Russia

Totalitarian State

A political system where the government recognizes no limits to its authority, often seeking to regulate every aspect of public and private life.

Stalin's Command Economy

An economic system where the government controls all economic activity, centralizing production and distribution.

Five-Year Plans

A series of nationalized plans that aimed to develop the Soviet economy through rapid industrialization.

Collectives

Large state-owned farms where individual peasants worked but did not own the land.

Kulaks

Wealthy farmers in the Soviet Union who resisted collectivization and were often persecuted.

Holodomor

A man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that resulted in the deaths of 3-5 million Ukrainians, considered an act of genocide.

Gulag

A government agency that administered the forced labor camps in the Soviet Union, where many dissidents and political prisoners were sent.

Stalin's Purges (1934-1938)

A campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union characterized by widespread police surveillance and the execution or imprisonment of millions.

Destruction of Ukrainian Nationalism

Stalin's goal to crush the identity and resistance of Ukrainians after incorporating Ukraine into the Soviet Union.

Russian Economic Growth (1928-1939)

The period during which the Soviet Union rapidly industrialized but the standard of living overall remained low.