Key Historical Events in the 20th Century

These flashcards cover key terms, events, and concepts from the 20th century as discussed in the lecture.

February Revolution

The 1917 revolution in Russia that led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the establishment of a provisional government.

Bolsheviks

A faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labor Party that seized control of the government in Russia in 1917.

Social Revolutionaries (Mensheviks)

A political party in Russia that advocated for a gradual approach to socialism and initially supported the provisional government.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace treaty that ended World War I in 1919 and imposed heavy reparations on Germany, leading to resentment.

Guernica

A town in Spain that was bombed during the Spanish Civil War; famously depicted by Picasso in his painting of the same name.

Franco's Regime

The authoritarian regime of Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975 after winning the Spanish Civil War.

Sino-Japanese War

A conflict between China and Japan from 1937 to 1945, marking a significant phase of conflict leading up to and including World War II.

Guomindang

The Nationalist Party of China led by Chiang Kai-shek that fought against both Japanese aggression and the Chinese Communist Party.

Tiananmen Square Protests

A series of pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China, in 1989, violently suppressed by the government.

Bandung Conference

The 1955 conference in Indonesia where leaders of newly independent African and Asian countries discussed issues of colonialism and non-alignment.

Holocaust

The genocide during World War II in which six million Jews and millions of others were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime.

South African Apartheid

A system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.

Rwandan Genocide

The mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by extremist Hutu forces in 1994, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 800,000 people.

Neo-liberalism

A political and economic philosophy that emphasizes free markets, deregulation, and the reduction of government spending.

Iron Curtain

The ideological barrier that separated the Soviet bloc and the West during the Cold War.

Perestroika

A policy of economic and political reform in the Soviet Union initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s.

Glasnost

A policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev that allowed for more open discussion of political and social issues in the Soviet Union.

Cuban Revolution

The 1959 revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the Batista regime and the establishment of a socialist state led by Fidel Castro.

Brexit

The United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, following a 2016 referendum.