Familiar Russian Words (Absorbed into English)
1. Agitprop: artistic political propaganda, from a truncated form of the Russian forms of the words agitation and propaganda
2. Apparatchik: a Communist Party member and/or functionary, from the Russian form of the word apparatus
3. Babushka: in Russian, “old woman”; in English, a type of scarf commonly worn by babushkas
4. Beluga: a type of whale or sturgeon
5. Bolshevik: a revolutionary or radical, from name of the majority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, ultimately from the Russian word for “majority”
6. Commissar: an official
7. Cossack: a Russian ethnic group associated in popular culture with military prowess and a nomadic society; the name, like the ethnic appellation Kazakh, derives from the Turkish word for “nomad”
8. Dacha: a country house
9. Duma: a legislative body
10. Glasnost: a policy of political openness and transparency, from the Russian word for “publicity”
11. Gulag: originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any repressive or coercive environment or situation
12. Intelligentsia: the intellectual elite of a society, from the English word intelligent
13. Kopeck: a Russian coin
14. Mammoth: a prehistoric mammal, and, by extension, a synonym for massive
15. Menshevik: the name of the minority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, originally in power briefly after the Russian Revolution but defeated by the Bolsheviks
16. Perestroika: the Soviet-era system of reform, from the Russian word for “restructuring”
17. Pogrom: originally, violent persecution of Jews in Russia; now, any officially sanctioned attack on a particular group
18. Politburo: the Soviet-era primary source of government policy decisions, a truncation of the Russian forms of the words political and bureau
19. Ruble: the basic unit of Russian currency
20. Sable: a mammal related to the weasel whose sleek black coat was long prized as a clothing material, and, by extension, a synonym for black
21. Samizdat: prohibited literature produced clandestinely
22. Samovar: an urn for heating tea
23. Sputnik: a traveling companion; also, the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites, the first objects launched into space
24. Taiga: the far northern coniferous forests of both Asia and North America, from a Turkish or Mongolian word
25. Troika: a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses, or a triumvirate (a ruling or administrative trio)
2. Apparatchik: a Communist Party member and/or functionary, from the Russian form of the word apparatus
3. Babushka: in Russian, “old woman”; in English, a type of scarf commonly worn by babushkas
4. Beluga: a type of whale or sturgeon
5. Bolshevik: a revolutionary or radical, from name of the majority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, ultimately from the Russian word for “majority”
6. Commissar: an official
7. Cossack: a Russian ethnic group associated in popular culture with military prowess and a nomadic society; the name, like the ethnic appellation Kazakh, derives from the Turkish word for “nomad”
8. Dacha: a country house
9. Duma: a legislative body
10. Glasnost: a policy of political openness and transparency, from the Russian word for “publicity”
11. Gulag: originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any repressive or coercive environment or situation
12. Intelligentsia: the intellectual elite of a society, from the English word intelligent
13. Kopeck: a Russian coin
14. Mammoth: a prehistoric mammal, and, by extension, a synonym for massive
15. Menshevik: the name of the minority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, originally in power briefly after the Russian Revolution but defeated by the Bolsheviks
16. Perestroika: the Soviet-era system of reform, from the Russian word for “restructuring”
17. Pogrom: originally, violent persecution of Jews in Russia; now, any officially sanctioned attack on a particular group
18. Politburo: the Soviet-era primary source of government policy decisions, a truncation of the Russian forms of the words political and bureau
19. Ruble: the basic unit of Russian currency
20. Sable: a mammal related to the weasel whose sleek black coat was long prized as a clothing material, and, by extension, a synonym for black
21. Samizdat: prohibited literature produced clandestinely
22. Samovar: an urn for heating tea
23. Sputnik: a traveling companion; also, the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites, the first objects launched into space
24. Taiga: the far northern coniferous forests of both Asia and North America, from a Turkish or Mongolian word
25. Troika: a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses, or a triumvirate (a ruling or administrative trio)
Unfamiliar Russian Words (Not Yet Absorbed into English)
26. Druzhina: a unit of bodyguards and elite troops
27. Glavlit: the Soviet-era government censorship agency
28. Izba: a log house
29. Knout: a whip used in punishment
30. Konyushy: an official responsible for horses used in ceremonies
31. Kulak: a well-off farmer
32. Lishenets: a disenfranchised group
33. Matryoshka: a set of Russian nesting dolls
34. Muzhik: a peasant
35. Namestnik: an administrator (from the Russian word for “deputy”)
36. Narkompros: a Soviet-era agency responsible for education and culture, later called the Ministry of Enlightening
37. Nomenklatura: the Soviet elite, holding prestigious government and industrial posts (from the Latin term nomenclature, “list of names”)
38. Okhrana: the Tsarist secret police
39: Oprichnik: Ivan the Terrible’s brutal bodyguards and henchmen
40. Prikaz: originally, a bureaucratic position; later, an administrative directive
41. Propiska: a Tsarist regulation requiring subjects to remain in their hometown
42. Rasputitsa: spring and fall periods in which, because of heavy snow or rain, unpaved roads are impassable (possibly related to the name of Rasputin)
43. Sambo: a form of martial arts
44. Silovik: the elite
45. Spetsnaz: special-forces soldiers
46. Tamizdat: prohibited literature produced outside the country
47. Tovarishch: a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union, equivalent to comrade
48. Ukase: a decree; refers specifically to a government proclamation or generically to an arbitrary command
49. Ushanka: a fur cap with ear flaps
50. Zek: an inmate
27. Glavlit: the Soviet-era government censorship agency
28. Izba: a log house
29. Knout: a whip used in punishment
30. Konyushy: an official responsible for horses used in ceremonies
31. Kulak: a well-off farmer
32. Lishenets: a disenfranchised group
33. Matryoshka: a set of Russian nesting dolls
34. Muzhik: a peasant
35. Namestnik: an administrator (from the Russian word for “deputy”)
36. Narkompros: a Soviet-era agency responsible for education and culture, later called the Ministry of Enlightening
37. Nomenklatura: the Soviet elite, holding prestigious government and industrial posts (from the Latin term nomenclature, “list of names”)
38. Okhrana: the Tsarist secret police
39: Oprichnik: Ivan the Terrible’s brutal bodyguards and henchmen
40. Prikaz: originally, a bureaucratic position; later, an administrative directive
41. Propiska: a Tsarist regulation requiring subjects to remain in their hometown
42. Rasputitsa: spring and fall periods in which, because of heavy snow or rain, unpaved roads are impassable (possibly related to the name of Rasputin)
43. Sambo: a form of martial arts
44. Silovik: the elite
45. Spetsnaz: special-forces soldiers
46. Tamizdat: prohibited literature produced outside the country
47. Tovarishch: a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union, equivalent to comrade
48. Ukase: a decree; refers specifically to a government proclamation or generically to an arbitrary command
49. Ushanka: a fur cap with ear flaps
50. Zek: an inmate
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