Glossary of Terms and Places

Academician (of the Soviet Academy of Sciences) - a honorific title given to full
members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

Achinsk a city in Siberia, located 184 km west from Krasnoyarsk on the right
bank of the Chulym River near the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Alien elements people, who were blamed for anti-Soviet activity during the
Stalin era.

Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Military Organisation (Military-Fascist Conspiracy)

also Tukhachevsky case. Fabricated secret trial on the fabricated case against
top military commanders held in 1937 as a part of Great Purge.

Anti-Soviet United TrotskyistZinovievite Centre Show Trial held in August

1936 against Kamenev and Zinoviev.

Armenian (s) - an ethnic group, one of the titular nations in Armenia.

Azerbaijan country of eastern Transcaucasia. It is located at the to the south

from the Caucasus Mountains on the West Coast of the Caspian Sea. It is
bounded on the north by Russia, on the south by Iran, on the west by Armenia,
and on the northwest by Georgia. The capital of Azerbaijan is Baku.

Chechen (pl. Chechens) - a Caucasian ethnic group, inhabitants of the North

Caucasus region, mostly live in Chechnya Republic.

Ingush (es) - a Caucasian n ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting
the Russian republic of Ingushetia.

Baku the capital of Azerbaijan and the largest port on Caspian Sea.

Balkar (s) a Turkic ethnic group of the Caucasus region, one of the titular
populations of Kabardino-Balkaria.

Baltic states (also known as the Baltic countries) three countries in northern
Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Batumi the second largest city of Georgia after Tbilisi, located on the coast of
the Black Sea.
Belorussia (former, currently Belarus or Republic of Belarus) - a sovereign state
in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia in the northeast, Ukraine in the south,
Poland in the west, and Lithuania and Latvia in the northwest.

Bessarabia a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river

on the east and the Prut river on the west. Nowadays, the biggest part of
Bessarabia is in

Bolshevik (pl. Bosheviks) (literally one of the majority) were a faction of the
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split apart from the
Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Bolshevik faction was
led by V. Lenin.

Briansk a city located in the European part of Russia.

Brest-Litovsk (modern Brest) - a city in Belarus located on the border

with Poland. Known for some important historical events, such as Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk.

Bukovina a historical region in Central Europe, divided between Romania and

Ukraine, located on the northern part of the central Eastern Carpathians and the
adjoining plains.

Caucasus - a region which occupies the territory of Caucasus mountains

located at the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, situated between the
Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Cheka (Russian: chrezvychaynaya komissiya, lit: Emergency Committee). It

was created on December 20, 1917, after a decree issued by Vladimir Lenin, and
was subsequently led by Felix Dzerzhinsky. Cheka had functions of secret
police, including Red Terror, suppression of political opposition and executions.

Chuvash, Mordov, Udmurt republics federal subjects of Russia, during the

Soviet time they were called Chuvash, Mordov, Udmurt Autonomous Oblast and
later Chuvash, Mordov, Udmurt ASSR respectively.

Commissars in the army - is the supervisory political officer responsible for the
political education (ideology) and organization, and committed to the civilian
control of the military.

Counter-Revolutionary Organisation in the NKVD - the series of trials against

the NKVD officers held in 1938-1940.
CPSU - Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Was renamed from All-Union
Communist Party in 1952 and existed until 1991.

Crimea - a major peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea in Eastern
Europe that is almost surrounded by both the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of
Azov to the northeast.

Crimean Tatar (s) - a Turkic ethnic group, one of the nation lived in the Crimean
Peninsula during the 13th17th centuries. In 1944, they were deported from
Crimea blamed for collaboration with Nazis.

Dacha - a seasonal home, which is used to spend weekends or holidays often

located in the suburbs of Russian cities.

Dekulackisation (also Dekulakization) - the Soviet campaign of political

repressions and executions of millions of the better-off peasants and their families
in 19291932. The Soviet authorities labeled the wealthier peasants 'kulaks" and
judged them as class enemies.

Donbas - historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Donbas was a
part of Soviet Union until 1991.

Duma elected legislative body that, along with the State Council, constituted the
imperial Russian legislature from 1906 until its dissolution after the Revolution 1917.
The Duma constituted the lower house of the Russian parliament, and the State
Council was the upper house.

Estonia - the country in the North-Eastern Europe, one of the Baltic states, former
union republic of USSR annexed in 1940.

Finland sovereign state in Northern Europe. It occupies territory of the

peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the
west, the country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the
north, and Russia to the east.

Georgia country of Transcaucasia which is located on the east coast of the

Black Sea and to the south from Caucasus Mountains. It is bounded on the north
and northeast by Russia, on the east and southeast by Azerbaijan, on the south by
Armenia and Turkey. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi (former Tiflis).

Glasnost the term was used by Mikhail Gorbachev who promoted more open
and liberal government and media.
Gori a city in eastern Georgia, was founded in XII century by tsar David IV the
Builder. Known as the birthplace of Joseph Stalin.

GULAG - an acronym of Glavnoye Upravleniye LAGerej, "Main Camps'

Administration" or "Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps" was the
government agency that administered and controlled the Soviet forced-labor
camp system during Joseph Stalin's rule from the 1930s up until the 1950s.

Gzhatsk (until 1968, currently Gagarin) - a town in Smolensk Oblast located in

the European part of Russia.

In Russia itself core territories of the Russian state in the European part of the
Empire, inhabited mostly by ethnic Russian.

Industrial Party show trial against the number of Soviet economists and
engineers accused for being wreckers held in 1930.

Ingushetia - a federal subject of Russia, during the Soviet Union Ingushetia and
Chechnya was unified into Chechen-Ingush ASSR.

Kalmyk (s) the ethic group lived in Russia from XVII century. Nowadays the
majority of kalmyks lives in the Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of
the Caspian Sea.

Karachavan (s) an ethnic group lives in the North Caucasus, mostly in the
Russian KarachayCherkess Republic.

Katyn - the area in Poland. Known for the series of massacres of Polish military
officers and soldiers carried out by the NKVD in April and May 1940.

Kazakhstan the sovereign state in the Central Asia, until 1991 was a part of
USSR. The capital is Astana.

Kerch - a town located on the Kerch Peninsula located on the east to Crimea.

KGB - the main security agency for the Soviet Union renamed from MVD inn
1954.

Kossak (pl. Kossaks) - represantative of Kossaks social or even ethnic group

of people lived primarily in Ukraine and on the south border of Russia. The main
profession of Kossaks were military service and border protection.

Krasnoyarsk - the city in Siberia located on the Yenisei river.

Kronstadt town located on Kotlin Island located 80 km to the West from St.
Petersburg. It was founded in 1704 by Peter the Great.

Kuban a geographic region of Southern Russia located on the Kuban river,

between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and the Caucasus, and separated from
the Crimea to the west by the Kerch Strait.

Kulak (pl. kulaks) wealthy or prosperous peasant, generally characterized as

one who owned a relatively large farm and several head of cattle and horses and
who was financially capable of employing hired labour and leasing land. They
often lent money, provided mortgages, and played central roles in the villages
social and administrative affairs.

Kursk a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located in
the European part of Russia.

Latvia - the country in the north-eastern Europe, one of the Baltic states. The
capital is Riga.

Leftist deviation - faction within the Bolshevik Party existed from 1923 to 1927,
headed by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power
struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet founder Vladimir
Lenin's illness and intensified with his death in January 1924.

Lend-Lease - a program under which the United States supplied France, the
United Kingdom, the Republic of China, and the Soviet Union with food, oil,
weaponry and other goods during the World War II.

Leningrad: see St. Petersburg.

Liberation of Ukranian and Bielorussians the propaganda term means the

annexation by Soviet troops Polish territories of Western Ukraine and Belarus in
1939.

Lithuania - the country in the North-Eastern Europe, one of the so called Baltic
states. The capital is Vilnus.

Lvov the largest city in western Ukraine centre of the historical region of
Galicia. Founded in 1240-1247.
Mingrel (pl. Mingrels) (also Mingrelians) ethnic subgroup which mostly live
in Samegrelo region of Georgia.

Memorial - the international historical, educational, charitable and human rights

society established in 1987. One of the main goals of the society is to promote
the revelation of the truth about the historical past and perpetuate the memory of
the victims of political repression exercised by totalitarian regimes.

Menshevik (pl. Mensheviks) (lit.: the part of the minority) was the faction of
the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split apart from the
Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Menshevik faction was
led by Y. Martov.

Narod (lit. People) narodniks used khozhdenie v narod (lit.:going to the

people) as a tool for political education of peasantry to engage them to
revolutionary struggle.

Narodnik representative of socialist movement in Russia who believed that

political propaganda among the peasantry- khozhdenie v narod (going to the
people)- would lead to the awakening of the masses and, through their education,
to the liberalization of the tsarist regime.

Native Siberian - representatives of the peoples who inhabited Siberia before

the Russians conquered Siberia and began settling there. They mostly inhabit in
the northern parts of Siberia.

NKVD - People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the leading Soviet secret
police organization from 1934 to 1946. It is known for its role in political
repression and carrying out the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin.

Nizhniy Novgorod city in Vologo-Vyatka region of Russia. Located 400 km

east from Moscow, at the confluence of Oka and Volga rivers. was founded by
Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in 1221. In 1932 the city was renamed as Gorky in
honour of soviet writer Maxim Gorky. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
the city was renamed back to Nizhny Novgorod.

Nomenklatura - the system whereby influential posts in government and industry

were filled by Party members.

OGPU (Russian: ), Joint State Political Directorate was the secret police
of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1934.
The old guard members of Bolshevik Party who joined it before the
Revolution of 1917.

Oryol - a city located in the European part of Russia. Oryol was under Nazis
occupation from October 3, 1941 to August 5, 1943.

Parallel AntiSoviet Trotskyist Centre - the second show trial against anti-
communist and terrorist centre organized by Trotsky held in January 1937. 13
out of 17 defendants were sentenced to death and shot.

Perestroika - a political movement for liberalization in the Communist Party of

the Soviet Union during the 1980s until 1991 started by Mikhail Gorbachev from
glasnost policy reform.

Petrograd: see St. Petersburg.

Podkulachnik - a political label used in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s
to mark people considered traitors to the Soviet Government.

Pogrom mass attack against Jews and their property usually approved by
authorities in Russian Empire in the late XIXth and early XXth centuries.

Red Guards - transitional military force which was created during the Russian
Civil War in order to support new Soviet authorities.
Rightist deviation - political ideology within the Bolshevik party. It was the part
of power struggle among the leadership started after the Lenins death. The Right
Opposition was led by Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Mikhail Tomsky in the
late 1920s.

The Rightist - Trotskyist Bloc the last show trial during the Great Purge held
in March 1938. On the process 21 Old Bosheviks were blamed for espionage
and treason, 18 were sentenced to death. Among them were Nikolai Bukharin,
Alexei Rykov, Genrikh Yagoda.

The Romanov Dynasty dynasty of Russian Monarchs, ruled in Russia from

1613 to 1917.

RSDLP the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, a

revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the
various revolutionary organizations of the Russian Empire into one party. The
RSDLP later split into Bolshevik and Menshevik factions.
Russian Orthodox Church large autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. The
number of members is approximately 85 million.

Rzhev - a town in Russia located in Tver Region. Well known by Battle of Rzhev
during the World War II between January 8, 1942 and March 31, 1943 due to
horrific losses suffered by the Red Army.

Samarkand city in Uzbekistan, one of the most ancient cities in the world.

Serfs, serfdom form of feudal exploitation of unfree peasants (serfs) who belong
to nobility legally existed in Russia from 1649 to 1861.

Sestroretsk - town 34 km northwest from St. Petersburg. It was founded by Peter

the Great in 1714 due to the construction of a munitions factory.

Sevastopol is a city located in the southwestern region of the Crimean Peninsula

on the Black Sea.

Shakhty is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia. In 1928, the city was the location of
the Shakhty Trial, a precursor of the show trials of the 1930s.

Shock workers (Shock worker of Communist Labour) was an official title of

honor awarded in the Soviet Union to those who displayed exemplary
performance in labour discipline.

Sochi - a city in Russia, located on the Black Sea coast near the border between
Georgia/Abkhazia and Russia.

Soviet (pl. Soviets) workers council existed in Russia from 1905 to 1917,
acted as labour committees which coordinated strike activities throughout the
cities due to repression of trade union.

Soviet Jewish Antifascist Committee public organization established after

German invasion into Soviet Union in order to unite Jews from all over the world
to fight against Nazis. The head of the committee was Solomon Michoels. On
April 7, 1942, the Committee published its first appeal to "Jews throughout the
world," signed by 47 people. After the war the members of the committee started
to be prosecuted. In 1948, Michoels was killed in Moscow, on August 12, 1952,
sometimes called Night of Dead Poets, 13 leading members JAC were
sentenced to death and shot.
Stakhanovites - extremely productive or hard-working workers, especially in the
former USSR, who may earn special rewards. Derived from the name of Aleksei
Stakhanov.

Stalingrad: See Volgograd.

St. Petersburg (Petrograd, Leningrad, St. Petersburg) city on the North-West of

Russia. The largest city in Russian Federation after Moscow. Was established by
Peter the Great in 1703. From 1712 to 1918 it was the capital of Russian Empire.
The city was renamed several times: Petrograd (1914 1924), Leningrad (1924-
1991). St. Petersburg is major cultural and historical centre.

Stalins son see Yakov Dzhugashvili in the List of Names

Tallin the capital of Estonia. The city was founded in XII century. Until 1918 it
was called Revel.

Transcaucasia region to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. It includes three

independent states: Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Troika, "a set of three" - a commission of three for express judgment in the
Soviet Union during the Stalins rule.

Tsaritsyn: see Volgograd.

Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia,
located 193 kilometers (120 mi) south of Moscow.

Turukhansk region administrative and municipal district in Krasnoyarsk Krai

in Russia.

Ukraine - the sovereign state in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the east,
northeast, and south, Belarus to the northwest, Poland and Slovakia to the west,
Hungary, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of
Azov to the south and southeast, respectively.

Viazma - a town in Smolensk Oblast located in the European part of Russia.

Village communes (Obshchina) (the origin of the term came from the word
common obshchiy) community of peasants, united to maintain the common
household, pay taxes, take responsibility for each other. The institution existed
in Russia from the Middle Edges until it was destroyed by Stolypin reform 1906-
1914.
Volgograd (Tsaritsyn, Stalingrad) - an important industrial city located on the
western bank of Volga river. It was founded in 1589 by tsar Feodor Ioannovich.
The city was renamed Stalingrad in 1925 and in 1961 it was renamed Volgograd
by Nikita Khrushchev. It is well known by the Battle of Stalingrad, which was a
major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the
Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia.

Warsaw Pact Organisation - the group of counties who signed the Warsaw Pact
and exist under the Soviet Union influence. It was established in 1955 to provide
mutual support in opposition to NATO during the Cold War.

We removed Stalin from the Mausoleum in 1961, after the XXII party
conference it was decided to replace the Stalins corpse from Mausoleum. At
night on October 31, 1961 the corpse was carried away and buried.

White Guards - military forces which fought against the Bolsheviks, known as
the Red Guard, in the Russian Civil War 19171922.

Wreckers - people who support the Counter -Revolution by destroying the Soviet
property and public policy in order to help enemies from abroad to prepare an
intervention.

Yalta - a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by
the Black Sea. Yalta is well-known for the number of great historical events
especially for Yalta Conference held from 4 to 11 January 1945.

Zemstvo (pl. zemstvos) local elected legislative bodies in 1864 by Alexander

II and existed until 1919. Deputies managed the questions of public education,
healthcare, post, building new roads and so on.