Rejecting Liberalism, Totalitarian Ideologies, and the Cold War

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms about Soviet Communism, Nazism, the Cold War, major policies, events, and treaties.

Bolsheviks

Hard-line Communist party led by Vladimir Lenin that seized power in Russia in October 1917.

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolsheviks; established the world’s first Communist government in Russia.

Soviets

Collective councils of workers, soldiers, and peasants around which early Communist government was organized.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

State created after the 1917 revolution; commonly called the Soviet Union.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin’s limited re-introduction of capitalism in the 1920s to revive the Soviet economy.

Kulaks

Wealthier peasants who emerged under the NEP and were later persecuted by Stalin.

Josef Stalin

Soviet leader who transformed the USSR into a totalitarian state and led large-scale purges.

Totalitarianism

System in which the state holds total authority over society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life.

Holodomor / Ukrainian Famine (1932-33)

Man-made famine in Ukraine that killed about six million people under Stalin’s policies.

Great Purge (1937-38)

Campaign of arrests, show trials, and executions that eliminated real and imagined opponents of Stalin.

NKVD

Soviet secret police responsible for carrying out Stalin’s purges and political repression.

Treaty of Versailles

1919 peace treaty that blamed Germany for WWI and imposed heavy reparations, fueling German resentment.

Weimar Republic

Germany’s weak, liberal-democratic government (1919-1933) that preceded Nazi rule.

National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party)

Political party led by Adolf Hitler that established a totalitarian dictatorship in Germany.

Adolf Hitler

Nazi leader who became German dictator and promoted aggressive nationalism and racism.

Master Race

Nazi belief that Germans were biologically superior to other peoples.

Untermenchen

German term meaning “subhuman,” applied by Nazis to Jews, Romani, Slavs, and other targeted groups.

Greater Germany

Hitler’s goal of uniting all German-speaking territories, including Austria and the Sudetenland.

Superpower

Nation with dominant global influence; after WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Cold War

Period (c. 1945-1991) of ideological, political, and economic rivalry between the US and USSR without direct large-scale warfare.

Sphere of Influence

Geographic area where a superpower dominates political or economic affairs.

Proxy War

Conflict in which superpowers support opposing sides without fighting each other directly (e.g., Korea, Vietnam).

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

1949 military alliance led by the US to defend against Soviet expansion.

Warsaw Pact

1955 military alliance of Communist states led by the USSR, created in response to NATO.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill’s term for the political barrier separating Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe from the West.

Containment

US Cold War policy of preventing the spread of Communism to other countries.

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)

Idea that nuclear war is deterred because any attack would guarantee the attacker’s own destruction.

Brinkmanship

Strategy of pushing a dangerous situation to the verge of disaster to achieve favorable outcomes, exemplified in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Failed 1961 CIA-backed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba that brought the world close to nuclear war.

Detente

1970s policy of easing Cold War tensions through negotiations and arms control agreements.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

1968 treaty limiting possession of nuclear weapons to five recognized nuclear states.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (SALT I)

1972 agreement capping numbers of strategic ballistic missile launchers.

Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty

1972 accord banning nationwide missile defenses to preserve the balance of power.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II (SALT II)

1979 agreement (never ratified but observed) placing further limits on strategic launchers.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s 1980s policy of economic “restructuring” in the Soviet Union.

Glasnost

Gorbachev’s policy of political “openness” and transparency in the Soviet Union.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)

Collapse of the USSR following nationalist movements and Gorbachev’s reforms, ending the Cold War.