Glossary

Nizhny Novgorod is a city on the Volga, 400 km east of Moscow, called Gorky from 1932 to 1990. Its history comes with words that have no English equivalent — an oblast is not a province, a kupets is not simply a merchant, and a closed city was missing from Soviet maps on purpose. This page explains the terms used across the English side of the encyclopedia. Each term has its own address, so an article can point straight at the explanation it needs.

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

A

Air Defence Forces (PVO): The separate Soviet armed service responsible for the air defence of the country, which operated interceptors such as the MiG-25P alongside missiles and radars. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Air Force research institute (GK NII VVS): The State Red Banner Research Institute of the Soviet Air Force, which carried out the state acceptance trials of new military aircraft and checked samples of series production. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
Aircraft Plant No. 21 (Sokol)also: Aircraft Plant No. 21; Plant No. 21: Soviet factories were known by numbers. Plant No. 21 in Gorky, opened in 1932 and named after the Bolshevik leader Sergo Ordzhonikidze, built fighters throughout its history; today it is the Sokol plant in Nizhny Novgorod. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, Mikoyan MiG-29
Analog aircraft: A research aircraft built to test the flying qualities of a future design; the MiG-21I carried a wing reproducing the layout of the Tu-144. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
APC: armored personnel carrier, a lightly armored vehicle that transports infantry on the battlefield In: BTR-60
Arzamas-16: Soviet postal code name of the closed nuclear-weapons town of Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, borrowed from the nearby town of Arzamas. The town also had the secret name Kremlyov; it has been called Sarov again since 1995. In: Tsar Bomba
Atomflot: The Rosatom enterprise based in Murmansk that operates Russia's nuclear icebreakers. In: RITM-200
Avtozavodsky District / GAZ: The district of Nizhny Novgorod built around the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ), founded in 1932 with the help of the Ford Motor Company; maker of the Volga cars and GAZelle vans. In: Boris Nemtsov

B

Backwater (zaton): A sheltered river harbour on the Volga where ships wintered and were repaired; Vasilyovo had a large one with state workshops. In: Valery Chkalov
Bari office: The Moscow construction firm of the engineer Alexander Bari, where Shukhov was chief engineer and which built most of his inventions before the revolution. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Battle on the Ice: The battle on the frozen Lake Peipus on 5 April 1242 in which Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian knights. In: Alexander Nevsky
Boldino autumn: Russian byword for an exceptionally productive creative period, after the autumn of 1830 that Pushkin, held by cholera quarantines, spent writing on his family estate of Boldino. In: Alexander Pushkin

C

Candidate of Sciences: A Soviet and Russian academic degree, roughly equivalent to a PhD. In: Boris Nemtsov
Carborundum: Silicon carbide, a hard crystalline material made industrially as an abrasive; carborundum crystals were used in radio detectors, and at their contact Losev studied the emission of light. In: Oleg Losev
Caspian Sea Monster: The Western nickname of the KM, the giant experimental ekranoplan built in Gorky in 1963–1966 and tested on the Caspian Sea, used by US intelligence from the late 1960s. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Central Design Bureau (TsKB): In the Soviet system a design bureau developed new machines while plants built them; Alekseev's Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoils in Gorky (now named after him) designed all Soviet passenger hydrofoils and ekranoplans. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Challenge Red Banner: A banner passed each period to the winner of a 'socialist competition' between factories; a plant that held it long enough could be allowed to keep it for ever. In: T-34
Chkalovsk: A town on the Gorky Reservoir of the Volga, birthplace of the pilot Valery Chkalov; Alekseev's bureau had its Volga test base there. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Chuvash ASSR: An autonomous republic of the Chuvash people on the Volga east of Nizhny Novgorod, today the Chuvash Republic. In: Valery Chkalov
Closed cityalso: closed city: A Soviet (and in part Russian) settlement with restricted access because of defence or nuclear industry. Gorky was closed to foreigners; Sarov (Arzamas-16) in the same region, home of the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre, is still closed. In: Natalia Vodianova, Boris Nemtsov
Closed town (ZATO): A Soviet and Russian settlement built around a secret defence or nuclear facility, with restricted entry; in Soviet times such towns were absent from published maps. Officially a 'closed administrative-territorial formation'. In: Tsar Bomba
coercive medical measures: a Russian court-ordered form of compulsory psychiatric treatment applied instead of a criminal sentence when the defendant is found not criminally responsible In: Anatoly Moskvin
Combat trainer (UB)also: Combat trainer: A two-seat version of a combat aircraft (Russian uchebno-boyevoy, 'training and combat'), with an instructor in the rear seat; it keeps much of the armament, so that pilots can practise weapon use as well as flying. In: Mikoyan MiG-29, Yakovlev Yak-130
Congress of People's Deputies / People's Deputy of the RSFSR: The first partly freely elected Soviet parliaments of 1989 (USSR) and 1990 (Russian republic); their members were "people's deputies". In: Boris Nemtsov
Crystadyne (kristadin): Losev's radio receiver of 1922–1923 in which a zincite crystal contact both amplified and generated oscillations, replacing the vacuum tube; the name was coined by the foreign radio press. In: Oleg Losev
Crystal detector: The simplest radio detector of the early twentieth century: a thin metal wire, the 'cat's whisker', touching a mineral crystal, which lets current pass mainly in one direction and so extracts sound from a radio signal. In: Oleg Losev

D

Design bureau (OKB)also: OKB (design bureau): In the Soviet system, an organisation that designed aircraft and built prototypes, while series production went to separate state factories. The Mikoyan bureau designed the MiG-29; plants in Moscow and Gorky built it. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, Mikoyan MiG-29
Doctor of Technical Sciences: The higher Soviet and Russian research degree in engineering, above the Candidate of Sciences (roughly a PhD). In: Rostislav Alekseev
Double curvature: Curvature in two directions at once, as on a sail or a saddle; it makes a thin shell much stiffer. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Dual power (dvoevlastie): The situation after February 1917 in which the Provisional Government and the Soviets simultaneously claimed authority, neither fully in control. In: February Revolution
Dual-draught icebreaker: An icebreaker whose ballast can be changed so that it sits deeper in the water for heavy Arctic ice or shallower for river mouths. In: RITM-200

E

Ekranoplan: From Russian "ekran" (screen) and "plan" (glider): a craft that flies a few metres above water or flat ground, using the cushion of air between its wings and the surface (the ground effect). In English also called a wing-in-ground-effect (WIG) vehicle. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Electroluminescence: The emission of light by a material when an electric current passes through it or an electric field is applied, without heating; the principle of the light-emitting diode. In: Oleg Losev
Erzya: an indigenous Finno-Ugric people of the Volga–Ural region, distinct from Russians, with their own language and culture In: Natalia Vodianova

F

Factory type number: Plant No. 21 gave each aircraft it built a 'type' number, such as 53 for the MiG-15bis, 54 for the MiG-17 and 72 for the first MiG-21; it also began the serial number of each aircraft. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
Federation Council: The upper house of the Russian parliament (Federal Assembly). In 1993 its members were elected; in 1996–2000 regional governors sat in it ex officio. In: Boris Nemtsov
First Chechen War: The war between Russian federal forces and the separatist government of Chechnya in 1994–1996. In: Boris Nemtsov
Floating power unit: A non-self-propelled barge carrying a nuclear power plant, towed to a coastal site to supply electricity and heat. In: RITM-200
Fly-by-wire: A flight control system in which the pilot's commands go to the control surfaces through a computer rather than through mechanical linkages; the computer can be reprogrammed to make the aircraft handle like another type. In: Yakovlev Yak-130
Foxbat: The NATO reporting name for the MiG-25; NATO gave Soviet fighters names beginning with F. Versions were distinguished by letters (Foxbat-A for the first interceptor, Foxbat-E for the upgraded MiG-25PD/PDS). In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Front-line fighter: In Soviet terminology, a fighter of the air force operating over the battlefield and the front line, as distinct from the interceptors of the separate Air Defence Forces that guarded the country's territory. In: Mikoyan MiG-29

G

George C. Marshall: American general and statesman (1880–1959): US Army Chief of Staff in the Second World War, Secretary of State, author of the Marshall Plan and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1953). In 1937 he commanded Vancouver Barracks. In: Valery Chkalov
GOELRO: The Soviet State Commission for the Electrification of Russia and its plan of 1920 for building power stations and transmission lines. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Golden Horde: The Mongol state on the lower Volga, with its capital at Sarai, to which the Russian princes paid tribute and from which they received their patents to rule from the 1240s. In: Alexander Nevsky
Gorky: The name of Nizhny Novgorod from 1932 to 1990, after the writer Maxim Gorky. Because of its defence industry the city was closed to foreigners in Soviet times. In: Boris Nemtsov
Governor (head of administration): From 1991 the head of a Russian region was appointed by the President as "head of administration"; the title "governor" came into use soon after. Nemtsov, appointed in November 1991, was one of the first; he was elected by popular vote in 1995. In: Boris Nemtsov
Grand Prince of Vladimir: The senior ruler among the princes of north-eastern Rus in the 12th–14th centuries; the title was later taken over by the princes of Moscow. In: Alexander Nevsky
Great Patriotic War: The Soviet and Russian name for the war against Germany and its allies in 1941–1945. In: Valery Chkalov
Gridshell / lattice shell: A roof or vault formed by a curved network of thin bars or strips instead of heavy trusses; Shukhov built the first steel ones in 1896–1897. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Ground effect: the aerodynamic phenomenon whereby a wing flying very close to a surface generates extra lift from air compressed between the wing and that surface In: Caspian Sea Monster
guberniyaalso: Province (guberniya) and uyezd: The main administrative units of the Russian Empire: a province was divided into districts (uyezds). Boldino lay in the Lukoyanov uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod province. In: Nizhny Novgorod, Alexander Pushkin

H

Hadfield steel: A tough, wear-resistant manganese steel invented by the British metallurgist Robert Hadfield, used for tank track links. In: T-34
Hero of Socialist Labour: The highest Soviet distinction for achievement in work, the civilian counterpart of the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In: Tsar Bomba
Hero of the Soviet Union: The highest honorary title of the USSR, awarded with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Chkalov received medal No. 11. In: Valery Chkalov
Honorary citizen: a formal civic distinction conferred by a city or region on a person of exceptional service In: Mstislav Rostropovich
Honoured Inventor of the RSFSR: An honorary title of the Russian Soviet republic for authors of important inventions. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR: A Soviet honorary title awarded to test pilots for long and distinguished service in testing aircraft. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
hydroelectric station: a dam-mounted power plant generating electricity from a river's flow In: Volga
Hydrofoil: A vessel with wing-like foils under the hull which, at speed, lift the hull out of the water and greatly reduce drag. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Hyperboloid (of revolution): A waisted surface that can be built entirely of straight rods set at an angle, like a woven basket; Shukhov used it to make light, strong towers. In: Vladimir Shukhov

I

Integral reactor: A pressurised-water reactor in which the steam generators and other main primary-circuit equipment sit inside the reactor's own casing, instead of in separate vessels connected by pipes; it is smaller, lighter and has fewer pipes that could leak. In: RITM-200
intelligentsia: the educated professional class in Russia, historically associated with independent thought and social criticism In: Andrei Sakharov
Interceptor: A fighter designed mainly to meet and destroy incoming enemy aircraft or missiles, relying on speed, rate of climb and long-range radar rather than on agility in close combat. In: Mikoyan MiG-31
International Finance Corporation (IFC): The member of the World Bank Group that invests in and advises the private sector; in 1992 it designed the small-scale privatisation programme of Nizhny Novgorod. In: Boris Nemtsov
Izumrud: 'Emerald', the RP-1 airborne radar of the MiG-17P and MiG-17PF, designed by V. V. Tikhomirov's bureau; the first radar fitted to aircraft built in Gorky. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

K

Kadet: A member of the Constitutional Democratic Party, the main liberal political party in late imperial Russia. In: February Revolution
KANARSPI: A Soviet quality-management system ('quality, reliability, service life from the first items') developed at the Gorky aircraft plant in the 1960s and adopted by many other enterprises. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Kaspiysk: A port town in Dagestan on the Caspian Sea where Alekseev's bureau had its ekranoplan test branch. In: Rostislav Alekseev
KB-11 / VNIIEF: Design Bureau No. 11, the first Soviet nuclear-weapons laboratory, founded in Sarov in 1946; today the Russian Federal Nuclear Center — All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, part of Rosatom. In: Tsar Bomba
KH-8 (Gambit): An American photographic reconnaissance satellite programme of 1966–1984; its images were declassified by the National Reconnaissance Office. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Kombrig: Brigade commander, a Red Army rank of 1935–1940, between colonel and division commander. In: Valery Chkalov
Kommersant: A Russian national business daily, founded in 1909 and revived in 1989–1990, with a regional edition in Nizhny Novgorod. In: Boris Nemtsov
kraevedy: a Russian term for local historians who document the geography, history and culture of their home region In: Anatoly Moskvin
Krasnoye Sormovo: One of Russia's oldest shipyards (founded 1849) in the Sormovo district of Nizhny Novgorod; it built river ships, submarines, hydrofoils and ekranoplans. In: Rostislav Alekseev
kremlin: a fortified citadel at the heart of a Russian city, not only Moscow's In: Nizhny Novgorod
Kremlin Wall Necropolis: The burial place in and beside the wall of the Moscow Kremlin on Red Square, reserved for leading Soviet figures. In: Valery Chkalov
Kuibyshev: The name of the Volga city of Samara from 1935 to 1991. Its Aircraft Plant No. 1 was the lead factory for the MiG-15. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
kupets: a pre-revolutionary Russian merchant of a licensed guild In: GAZ
Kuzka's mother: Russian idiom ('to show someone Kuzka's mother') used as a threat, meaning roughly 'to show someone what's what'; Khrushchev's use of it in 1959 gave the Tsar Bomba its Russian nickname. In: Tsar Bomba

L

Lavra: The highest rank of a large Orthodox monastery; the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St Petersburg keeps his relics. In: Alexander Nevsky
Lenin Prizealso: Lenin Prize / Stalin Prize / State Prize; Lenin Prize / USSR State Prize: The highest Soviet state awards for achievements in science and technology; the Stalin Prize (1941–1954) was later replaced by the State Prize. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, Rostislav Alekseev, Tsar Bomba
LII (Flight Research Institute): The Gromov Flight Research Institute at Zhukovsky near Moscow, the main Soviet centre for flight testing and research, whose test pilots flew the MiG-21I analog. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
Little Tragedies: Four short verse plays Pushkin wrote at Boldino in 1830: The Covetous Knight, Mozart and Salieri, The Stone Guest and A Feast in Time of Plague. In: Alexander Pushkin
Livonian Order: A German military-religious order of knights in present-day Latvia and Estonia, a branch of the Teutonic Order from 1237. In: Alexander Nevsky

M

Mach number: Speed expressed as a multiple of the speed of sound; Mach 2.83 is nearly three times the speed of sound. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
MAKS: The International Aviation and Space Salon, Russia's main air show, held at Zhukovsky near Moscow. In: Yakovlev Yak-130
Megaton: A unit of explosive energy equal to that of one million tonnes of TNT. In: Tsar Bomba
Membrane (suspension) roof: A roof of thin steel strips or sheet hung in tension between supports, like a tent; the Shukhov Rotunda of 1896 had the first one. In: Vladimir Shukhov
MiG-15bis: The improved MiG-15 of 1950 with the more powerful VK-1 engine and boosted ailerons; 'bis' (Latin for 'twice') marked a second, improved version. This was the version built in Gorky. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
MiG-17P / MiG-17PF / MiG-17PFU: All-weather versions of the MiG-17: P (perekhvatchik, interceptor) with radar; PF with radar and an afterburning engine; PFU armed with guided air-to-air missiles instead of cannon. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
Mikoyan design bureau (OKB-155): The Moscow aircraft design bureau founded by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, whose initials gave the 'MiG' name; Soviet design bureaus designed aircraft, while series production was handed to separate factories. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Military acceptance (voyennaya priyomka)also: Military acceptance: The Soviet Air Force's resident team at an aircraft factory (voyennaya priyomka). Its inspectors and test pilots had to check and fly every aircraft before accepting it for the Air Force. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, T-34
Ministry of Medium Machine Building: The deliberately bland name of the Soviet ministry in charge of the nuclear industry and nuclear weapons (1953–1989); its successor organisation today is the state corporation Rosatom. In: Tsar Bomba
Moskovsky District: A district of Nizhny Novgorod in the west of the city, along the Moscow Highway, where Aircraft Plant No. 21 (today Sokol) stands. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
Museum-reserve (muzei-zapovednik): A Russian museum that protects a whole historic site — buildings, park and landscape — rather than a single building. In: Alexander Pushkin

N

Naked Heart Foundation: the charity Vodianova founded in 2004–05 to build playgrounds and support children with disabilities across Russia In: Natalia Vodianova
Namestnik / voivode: Titles of governors and military commanders appointed by the tsar in Muscovite Russia, before the provinces of the 18th century. In: Alexander Pushkin
NATO reporting name: A code name given by NATO to a Soviet aircraft; fighters received names beginning with F, such as Fagot (MiG-15), Fresco (MiG-17) and Fishbed (MiG-21). In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
Navigator-operator: The second crew member of the MiG-31, seated behind the pilot, who works the radar and the weapon system during an interception. In: Mikoyan MiG-31
Negative resistance: A property of a device in which, over some range, the current falls as the voltage rises; such a device can amplify signals and sustain oscillations. In: Oleg Losev
nekropolistika: the systematic study and cataloguing of cemeteries and burial sites In: Anatoly Moskvin
Nemtsovki: The popular name of the regional bonds issued by Nizhny Novgorod Oblast under Governor Nemtsov. In: Boris Nemtsov
NiGRES: Nizhegorodskaya GRES, the Nizhny Novgorod state regional power station; its 120 kV line crossed the Oka on Shukhov's towers. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Nizhny Novgorod: A large Russian city at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, about 400 km (250 miles) east of Moscow; founded in 1221, the historic merchant capital of the Volga. In: Boris Nemtsov
Nizhny Novgorod Fair: Russia's largest annual trade fair, held each summer on the Strelka in Nizhny Novgorod from 1817 until 1929. In: Alexander Pushkin
Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: The 16th-century brick fortress above the Volga in the centre of Nizhny Novgorod; it houses the regional government and legislature. Not to be confused with the Moscow Kremlin. In: Boris Nemtsov
Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory (NRL): A state radio research centre and workshop founded in Nizhny Novgorod in 1918 by engineers from the Tver radio station led by Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich; it worked until its reorganisation at the end of 1928, when its subjects and staff moved to Leningrad. In: Oleg Losev
Northern Sea Route: The Arctic shipping lane along Russia's northern coast between the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait, kept open by nuclear icebreakers. In: RITM-200
Novaya Zemlya: An Arctic archipelago between the Barents and Kara Seas, one of the two main Soviet nuclear test sites. In: Tsar Bomba
Numbered plant (Plant No. 112): Soviet defence factories were known by secret numbers instead of names; Krasnoye Sormovo was Plant No. 112, the Kharkov tank works Plant No. 183, the Gorky artillery works Plant No. 92. In: T-34

O

Oblastalso: oblast: A region, the main type of province in Russia. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (Nizhny Novgorod Region), with Nizhny Novgorod as its capital, was called Gorky Oblast in 1936–1990. In: Natalia Vodianova, Boris Nemtsov
OKBM Afrikantov: The Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering in Nizhny Novgorod, founded in 1945, Russia's chief designer of marine nuclear reactor plants for icebreakers and of other reactors; part of Rosatom's machine-building division Atomenergomash. In: RITM-200
Old Believers: Russian Orthodox Christians who rejected the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century; the forests of the Nizhny Novgorod region were one of their historic centres. In: Boris Nemtsov
Old Style (Julian calendar): The calendar used in Russia until 1918; in the 19th century it ran twelve days behind the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Pushkin's letters are dated in Old Style. In: Alexander Pushkin
Order of Alexander Nevsky: A military order named after the prince, instituted in the Soviet Union during the Second World War for commanders. In: Alexander Nevsky
Order of Lenin: The highest decoration of the Soviet Union. In: Valery Chkalov
Osoaviakhim: The Soviet Society for the Assistance of Defence, Aviation and Chemical Construction (1927–1948), which ran flying clubs and glider schools. In: Valery Chkalov
Otkosalso: otkos: The high right bank of the Volga in central Nizhny Novgorod, with promenades and viewpoints over the Volga and the Oka. In: Valery Chkalov, Nizhny Novgorod

P

People's Commissar: A Soviet minister before 1946; the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) was the Soviet interior ministry and secret police. In: Valery Chkalov
People's Commissariat (narkomat): A ministry of the Soviet government before 1946, headed by a People's Commissar; during the war tank plants were moved from various commissariats into the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry. In: T-34
People's Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs: The Soviet government ministry in charge of post, telegraph, telephone and radio in the 1920s; the Nizhny Novgorod Radio Laboratory belonged to it. In: Oleg Losev
Phased-array radar: A radar whose antenna stays fixed while its beam is steered electronically, by shifting the phase of signals across many small radiating elements; it can follow many targets at once. In: Mikoyan MiG-31
Pressurised-water reactor: The most common type of nuclear reactor, in which ordinary water under high pressure both cools the core and slows down neutrons, and passes its heat to a separate steam circuit. In: RITM-200
Privilege: The pre-revolutionary Russian term for a patent; Shukhov's privilege No. 1896 of 12 March 1899 covered the "openwork tower". In: Vladimir Shukhov
production association: a Soviet-era grouping of a lead factory and its satellite plants under a single management In: GAZ
Project 22220 (LK-60Ya): Russia's class of universal nuclear icebreakers with 60 MW of shaft power, built from 2013 at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersburg: Arktika, Sibir, Ural, Yakutia, Chukotka, Leningrad and Stalingrad. In: RITM-200
Pugachev rebellion: The great Cossack and peasant uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev in the 1770s along the Volga and in the Urals; Pushkin wrote its history and the novel The Captain's Daughter. In: Alexander Pushkin

R

Realschule (real school): A type of secondary school in the Russian Empire that taught mathematics, science and modern languages instead of Latin and Greek. In: Oleg Losev
restricted free agent: an NBA player whose existing club has the right to match any outside contract offer In: Boban Marjanović
RFNC-VNIIEF: The Russian Federal Nuclear Centre — All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics in Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where the first Soviet atomic bomb was designed. In: Boris Nemtsov
Right-believing (blagovernyi) prince: The Orthodox title of a canonised ruler, such as St Alexander Nevsky. In: Alexander Nevsky
Rosoboronexport: The Russian state company through which military equipment is exported; plants such as Sokol deliver aircraft to foreign customers under agreements with it. In: Mikoyan MiG-29
ROTC: Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the US programme training college students to become military officers. In: Valery Chkalov
RSFSR: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the largest republic of the Soviet Union; it became the Russian Federation in 1991–1992. In: Boris Nemtsov

S

samizdat: self-published literature circulated in typescript or carbon copies to evade Soviet censorship In: Andrei Sakharov
Serfs ("souls"): Peasants bound to a landowner's estate until the abolition of serfdom in 1861; an estate's size was counted in male "souls". In: Alexander Pushkin
Shukhov Park: A public park and future Museum of Metal created by OMK in the historic centre of Vyksa, on the site of the Batashev brothers' first 18th-century ironworks. In: Vladimir Shukhov
Siege of Leningrad: The blockade of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) by German and Finnish forces from September 1941 to January 1944, during which hundreds of thousands of residents died, most of them of hunger. In: Oleg Losev
Siting licence: In Russian nuclear regulation, a licence that approves the location of a future nuclear plant; construction needs a separate construction licence. In: RITM-200
Skete: A small monastic settlement, typical of the Old Believers of the Nizhny Novgorod Trans-Volga forests. In: Boris Nemtsov
Small modular reactor (SMR): A nuclear power reactor of up to roughly 300 MW of electricity, built largely in a factory, intended for remote areas or for adding power in small steps. In: RITM-200
Sormovo: An industrial district in the north-west of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga, around the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Soviet (Sovet): An elected council of workers' and soldiers' deputies that arose alongside the Provisional Government after February 1917, forming a parallel power structure. In: February Revolution
spetssluzhby: Soviet special services and security agencies requiring dedicated official vehicles In: GAZ-24 "Volga"
Stalin Prize: The Soviet state award for achievements in science, technology and the arts (1941–1954), later replaced by the State Prize. In: Valery Chkalov
State Defence Committee (GKO): The emergency body headed by Joseph Stalin that held all power in the Soviet Union during the war with Germany and directed the economy, including the war industry, by its decrees. In: T-34
State Duma: The lower house of the Russian parliament. In: Boris Nemtsov
Strelkaalso: strelka: "The arrow": the spit of land in Nizhny Novgorod where the Oka flows into the Volga, the site of the great fair. In: Alexander Nevsky, Nizhny Novgorod
Sudoimport: The Soviet foreign trade company that exported ships, including hydrofoils. In: Rostislav Alekseev
Supreme Soviet of the USSR / Soviet of Nationalities: The Soviet parliament (from 1937) and one of its two chambers. In: Valery Chkalov

T

Taking the vows (tonsure): Becoming a monk; dying princes often took monastic vows, and a new monastic name, shortly before death. Alexander took the name Alexei. In: Alexander Nevsky
Technical control department (OTK): The quality-control department of a Soviet factory, which inspected and accepted finished products before the customer's own inspectors. In: T-34
Thermal and electric power (MWt, MWe): A reactor's thermal power is the heat produced in the core; only part of it becomes electricity or propeller power, so a 175 MW thermal reactor gives about 30 MW on an icebreaker. In: RITM-200
TsAGI: The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, the main Soviet (now Russian) aeronautical research centre, at Zhukovsky near Moscow. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
Tsar (in names of objects): In Russian, 'tsar-' is attached to record-breaking giants, as in the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell in the Moscow Kremlin; 'Tsar Bomba' follows the same pattern. In: Tsar Bomba
Tu-144: The Soviet supersonic airliner of the Tupolev bureau; it first flew on 31 December 1968, two months before the Anglo-French Concorde. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

U

Union of Right Forces (SPS): A Russian liberal party and electoral bloc (1999–2008) of which Nemtsov was one of the leaders. In: Boris Nemtsov
uyezd: a pre-revolutionary Russian administrative district, roughly equivalent to a county In: Andrey Vlasov

V

Vancouver, Washington: A city in the US state of Washington on the Columbia River opposite Portland, Oregon — not to be confused with Vancouver in Canada. Its Pearson Field, then the airfield of the US Army post of Vancouver Barracks, received the Chkalov crew in 1937. In: Valery Chkalov
volostalso: Volost and uyezd: Units of local government in the Russian Empire: a province (guberniya) was divided into districts (uyezds), and these into rural volosts. In: Andrey Vlasov, Valery Chkalov
Voucher privatisation: The Russian mass privatisation of 1992–1994: every citizen received a privatisation voucher with a face value of 10,000 roubles that could be exchanged for shares or used at auctions of state property. In: Boris Nemtsov

W

Wing drop (valezhka): An unwanted tendency of an aircraft to roll to one side at high speed, caused by small differences in the shape of its wings or control surfaces; in Russian factory slang, valezhka. In: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

Y

Yarlyk: A patent issued by the khan of the Horde confirming a Russian prince's right to rule his principality. In: Alexander Nevsky

Z

Zemstvo: An elected local self-government body in pre-revolutionary Russia, responsible for roads, schools, and public health at the provincial level. In: February Revolution
Zincite: A natural mineral form of zinc oxide; Losev found that a zincite crystal detector, given a suitable voltage, could amplify and generate radio oscillations. In: Oleg Losev