ÿþ<html> <head> <title> WHKMLA : Historical Dictionaries : Communist Russia </title> <!-- copyright Alexander Ganse, 2005 --> </head> <body bgcolor="lightblue" text="black" link="blue" vlink="red" alink="brown"> <style> <!-- A{ font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; font-face: arial; } --> </style> <DIV align ="center"> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../index.html"> <img src = "../../whkmla2.jpg" border = "0"></a></TD></TR></TABLE> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD width = "150" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> Timeline </b></font></TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/nhb/tlibussr.html"> <img src = "../../region/arrowleft.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD align = "center" valign = "center"> <A HREF = "../../timelines/nhb.html"> <img src = "../banhistdic.jpg" border = "0"> </TD> <TD width = "36" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <img src = "../../region/arrowright.gif" width = "36" height = "36" border = "0"> </a></TD> <TD width = "100" height = "36" align = "center" valign = "center"> <font size = "2" face = "arial"><B> </b></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <font size = "3" face = "arial"><B><i>First posted on June 18th 2005 </i></b></font><BR><BR><BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "center" valign = "center" width = "900"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "5"><B> Historical Dictionaries : Communist Russia </B></font> <BR> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"><i> http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histdic/nhb/hdcomrus.html </i></font> </B></font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "150"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> <A NAME = "bolzheviks"><B>Bolzheviks</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "centcom"><B>Central Committee</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> CIS <BR> Cold War <BR> <A NAME = "collectivization"><B>Collectivization</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> Comecon <BR> <A NAME = "comintern"><B>Comintern</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "cosmonauts"><B>Cosmonauts</B></A> <BR> <A NAME = "deportation"><B>Deportation</B></A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "destalinization"><B>Destalinization</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> Duma <BR> <A NAME = "febrev"><B>February Revolution</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "5yearplans"><B>Five Year Plans</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "gerontocrats"><B>Gerontocrats</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> Glasnost <BR> <A NAME = "gpw"><B>Great Patriotic War</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "gulag"><B>Gulag Archipelago</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "herooflabour"><B>Hero of Labour</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "kgb"><B>KGB</B></A> <BR> <A NAME = "kolkhoz"><B>Kolkhoz</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "kulaks"><B>Kulaks</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "leningrad"><B>Leningrad</B></A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "menzheviks"><B>Menzheviks</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "nep"><B>NEP</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "octrev"><B>October Revolution</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "oldbolzheviks"><B>Old Bolzheviks</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "partypurges"><B>Party Purges</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> Perestroyka <BR> <A NAME = "redarmy"><B>Red Army</B></A> <BR><BR><BR> Revolution of 1905 <BR> <A NAME = "rsfsr"><B>RSFSR</B></A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "russiancivilwar"><B>Russian Civil War</B></A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "showtrials"><B>Show Trials</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "soviet"><B>Soviet</B></A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "sputnik"><B>Sputnik</B></A> <BR> <A NAME = "stakhanovyear"><B>Stakhanov Year</B></A> <BR><BR> <A NAME = "stalingrad"><B>Stalingrad</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "stalinism"><B>Stalinism</B></A> <BR><BR><BR> <A NAME = "ussr"><B>USSR</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> Warsaw Pact <BR> <A NAME = "whites"><B>Whites</B></A> <BR><BR><BR><BR> </font></TD> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "500"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> or Bolsheviks, literally majority faction (of the Russian Social Democratic Labour <BR> Party, est. in 1898), emerged in 1903. In contrast to the more moderate <BR> Menzhevik faction, the Bolzheviks advocated revolution and the imposition of <BR> communism on society. In 1917 they were the minority, the Mensheviks the <BR> majority. The Bolzheviks organized and implemented the October Revolution of <BR> 1917. In 1918 renamed into All-Russian Communist Party. <BR> a body of 20; early in the RSFSR the primary decision making organ. Within the <BR> Central Committee there was no hierarchy, although Lenin was the undisputed <BR> leader. Lenin introduced the office of <i>Secretary General of the Central <BR> Committee</i> which Stalin would turn into the quasi-head of state. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdcolcom.html#cis">Collapse of Communism</A> <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdecw.html">Early Cold War</A>, <A HREF = "hdlcw.html">Late Cold War</A> <BR> the nationalization of industrial production facilities and arable land. To a larger <BR> part this was done simply by confiscation (factories, land owned by nobles, <BR> the church; simple landowning peasants were asked to voluntarily join the <BR> Kolkhoze. At the same time, the industrial base and agricultural production <BR> were reorganized, by creating mostly large-scale production units. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdeintr.html#comecon">European Integration</A> <BR> also called the "Third International", established in 1919, headquarters in <BR> Moscow, an organization in which the Communist parties of the world were <BR> member. In the 1930es contrlled by Stalin; until 1934 the Communist Parties <BR> of Europe refused to cooperate with their Socialist/Social Democratic <BR> counterparts, weakening the political left. Foreign communists in Russia <BR> were as much otential victims of Party Purges and Show Trials as <BR> Russian communists. Dissolved in 1943. <BR> name for Soviet/Russian astronauts; first man in space Yuri Gagarin 1961. <BR> enforced resettlement of large population groups; a policy enforced by <BR> Stalin. In 1941 the Volga Germans were deported to Kazakhstan, in 1944 <BR> the Criman Tatars to Central Asia, etc. etc. <BR> In 1956 Khrushchev blamed Stalin for everything which had gone wrong in <BR> the USSR; Stalin's pictures (in official buildings) were taken down, his <BR> numerous statues toppled, Stalingrad renamed Volgograd. A good number <BR> of prisoners was released, the general political atmosphere became more <BR> liberal, state/party control relaxed. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#duma">Russia</A> <BR> in WW I, Russian initial gains were quickly turned into a series of defeats. <BR> In September 1915 Czar Nicholas, attributing the defeats to the incompetence <BR> of his generals, took personal command; the series of defeats continued. <BR> In March 1917 the Duma took over control of the government; as Russia at <BR> that time still used the Julian Calendar, the event is recorded as the <BR> February Revolution. <BR> Stalin was aware of the fact that Russia had suffered defeat in World War I <BR> because it lacked heavy artllery, tanks and other military equipment the <BR> Germans had had. The USSR, in the 1920es under NEP remained a pre- <BR> dominantly agricultural society, thus lacking the industries to prepare <BR> herself for the next war. In 1929, Stalin terminated NEP and launched an <BR> ambitious policy aiming at completion of collectivization (=> Kulaks) and at <BR> fast industrialization; the aims were formulated in 5-Year-Plans. The policy <BR> wasw very successful; the policy of planned industrialization was later <BR> implemented even by non-communist states such as South Korea. When <BR> the USSR was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1941, the USSR had an arms <BR> industry, which enabled the Red Army to stop and ultimately defeat the <BR> invader. <BR> In 1964 Brezhnev became Secretary General, and with him a generation of <BR> politicians entered the Central Committee; they aged as a group. When <BR> Brezhnev died in 1982, the majority in the Central Committee was formed by <BR> Septuagenarians and Octogenarians, some of whom succeeded to the <BR> position of Secretary General, only to die soon afterward. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdcolcom.html#glasnost">Collapse of Communism</A> <BR> term used in Russia to describe WW II, i.e. the war from 1941 to 1945. Stalin <BR> had trusted in Germany sticking to the Non-Aggression Pact of 1941; <BR> German forces invaded in June 1941, quickly penetrating far into Russia. The <BR> turning point was the Battle of Stalingrad Nov.1942-Feb.1943; Soviet forces <BR> took Berlin in April 1945. The USSR joined the war againt Japan a week before <BR> the war ended. <BR> a term referring to the system of labour camps in Siberia, where criminals, <BR> political prisoners and individuals the Soviet apparatus mistrusted were <BR> kept. The term became world famous with the publication of Alexander <BR> Solzhenitsyn's novel (1973) by that title. <BR> an honour created in Soviet Russia to motivate workers. The most famous <BR> Soviet hero of labour was coal miner Alexei Stakhanov, who in one year <BR> produced 14 times his allocated quota. The following year was propagated <BR> as the Year of Stakhanov; he was sent on a tour through the USSR, holding <BR> speeches which were intended to instill workers with socialist spirit. <BR> Soviet secret service 1954-1991 <BR> collective agricultural production unit, cultivated a large area; used farming <BR> machinery, offered social services (kindergarten, school, library, perhaps <BR> hospital) to its members. The Sovkhoz was an alternative collective agri- <BR> cultural production unit. <BR> a term describing landowning peasants rejecting the offer to give up their <BR> property rights and join the collective. In 1929 Stalin had the Kulaks declared <BR> state enemy number one, and had their lands confiscated and the Kulaks <BR> ostracized, resulting in millions starving to death. <BR> On the occasion of the death of Lenin in 1924, Petrograd (until 1914 St. <BR> Petersburg) was renamed Leningrad; in 1991 the city again was renamed <BR> St. Petersburg. <BR> or Mensheviks, literally minority faction (of the Russian Social Democratic Labour <BR> Party, est. in 1898), emerged in 1903. In contrast to the more radical <BR> Bolzhevik faction advocated democratic reform. The Mensheviks were influen- <BR> tial in the Duma following the February Revolution, lost all political influence <BR> folowing the October Revolution. <BR> New Economic Policy. During the Russian Civil War, the coupon economy had <BR> been continued; banks and money had been abolished. The peasant farmers <BR> were paid with coupons (which were of little value); they produced little beyond <BR> their own needs, causing a massive famine. Lenin, in order to secure the <BR> basic needs of the Soviet population being answered, reintroduced money <BR> and made other concessions; as a result the suply situation normalized. <BR> second stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917; Bolzhevik takeover of the ad- <BR> ministration of St. Petersburg, Moscow and other major cities. Begin of the <BR> Russian Civil War. Happened in November 1917; as Russia still used the Julian <BR> Calendar, known as October Revolution. <BR> leading politicians in the Communist Party in the 1920es, veterans of the <BR> October Revolution, which Stalin perceived as potential competitors. Most of <BR> them were accused of treason in Show Trials, where they confessed to <BR> trumped-up charges, sentenced and exiled or executed. <BR> the elimination of perceived supporters of perceived competitors of Stalin or <BR> of anybody the loyalty of whom in Stalin was in doubt, from the Communist <BR> Party. Such Party Purges were regularly conducted, as long as Stalin was <BR> in power. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdcolcom.html#perestroyka">Collapse of Communism</A> <BR> name of the Russian/Soviet army, established in 1918, in 1946 renamed Soviet <BR> Army; with the dissolution of the USSR, Russia took over most of the army and <BR> her facilities. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdrussia.html#rjwar">Russia</A> <BR> Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, established in 1917; joined USSR <BR> in 1922. In 1991 renamede Russian Republic. <BR> Fought 1917-1920, between the Reds (Bolzheviks) and the Whites; ended in a <BR> Communist victory. <BR> staged trials in which politicians Stalin regarded as potential rivals were accused <BR> of trumped-up charges (treason), in orchestrated trials they were condemned, <BR> sentenced and, in many cases, executed. Mainly in 1936-1938. See under <BR> Old Bolzheviks. <BR> a Communist instance of local administration in the time of revolution, a Council <BR> of Workers and Soldiers - challenging the municipal administration. <BR> name of the first satellite, launched by the USSR in 1957. <BR> 1936; a year in which Alexej Stakhanov was presented as a model Socialist <BR> worker, a hero of labour <BR> city on the lower Volga, founded in 1589 as Tsaritsyn; renamed Stalingrad in <BR> 1925. The heart of Russia's railroad network; the target of a German offensive <BR> in 1942, when the Germans managed to occupy 90 % of the city, but the <BR> Soviet defense held out; turning point of World War II. The city was utterly <BR> destroyed during the struggle. In 1956 renamed Volgograd. <BR> Communism centered on a dictator-like figure; a powerful state apparatus <BR> supervising every individual; individuals, families, population groups subject <BR> to punishment when they arouse suspicion. <BR> Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, est. 1922 (founding members RSFSR, <BR> Ukraine, Belarus, Transcaucasia); later, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, <BR> Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan (1925), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia <BR> (1936), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (1940), Moldova were admitted. Federal in <BR> name; controlled by Central Committee. Disintegrated end of 1991. <BR> see under <A HREF = "hdecw.html#warsawpact">Early Cold War</A> <BR> conservative forces in Russia's Civil War, generally in favour of the monarchy; <BR> suportd by foreign interventionist forces. The various units lacked coopera- <BR> tion and were ultimately defeated. Many whites fled Russia; exile communi- <BR> ties thrived in Shanghai and Paris. <BR> </font></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> <TABLE border = "0" cellspace="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <TR> <TD align = "left" valign = "center" width = "700"> <font face = "Times Roman" size = "2"> PRINTED REFERENCE : <BR> Jan Zaprudnik, <A HREF = "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0810834499/103-1018733-4659013"><B> Historical Dictionary of Belarus</B></A>, Methuen : Scarecrow 1998, KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 947.8 Z35h</B> <BR> B. Raymond, P. Duffy, <A HREF = "http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0810833573/002-0439082-0190469"><B>Historical Dictionary of Russia</B></A>, Methuan : Scarecrow 1998, KMLA Lib.Sign. <B>R 947.8 R268h</B> <BR> </font></TD></TR></TABLE> <BR><BR> </DIV> </DIV> <DIV align="center"> <A href="mailto:aganse@hotmail.com"> <IMG src="../../email.gif" border="0"></a><BR> <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR> <!-- Start of CH Counter --> <script type="text/javascript"> //<!-- // chCounter v2.0.0 // settings: cstatus = "active"; visible = "0"; path_to_counterfile = "http://www.zum.de/whkmla/counter/counter.php"; urlhp = "http://www.zum.de"; //////////////// url = unescape(location.href); file = url.substring(url.lastIndexOf(urlhp) + urlhp.length, url.length); file = (file.charAt(0) != "/") ? 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