Bolshevik: Literally “one of the majority”. The Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party split in 1903 in a dispute over tactics. The majority (the Bolsheviks) were the more radical than the minority (the Mensheviks).
Marxism-Leninism: Lenin’s contributions to Marxist thought. For example, Lenin proposed that a revolutionary underground party could seize power in Russia and use their control of the apparatus of state to build socialism. Marx believed that communism would emerge in the process of the development of capitalism.
New Economic Policy (NEP): A radical change in regime policy initiated at the 10th Party Congress in March 1921. The preceding policy known as “War Communism” had failed, and it was deemed necessary to reintroduce some elements of capitalism.
Secretariat: A department of the Central Committee with responsibility for appointing the Party members to the most important (or “nomenklatura”) posts, such as the heads of the Commissariats (ministries) and regional Party Committees.
Circular Flow of Power: A description of the relationship between Stalin and senior Party officials presented by Robert Daniels in the 1950s and 1960s. Daniel thought that senior Party officials owed their places to Stalin personally, and voted for him at major Party meetings, in exchange for which Stalin ensured that they kept their jobs.
Party Rank and File: Party members not in “nomenklatura” posts. They made up the overwhelming majority of the membership of the Communist Party
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