Glossary

Glossary of Terms Related to the Russian Revolution

• Abdication: The resignation of a monarch from their political role.
• Agrarian: Relating to the production of foodstuffs in the countryside.
• Allies: The group of countries who united to fight the Central Powers in World War One.
• Archive: A central location where written material, often secret, is stored by an organization.
• Armand, Inessa: A passionate revolutionary who met Lenin in Paris in 1910 and became his mistress.
• Autocracy: Absolute rule by one person; in Russia, also referred to as Tsarist Autocracy.
• Bolsheviks: A revolutionary political party founded by Lenin after splitting with the Mensheviks in 1903.
• Bourgeoisie: The upper middle class, including factory owners. To Marx and Engels (and later, Lenin), the bourgeoisie represented the natural class enemy of the proletariat.
• Bureaucracy: A system of officials and administrators that manages a country.
• Capitalism: An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is in the hands of private individuals and corporations.
• Central Committee: The main decision-making group of the Bolshevik Party.
• Cheka: An acronym for the 'All Russian Extraordinary Commission to Fight Counter-Revolution, Sabotage, and Speculation'.
• Class Consciousness: The necessary process of workers developing deep discontent with their exploitation that leads them to unite for revolution.
• Class Struggle: The inevitable conflict between the working and ruling classes due to the exploitation of the former by the latter.
• Commissars: The individual ministerial roles renamed in the Bolshevik government, officially called the Government of People’s Commissars.
• Communism: A system of economic and social organization where industry, capital, land, and other means of production are owned and controlled by the community as a whole.
• Communist Manifesto: Published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, it advocated for the end of capitalism and the rise of communism.
• Constitution: The set of rules by which a country is governed.
• Coronation: A formal ceremony in which a monarch is crowned.
• Cossacks: A fiercely independent people from the region on the Don River near the Black Sea.
• Coup d'état: The forced replacement of one government by another privileged group.
• Democratic Centralism: A Leninist principle where policy decisions are made at high levels and are binding on all members of society.
• Dictatorship: A system where a single leader has dominant control over the government and country.
• Dual Authority: The term referring to the eight-month period between February and October 1917.
• Duma: The Russian term for an elected parliament.
• Durnovo, Pyotr: A member of the upper class and the minister of the interior under Prime Minister Witte.
• Dzerzhinsky, Felix: The leader of the powerful secret police organization known as the Cheka.
• Economic: Relating to monetary issues such as taxation, inflation, unemployment, wages, and prices of goods.
• Emigrate: An émigré is a person who has emigrated, which means to voluntarily leave one’s country, often due to political or social problems.
• Engels, Friedrich: A German theorist who, alongside Karl Marx, co-authored the Communist Manifesto in 1848.
• Exile: Many revolutionaries were imprisoned by Tsar Nicholas in isolated regions of central and eastern Russia called Siberia, or banished from Russia altogether.
• Factionalism: Disputes between two or more groups acting in self-interest within a larger group.
• Famine: A desperate situation where food is scarce, leading to severe malnutrition and often death.
• Feudal System: The medieval social system where privileged nobles controlled the hardworking peasants.
• Gapon, Father: An active revolutionary who led a peaceful march to petition the Tsar for political representation and better working conditions.
• Gorky, Maxim: A famous revolutionary whose writings inspired and mentored many aspiring revolutionaries.
• Government: The official political body that runs a country.
• Harvest: The collection of mature grain for consumption, storage, or market.
• Historian: A person who attempts to make sense of the past and usually specializes in one country or historical period.
• Ideas: Abstract concepts and beliefs that provide hope and solutions to problems.
• Ideology: A set of ideas or beliefs that characterize a particular revolutionary movement.
• Illiteracy: The inability to read or write.
• Industrialization: The process of making a country more modern through the development of machines and factories.
• Iskra: A revolutionary newspaper started by Lenin in 1900; it means 'Spark'.
• Kadets: A conservative revolutionary group that played an important role in the First Duma in 1906 and the Provisional Government in 1917.
• Kaplan, Fanny: A radical anarchist who attempted to assassinate Lenin in August 1918.
• Khabalov, General: The Chief of the Petrograd Military District during the February Revolution.
• Kolchak, Alexander: An admiral who led a White Army against the Bolshevik government during the Civil War.
• Kollontai, Alexandra: A feminist socialist who played a key role in improving women’s rights; the only female Commissar in the Bolshevik Government.
• Kornilov: A tsarist military general who marched his troops on Petrograd in August 1917.
• Kronstadt: A major naval base situated on an island near Petrograd.
• Krupskaya, Nadezhda: Lenin’s wife; they met in Siberia after she had been exiled there for her revolutionary activities.
• Kulaks: A derogatory term used by Lenin’s government for peasants deemed selfishly hoarding grain for their own benefit rather than the nation’s.
• Leaders: Significant individuals (both women and men) who influence ordinary people.
• Lenin: The most recognized Marxist revolutionary who led the Bolshevik Party and ultimately overthrew the government in October 1917.
• Leninism: Lenin’s interpretation of how Marxism could be achieved in Russia.
• Liberal Movement: Argued that the dire need for change did not require an overthrow of the tsarist system.
• Martov, Julius: A serious disagreement with Lenin led to the establishment of the Mensheviks in 1903, with Martov elected their first leader.
• Marx, Karl: A German theorist who, with Friedrich Engels, co-authored the Communist Manifesto in 1848.
• Marxism: The devotion to and practice of the communist ideology of Karl Marx.
• Masses: The general term given to the anonymous crowds of ordinary workers and peasants.
• Mensheviks: A Marxist revolutionary party formed alongside the Bolsheviks when the Social Democratic Workers’ Party split in 1903.
• Military Revolutionary Committee: An influential body established by the Bolsheviks in 1917, coordinated by Trotsky to effect the October Revolution.
• Moscow and St Petersburg: The two major cities in Russia, located in the west near Europe.
• Movements: Popular outbreaks of mass action by ordinary people.
• NEPmen: A new class who became wealthy from capitalist practices now allowed by the NEP.
• Neva River: The majestic river flowing through St Petersburg, directly behind the Tsar’s Winter Palace.
• October Manifesto: A document produced by Tsar Nicholas II in 1905 promising an elected Duma in exchange for an end to the general strikes that had paralyzed the economy.
• Okhrana: The name for the Tsar’s secret police service established to deal with opposition to the royal government.
• Orthodox Church: The traditional Russian Church that supported and benefitted from the rule of the tsars.
• Peasants: The lowest social class dependent on working the land, which they either owned or rented; also referred to as serfs.
• Petition: A written document signed by many people recommending a specific action be undertaken by the government.
• Petrograd Soviet: A powerful political body first formed by Trotsky during the 1905 Revolution, re-formed on February 28, 1917.
• Plekhanov, George: Considered the father of Russian Marxism.
• Pravda: Lenin’s daily newspaper, meaning ‘Truth,’ begun in 1912.
• Privileges: Economic and social benefits granted to the upper social classes based on birth rather than talent or merit.
• Proletariat: The term Marx gave to industrial workers.
• Propaganda: Creating powerful visual or verbal materials that present an issue from a dominant point of view.
• Putilov Steel Works: One of the largest factories in St Petersburg, employing over 8,000 men.
• Red Army: The army of the Soviet Union.
• Red Guard: A hastily formed group of workers to defend Petrograd against Kornilov's advancing troops.
• Reforms: The healthy process of making political, economic, or social changes to improve a country’s effectiveness.
• Requisitioning: The confiscation of goods (often foodstuffs like grain), frequently executed with a high degree of force.
• Revolution: A process of massive political upheaval that changes a country's governance system, shifting power from an absolute monarch to a popular government representing the people.
• Rodzianko, Mikhail: Head of the Fourth Duma (1912–17), which formed the Provisional Government after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
• Romanov Dynasty: The series of rulers from the Romanov family beginning with Michael Romanov in 1613.
• Rouble: The currency of Russia.
• Russo-Japanese War: A war that started in 1904 and ended disastrously for the Russian navy in 1905 with a comprehensive defeat at Tsushima Strait.
• Siberia: The vast and remote region in central and eastern Russia where many revolutionaries were exiled.
• Smolny Institute: The headquarters of the new Bolshevik government and the Petrograd Soviet in 1917.
• Social Democratic Workers’ Party: A revolutionary party founded by Plekhanov in 1898 based on Marxist principles.
• Socialist Revolutionary Party: The most popular Marxist revolutionary party in Russia because it represented the interests of the peasants.
• Sovereign: A supreme ruler.
• Soviet: A local revolutionary group formed to represent ordinary people's debates.
• Soviet Order No. 1: This order was issued by the Petrograd Soviet one day after its formation, stating that no military orders from the Provisional Government should be obeyed unless approved by the Soviet.
• Soviet Union: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
• Sovnarkom: The powerful all-Bolshevik cabinet of ministers in the new government formed in 1917.
• St Petersburg Soviet: A powerful political body representing workers.
• Trans-Siberian Railway: Completed by Witte and opened in 1905; it traveled across Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok, benefiting trade and troop movement.
• Trotsky, Leon: A radical Marxist revolutionary, a key figure in the Bolshevik movement.
• Tsar: The Russian term for ruler or monarch often referred to as the Emperor.
• Urban: Pertaining to the city.
• Utopia: A perfect society free of social problems.
• War Communism: A series of economic policies instituted between 1918 and 1920 aimed at winning the Civil War.
• Winter Palace: The Tsar’s main palace located in the heart of St Petersburg.
• Witte, Sergei: The influential Finance Minister and later Prime Minister who significantly increased Russian industry and completed the Trans-Siberian Railway.