behind the Tsar's Winter Palace

Front 79

Octobrists

Back 79

The Moderate Reformist Party, established in 1903

Front 80

Okhrana

Back 80

The Tsarist Secret Police

Front 81

Old Regime

Back 81

The revolutionary name given to the period ruled by the tsars, indicating that the revolutionaries had introduced a new and better society

Front 82

Orgburo

Back 82

The CCCP's Bureau of Organisation

Front 83

Orthodox Church

Back 83

Traditional Russian Orthodox Church that had supported and benefited from the rule of the tsars

Front 84

Peasants

Back 84

The lowest class in the social system who were dependent on making a living from either owning or renting land

Front 85

Petition

Back 85

Written document signed by a large number of people recommending a specific plan of action be undertaken by govt

Front 86

Petrograd Soviet

Back 86

Powerful political body first formed by Trotsky during the 1905 Revolution but then re-formed on 28 February 1917

Front 87

Plekhanov

Back 87

considered to be the father of Russian Marxism

Front 88

Pogroms

Back 88

State Organised Persecution of the Jews

Front 89

Politburo

Back 89

The Political Bureau; the inner cabinet of the CCCP

Front 90

Pravda

Back 90

Russian for 'truth'; taken as the title of the Bolshevik Newspaper established in 1912

Front 91

Privileges

Back 91

Economic and social benefits given to the upper social classes due to birth rather than talent or merit

Front 92

Proletariat

Back 92

The Marxist term for the Revolutionary Working Class of industrial workers

Front 93

Propaganda

Back 93

Creation of powerful visual or verbal material that presents a point of view from one dominant perspective

Front 94

Provisional Govt

Back 94

A temporary committee formed during the February Revolution but becoming the new govt after Tsar Nicholas II abdicated

Front 95

Putilov Steel Works

Back 95

One of the largest factories in St Petersburg, employing over 8000 men

Front 96

Rasputin

Back 96

A Siberian peasant who had great influence over Tsarina Alexandra and Tsar Nicholas II

Front 97

Red Army

Back 97

The army of the Soviet Union

Front 98

Red Guard

Back 98

Group of workers that was hastily formed into a fighting group to defend Petrograd against the advancing Kornilov

Front 99

Reed

Back 99

American journalist who was in Petrograd during the revolution

Front 100

Reforms

Back 100

The healthy process of making political, economic or social changes to make a country operate more effectively

Front 101

Requisitioning

Back 101

Confiscation of goods, often foodstuffs such as grain, often with a high degree of force

Front 102

Revolution

Back 102

Process of massive political upheaval that changes the way a country is governed; a vertical shift in power from an absolute monarch to a popular govt ruling on behalf of the people

Front 103

Rodzianko

Back 103

Head of the Fourth Duma (1912-1917) who formed the PG after Tsar Nicholas II abdicated

Front 104

Rouble

Back 104

Russian currency

Front 105

RSFSR

Back 105

The Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic; the title of the Soviet state between 1918 - 1922

Front 106

Russo Japanese War

Back 106

Began in 1904 and ended disastrously for the Russian navy in 1905 with the comprehensive defeat in the Tsushima Strait

Front 107

Siberia

Back 107

The remote but vast central area in Russia whose isolation and harsh conditions limited population numbers and made it ideal for exiling revolutionaries and other dangerous prisoners

Front 108

Smolny Institute

Back 108

The building became the HQ for the new Bolshevik govt as well as the Petrograd Soviet in 1917

Front 109

Socialism

Back 109

Ideology where workers' representatives seize power and rule on behalf of the proletariat; comes after the stage of capitalism that is necessary before moving to classless utopia

Front 110

Socialist Revolutionary Party

Back 110

The most popular Marxist party in Russia because it represented the interests of the peasants (Trudoviks were the )labour group on the moderate wing of the SRs)

Front 111

SDs

Back 111

The Social-Democrats Workers' Party; divided into Bolshevik and Menshevik wings in 1903 - founded by Plekhanov in 1898 on Marxist principles

Front 112

Soviets

Back 112

Local revolutionary groups formed to listen to ordinary people's debates - Councils of workers, soldiers and sailors first formed in 1905

Front 113

Soviet Order No. 1

Back 113

The Order given by the Petrograd Soviet one day after its formation that no military orders from the PG were to be obeyed unless also approved by the Soviet

Front 114

Sovkhozy

Back 114

State Farms

Front 115

Sovnarkom

Back 115

The Council of People's Commissars (the government of the USSR) - powerful 15 member cabinet of ministers in the new Bolshevik govt of 1917

Front 116

Stolypin

Back 116

PM in 1906 to control the new Dumas and restore public faith in the Tsar

Front 117

Trans Siberian Railway

Back 117

Completed by Witte and opened in 1905, this railway travelled across the length of Russia from Moscow to Vladivovostok and therefore had major benefits for trade, the transport of goods and troop movements

Front 118

Trotsky

Back 118

A radical Marxist revolutionary who joined with Lenin and the Bolsheviks in 1917 to form the new govt after the October Revolution 1917

Front 119

Tsar

Back 119

Russian emperor (also spelt czar)

Front 120

Tsarina

Back 120

Russian empress; wife of the Tsar

Front 121

Tsarevitch

Back 121

Heir to the Russian throne; the Tsar's eldest son

Front 122

USSR

Back 122

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which replaced the RSFSR as the official title of the Soviet State after 1922

Front 123

Vesenkha

Back 123

The Supreme Council of the National Economy

Front 124

Vyperod

Back 124

Russian for 'forward', adopted by Lenin as the title of a Bolshevik journal

Front 125

War Communism

Back 125

Series of economic policies instituted between 1918 and 1920 to attempt to win the Civil War

Front 126

Winter Palace

Back 126

The Tsar's main palace in the heart of St Petersburg

Front 127

Witte

Back 127

Influential Finance Minister and later PM who rapidly increased Russian industry and completed the Trans Siberian Railway

Front 128

Zemgor

Back 128

The Union of municipal councils and 'zemstva' that combined in 1914 to further the Russian war effort

Front 129

Zemstvos

Back 129

Local Govt Councils established in the countryside in 1864 - made up of elected representatives of peasants and landowners