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38th Parallel
Line dividing North and South Korea after 1945, becoming the frontline of political tension.
Armistice
A formal agreement between warring parties to stop fighting, often to create a temporary truce while a peace treaty is negotiated.
Brezhnev Doctrine
The Brezhnev Doctrine was the Soviet policy (articulated after the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia) asserting Moscow's right to intervene militarily in any socialist state where socialism was deemed under threat. It effectively limited the sovereignty of all Warsaw Pact members until renounced by Gorbachev in 1988.
Brezhnev Doctrine
Soviet foreign policy doctrine (from 1968) asserting the right to intervene militarily in any socialist state where socialism was threatened. Used to justify the invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) and later Afghanistan (1979).
Brinkmanship
A foreign policy strategy in which the United States and the Soviet Union would escalate dangerous disputes to the edge of all-out war in order to force the other side to back down
Collective Leadership
A form of governance in which power is shared among several leaders rather than concentrated in one individual. In the USSR, collective leadership was formally adopted after the removal of Khrushchev in 1964, with Brezhnev, Kosygin, and Podgorny sharing authority.
Collectivisation
The policy of consolidating individual landholdings and labour into collective farms, implemented most notably by Stalin in the Soviet Union from 1929, often through coercion and force.
Cominform
The Communist Information Bureau, established in September 1947 to coordinate communist parties across Europe and enforce ideological loyalty to Moscow. It was used by Stalin to punish deviation, most notably expelling Yugoslavia in 1948.
Cominform
The Communist Information Bureau, established in 1947 by the Soviet Union to coordinate and control communist parties across Europe. It enforced ideological conformity and was used to expel Yugoslavia in 1948 after Tito's break with Stalin.
Communism
Political system where the state controls the economy and promotes equality.
Congress of People's Deputies
A new Soviet legislative body created in 1989 as part of Gorbachev's demokratizatsiya reforms. It featured partially competitive elections and became a platform for reformers and nationalists to challenge Communist Party authority publicly for the first time.
Containment
US policy aiming to stop the spread of communism.
Containment
The strategy of stopping communist expansion through alliances, aid, and limited military action.
Coup
a sudden seizure of power by a small group, often from within the government.
Cult of Personality
The use of mass media, propaganda, and state-controlled information to create an idealized and heroic public image of a leader, demanding unquestioning devotion. Stalin's cult portrayed him as an infallible genius and the father of the Soviet nation.
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) was a campaign launched by Mao Zedong to enforce communist ideology by removing perceived counter-revolutionaries and challenging traditional authority in China.
It caused widespread social upheaval, with students and youth groups (Red Guards) attacking intellectuals, destroying cultural heritage, and disrupting education and industry.
Demokratizatsiya
Gorbachev's policy of limited political reform (from 1988), introducing competitive elections and reducing the Communist Party's monopoly on power. It led to the creation of the Congress of People's Deputies in 1989 and the repeal of Article 6 in 1990.
Détente
Détente was a period during the Cold War in the 1970s when the USA and USSR sought to reduce tensions and improve relations through diplomacy, arms control, and trade agreements.
It included initiatives such as the SALT treaties, increased cultural exchanges, and efforts to avoid direct military confrontation between the superpowers.
Domino Theory
US belief that the fall of one country to communism would trigger others to follow.
Flexible Response
The Flexible Response policy, introduced by President John F. Kennedy, aimed to give the United States a range of military options, from conventional forces to nuclear weapons, to respond to communist threats.
It was designed to avoid automatic nuclear escalation, allowing the US to tailor its response to the severity of a conflict while maintaining deterrence.
Gang of Four
Radical political faction that dominated cultural and propaganda work during the Cultural Revolution.
Gerontocracy
A system of government in which the rulers are significantly older than the general population. In the Soviet context, it refers to the ageing Politburo leadership of the late Brezhnev era, when the average age of senior officials exceeded 70.
Glasnost
Policy of openness that encouraged free discussion and criticism of government actions.
Great Leap Forward
Campaign aimed at rapid modernization that instead caused severe famine and economic failure.