Key Terms (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Key Terms
This glossary provides essential terminology for understanding Russia's transformation from 1917 to 1953, covering the revolutionary period, Lenin's rule, and Stalin's dictatorship. These terms are organized alphabetically and include political, economic, ideological, and institutional concepts that shaped Soviet history.
A
Appeasement describes the diplomatic strategy employed by Western democracies during the 1930s. Rather than using military force, these nations attempted to negotiate with and accommodate Hitler's territorial demands, particularly regarding the Treaty of Versailles revision.
Arch-conservative refers to those who strongly resist innovation and change, preferring to maintain established traditions and values.
Autocracy represents a system of government where one individual holds unlimited power without legal or institutional constraints on their authority.
The distinction between autocracy and dictatorship is crucial - while both involve concentrated power, autocracy specifically refers to rule without institutional constraints, whereas dictatorship can exist within some institutional frameworks.
B
Blitzkrieg translates as 'lightning war' and describes the rapid military tactics employed by German forces in 1939-40. This approach enabled swift victories in Poland and France through coordinated, fast-moving attacks.
Blockade involves preventing goods and supplies from entering a particular country or region.
Buffer states were the Eastern European satellite nations that Stalin positioned between the Soviet Union and Western Europe to create a defensive barrier along the USSR's western borders.
Stalin's creation of buffer states reflected his deep concern about potential invasion from the West, shaped by the experiences of World War I and the Nazi invasion of 1941.
Bureaucratic centralism describes a governing system where power concentrates at the centre. District officials, party appointees, and the bureaucracy (state administrative officials) control decision-making.
C
Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party emerged from the 1912 Party conference as the leadership body responsible for determining the Bolsheviks' broader policy directions.
Cheka was the secret police organisation established in 1917 to suppress opposition to Bolshevik rule.
Coercion means compelling individuals to act through force, threats, or intimidation.
Cold War describes the hostile relationship between the communist Soviet Union with its satellite states and the liberal-democratic, capitalist Western powers from 1945 to 1990. Despite the term 'war', direct military conflict between the superpowers never occurred.
The Cold War's significance lies in its ideological dimension - it represented not just a geopolitical struggle but a fundamental clash between competing visions of how society should be organized.
Collective farming reorganised agriculture by grouping several individual farms into single units called collectives. The State supervised these farms, which communities worked together.
Collective security formed a central principle of post-war peace arrangements. This League of Nations approach aimed to prevent aggression by replacing military alliances between major powers with shared security measures involving all member nations.
Command economy operates through top-down Marxist economic control. The state directs the 'commanding heights of the economy', imposing socialism on businesses and removing capitalist structures.
Comintern (Communist International) functioned as the international socialist organisation established to promote Marxism and spread 'proletarian revolution' from Russia globally.
Constitution establishes the legal framework governing how a country operates.
Constitutional monarchy represents a democratic system where a monarch serves as head of state within constitutional boundaries, with a representative assembly holding actual governing power.
Consumer goods are products people want for personal use, such as clothing and household furnishings, rather than items for manufacturing industries.
The distinction between consumer goods and capital goods is fundamental to understanding Stalin's economic priorities - his Five Year Plans consistently prioritized heavy industry over consumer goods, leading to severe shortages and hardship for ordinary citizens.
Containment emerged from the 1947 'Truman Doctrine', which stated the need to prevent Soviet Communist influence from spreading.
Cossacks were Ukrainian and Southern Russian peoples renowned for their horsemanship, military capabilities, and loyalty to the Tsar.
D
Dictatorship exists when absolute power concentrates in the hands of one person or a small ruling group.
Divine right holds that a ruling monarch receives their appointment from God and answers only to divine authority for their actions.
F
Faction describes a dissenting group within a larger political party or organisation.
Five Year Plan refers to comprehensive five-year programmes covering all development aspects and transformation goals, including industry, wealth generation, and communication infrastructure to improve supplies of power, capital goods, and agriculture.
Stalin launched the First Five Year Plan in 1928, marking a radical departure from Lenin's New Economic Policy. These plans became the cornerstone of Soviet economic policy, prioritizing rapid industrialization and collectivization regardless of human cost.
Former people identifies the old elite and bourgeois classes (including imperial military and clergy) who lost their social standing following the 1917 revolution.
G
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) measures total wealth by calculating the combined output of all economic sectors over one year.
Gosplan was the State General Planning Commission established in 1921 to coordinate economic development. From 1925 onwards, it drafted economic plans.
Gulag originally stood for 'Main Camp Administration', the agency managing Soviet forced labour camps from 1930. The term 'gulag' subsequently became used to describe the camps themselves.
The Gulag system was not merely a punishment mechanism - it served as an integral component of Stalin's economic system, providing forced labour for major industrial and infrastructure projects in harsh conditions. Millions passed through the camps, and many did not survive.
Guomindang was the right-wing nationalist movement in China under Jiang Jieshi. It engaged in prolonged political conflict with Chinese communists from 1926 until suffering defeat by the communist revolution in 1949.
H
Heavy industries produce materials such as iron, coal, oil, and railways that support other industrial sectors, including armaments manufacture.
I
Inflation occurs when prices increase whilst money's purchasing power declines, meaning more currency circulates than available goods to purchase.
K
Kadets (Constitutional Democratic Party) formed a liberal political grouping advocating moderate reform.
Kolkhoz describes a collective farm created by combining several small individual farms into a cooperative structure.
Kommunalka refers to communal housing blocks where urban families shared hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms, with up to seven other families occupying the same dwelling.
The kommunalka became a defining feature of Soviet urban life, symbolizing both the severe housing shortage and the regime's emphasis on collectivism. These cramped living conditions had profound impacts on privacy, family life, and social relations.
Komosomol (All-Leninist Union Young Communist League) served as the youth division of the Communist Party.
Kronstadt naval base was the Russian Baltic Fleet headquarters.
Kulaks were relatively prosperous Russian peasants who owned farms and employed hired labour.
The definition and fate of kulaks proved crucial to Stalin's collectivization campaign. The regime's policy of 'dekulakization' in the late 1920s and early 1930s led to the persecution, deportation, and execution of millions of peasants, causing devastating famine.
L
La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem, became associated with supporting 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity'.
Leninism represents Lenin's interpretation of Marxism, which incorporated policies like the NEP and prohibited factions, whilst challenging his socialist objectives.
Liberals were political groups supporting moderate reform and constitutional monarchy, including the Constitutional Democrats (Kadets), Octobrists, and Progressives.
M
Market forces involve influences such as demand and availability that determine prices in an economy without government regulation.
Marxism was the term Marx used to describe his theories. Lenin preferred 'Marxism' to distinguish his particular interpretation.
Marxist-Leninism became the term Stalin invented following Lenin's death to describe the USSR's official ideology. It increasingly referred to Stalin's chosen political and economic policies.
The evolution from Marxism to Leninism to Marxist-Leninism reflects how ideology was adapted to serve political purposes. Stalin's version often contradicted both Marx's original theories and Lenin's practical policies.
N
Nationalisation involves transferring businesses from private ownership into state control.
Nepmen were speculative traders who purchased produce from peasants to sell in towns. They also bought consumer items in towns to sell in peasant markets. By 1923, they controlled approximately 75 per cent of retail trade.
NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs) functioned as a law enforcement agency closely linked with the secret police. It operated the Gulag forced labour camps.
Nomenklatura describes Party members appointed to influential positions within government and industry.
Understanding the evolution of the secret police is essential:
- Cheka (1917) - original secret police under Lenin
- OGPU (1926) - replaced the Cheka
- NKVD (1934) - expanded powers under Stalin, particularly during the Great Purge
Each iteration saw increased powers and more extensive operations against perceived enemies of the state.
O
OGPU (Joint State Political Directorate) replaced the Cheka in 1926 as the secret police tasked with suppressing opposition.
Okhrana was the Russian Empire's secret police force.
Old Bolsheviks refers to the Old Party Guard - those who joined the Bolshevik Party before 1917.
The Old Bolsheviks became particular targets during Stalin's Great Purge of the 1930s. Having witnessed the revolution and known Lenin personally, they possessed the credibility to challenge Stalin's claims to ideological legitimacy, making them dangerous to his rule.
Orthodox Church (Eastern Orthodox Church) had Moscow as its spiritual capital. It maintained distinct beliefs and rituals following an eleventh-century split from the broader Christian Church.
P
Pan-Slavism promoted the belief that Slav ethnic groups should unite.
Party democracy allowed dissent and debates within the inner circle of the Bolshevik Party elite, rather than genuine democratic participation.
Patriarch of the Orthodox Church serves as the head of the Russian Orthodox (Christian) Church.
Permanent revolution expressed the concept that continuing revolutionary progress within the USSR depended upon ongoing revolutionary processes in other nations.
Permanent revolution vs. 'Socialism in One Country' represented the key ideological divide between Trotsky and Stalin. Trotsky believed the USSR needed international revolution to survive, while Stalin argued the Soviet Union should focus on building socialism domestically first.
Pogrom describes an organised massacre targeting a particular ethnic group.
Popular front was an anti-fascist movement that gained prominence across Europe during the late 1930s. The Comintern officially adopted this policy in 1935 to counter fascism's and Nazism's rise in Italy and Germany.
Power base represents the secure foundation from which political leaders exercise their control.
Power vacuum exists when no identifiable central power or authority can be identified.
Proletarianism involves transforming the mass population into urban workers.
Purge literally means 'cleansing of impurities'. Initially used to describe forcible Communist Party expulsions, by the late 1930s it came to mean eliminating anyone considered a political enemy.
The Great Purge (1936-1938) represented the height of Stalin's terror, extending far beyond party members to encompass:
- Military officers
- Industrial managers
- Ordinary citizens
- Even NKVD officers themselves
Millions were arrested, executed, or sent to the Gulag on fabricated charges.
R
Reactionary describes those who look backward and oppose change, particularly political and social reform.
Real wages represent what money wages can actually purchase, considering the varying price of goods.
Red Guards were loyal, young and old volunteer soldiers primarily recruited from factory workers who received basic training.
Red International of the Trade Unions (also known as 'Profintern') established its headquarters in Amsterdam. The Comintern created it in 1921 as a communist rival to the Social Democratic International Federation of Trade Unions.
Reformist supports gradual reform rather than revolutionary change.
Repudiation means rejecting a proposal or idea.
S
Sackmen were peasants with sacks of goods to sell.
Satellite states were countries that maintained their national identity but had pro-Soviet governments.
Satellite states emerged in Eastern Europe after World War II, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany. While nominally independent, these nations operated under Soviet dominance, with communist governments installed and maintained through Soviet support.
Sharia refers to divine Islamic law. In Sharia courts, Islamic law judges cases.
Show trial describes propagandist trials held publicly with the intention of influencing popular opinion rather than securing justice for the accused.
Show trials became a hallmark of Stalinist terror, particularly during the Great Purge. These highly publicized proceedings featured:
- Forced confessions obtained through torture
- Predetermined verdicts
- Elaborate staging for propaganda purposes
- Public denunciations of prominent Old Bolsheviks
The most famous were the Moscow Show Trials of 1936-1938.
Social Democrats (All-Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) was established in 1898 based on Karl Marx's theories. Educated intellectuals mainly led the party, which drew primary support from the industrial working class.
Social fascism expressed the view that social democratic parties in Western Europe assisted fascism by compromising with capitalism and preventing progress towards class revolution.
Social Revolutionary Party formed in 1901 from revolutionary groups attempting to organise and improve the peasantry's position since the 1860s. It also tried to attract workers as industrialisation expanded during the 1890s.
'Socialism in One Country' proposed that efforts should concentrate on building the socialist state in the USSR regardless of developments elsewhere in the world.
Socialist supports a political and economic theory of social organisation believing that production, distribution, and exchange means should be controlled by the whole community.
Socialist economy operates without private ownership, with all society members sharing the State's resources.
Socialist man describes someone publicly engaged and committed to the community.
Socialist realism developed as a realistic art style in the Soviet Union, becoming a dominant approach in various other socialist countries.
Soviet means an elected council.
Sovkhoz refers to a state farm, larger than a kolkhoz. Created on land confiscated from former large estates, it was organised for specialised large-scale production.
Understanding the difference between kolkhoz (collective farm) and sovkhoz (state farm) is important:
- Kolkhoz: Theoretically cooperative, with produce shared among members
- Sovkhoz: Directly state-owned, with workers receiving wages like factory workers
In practice, both operated under strict state control with production quotas.
Sovnarkom (Soviet of People's Commissars) was a Bolshevik cabinet established in 1917 to govern the country, led by Lenin.
Speculation in the peasant economy involved buying up grain and hoarding it whilst hoping prices would rise.
Stalinism became the term Stalin's critics used to describe his dictatorial rule that contradicted Marxist philosophy and prioritized the USSR's national interests above world revolution.
State capitalism represents a 'compromise' economy embracing some socialist elements by imposing state control whilst retaining capitalist elements such as private markets.
State Duma was the lower house of parliament in the Russian Empire. It met for the first time in 1906 before dissolution in 1917.
State terror serves as a means to control populations and remove opposition through control and fear.
Stavka functioned as the top-level military command of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
T
Totalitarianism describes a political system demanding absolute citizen obedience to the state, with every citizen subject to central state authority.
Totalitarianism under Stalin extended beyond political control to encompass:
- Economic life (command economy, collectivization)
- Social relationships (communal living, surveillance)
- Cultural expression (socialist realism, censorship)
- Personal thought (ideological conformity, show trials)
This total control distinguished Stalin's USSR from traditional authoritarian regimes.
U
Utopian refers to 'idealised perfection' from Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516), which describes an imaginary island that is almost too perfect to exist.
V
Veshenka (Council of the National Economy) held responsibility for state industry from 1917 to 1932.
W
War communism was the political and economic system adopted by Bolsheviks during the Civil War to maintain towns and Red Army provision with food and weapons.
War communism (1918-1921) represented the Bolsheviks' first attempt at implementing socialist economic principles, featuring:
- Forced grain requisitioning from peasants
- Nationalization of industry
- Prohibition of private trade
- Labour conscription
Its harsh measures and economic failure led to the Kronstadt Rebellion (1921) and prompted Lenin to introduce the more pragmatic New Economic Policy (NEP).
War credits involve raising taxes and loans to finance war.
Whites describes the forces opposing the Bolshevik 'reds', consisting of both right-wing and left-wing political groupings.
Wrecking refers to acts perceived as economic or industrial sabotage, such as failing to meet economic targets, lowering workplace morale, or incompetence.
Accusations of 'wrecking' became a common tool of Stalinist repression. When factories failed to meet unrealistic production targets or machinery broke down, managers and engineers were often arrested as 'wreckers' and accused of deliberate sabotage, even when failures resulted from impossible demands or inadequate resources.
Y
Yezhovshchina describes the period 1936-40 when Nikolai Yezhov led the NKVD and large-scale purges occurred.
Z
Zemstva were elected councils responsible for provincial districts' local administration.
Zhenotdel functioned as the women's section of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Key Points to Remember:
- These terms form the essential vocabulary for understanding Russia's transformation from 1917 to 1953
- Political terms (autocracy, dictatorship, totalitarianism) describe different systems of state control that evolved during this period
- Economic terms (command economy, Five Year Plan, collectivisation) relate to Stalin's transformation of the Soviet economy
- Security apparatus terms (Cheka, OGPU, NKVD, gulag) reflect the evolution of repressive state machinery
- Ideological terms (Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism) show how communist ideology developed and changed under different leaders
- Understanding the chronological progression of institutions and policies is crucial - many terms represent stages in the Soviet system's evolution
- Pay particular attention to dates and transitions between different periods (revolutionary period, Lenin's rule, Stalin's dictatorship)
- Recognize connections between terms - for example, how economic policies (Five Year Plans, collectivization) related to political repression (purges, gulags)