tsarism
Pre-revolutionary Russian rule
Tsarism is the system of autocratic government that ruled Russia under the tsars, characterized by absolute monarchical power, rigid social hierarchy, and centralized authority.
The term often carries connotations of oppressive or authoritarian rule: The protesters accused the regime of a return to tsarism.
Also spelled czarism.
Imperial Russian ruling family
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- Ivan the TerribleRussia's first tsar
- Peter the GreatRussian emperor, early 1700s
- Catherine the GreatRussian empress, enlightenment era
Moscow · Siberia · Fabergé · Duma · Decembrists · Cossacks · Okhrana · Rasputin
Absolute one-person rule
- absolutismUnrestricted governmental authority
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- centralizationUnifying control in one place
dictatorship · sovereignty · divine right · rule by decree · censorship · secret police · political repression · totalitarianism
Feudal bound labor
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- subjugationForcing into submission
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- pogromsOrganized persecution of minorities
censorship · exile · secret police · political prisoners · suppression · exploitation · Okhrana · forced labor
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- regaliaCeremonial emblems of authority
- scepterCeremonial staff of sovereignty
palace · dynasty · succession · heir · reign · royalty · lineage · hereditary
Titled ruling class
- boyarsFeudal Russian nobles
- gentryHighborn but not noble
- estatesLarge property holdings
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
privileged class · hereditary titles · feudalism · manor · patrician · courtier
Domain under unified control
- expansionismPolicy of territorial growth
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
dominion · hegemony · vassal · tributary · suzerainty · conquest · protectorate · subjugation
Romanov
Imperial Russian ruling family
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- Ivan the TerribleRussia's first tsar
- Peter the GreatRussian emperor, early 1700s
Catherine the Great · Moscow · Siberia · Fabergé · Duma · Decembrists · Cossacks · Okhrana · Rasputin · Winter Palace
despotism
Absolute one-person rule
- absolutismUnrestricted governmental authority
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
centralization · dictatorship · sovereignty · divine right · rule by decree · censorship · secret police · political repression · totalitarianism · unilateralism
serfdom
Feudal bound labor
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- subjugationForcing into submission
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
pogroms · censorship · exile · secret police · political prisoners · suppression · exploitation · Okhrana · forced labor · dissidents
throne
Ceremonial chair for sovereigns
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- regaliaCeremonial emblems of authority
scepter · palace · dynasty · succession · heir · reign · royalty · lineage · hereditary · court
nobility
Titled ruling class
serfdom · privileged class · hereditary titles · feudalism · manor · patrician · courtier
empire
Domain under unified control
- expansionismPolicy of territorial growth
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- annexationAbsorbing territory into jurisdiction
territory · dominion · hegemony · vassal · tributary · suzerainty · conquest · protectorate · subjugation · dynasty
- Russian EmpireSiberia, Kremlin, Crimea, Winter Palace, Hermitage
- Russian RevolutionRussian Revolution, February Revolution, Bolsheviks, October Revolution, Lenin
- governmentsdemocracy, monarchy, autocracy, oligarchy, republic
- social systemspolitical systems, capitalism, feudalism, economic systems, socialism
- tyrannytyrant, despot, tyranny, dictator, autocracy
tsarismdemocracy
Rule by the people
republicanism · constitutional government · popular sovereignty · self-governance · egalitarianism
tsarismBolshevism
Lenin's revolutionary communist ideology
Leninism · Stalinism · Marxism-Leninism · Russian Federation
- tsarist RussiaMonarchy before the Bolsheviks