Russia: Co-Po

democratic centralism

The Leninist organizational structure that concentrates power in the hands of the party elite.

glasnost

Under Gorbachev, Soviet policies that opened up the political system and allowed for freedom of expression.

near abroad

Russian term to describe the other fourteen republics of the former Soviet Union.

nomenklatura

The Soviet System of lists that facilitated the CPSU's appointment of trusted people to key positions, adopted by communist regimes.

oligarchs

Business and political leaders with what some think is undue influence in Russia.

party of power

A kind of Russian political party created to support the current leadership.

perestroika

Ill-fated program to reform the Soviet economy in the late 1980s.

power ministries

The most important departments in the Russian government.

privatization

The selling off of state-owned companies.

purges

The systematic removal of people from party, state, or other offices; especially common in communist systems.

shock therapy

Policies in formerly communist countries that envisage as rapid a shift to a market economy as possible.

Berezovsky, Boris

Russian oligarch who put together United Russia.

Brezhnev, Leonid

General secretary of the CPSU, 1964-82; largely responsible for the stagnation of the USSR.

Gorbachev, Mikhail

Head of the CPSU and last president of the Soviet Union.

Khodorkovsky, Mikhail

Russian tycoon arrested on corruption and tax evasion charges in 2003.

Khrushchev, Nikita

Successor of Josef Stalin as head of the CPSU and Soviet Union from 1953 until he was ousted in 1964.

Lenin, V.I.

Architect of the Bolshevik revolution and first leader of the Soviet Union.

Medvedev, Dmitri

Third and current President of Russia.

Putin, Vladimir

President of Russia from 2000 to 2013.

Stalin, Joseph

Leader of the CPSU and Soviet Union, 1924-53.

Yeltsin, Boris

Former reformist communist leader and president of Russia, 1991-2000.

Zhirinovsky, Vladimir

Leader of the right-wing and racist Liberal Democratic Party in Russia.

Zyuganov, Gennady

Head of the Russian Communist Party.

BRICS

Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa

CPRF

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

CPSU

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

KGB

Soviet secret police

Bolsheviks

Lenin's faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party; later came to mean anyone who subscribed to his views and/or organization.

Central Committee

Supposedly the most important body in a communist party; its influence declined as it grew in size and the party needed daily leadership.

Cheka

Soviet Union's first secret police

Comintern

The interwar condition of communist parties directed from Moscow

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The party that ran the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991.

Federation Council

the largely powerless upper house of the Russian Parliament

Five Year Plan

In the former Soviet Union, and other communist countries, the period for which Gosplan developed goals and quotas

Gosplan

The Soviet central planning agency.

Just Russia

A Russian political party created in 2006 under Putin.

Liberal Democrats

The neofascist and racist opposition party led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Mensheviks

The smaller and more moderate faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party before WWI

Our Home Is Russia

New political party chaired by former prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

Politburo

A generic term used to describe the leadership of Communist Parties.

provisional government

Generic term used to describe temporary governments formed until a new constitution is written; also, the government in Russia between the two 1917 revolutions

Presidential Administration

The term used to describe the formal and informal network of leaders surrounding the Russian president.

Russian Federation

formal name of Russia

secret speech

given by Khrushchev in 1957 seen as the start of the "thaw"

secretariat

Generic term used to denote the bureaucratic leaders of a communist party.

State Duma

the lower house of the Russian Parliament

Third International

Moscow-dominated organization of communist parties around the world between the two world wars.

Twentieth Party Congress

occasion of khrushchev's "secret speech" launching de-Stalinization

United Russia

The political party led by Russian president Vladmir Putin

Vertical of Power

Russian term to describe the centralization of power in the hand of the president and his closest associates.

Yabloko

one of the leading reformist parties in Russia