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(formerly, in the USSR and E Europe) a list of individuals drawn up by the Communist Party from which were selected candidates for vacant senior positions in the state, party, and other important organizations (党政、机关、团体等要职的)候选人名单
The Romanian economy was plundered by the Soviet-style nomenklatura, and by the corrupt family of Romania's cruel, idiosyncratic dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu.
Most other prominent Russians came straight from the Communist nomenklatura, and probably think a coat of arms is what their bodyguard wears in cold weather.