AP World History Chapter 21

Russian Revolution (1917)
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Terms in this set (17)
Russian Revolution (1917)
A revolution in Russia (1917-1918) known as the October Revolution in which the people of Russia overthrew the czar and brought the Bolsheviks to power
Bolsheviks/Lenin
Leader of the Bolshevik party: a Russian Social Democratic Party renamed the Communist Party after seizing power in the October Revolution of 1917
Guomindang
Nationalist party founded in China under Sun Yat-sen in 1912, and led by Chiang Kai-shek from 1925
Mao Zedong
Cofounder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1912 and its effective leader from the time of the Long March (1934-35). He eventually defeated both the occupying Japanese and rival Kuomintang nationalist forces to create the People's Republic of China in 1949
Chinese Revolution
Long revolutionary process in the period 1912-1949 that began with the overthrow of the Chinese imperial system and ended with the triumph of the Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong
Stalin
Name assumed by Joseph Vissarionovich Jugashvili (1878-1953), leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death; "Stalin" means "made of steel."
Building socialism
Euphemistic expression for the often-forcible transformation of society when a communist regime came to power in a state
Zhenotdel
Women's Department of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union from 1919 to 1930; worked strongly to promote equality for women
Collectivization
Process of rural reform undertaken by the communist leadership of both the USSR and China in which private property rights were abolished and peasants were forced onto larger and more industrialized farms to work and share the proceeds as a community rather than as individuals
Cultural Revolution
A massive campaign launched by Mao Zedong in the mid-1960s to combat the capitalist tendencies that he believed reached into even the highest ranks of the Communist Party; the campaign threw China into chaos
Great Purges/TerrorA massive attempt to cleanse the Soviet Union of supposed "enemies of the people"; nearly a million people were executed between 1936 and 1941, and 4 million or 5 million more were sentenced to forced labor in the gulagAnna DubovaA Russian Peasant girl and urban woman: Born in 1916, we see the journey of communism as the communists take over a year after she was born, family's possessions were taken due to Kulak label, ran away to get a job and marry. Her life illustrated challenges that ordinary people faces as they sought to navigate the communist systemCuban Revolution/Missile crisisMajor standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba; the confrontation ended in compromise, with the USSR removing its missiles in exchange for the United States agreeing not to invade Cuba (US-USSR Treaty)Nikita KhrushchevLeader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964: Soviet dictator, rose to power after Stalin's death in 1953, secretly sent nuclear missiles to Cuba, speech on Stalin's crimes, Stalin was then seen as a criminal. Was successful in changing everyone's perspectives on one of the most influential leaders of all time)Deng XiaopingLeader of China from 1976 to 1997 whose reforms essentially dismantled the communist elements of the Chinese economy: became leader of China in 1976 after Mao's death, known as paramount leader committed to ending periodic upheavals of Maoist era while fostering political stability and economic growth. Like Nikita, he followed in a great ruler's footsteps and had to fix things within the country in order to perfect itPerestroika/glasnostPerestroika: launched in 1987 by Gorbachev, economic program freed state enterprises from government regulations, more opportunity for small scale businesses, searched for allies after heavy resistance. Glasnost: policy of permitting a wider range of cultural and intellectual freedom in Soviet life, largely a failureMikhail GorbachevLeader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 whose efforts to reform the USSR led to its collapse: He was the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, committed to tackling the countries many problems, launched perestroika. Ended occupation of central Europe, mended relations with China, reduced military expenditures