serfdom: Medieval system in which peasants (serfs) lived on a piece of land, owned by a wealthy landlord. The serfs paid for the use of the farm and land by giving the landlord part of their produce.
Duma: Russian parliament
soviet: revolutionary council of labourers or peasants in Russia before 1917; also: citizen of the Soviet Union (Soviet)
communism: system of social organisation in which all property is owned by the community and each person contributes and receives according to his ability and needs
Bolshevik: member of the political party of Lenin
April theses: Lenin's promises to the Russian people when he returned to Russia in April 1917: peace, bread, land
dictator: ruler with total power over a country, mostly one who had obtained control by force
proletariat: the poor people (originally Roman term for "those without any possession")