Russia

Geopolitics

The study of how geography, location, resources, and territory influence a country's political power and decisions.

Natural borders

Physical features such as mountains, rivers, and seas that can protect a country from invasion.

Buffers

Countries or territories located between two larger powers that provide protection from invasion or conflict.

Autocracy

A government in which one ruler has nearly unlimited political power.

Divine right

The belief that a monarch's authority to rule comes from God.

Romanovs

The dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Alexander III

Russian tsar who strengthened autocracy, censorship, and repression.

Nicholas II

The last Russian tsar, whose weak leadership contributed to the collapse of the monarchy.

Nicholas II & Alexandra

The last Russian tsar and his wife; their leadership became increasingly unpopular before the Revolution.

The Orthodox Church

Russia's dominant Christian church, which was closely connected to the tsarist government.

Censorship

Government control over information, newspapers, books, and other forms of communication.

Okhrana

Secret police used by the tsarist government to monitor and suppress opposition.

Gulags

Soviet forced-labor prison camps, used especially extensively under Stalin.

The Duma

Russia's elected legislative assembly, created after the 1905 Revolution but given limited power by the tsar.

Social Structure

The organization of Russian society, which was highly unequal, with the tsar and aristocracy at the top and peasants and workers making up much of the population.

Industrialization

The growth of factories and cities that created a large industrial working class, often under poor conditions.

Revolutionary Movements

Groups that sought to overthrow or radically change the Russian government.

Karl Marx

Thinker who developed Marxism and argued that class conflict would eventually lead workers to overthrow capitalism.

Vladimir Lenin

Revolutionary leader who adapted Marxism to Russia and led the Bolsheviks.

Bolsheviks

Lenin's revolutionary faction that seized power in the October Revolution.

Mensheviks

Rival socialist faction that favored a larger, less centralized revolutionary movement.

Russo-Japanese War

1904–1905 war between Russia and Japan that Russia lost, weakening confidence in the tsar.

Bloody Sunday

1905 event in which soldiers fired on peaceful protesters in St. Petersburg, increasing opposition to the tsar.

WWI

World War I; caused enormous military losses, food shortages, inflation, and economic problems in Russia.

February Revolution

1917 revolution that forced Nicholas II to abdicate and ended tsarist rule.

Provisional Government

Temporary government created after Nicholas II abdicated.

Kerensky

Leader of the Provisional Government who continued Russia's involvement in WWI.

October Revolution

1917 Bolshevik takeover of the Russian government.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

1918 treaty in which Russia withdrew from WWI and gave up significant territory.

Leon Trotsky

Bolshevik leader who helped organize the October Revolution and commanded the Red Army.

Russian Civil War

War between the Bolsheviks and their opponents following the Revolution.

Red Army

Bolshevik/Communist military force.

White Army

Various groups that fought against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Lenin's policy that temporarily allowed limited private business and markets to help rebuild the Soviet economy.

Marxism-Leninism

Lenin's adaptation of Marxist ideas to the conditions of Russia.

Vanguard Party

A highly organized revolutionary party that Lenin believed should lead the working class.

Socialist Realism

Official Soviet artistic style designed to promote Communist ideals and portray Soviet life positively.

Social impacts of the Revolution

The overthrow of the monarchy, rise of Communist rule, changes to property and class systems, and increased government control over society.

Joseph Stalin's rise

Stalin's gradual accumulation of power after Lenin's death until he became the dominant Soviet leader.

5 Year Plans

Government economic plans designed to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union.

Collectivization

Stalin's policy of forcing peasants to combine individual farms into large collective farms.

Command economy

Economic system in which the government controls production, prices, and distribution.

Iron Curtain

Political and ideological division between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

Containment

U.S. policy designed to prevent the spread of communism.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country became communist, neighboring countries might also become communist.

Tariffs

Taxes placed on imported goods.

Economic Aid

Money, resources, or assistance given to another country to help its economy or strengthen political relationships.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program that provided economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy of supporting countries resisting communist expansion.

United Nations

International organization created after WWII to promote cooperation and prevent international conflict.

NATO

Military alliance between the United States, Canada, and Western European countries.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led military alliance of communist Eastern European countries.

George Kennan

American diplomat who developed the strategy of containment.

NSC-68

U.S. policy document calling for a major military buildup to counter the Soviet Union.

Proxy Wars

Conflicts in which larger powers support opposing sides without directly fighting each other.

Arms Race

Competition between the U.S. and USSR to build increasingly powerful weapons.

MAD

Mutually Assured Destruction; the idea that a nuclear war would destroy both sides.

Deterrence

Preventing an enemy from attacking by threatening a powerful response.

Brinkmanship

Pushing a dangerous situation close to war to force the opponent to back down.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba that brought the U.S. and USSR close to nuclear war.

John F. Kennedy

U.S. president during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

SALT I

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreement that limited certain nuclear weapons.

Space Race

Competition between the U.S. and USSR to achieve major accomplishments in space exploration.

Détente

Period of reduced tension between the United States and Soviet Union.

Ronald Reagan

U.S. president who took a hard line against the USSR before later negotiating with Gorbachev.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader who introduced reforms and helped reduce Cold War tensions.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's policy of increased openness and freedom of discussion.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's policy of economic and political restructuring.

Soviet-Afghan War

Costly war in Afghanistan that weakened the Soviet Union economically and politically.

Chernobyl

1986 nuclear disaster that exposed serious problems with Soviet government management and secrecy.

Solidarity Movement

Polish labor and political movement that challenged Communist rule.

Fall of Berlin Wall

1989 event symbolizing the collapse of Communist control in Eastern Europe.

Rock and roll

Western music that became popular among some Soviet youth and represented Western cultural influence.

Blue jeans

Western consumer product that became a symbol of Western culture and prosperity.