Geography, economy and society
A communist federal state that existed from 1922 to 1991, comprising 15 republics at the time of its dissolution.
What is the USSR?
A term describing the ideological and political division between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the democratic capitalist states of Western Europe.
What is the Iron Curtain?
An economic system based on private ownership, market competition and the pursuit of profit.
What is capitalism?
General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from 1985 to 1991 and President of the USSR from 1990 to 1991.
Who is Mikhail Gorbachev?
The ruling political party that monopolised power in the USSR until Gorbachev's reforms weakened its authority.
What is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union?
Incorporated into the USSR in 1940, they became major centres of nationalist independence movements in the late 1980s and restored independence in 1990–1991.
What are the Baltic States?
US policy announced in 1947 promising support to countries resisting attempted communist domination, initially focused on Greece and Turkey.
What is the Truman Doctrine?
An ideology seeking a classless society based on common ownership of the means of production. In the USSR, it developed into a one-party political system with a largely state-controlled economy.
What is Communism?
Soviet leader from the late 1920s until 1953. Established a highly centralised, authoritarian system characterised by forced industrialisation, collectivisation, purges and political repression.
Who is Joseph Stalin?
The senior decision-making body of the Communist Party, responsible for major political and policy decisions.
What is the Politburo?
A vast geographical region of Russia extending across northern Asia, rich in natural resources and historically associated with remote settlements, exile and forced labour camps.
What is Siberia?
A period of renewed US–Soviet tension from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, marked by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an intensified arms race and deteriorating relations.
What is the Second Cold War?
A political system, or a description of one, in which power is concentrated in a leader or small group, with limited political freedoms and restrictions on opposition.
What is Authoritarianism?
Soviet leader from 1953 to 1964 who introduced de-Stalinisation and promoted peaceful coexistence with the West while maintaining communist rule.
Who is Nikita Khrushchev?
The highest-ranking position in the Soviet Communist Party and the country's most powerful political office.
Who is the General Secretary?
The five Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
What are the Central Asian Republics of the USSR?
Economic or trade restrictions imposed on countries to pressure them to change their policies or behaviour.
What are Sanctions and embargoes?
Individuals who openly criticised or challenged official Soviet policies, often campaigning for human rights, political freedoms or religious liberty.
What are Dissidents?
Soviet leaders who briefly succeeded Brezhnev. They represented continuity with the old Soviet leadership. Their deaths highlighted the ageing leadership.
Who were Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko?
A professional Communist Party official or bureaucrat who worked within the party's administrative structure
What is the Apparatchik?
A Russian term commonly used to describe Soviet veterans of the war in Afghanistan. Many returned disillusioned and critical of Soviet leadership and the war's human cost.
What is Afghantsy?
The improvement or restoration of relations between countries following a period of hostility or tension.
What is Rapprochement?
Reforms introduced by Khrushchev after Stalin's death to condemn aspects of Stalin's rule, reduce political terror and loosen some restrictions.
What is De-Stalinisation?
Polish trade union leader who helped establish Solidarity in 1980. Became a leading figure in opposition to communist rule and was elected President of Poland in 1990.
Who is Lech Wałęsa?
The system of important government and privileged party positions filled through Communist Party approval.
What is the Nomenklatura?