unit 78 vocab terms

bolsheviks

a russian communist revolutionary group led by vladmir lenin that overthrew the temporary democratic party by promising peace, land, and bread

• sparked by the dire consequences of ww1

• under the circumstances of poor leadership (tsar nicholas)

• people wanted economic and political reform under a better leader

• the shift from capitalism to communism

vladimir lenin

communist leader of the bolsheviks

• established the soviet union (USSR)

• believed that russia needed a small revolutionary group of educated elites to guide the fight towards political reform

• also believed that the proletariats would rise up to rebel against the bourgeoisie because private ownership allows for exploitation and unfair economy

• did not like capitalism and private businesses, advocated for communism

guomindang (KMT)

chinese nationalist group that overthrew the CCP

• formed a republic

• led to the establishment of taiwan

• many leaders of the KMT were educated by western ideas and wanted to modernize china and make it capitalist

• wanted to free china of foreign control

mao zedong

leader of the chinese communist power (CCP)

• represents the shift from weak republic → totalitarianism

• state controlled production

• empowered peasants by removing land-owning elites

• believed that revolutionary change could occur through peasant rebellions

• absolute control and propaganda

stalin and mao

communist leaders (russia and china)

• advocated for no capitalism, no private businesses

• both led programs to achieve rapid industrialization

• both constructed a totalitarian way of rule

• propaganda, secret police, no dissent against the state

zhenotdel

womans department in the soviets communist party

• promoted womans rights by including them in revolutionary movements

• marxist ideology of gender equality

• state granted rights rather than the people-ran protest

collectivization

the taking of private agriculture production lands and merging them into one big land, dedicated to produce for the state

• communist leaders thought this was unfair because there were “richer” peasants

• didnt allow for surplus production, which led to famine and death

5-year plans

a reform program led by joseph stalin, an attempt to rapidly industrialize russia

• tried to catch up with the west, claiming that russia was tens of yrs behind

• failed tremendously as it led to famine and death due to lack of care for the basic needs of their people

great leap forward

a reform program led by mao zedong, an attempt to rapidly industrialize china

• catching up with the modern world

• believed in the willpower of the peasantry

• harsher collectivization compared to stalin

great proletarian cultural revolution

mass destruction of old culture and customs, led by the peasantry and hs/college students, in order to rid of all sense of capitalism and enhance communist power

• led to economic decrease due to older intellectuals being persecuted

• youths turning against their elders

• represents loss of culture and social change

terror/great purges

massive campaign and state-sponsored violence led by joseph stalin in russia

• eliminated and purged of all minorities (religious/ethnic/political) bc they were seen as a possible threat to his power

• consolidated power by inducing terror into his people

rape of nanjing

the mass commitment of crimes/murders done by japanese soldiers to both soldiers and woman residence in nanjing, china

• represents total war, where the distinction between soldier and civilian is almost negligible

• nationalism → empowered japanese soldiers to fight harder and not feel as guilty for their crimes

hiroshima and nagasaki

two cities that were bombed with atomic bombs by the united states

• the first and only instance of the usage of atomic bombs in warfare

• the start of the “arms race” between the us and ussr

rosie the riveter

an iconic symbol that vouched woman’s rights and capabilities that was used as propaganda to encourage woman to join the workforce

• economic opportunity for woman to work jobs usually done by men

• planted seeds for future woman reforms

the holocaust

the mass extermination of jewish minorities in germany, led by nazi leader rudolf hitler

• seen as a power threat to the germans

• empowered by extreme nationalism and racism

• highly organized governmental violence that involved the police, military and civil service

united nations

an international organization that promoted better relations between different nations

• sparked by the failure of the previous ‘league of nations’

• promoted human rights

indian national congress

leaders of the indian independence movement, consisted of mostly hindus

• led by mohandas ghandi

• initially called for reforms on how britain should rule over india (didnt call for independence, yet)

• successful as the british was too broke and exhausted to hold on to the colony

mohandas ghandi

hindu leader of the indian national congress

• believed in peaceful rebellions over violent protest

• boycotts, breaking specific rules, negotiations

satyagraha

the idea that peaceful resistance was more efficient than violence

• rooted from mahatma ghandi

• believed that using violence would just lead to more violence

• winning over the heart and mind of their oppressors so that they can feel bad for their cruelty

muslim league

a political organization that focused on the muslim indian representation

• founded by muslim leader muhammad ali jinnah

• hindus ~80%, muslims ~20% of the population

• fear that muslims would be at risk for future oppression by hindus

• nationalism within these communities caused tension because there was often social/power gaps

• represents that decolonization wasnt just empire vs colony, there were also internal conflicts between ethnic/religious groups within states, empowered by nationalism

• led to the partition of india and pakistan

muhammad ali jinnah

lawyer and political muslim indian leader who founded the muslim league

• founded pakistan

• used to be a member of the indian national congress before he became disillusioned by the increased centralization on muslim religion inside the congress

• established the muslim league to save hindus from possible political oppression

• claimed that muslims and hindus cannot coexist within the same state

• represents religious nationalism

deng xiaoping

former leader of the chinese communist party

• had contrasting ideas from mao zedong, where xiaping valued result over ideology

• as long as the economy would become stabilized

• represents continuity in communist power by adapting to the modern world and picking up bits of capitalist features

• allowed de-collectivization and private businesses to compete with large factories

mikhail gorbachev

least le