nomenklatura

Meaning

Noun

• A list of bureaucratic posts in government and industry in the former Soviet Union (or other communist countries), filled by those appointed by the Party.
• The people on such lists; , any privileged class, a social or political elite.

Origin

• Borrowed from Russian номенклату́ра, from Latin nōmenclātūra ("a calling by name, list of names"), from nomen + calare. nomenclature.