In informal technical usage concerning turbomachinery, "back pressure" is the pressure downstream of a stage.
The turbine's exhaust pressure is often referred to as the back pressure. The term is more commonly applied to "non-condensing" machines, where the exhaust pressure is greater than local atmosphreric pressure, but is (again, informally) used for condensing machines as well
In condensing steam turbines, although the exhaust pressure is below atmoshperic pressure, it is not a COMPLETE vacuum. The value of the exhaust pressure is directly related to the amount of energy that is available from the steam to the turbine for useful power. The lower the "back pressure" (i.e. exhaust pressure), the more energy is available to the machine. It is for that reason that the "back pressure" is so important.
[It is worth mentioning that, for many reasons, a steam turbine should be operated at the conditions for which it is designed. That fact that steam energy is thermodynamically available doesn't mean that it can be utilized by the turbine. Exhaust pressure cannot be arbitrarily lowered for the sake of more power.]
If you have an hour or so, and nothing better to do, you could check thread794-33900 which features a very long, very tangential, very diverse discussion of the question vexing philosophers over the ages: "What is back-pressure?". You could, but I urge caution; you might be worse off afterward than beforehand.