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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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by Gorbachev and Reagan in December 1987. It eliminated all ground-launched nuclear missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres from Europe, the first treaty to abolish an entire class of nuclear weapons.
Legitimacy
Legitimacy is public acceptance of authority
Marxism-Leninism
Communist ideology emphasizing class struggle and revolution; Mao later adapted it to focus on peasants rather than industrial workers.
Novoe Myshlenie (New Thinking)
Gorbachev's foreign policy philosophy rejecting the idea that security came from military strength alone. It prioritised diplomacy, arms reduction, and cooperation with the West over ideological confrontation.
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.
Referendum
A public vote on a specific political question, such as independence or policy change.
Sinatra Doctrine
The informal name for Gorbachev's policy of allowing Eastern European states to determine their own political direction without Soviet military intervention. It replaced the Brezhnev Doctrine and was named after Frank Sinatra's song "My Way".
Solidarity
An independent trade union founded in Poland in 1980 under Lech Walesa. It was the first free trade union in a Soviet-bloc country and became a mass social movement that challenged communist rule.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the supreme authority within a state, granting it the power to govern itself without interference from external forces.
START I Treaty
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by Gorbachev and Bush in July 1991. It reduced both superpowers' strategic nuclear arsenals by approximately 30%, the first treaty to mandate actual reductions (not just limits) in nuclear warheads.