Russian History, Marxism, and Cold War Geopolitics Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core geopolitical concepts, Russian Tsarist autocracy, Marxist theory, Soviet governance under Lenin and Stalin, and Cold War foreign policy dynamics.

Geopolitics

The study of how geographical factors (size, location, resources) influence international politics and foreign policy.

Natural Borders

Physical features like mountains, oceans, or deserts that provide a country with built-in defense.

Buffers

Neutral or controlled territories situated between a major power and its potential rivals to absorb military blows.

Autocracy

A system of government where a single ruler holds absolute power, unrestricted by laws, parliaments, or constitutions.

Divine Right

The religious belief that a monarch’s authority comes directly from God, making them unaccountable to earthly citizens.

Romanovs

The imperial dynasty that ruled Russia for over 300 years, from 1613 until the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Alexander III

The Russian Tsar who ruled from 1881 to 1894 and fiercely championed reactionary, anti-reform policies.

Okhrana

The secret police department of the late Russian Empire tasked with maintaining state security.

Gulags

A vast system of forced labor camps used to imprison political opponents, criminals, and social outcasts.

The Duma

An elected legislative assembly or parliament established in the late Russian Empire.

The Orthodox Church

The established state church and dominant religious institution of the Russian Empire.

Censorship

The government control and suppression of speech, press, books, and artistic expressions deemed politically dangerous.

The last Tsar of Russia, ruling from 1894 until his forced abdication in March 1917.

Nicholas II

Bloody Sunday

A massacre on January 22, 1905, when imperial troops fired on unarmed, peaceful protestors marching to present a petition to the Tsar in St. Petersburg.

Nicholas II & Alexandra

The final imperial couple of the Romanov dynasty who governed Russia during its collapse.

Social Structure

The strict hierarchical division of a population into distinct social classes with varying levels of rights, wealth, and power.

Industrialization

The shift to machine-driven manufacturing economies.

Revolutionary Movements

Organized efforts to overthrow existing governments.

Karl Marx

German philosopher who co-authored The Communist Manifesto.

Vladimir Lenin

Revolutionary leader of the radical Bolshevik party.

Bolsheviks

The radical majority faction of Russian Marxists.

Mensheviks

The moderate minority faction of Russian Marxists.

Russo-Japanese War

A 1904–1905 military conflict over imperial territory.

WWI

A catastrophic global conflict from 1914 to 1918.

February Revolution

A spontaneous 1917 popular uprising in Petrograd that forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne.

Provisional Government

The temporary government established in Russia after the February Revolution.

A key leader of the Provisional Government who sought to continue Russia's involvement in WWI.

Kerensky

October Revolution

The 1917 revolution where the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The 1918 peace treaty that ended Russia's participation in World War I, ceding significant territory to Germany.

Leon Trotsky

Key Bolshevik leader and organizer of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

Russian Civil War

The conflict (1917-1923) between the Bolshevik Red Army and various anti-Bolshevik forces known as the White Army.

Red Army

The military ground forces of the Soviet Union, formed to defend and spread communist ideology.

White Army

The anti-Bolshevik forces that fought against the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's approach post-civil war that allowed some private ownership and trade to help revive the Russian economy.

Marxism-Leninism

The political ideology that combines Marx's ideas about class struggle with Lenin's theories of revolution.

Vanguard Party

Lenin's concept of a highly disciplined, centralized party of professional revolutionaries created to lead workers in revolution.

Socialist Regime

A government system that seeks to establish socialism through state control of resources and production.

Social Impacts of the Revolution

Changes in social structure, rights, and daily life brought about by the Russian Revolution.

Stalin's Rise

The period of consolidation of power by Joseph Stalin following Lenin's death, establishing his totalitarian regime.

Five-Year Plans

State-directed economic plans initiated by Stalin to rapidly industrialize the USSR.

Collectivization

The policy of consolidating individual land and labor into collective farms under state control, aimed at increasing agricultural productivity.

Iron Curtain

The ideological boundary that divided Europe into two separate areas of political influence during the Cold War.

Containment

The U.S. policy aimed at preventing the spread of communism globally during the Cold War.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow in a chain reaction.

Tariffs

Taxes imposed on imported goods to protect domestic industries.

Economic Aid

Financial assistance given by one country to another to promote economic stability and development.

The Marshall Plan

U.S. initiative providing aid to Western Europe for rebuilding economies after WWII to prevent the spread of communism.

The Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to provide military and economic support to countries resisting communism.

The United Nations

An international organization formed post-WWII to promote peace and cooperation among nations.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance established in 1955 among Eastern Bloc countries to counter NATO.

George Kennan

The diplomat who articulated the strategy of containment for countering Soviet expansion.

NSC-68

A top-secret U.S. policy paper that advocated for a massive expansion of the U.S. military budget and hydrogen bomb development.

Proxy Wars (Korea and Vietnam)

Conflicts where the U.S. and U.S.S.R. backed opposing sides to influence regional power dynamics without direct confrontation.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.

John F. Kennedy

U.S. President during the Cuban Missile Crisis who advocated for a strong stance against communism.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader known for his role during the Cuban Missile Crisis and attempts at de-Stalinization.

Arms Race

The competitive buildup of nuclear and conventional weapons during the Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

The doctrine stating that full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause complete annihilation.

Deterrence

The strategy of preventing hostile actions by showcasing a strong military capability.

Brinkmanship

The practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster to achieve favorable outcomes.

SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

The 1972 agreement between the U.S. and USSR to limit the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

Space Race

The competition between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War to achieve significant accomplishments in space exploration.

The easing of hostility and improved relations between the U.S. and USSR during the Cold War, particularly in the 1970s.

Detente

Ronald Reagan

U.S. President who took a hardline stance against the Soviet Union and played a significant role in ending the Cold War.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union, known for his reforms (Glasnost and Perestroika) which contributed to the end of the Cold War.

Glasnost

A policy of openness introduced by Gorbachev allowing for more political freedom and transparency in the Soviet Union.

Perestroika

A reform introduced by Gorbachev aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy to introduce elements of market economics.

Soviet-Afghan War

A conflict (1979-1989) where the USSR intervened in Afghanistan, leading to a prolonged and costly insurgency.

Chernobyl

The site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986 that had lasting effects on public health and environmental policies.

Solidarity Movement

A trade union and social movement in Poland that challenged communist authority in the 1980s.

Fall of Berlin Wall

The event in 1989 symbolizing the end of the Cold War and the division of East and West Germany.

Rock and Roll

A genre of popular music that emerged in the 1950s, representing cultural shifts and influences during the Cold War.

Blue Jeans

A symbol of American culture that became popular globally, representing Western values during the Cold War.

Command Economy

An economic system where the state regulates production, distribution, and prices, characteristic of the Soviet Union.