Deck 3: The Russian Federation, central Asia, and the Transcaucasus

Question 1

The region of the Siberian Plain frozen for nine months annually and where cold-resistant vegetation grows is known as:

A)tundra
B)taiga
C)steppe
D)Volga
E)none of these

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Massive water diversions irrigated what crop grown in Central Asia:

A)cotton
B)corn
C)wheat
D)tobacco
E)tea

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Siberian timber industry has transformed from government extraction to:

A)privatization
B)irrigation farming
C)nomadic pastoralism
D)larch forests
E)intensive cultivation

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The Russian steppe region is famous for its production of what crop?

A)beets
B)corn
C)soybeans
D)potatoes
E)wheat

Question 5

The highest mountain range in Russia is:

A)Urals
B)Balkans
C)Caucasus
D)Pamirs
E)Tien Shan

Question 6

Who were the Soviets who coordinated strikes in 1905?

A)peasants
B)majority faction of the Russian Social Democrats
C)state bureaucrats
D)grassroots councils of workers
E)the Tsar and royal family

Question 7

When did the Bolshevik Revolution occur?

A)1917
B)1817
C)1945
D)1967
E)1989

Question 8

The deepest lake in the world is:

A)Lake Balkhash
B)Lake Baykal
C)Lake Aral
D)Lake Danube
E)Black Lake

Question 9

Which of the following is the largest inland sea in the world?

A)Black
B)Mediterranean
C)Aral
D)Caspian
E)none of the above

Question 10

The Russian Plain extends from ________ in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east.

A)Turkmenistan
B)Armenia
C)Belarus
D)Vladivostok
E)Novosibirsk

Question 11

The Aral Sea is located mostly in which country?

A)Russia
B)Estonia
C)Ukraine
D)Kazakhstan
E)Belarus

Question 12

Which two of the following rivers flow north from Siberia to the Arctic Ocean?

A)Zeravshan and Volga
B)Dnieper and Ob'
C)Amu Dar'ya and Syr Dar'ya
D)Volga and Don
E)Lena and Ob'

Question 13

This vegetation type of drought-resistant grasses also refers to a very dry climate,characteristic of southern Russia,Ukraine,and northern Central Asia.

A)steppe
B)tundra
C)taiga
D)volga
E)none of these

Question 14

The Russian Federation,Central Asia and Transcaucasus region includes the following four climates,except:

A)polar
B)continental
C)semiarid
D)maritime
E)arid

Question 15

In which region is the wheat belt of the Russian Federation found?

A)steppe
B)tundra
C)taiga
D)forest
E)None of these vegetation types produces fertile soils.

Question 16

The original resource base of the Urals region include:

A)iron ore,copper,nickel
B)oil and natural gas
C)radioactive elements like uranium
D)abundant,cheap skilled labor
E)agricultural production

Question 17

Which vegetation type found in the Russian Federation represents a cold-resistant,coniferous forest?

A)steppe
B)tundra
C)taiga
D)volga
E)none of these

Question 18

This is the collective name given to a network of overland trade routes that connected China with Mediterranean Europe.

A)The Silk Road
B)The Ruby Road
C)The Sind Highway
D)The Amur Highway
E)none of the above

Question 19

This Russian physiographic region is flat,contains extensive wetlands,and tens of thousands of small lakes.

A)Urals
B)Central Siberian Plateau
C)Russian Plain
D)West Siberian Plain
E)Mountain Rim

Question 20

What is permafrost?

A)permanently frozen subsurface material
B)cold-resistant vegetation
C)a food preservation technique used by Siberian natives
D)the soil in the steppes
E)none of these

Question 21

What does apparatchik mean?

A)state engineers
B)state bureaucrats
C)state managers
D)Soviet space scientists
E)none of the above

Question 22

Which country defeated Russia in 1904 and halted Russia's territorial expansion?

A)China
B)Mongolia
C)Japan
D)France
E)the United States

Question 23

Since the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl,all of the following is true,except:

A)radiation level remain high
B)new human developments
C)a zone of alienation
D)rapid forest growth
E)wolves recolonized area

Question 24

Which of the following is true about the Chechen independence movement?

A)Stalin accused Chechens of being Nazi collaborators
B)Gorbachev accepted Chechen independence under glasnost
C)Chechnya has major oil and gas reserves
D)Stalin accused Chechens of being Nazi collaborators;Chechnya has major oil and gas reserves
E)All of the above

Question 25

Russia's "command economy" was established by which Soviet leader?

A)Lenin
B)Gorbachev
C)Yeltsin
D)Putin
E)Stalin

Question 26

For the Russian people,the "near abroad" signifies:

A)former components of the Soviet Union
B)Alaska
C)China and Korea
D)the Middle East
E)none of these

Question 27

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted from:

A)1950-1989
B)1990-2003
C)1917-1945
D)1800-1900
E)The Cold War never ended.

Question 28

The original purpose of the city of St.Petersburg was:

A)national capital
B)steel manufacture
C)petrochemicals manufacture
D)textile manufacture
E)defense manufacture

Question 29

Which of the following was true about Soviet industrialization?

A)expansion in less-developed regions
B)regional production complexes
C)secrecy from external military
D)environmental problems
E)all of the above

Question 30

When did the Soviet Union dissolve as a political entity?

A)1927
B)1954
C)1989
D)2001
E)1943

Question 31

Who was the first leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?

A)Peter the Great
B)Nikita Kruschev
C)Nikolai Lenin
D)Karl Marx
E)none of the above

Question 32

Chernobyl,Ukraine,has become famous because of this event in 1986.

A)nuclear reactor accident
B)demonstration against Soviet rule
C)assassination of the Soviet leader
D)nuclear weapons treaty signed by the Soviet Union and China
E)launching of a manned mission to the Moon

Question 33

In 1985,an official policy was introduced by Gorbachev that stressed open government and increased access to information as well as more honest discussion about the country's social issues and concerns.What was this policy called?

A)glasnost
B)gosplans
C)Irredentism
D)Oligarchs
E)appartchiks

Question 34

Which Russian leader defeated the Tatars at the battle of Kazan?

A)Nicholas II
B)Catherine the Great
C)Peter the Great
D)Stalin
E)Ivan the Terrible

Question 35

Ethnonationalist movements have occurred in all of the following,except:

A)South Ossetia
B)Tajikistan
C)Nagorno-Karabakh
D)Chernobyl

Question 36

The acceleration of industrialization in Russia between 1860 and 1900 was in large part due to what?

A)introduction of democracy
B)end of czar rule
C)abolition of feudal serfdom
D)communist revolution
E)none of the above

Question 37

This natural water body is steadily shrinking as a result of diversion of water for irrigation in Central Asia.

A)Lake Baykal
B)Aral Sea
C)Black Sea
D)Baltic Sea
E)Caspian Sea

Question 38

In 1861,Tsar Alexander II's Russian economy included:

A)large bureaucracy and intellectual class
B)decrease in grain exports
C)good living conditions in cities
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 39

Which factor(s)weakened the Commonwealth of Independent States?

A)Ukraine's departure
B)Eastern Europe's expansion to NATO
C)annexation of Crimea
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 40

This was the origin of the modern state of Russia in the Middle Ages.

A)a union of nomadic Asian tribes
B)the small principality of Muscovy
C)a Roman colony
D)part of Lithuania
E)a part of Germany

Question 41

How has global warming affected Siberia?

A)colder winters
B)decreased power production
C)decreased water availability
D)increased forest fires
E)limited crop production

Question 42

During the Russian Diaspora of the early 20^th century,1/4 of these migrants settled in which American City?

A)Philadelphia
B)New York City
C)Washington,D.C.
D)Chicago
E)Pittsburgh

Question 43

In 2013,gas and oil accounted for roughly ________ of Russia's export earnings.

A)25%
B)68%
C)50%
D)76%
E)6%

Question 44

The Russian Federation has a ________ urbanized population;and Central Asia is ________ urban.

A)50%;50-70%
B)76%;30-50%
C)72%;56-69%
D)66%;20-40%
E)80%;25-45%

Question 45

The Central Asian geosyncline has oil reserves equivalent to ________ of the world's proven reserves.

A)2.7%
B)1.8%
C)3.4%
D)4.7%
E)5%

Question 46

The Russian Federation has claimed what part of the Arctic "Frontier"?

A)Svalbard
B)Lomonosov Ridge
C)Northwest Passage
D)Jan Mayen
E)Northeast Passage

Question 47

The term "Slavic" denotes both ethnicity and:

A)a religious group
B)a language group and a religious group
C)a language group
D)It denotes ethnicity only.
E)It does not denote ethnicity,language,or religion.

Question 48

Which of the following is true about Indigenous people in the Russian Arctic?

A)Dolgan people herd reindeer
B)seasonal ice is integral to life
C)the tundra environment influences culture
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 49

What is one of the goals of the Russian Green Building Council?

A)wind power
B)"no more rubbish"
C)carbon neutral buildings
D)solar and hydroelectric power
E)endangered species protection

Question 50

Stalin's command economy bolstered what region of the Soviet Union?

A)Tannu Tava and Central Asia
B)Moldova and Eastern Europe
C)Moscow and the Central Region
D)Primorye and the West Siberian Plain
E)All of the Soviet regions equally

Question 51

In 2012,global fur retail sales totaled more than:

A)$15 billion
B)$13 billion
C)$1 billion
D)$13 million
E)$15 million

Question 52

Rising mortality rates and declining health care in Russia,have brought life expectancy levels identical to:

A)Turkmenistan
B)Estonia
C)Krygyzstan
D)Kazakhstan
E)Latvia

Question 53

The pirozhki is an example of:

A)hybrid culture of Europe and Asia
B)the poetry of Pushkin
C)18^th century high culture
D)Russian modern art
E)overreach of bureaucracy

Question 54

Which of the following is true about women in Russia,after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

A)increased participation in medicine and science fields
B)female salaries,on average,are 64% of male salaries
C)they represent 1/3 of Russian Parliament
D)increased participation in medicine and science fields;they represent 1/3 of Russian Parliament
E)none of the above

Question 55

What is the approximate current population of Russia,Central Asia and the Transcaucasus combined?

A)325 million
B)10 million
C)100 million
D)232 million
E)1 billion

Question 56

After the fall of the Soviet Union,some 25 million Russians found themselves to be ethnic minorities in newly independent countries.The largest number of minorities was found in what state?

A)Latvia
B)Estonia
C)Belarus
D)Lithuania
E)Ukraine

Question 57

The decline of the Mongol Empire in the 16^th century saw the rise of:

A)western travelers and cities
B)larger kingdoms and serfs
C)the Tsars
D)the Bolsheviks
E)nomadic people and khans

Question 58

All of the following is true about Central Asian migration to Russia,except:

A)extractive industries attract Central Asian migrants
B)30% of Uzbekistan's wealth is from migrant labor
C)Russian migration policies are prohibitive
D)ruble decline has discouraged migration
E)All of the above are true

Question 59

How are the new class divisions expressed in Russia?

A)watching Brazilian soap operas
B)dining out and restaurant culture
C)celebrating freedom of media
D)none of the above
E)all of the above

Question 60

Which of the following is the fastest-growing religious grouping in Russia?

A)Eastern Orthodox
B)Catholics
C)Muslims
D)Sikhs
E)Hindus

Question 61

Which of the following is true about Eastern Orthodox Christianity?

A)rooted in Greek,Slavic,and Middle Eastern traditions
B)75% of Russians
C)result of "the Great Schism" between Rome and Constantinople
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 62

Higher mortality rates affecting older Russian men is attributed to:

A)increasing poverty and alcoholism
B)material consumption
C)nostalgia for Soviet Union
D)increased industrial production

Question 63

Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus since:

A)17^th and 18^th centuries
B)September 11,2001
C)8^th Century
D)14^th Century
E)the rise of ISIS

Question 64

In what region has Russia recently invested new businesses and infrastructure?

A)Ural Mountains
B)Desert Plateau
C)Moscow
D)Arctic Circle
E)Pacific Rim

Question 65

One of the results of the Post-Soviet economy was the rise of:

A)effective banking
B)border control
C)business elites
D)state assets
E)streamlined bureaucracy