Russian Revolution Consolidation and Society (1917-1927)

Vocabulary flashcards covering major policies, political decisions, social changes, and key historical figures from the consolidation of Bolshevik power in Russia (1917-1927).

Sovnarkom

The Council of People's Commissars created to replace the Provisional Government following the October Revolution, which initially faced political weakness in Petrograd and Moscow.

Cheka

The secret police force created in December $1917$ under Felix Dzerzhinsky to root out class enemies and combat counter-revolution, becoming the primary tool of the Red Terror.

Constituent Assembly

A democratically elected body convened in January $1918$ to write a new Russian constitution, which was forcibly dissolved by Lenin after sitting for one day when Bolsheviks won only $24ShortTerm175$ seats compared to the SRs' $370$ seats.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

A peace treaty signed on March $3$, $1918$, exiting Russia from WWI by surrendering $34\%$ of its population, $54\%$ of its industrial land, $89\%$ of its coalfields, and paying $6\text{ million}$ marks in reparations.

Reds

The Bolshevik military force led by Leon Trotsky during the Russian Civil War, which held central geographical positions, key rail hubs, and manufacturing centres.

Whites

A loose coalition of Tsarists, liberals, and Socialist Revolutionaries who were geographically and ideologically divided while fighting against the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War.

Greens

Peasant armies during the Russian Civil War that fought to defend their local lands against both the Red and White armies.

Red Terror

A campaign of systematic execution, imprisonment, and repression launched by the Cheka to eliminate class enemies, formally triggered after the August $1918$ assassination attempt on Lenin.

White Terror

Brutal acts of violence committed by White officers against suspected Bolshevik supporters, workers, and Jewish communities during the Russian Civil War.

State Capitalism (1917-1918)

A pragmatic transitional economic policy where the state controlled banks, heavy industry, and foreign trade while allowing small-scale private enterprise to continue.

War Communism (1918-1921)

An emergency economic policy during the Civil War involving total state control, forced grain requisitioning, labor militarisation, factory nationalisation, and the abolition of private trade.

Kronstadt Revolt (March 1921)

An uprising by naval sailors demanding free speech, free elections, and an end to grain requisitioning, which was violently suppressed by Trotsky and Tukhachevsky.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

A strategic retreat from socialism introduced by Lenin in $1921$ that reintroduced partial capitalism, allowing peasants to sell surplus grain for profit to prevent economic collapse.

10th Party Congress

A pivotal $1921$ meeting where Lenin introduced the Ban on Factions, making it illegal for party members to disagree with Central Committee decisions and centralising power.

Likbez

The liquidation of illiteracy campaign designed to teach the largely illiterate Russian population how to read and write while spreading Marxist propaganda.

Zhenotdel

The Women's Department of the Communist Party, led by Alexandra Kollontai, aimed at advancing legal equality, divorce rights, and liberating women from traditional patriarchy.

Proletkult

An artistic movement in post-revolutionary Russia aiming to create a new, modern culture by and for the working class.

Vladimir Lenin

The Architect of the Revolution who established a one-party communist state, created the Cheka, nationalised land and industry, and implemented War Communism and the NEP.

Leon Trotsky

The Organiser and Fighter who built and led the Red Army during the Civil War, militarised labor, restored the death penalty for desertion, and crushed the Kronstadt Rebellion.

Felix Dzerzhinsky

The Enforcer of the Bolshevik regime who led the Cheka, institutionalising Red Terror and establishing systemic state surveillance and suppression of dissent.

Alexandra Kollontai

The Social Visionary and head of Zhenotdel who advocated for legal gender equality, legalised divorce and abortion, instituted $16$ weeks of paid maternity leave, and became the first female ambassador.

NEPmen

Private business owners and traders who emerged during the NEP era following the partial reintroduction of capitalist enterprise.

Nomenklatura

High-ranking Bolshevik officials who formed a new privileged elite replacing the Romanov aristocracy, receiving special privileges such as food access.

Okhrana

The Tsarist secret police agency that served to eliminate political dissent prior to being replaced by the Bolshevik Cheka/OGPU.

Cult of Lenin

The state-sponsored devotion and veneration centered on Lenin and Bolshevik ideology, replacing traditional worship of the Russian Orthodox Church.