Loading subject…
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.
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.
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.
Mujahideen
Islamic guerrilla fighters who waged armed resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, supported by the United States, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
Nomenklatura
The Soviet system of Party-controlled appointments to all important positions in government, industry, and society. Under Stalin, it became a patronage network that rewarded loyalty over competence, creating a privileged ruling elite.
Nuclear parity
A situation in which two rival powers possess roughly equal nuclear arsenals in terms of quantity and destructive capability, meaning neither side holds a decisive strategic advantage.
Perestroika
Economic reform policy designed to restructure the Soviet economy by introducing market-like changes.
Politburo
Politburo was the highest policy-making body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, responsible for all major political and economic decisions. Its members were the most powerful figures in the USSR.