Russian Revolution Vocab

Nicholas and ALexandra

the ruling couple of Russia during the 1900’s

Gregory Rasputin

A “holy man” who had great influence over the Czarina. Alexandra

Bolsheviks

Name Lenin give to the group of people who were to lead the Russian Revolution. Term means “Majority”

Leon Trotsky

Individual who helped Lenin during the revolution

Red Army

Members who supported communism regime

Whites

Counter Revolutionaries who remained loyal to the Tzar

Cheka

A secret police force created by the Communists

USSR

Union of SOviet Socialist Republics

NEP

An economic policy adopted by Lenin in 1921 that allowed small private businesses to reopen

Great Purge

A reign of terror in Russia were Stalin Cracked down on people who were against him

Comintern

An organization created by Lenin that encouraged groups from around the world to rise up against imperial powers

Command Economy

Form of economy where the government makes all basic economic decisions

Pravda

Name of the communist newspaper. When translated means “Truth”.

Alexandra Kollontai

A leading woman’s right activist who became the only high ranking woman to serve in Lenin’s government

Osip Mandelstam

Jewish poet who was severely punished because of his work questioning communism

Mikhail Sholokhov

The russian author “And Quiet Flows the Dawn”, which describes life as a Russian soldier during WW1, the russian revolution, and the russian civil war

Totalitarian State

Form of government in which one party dictates and regulates every aspect of the citizen life

Anna Akhmatova

One of Russia’s great poets but work could not be published because the violated state policy

Proletariat

Working class

Soviet

council of workers and soldiers set up by russian revolutionaries in 1917

Commissar

communist party official assigned to the army to teach party principles and esure party loyalty

Collective

large farm owned and operated by peasants

Kulak

wealthy peasants in the soviet union in the 1930’s

Atheism

the belief that there is no god

Social realism

artistic style whose goal was to promote socialism by showing soviet life in a positive way