nomenklatura

no·men·kla·tu·ra  (nmn-klä-tr, nômyn-klä-trä)

n.

1. The system of patronage to senior positions in the bureaucracy of the Soviet Union and some other Communist states, controlled by committees at various levels of the Communist Party.

2. (used with a pl. verb) The lists of appointees matching the lists of patronage positions in such a system.

3. (used with a pl. verb) The appointees to these positions: "The . . . nomenklatura are perceived as draft-immune" Anthony Arnold.

4. The stratified, privileged class composed of these appointees.

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[Russian, from Latin nmencltra, list of names; see nomenclature.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

nomenklatura - the system of patronage in communist countries; controlled by committees in the Communist Party patronage - (politics) granting favors or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support