The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

Homo sovieticus

Idealized Soviet citizen with collective identity.

October Revolution

1917 uprising establishing Bolshevik control.

Lenin's death

Died January 21, 1924, after health decline.

Stalin's rise

Became leader through manipulation and isolation.

Cult of personality

Stalin's crafted public image for loyalty.

Five Year Plans

Economic strategy for rapid industrialization.

Collectivisation

State control of agriculture, targeting Kulaks.

Holodomor

Famine resulting from collectivisation, millions dead.

Political terror

Repression through show trials and purges.

Ezhovshchina

Period of intensified purges under Nikolai Ezhov.

Gulag

Labor camps for political prisoners and dissidents.

Vory v Zakone

Criminal organization with strict code of conduct.

Pavlik Morozov

Boy who denounced his parents to authorities.

Stakhanovism

Movement promoting high productivity in labor.

Great Patriotic War

Soviet term for WWII, especially against Nazis.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader known for de-Stalinization and reforms.

The Secret Speech

Khrushchev's 1956 critique of Stalin's regime.

Destalinization

Process of dismantling Stalin's cult and policies.

Leonid Brezhnev

Leader known for stability and economic stagnation.

Double burden

Women balancing work and domestic responsibilities.

Brezhnevism

Era characterized by political stability and stagnation.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last Soviet leader, known for reforms.

Perestroika

Economic restructuring policy initiated by Gorbachev.

Glasnost

Policy promoting openness and transparency in government.

Boris Yeltsin

First President of Russia post-Soviet Union.

Shock therapy

Rapid transition from communism to capitalism.

Oligarchs

Business magnates gaining power post-Soviet reforms.

1993 coup

Yeltsin's military action against parliament opposition.

Vladimir Putin

Current Russian leader, known for authoritarianism.

Provokatsiya

Manipulative tactics creating false narratives.