Key Concepts of Soviet History

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Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918)

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Ended Bolshevik Russia's participation in World War I.

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Cheka

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The secret police under Lenin and his Communist Party.

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War Communism

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Policy by the Bolsheviks during the Civil War; involved nationalization of industries, forced labor, and seizure of surplus food.

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New Economic Policy (NEP)

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Lenin's idea to improve Russia's economy; government controlled major industries but allowed small businesses to be privately owned.

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USSR

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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, created by Lenin in 1922; a multinational state.

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Joseph Stalin

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Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet leader from 1928 to 1953; known for Five-Year Plans and the Great Purge.

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Comintern

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Communist international organization that spread propaganda against Capitalism.

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Five Year Plan

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Replaced NEP; focused on heavy industry to make the USSR a modern industrial power.

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Command Economy

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Economic system where the government controls the country's economy; opposite of Capitalism.

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Great Purge

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1934-1938 campaign of terror to eliminate threats to Stalin's power.