Russian Revolution and Early Soviet Union Vocabulary

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Czar (Tsar)

Title of the emperors of Russia

Bolshevik

A member of the Russian Communist Party.

pogrom

An organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people in Russia

Autocracy

A form of government in which one ruler has absolute control and decision making power

aristocracy

The highest class in society, especially those holding hereditary titles

censorship

The suppression or prohibition of information 

purge

An abrupt or violent removal of a group of people

gulag

A system of labor camps maintained in the Soviet Union

Five Year Plan

A government plan for economic development in the Soviet Union

totalitarianism

A system of government that is centralized around a dictator and requires complete obedience

Communism

A political theory in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs 

collectivization

The process of combining private farms into a single entity that is controlled by the government

Command economy

An economy in which the government controls the means of production and determines output levels

commune

A group of people living and working together