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

Question 1

When did the Soviet Union dissolve as a political entity?

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

Answer 1

C

Question 2

On what were the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union based?

A) predominant ethnicity within that territory
B) Communist party membership
C) population density
D) equal distribution of territory
E) none of these

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The most fertile soils would be found under which natural form of vegetation in the Russian Federation?

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

Question 5

Which of these rivers flows through western Siberia?

A) Ob
B) Dneiper
C) Don
D) Volga
E) Amur

Question 6

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 7

This is the cause of the international concern with Lake Baykal.

A) resolution of a border dispute with China
B) contamination with pollutants from paper and chemicals industries
C) withdrawal of its waters for irrigation
D) salinization from irrigation projects in the area
E) where the international border with Mongolia is located

Question 8

Which of the following was NOT a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States?

A) Russia
B) Belarus
C) Ukraine
D) Estonia
E) None of these were founding members of CIS.

Question 9

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 10

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 11

This is the best description for the climates in most of the Russian Federation.

A) ocean-influenced
B) maritime
C) subtropical
D) continental
E) mild mid-latitude

Question 12

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

A) the non-Russian territories of the former Soviet Union
B) Alaska
C) China and Korea
D) the Middle East
E) none of these

Question 13

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 14

What was the foundation of Stalin's industrialization drive?

A) building of infrastructure
B) collectivization of agriculture
C) installation of the Iron Curtain
D) increased export production
E) none of the above

Question 15

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 16

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 17

What is chernozem?

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

Question 18

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 19

All of these Central Asian republics can be characterized as desert and semi-desert, except ________.

A) Kyrgyzstan
B) Turkmenistan
C) Uzbekistan
D) Kazakhstan
E) None of these are desert or semi-desert.

Question 20

What does apparatchik mean?

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

Question 21

The most important crop grown under irrigation in Central Asia is:

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

Question 22

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 23

What is the sukhovey?

A) a hot, drying wind characteristic of Central Asian deserts
B) a drought-resistant vegetation type native to Central Asia
C) a Muslim community in Central Asia
D) a kind of Soviet-era collective farm
E) none of these

Question 24

The crescent shaped dunes of the semi-desert and desert zone of Russia are called:

A) moraines
B) silt
C) loess
D) barchans
E) inselbergs

Question 25

Lithuania, Belarus, southern Latvia, and western Ukraine became part of the Russian Empire during this person's reign.

A) Peter the Great
B) Catherine the Great
C) Alexander the Great
D) Joseph Stalin
E) none of the above

Question 26

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 27

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 28

The original industrial base of Russia's Central Region was:

A) food processing
B) steel
C) petrochemicals
D) paper and paperboard
E) textiles

Question 29

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

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

Question 30

What country or region has experienced the greatest environmental impact from the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl, 1986?

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Russia
D) Scandinavia
E) Central Asia

Question 31

All of these are regions of armed territorial conflict except:

A) Tajikistan
B) Nagorno-Karabakh
C) Siberia
D) Georgia
E) There are armed conflicts in all of these regions.

Question 32

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 33

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 34

Which river marks the boundary between the West Siberian Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau?

A) Irtysh River
B) Dnieper River
C) Angera River
D) Amur River
E) Yenisey River

Question 35

Zek labor is:

A) indentured labor
B) slave labor
C) free labor
D) convict labor
E) none of the above

Question 36

Unlike Moscow, St. Petersburg:

A) was founded by Scandinavians
B) is a religious center for Russian Muslims
C) is very old, predating the Russian Empire
D) is a port on the Atlantic
E) was, for a brief period, not part of the Russian Empire

Question 37

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 38

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 39

The original resource base of the Urals region was ________.

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

Question 40

The technique that allows the cultivation of crops without irrigation in regions of limited moisture is referred to as:

A) dry-farming
B) irrigation farming
C) slash and burn
D) swidden
E) intertillage

Question 41

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 42

St. Petersburg was Peter the Great's planned capital for Russia.

Question 43

In 2005, the number of women who held seats in the Russian parliament was:

A) less than 4%
B) 25%
C) 30%
D) 50%
E) 75%

Question 44

Most people in the Russian Federation are Orthodox Christians.

Question 45

The last leader of the Soviet Union was:

A) Nicholas II
B) Yeltsin
C) Putin
D) Gorbachev
E) Alexander

Question 46

Barchans are:

A) isolated remnants of worn-down mountain ranges
B) impenetrable thickets of hardy trees and thorny bushes
C) long ridges of sand in crescent-shaped dunes
D) blocks of land that drops between two others, forming a steep-sided trough
E) salt deposits caused when water evaporates from the surface of the land

Question 47

Which one of the following countries was once part of the Russian Empire?

A) Norway
B) Denmark
C) Finland
D) Sweden
E) They all were once part of the Russian Empire.

Question 48

The Soviet period was notable as a period of environmental protection and careful management of natural resources.

Question 49

In 1904, most of the residents of the Russian Empire were not ethnic Russians.

Question 50

One of the main reasons for Russian imperial expansion was the drive for more warm-water ports.

Question 51

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 52

Most Chechens are Sunni Muslims.

Question 53

Global warming has led to reduced energy demand in Russia.

Question 54

In 2008, how many Russians lived below the poverty level?

A) 50%
B) 14%
C) 2%
D) 80%
E) 30%

Question 55

This is a low-growing, cold-resistant vegetation type found in the Siberian Plain.

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

Question 56

The fastest growing religious group in Russia is:

A) Hindi
B) Jewish
C) Buddhist
D) Muslim
E) Christian

Question 57

Oligarchs are a small group of individuals who acquired tremendous wealth in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Question 58

Moscow dominates the Central Region.

Question 59

The "Golden Age" of Russian high culture was:

A) late 14th and early 15th centuries
B) late 19th and early 20th centuries
C) late 12th and early 13th centuries
D) late 20th and early 21st centuries
E) late 17th and early 18th centuries

Question 60

Since the end of Communism, birth rates have declined in Russia.

Question 61

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Uzbekistan

Question 62

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Belarus

Question 63

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Turkmenistan

Question 64

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Tajikistan

Question 65

Russia currently has the largest population in the world.

Question 66

Approximately 10% of the Russian population self-identify as Muslims.

Question 67

Discuss the fall of the Soviet Union. When did the Soviet system collapse? What economic, cultural and political factors led to the dissolution of this vast empire?

Question 68

When did Russia's imperial expansion begin? What were some of the factors behind this imperialistic quest?

Question 69

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Russia

Question 70

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Azerbaijan

Question 71

Discuss global warming and the impact it is having on the Russian Federation. What are some of the negative impacts of global warming on this country? Are there any positive effects?

Question 72

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Armenia

Question 73

Since the fall of communism in the Russian Federation, life expectancies have increased for both men and women.

Question 74

Discuss at least three examples of how the Soviet Union's "five year plans" negatively impacted Russia's environment.

Question 75

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Kazakhstan

Question 76

Oil and gas account for approximately 20% of Russia's economy.

Question 77

The Central Region accounts for about 25% of the Russian Federation's textile manufacturers.

Question 78

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Georgia

Question 79

Match each country with its capital.

A) Minsk
B) Ashkhabad
C) Baku
D) Yerevan
E) Dushanbe
F) Bishkek
G) Tbilisi
H) Moscow
I) Tashkent
J) Astana
Kyrgyzstan

Question 80

In 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded in a power facility at Chernobyl. What were the human and environmental consequences of this disaster? Today, what policy does the Russian Federation have regarding the storage of nuclear waste?