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Armistice
A formal agreement between warring parties to stop fighting, often to create a temporary truce while a peace treaty is negotiated.
Artillery
large-calibre guns used in warfare on land
Bolsheviks
Radical Marxist faction led by Lenin that split from the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903, advocating a small, disciplined party of professional revolutionaries to seize power on behalf of the working class.
Plebiscite
A direct vote by the entire electorate on a specific political question, often used to legitimise a ruler's authority. Napoleon III used plebiscites in 1851 and 1852 to confirm his coup and the establishment of the Second Empire.
Example
In December 1851, Napoleon III's plebiscite received over 7 million 'yes' votes against fewer than 650,000 'no' votes, lending a democratic veneer to his authoritarian seizure of power.
Plebiscite
A direct vote by the entire electorate on a specific political question, used by Napoleon III to claim democratic legitimacy for authoritarian decisions.
Provisional Government
Temporary government formed after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917, intended to govern Russia until a democratically elected Constituent Assembly could be convened.
Suffrage
the right to vote in political elections.