Politburo- Politburo was a subcommittee of the Central Committee, handling matters of party policy. The Politburo committee, of about a dozen men, dominated the Central Committee. This is because power and authority flowed downward through the Politburo committee.

Kulak- A Kulak, by definition, was a "big individualist farmer". They were a major reason for the NEP because they stopped turning over their harvests to the government, which made Lenin realize that he needed to phase in communism. He did this by allowing these farmers to sell their products and keep their own profits.

1st 5-Year Plan- The first five-year plan, instituted by Stalin in 1928, was intended to jump-start the economy by starting big industries and building factories. He realized that he first had to industrialize the agricultural economy by acts similar to the "enclosure acts" in the Industrial Revolution. All of the 5-Year Plans mainly served to increase government control over the economy.

Collective Farms- These were simply enclosed farms the way farms were enclosed during the Industrial Revolution. The government would simply arrive at a small town made up of a few family-owned farms and force them to combine the land into one large farm of a few thousand acres (called collectivization). This increased production and the number of free workers available for factories.

Liquidation of the Kulaks- This was a time when the kulaks were brutally and violently forced to give up their land to the collective farm. Often times entire families would be killed when they refused to cooperate.

2nd 5-Year Plan- Stalin instituted this plan in 1933, just one year after the first five-year plan. The main objective of this plan was to cut down on imports and to achieve national self-sufficiency. During this period the greatest industrial advancements were made ever. The amounts of products produced tripled and quadrupled in nearly every area. The plan ended in 1937.

Kirov- (1888-1934) Serge Kirov was one of many members and faithful associates that was assassinated by one of Stalin's men. He had just been elected to the party secretariat yet after showing small signs of dissatisfaction he was assassinated in his office.