kulak

A kulak was a relatively prosperous peasant in late imperial and early Soviet Russia—one who owned land, employed laborers, or had accumulated modest wealth.

Soviet authorities branded kulaks as class enemies during collectivization in the late 1920s and 1930s, subjecting millions to deportation, imprisonment, or execution.

The term now appears in historical contexts or as a reference to that persecution: Stalin's campaign against the kulaks devastated rural communities.

The word comes from Russian for "fist," suggesting tight-fisted greed.