Pogroms

Violent attacks against Jewish communities in Russia, often encouraged or allowed by the government.

Marxism

The ideas of Karl Marx, which argue that society is divided into classes and that workers (proletariat) should overthrow the wealthy (bourgeois) to create a classless society.

Leninism

A form of Marxism developed by Vladimir Lenin that called for a small group of dedicated revolutionaries to lead the working class in a revolution.

Bolsheviks

A radical Marxist group led by Lenin that took control of Russia during the Russian Revolution of 1917.

“Whites”

The groups that opposed the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War, including supporters of the czar, nobles, and foreign nations.

Czar

The title of the Russian emperor before 1917.

Duma

Russia’s national assembly (parliament) created after the Revolution of 1905, but it had limited power under the czar.

Proletariat

The working class; factory workers and laborers.

Bourgeois

The middle and upper classes who owned businesses and property.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

A 1918 treaty between Russia and Germany that ended Russia’s involvement in World War I. Russia lost land as part of the agreement.

Command Economy

An economic system where the government controls production, prices, and distribution of goods.

War Communism

Lenin’s policy during the Russian Civil War where the government took control of industry and seized grain from peasants.

NEP (New Economic Policy)

Lenin’s temporary policy that allowed small private businesses and farming to help rebuild the economy after the Civil War.

Totalitarianism

A system of government where the state has complete control over all aspects of public and private life.

Cheka

Lenin’s secret police force used to arrest and execute enemies of the Bolsheviks.

Soviet

A council of workers, peasants, or soldiers that helped govern after the revolution.

Collectivization

Stalin’s policy of forcing peasants to give up private farms and work on large government-owned farms.

5-Year Plans

Stalin’s programs to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union by setting production goals for industry and agriculture.

Gulag

A system of forced labor camps where prisoners were sent for hard labor.

Red Terror

A campaign of violence and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks against political opponents.

Great Purge

Stalin’s campaign in the 1930s to eliminate anyone he saw as a threat, including party members, military leaders, and ordinary citizens.

Dissent

Disagreement with or opposition to the government.

Censorship

Government control of information, including limiting what people can read, hear, or say.

Nicholas II (Romanov)

The last czar of Russia (ruled 1894–1917).

• Believed in absolute monarchy, meaning he thought he had total power given by God.
• Poor leadership during World War I led to food shortages, military defeats, and economic collapse.
• Allowed Grigori Rasputin to influence his family, which made people lose trust in the monarchy.
• Forced to abdicate (give up the throne) during the March Revolution of 1917.
• Executed with his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918.
• His downfall ended over 300 years of Romanov rule.

Grigori Rasputin

A Siberian mystic who gained influence over the royal family.

• Claimed he could heal Nicholas II’s son, who had hemophilia (a serious bleeding disorder).
• Became a close advisor to the czarina while Nicholas II was away fighting in WWI.
• Many Russians believed he was corrupt and had too much power over the government.
• Murdered in 1916 by nobles who wanted to save the monarchy’s reputation.
• His influence weakened public confidence in the czar.

Vladimir Lenin

• Leader of the Bolshevik Party.
• Promised “Peace, Land, and Bread” to gain support from workers and peasants.
• Led the Bolshevik Revolution (November 1917) that overthrew the provisional government.
• Signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to pull Russia out of WWI.
• Established the world’s first communist government (the Soviet Union in 1922).
• Used the Red Terror and the Cheka to eliminate opposition.
• Introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) to rebuild the economy.
• Died in 1924, leading to a power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin.

Leon Trotsky

A leading Bolshevik and close partner of Lenin.

• Organized and led the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.
• Strong speaker and supporter of spreading communism worldwide.
• Believed in “permanent revolution” (spreading revolution to other countries).
• Lost the power struggle after Lenin’s death to Joseph Stalin.
• Exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929.
• Assassinated in Mexico in 1940 on Stalin’s orders.

Joseph Stalin

• Became leader of the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death.
• Used political skill and manipulation to outmaneuver Trotsky.
• Established a totalitarian state, controlling government, economy, media, and education.
• Started the 5-Year Plans to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union.
• Forced collectivization of farms, which led to famine (especially in Ukraine).
• Ordered the Great Purge, executing or imprisoning millions.
• Used Gulags for forced labor camps.
• Ruled through fear, propaganda, censorship, and secret police.
• Turned the Soviet Union into a major world power but at a huge human cost.