Deck 5: Russia and the Post-Soviet States

Question 1

Which of the following statements best describes the way elderly and working-class Russians view Putin and similar political leaders?

A) corrupt politicians not to be trusted
B) forces for stability during politically turbulent times
C) radical liberal politicians
D) champions of democracy and Western ideals

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Carpathian Mountains and the Ural Mountains are connected by:

A) Turkmenistan.
B) the Norwegian Sea.
C) the Irkutsk Basin.
D) the North European Plain.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The feminist punk band Pussy Riot did which of the following political acts?

A) They endorsed presidential favorite Vladimir Putin.
B) The lead singer ran as the first female Russian presidential candidate.
C) They staged an unauthorized performance protesting Vladimir Putin's policies.
D) They staged a performance at Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In its heyday,the USSR stretched from Central Europe to __________.

A) Asia Minor
B) the Pacific Ocean
C) the Caspian Sea
D) the Kara Sea

Question 5

The current president of Russia is:

A) Mikhail Gorbachev.
B) Boris Yeltsin.
C) Vladimir Putin.
D) Nikita Khrushchev.

Question 6

Between the North European Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau is __________.

A) the Irkutsk Basin
B) Northeast China Plain
C) Kolyma Mountain Range
D) West Siberian Plain

Question 7

Which country is NOT one of the post-Soviet states?

A) Turkmenistan
B) Uzbekistan
C) Azerbaijan
D) Montenegro

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT one of Russia's internal republics?

A) Azerbaijan
B) Ossetia
C) Chechnya
D) Tatarstan

Question 9

The world's largest country is:

A) China.
B) Canada.
C) Russia.
D) the United States.

Question 10

The part of Russia west of the Urals is sometimes called:

A) Georgia.
B) Kirkuk.
C) European Russia.
D) Turkmenistan.

Question 11

European Russia's most important river is the __________.

A) Danube
B) Kolyma
C) Volga
D) Yangtze

Question 12

Which of the following Russian mountain ranges is closest to Russia's western border?

A) Urals
B) Kolymas
C) E.Sayans
D) Stanovoys

Question 13

Russia remains predominant in its region (and the world)due to all of the following EXCEPT its:

A) oil and gas reserves.
B) military.
C) size and population.
D) strong currency.

Question 14

The official name of Russia today is the __________.

A) USSR
B) Russian Federation
C) Russian Confederacy
D) Union of Russian Republics

Question 15

Which is NOT a challenge being faced by the former states of the USSR?

A) crime
B) economic instability
C) political corruption
D) embargoes

Question 16

The Ural Mountains start at the Arctic Ocean and end in __________.

A) Kazakhstan
B) Ukraine
C) Georgia
D) Belarus

Question 17

What fraction of Earth's land surface did the USSR cover?

A) one-eighth
B) one-sixth
C) one-fourth
D) one-third

Question 18

After staging a "comeback" in 2012,the president of Russia is now serving his __________ term.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fifth

Question 19

At the northern end of the Volga River is the __________;at the southern end of the Volga River is the __________.

A) Kara Sea;Mediterranean Sea
B) Baltic Sea;Caspian Sea
C) Black Sea;White Sea
D) Dead Sea;Sea of Japan

Question 20

The term used to describe semiarid grasslands is:

A) tundra.
B) pampas.
C) savanna.
D) steppe.

Question 21

For what purpose were the waters of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers,both of which supply the Aral Sea,diverted?

A) hydropower production
B) nuclear reactor cooling
C) textile manufacturing
D) farmland irrigation

Question 22

The world's worst nuclear disaster took place in __________.

A) Ukraine
B) Kazakhstan
C) Azerbaijan
D) Chechnya

Question 23

According to the text,all of the following are nonpoint sources of pollution EXCEPT:

A) trash burning.
B) automobile exhaust.
C) raw sewage.
D) agricultural chemicals.

Question 24

Which of the following is the best summary of Soviet ideology's approach to the environment?

A) Nature is a powerful force and should be respected.
B) Forests should be harvested,but water should not be polluted.
C) Nature is the servant of industrial and agricultural progress.
D) Humanity should live in harmony with the land.

Question 25

In Central Asia,east of the Caucasus Mountains,the climate is best described as:

A) moist.
B) arid or semiarid.
C) temperate.
D) tundra-like.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a nonpoint source of pollution?

A) raw sewage
B) untreated automobile exhaust
C) agricultural chemicals drained into urban water supplies
D) nuclear waste

Question 27

In Uzbekistan,south of the Aral Sea,residents report chronic illnesses caused by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) food poisoning.
B) polluted drinking water.
C) air pollution.
D) inadequate sanitation.

Question 28

In which country in the region did the Soviet military set off nuclear test explosions?

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Kazakhstan
D) Azerbaijan

Question 29

Once the fourth-largest lake in the world,the landlocked Aral Sea had lost __________ percent of its volume as of 2001.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 75

Question 30

Which of the following is considered one of the world's most polluted cities?

A) Hong Kong
B) Beijing
C) Dzerzhinsk
D) Gdansk

Question 31

An area in which only lichen and moss can grow is referred to as __________.

A) steppe
B) tundra
C) permafrost
D) savanna

Question 32

The environmental and climatic changes wrought by the diversion of water from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers are reflected in which of the following phenomena?

A) saltwater intrusion in the Black Sea
B) shrinkage of the Aral Sea
C) heavier and more frequent rains in Central Asia
D) cooler average temperatures throughout Central Asia

Question 33

The body of water once fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers,and now only a fraction of its original size,is the:

A) Aral Sea.
B) Adriatic Sea.
C) Baltic Sea.
D) Mongolian Sea.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a resource that Russia has in abundance?

A) iron ore and coal
B) nickel
C) forests
D) silver and gold

Question 35

A Russian city with particularly strong mineral wealth is:

A) Norilsk.
B) Seversk.
C) Leningrad.
D) Minsk.

Question 36

Which two plates meet close to the eastern border of Russia?

A) the Pacific Plate and the Arctic Plate
B) the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate
C) the Ural Plate and the Arctic Plate
D) the Georgian Plate and the Japanese Plate

Question 37

Cotton production now makes up __________ percent of Uzbekistan's exports:

A) 11
B) 25
C) 45
D) 63

Question 38

Which area is home to some of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas?

A) the Central Siberian Plateau
B) Moscow and its environs
C) the West Siberian Plain
D) the Ural Mountains

Question 39

Wandering people who live on the meat and milk provided by their herds of sheep,horses,and grazing animals are known as:

A) hunter/gatherers.
B) urbanistes.
C) nomadic pastoralists.
D) gypsies.

Question 40

The Chernobyl nuclear plant was located in:

A) Georgia.
B) Russia.
C) Ukraine.
D) Chechnya.

Question 41

For Stalin,the key to achieving rapid economic growth was:

A) investments in education and human capital.
B) increased industrial production.
C) increased agricultural production.
D) efficient infrastructure and transportation.

Question 42

The earliest towns in the Russian region arose in:

A) the far eastern end of the region.
B) the dry lands of Central Asia and the forests of Ukraine,Russia,and the Caucasus.
C) the interior of the region,within a day's travel distance of water and mountains.
D) areas invaded and destroyed by the nomadic pastoralists.

Question 43

The alphabet used in most of the countries of the Russian region is:

A) Roman.
B) Armenian.
C) Sanskrit.
D) Cyrillic.

Question 44

The Slavic ruler who defeated the Mongols and began the modern Russian empire was:

A) Genghis Khan.
B) Alexander the Great.
C) Ivan the Terrible.
D) Vlad the Impaler.

Question 45

The first leader of Russia's Communist Party was:

A) Karl Marx.
B) Vladimir Lenin.
C) Leo Tolstoy.
D) Josef Stalin.

Question 46

In the Stalin era,which of the following was the place to which resisters and dissenters were sent to work in labor camps?

A) Mongolia
B) Turkmenistan
C) Alaska
D) Siberia

Question 47

Rapid industrialization under Stalin was made possible by a __________ economy in which the government controlled all land and means of production.

A) sans culottes
B) capitalist
C) communist
D) centrally planned

Question 48

The Marxists who gained control of Russia after the Russian Revolution in 1917 were known as:

A) Shintoists.
B) Tories.
C) Bolsheviks.
D) Apparatchiks.

Question 49

The original homeland of the Slavs was centered in modern-day:

A) Slovenia.
B) Finland,Norway,and Sweden.
C) Yugoslavia (including Serbia).
D) Poland,Ukraine,and Belarus.

Question 50

Russia's Communist Party was formed by:

A) former serfs.
B) Karl Marx.
C) proletarians.
D) Bolsheviks.

Question 51

What type of economy was instituted in the USSR under the rule of Stalin?

A) capitalism
B) monopoly
C) demand economy
D) command economy

Question 52

The beginnings of a private market began in the Soviet Union under:

A) Shevardnadze.
B) Yeltsin.
C) Gorbachev.
D) Putin.

Question 53

The term used to describe the fifty-year-long geopolitical rivalry between the Soviet Union and its allies against the United States and its allies is __________.

A) proletariat
B) the Cold War
C) the Iron Curtain
D) the Bolshevik Revolution

Question 54

Which of the following was NOT a major shortcoming of the strategies and policies instituted by Stalin?

A) Stalin favored industrial production over consumer goods.
B) Stalin's government was brutal and cruel,and millions died as a result.
C) The lack of basics such as food and clothing caused people to stand in line for hours or go without.
D) Russia's economy never grew and remained stagnant until the dismantling of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Question 55

Bolshevik ideals were inspired by communist principles developed by German revolutionary philosopher __________.

A) Josef Stalin
B) Mikhail Gorbachev
C) Karl Marx
D) Ivan the Terrible

Question 56

The leader of the Russian empire was known as the __________.

A) king
B) czar
C) president
D) pharaoh

Question 57

The first non-Russian area to be annexed into the Russian empire,in the early seventeenth century,was:

A) Siberia.
B) Tatarstan.
C) Georgia.
D) Armenia.

Question 58

A war in which of the following countries helped stretch the USSR past the breaking point?

A) Afghanistan
B) Vietnam
C) Cuba
D) North Korea

Question 59

The Moscow landmark that commemorates the defeat of the Mongols in the twelfth century is:

A) Red Square.
B) the Houses of Parliament.
C) the Hermitage.
D) St.Basil's Cathedral.

Question 60

In the twelfth century,the __________ conquered the forested lands of Ukraine and Russia.

A) Slavs
B) Mongols
C) Chinese
D) Anglo-Saxons

Question 61

To prevent Russia's oil and gas wealth from causing a backslide to Cold War hostilities,Russia was invited to join what international organization?

A) NATO
B) EU
C) G8
D) OPEC

Question 62

Because the region is landlocked,the only way to get oil and gas to the world market is via:

A) the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
B) pipeline.
C) truck and highway transport.
D) pack animals due to the rugged terrain.

Question 63

Taxes on oil and gas companies now fund what percentage of Russia's federal budget?

A) none
B) less than 10 percent
C) 25 percent
D) more than 50 percent

Question 64

The world's largest exporter of natural gas is:

A) North America via Alaska.
B) Scandinavia.
C) Russia.
D) Ukraine.

Question 65

All of the following describe Russia's "shock therapy" strategy EXCEPT:

A) abandonment of government price controls.
B) private business owners determined prices.
C) inflation and high prices during the 1990s.
D) widespread wealth and prosperity.

Question 66

The world's largest gas company is:

A) Glasnost.
B) Perestroika.
C) Group of Eight.
D) Gazprom.

Question 67

The term used to describe individuals whose great wealth allows them to wield enormous (and often clandestine)political control is:

A) autocrats.
B) czars.
C) plutarchs.
D) oligarchs.

Question 68

Which of the following was NOT provided as part of a job in the Soviet Union?

A) subsidized housing
B) a guarantee of lifetime employment
C) health care
D) social services

Question 69

The Russian organized crime syndicate run by former members of the KGB is the:

A) Russian Liberation Front.
B) Soviet Solidarity Movement.
C) Russian Black Market.
D) Russian Mafia.

Question 70

The __________ is an international organization of the world's wealthiest and most highly industrialized nations.

A) G8
B) WTO
C) NGO
D) EU

Question 71

In the Soviet Union,what institution provided most of one's basic social services?

A) nongovernmental organizations
B) workplace
C) extended family
D) military

Question 72

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the closing of many Communist-era industries,the region has now become dependent on its role as a leading global exporter of:

A) technology.
B) consumer goods.
C) coal.
D) energy resources.

Question 73

Which of the following countries is NOT a member of the BRIC trade consortium?

A) Indonesia
B) China
C) Russia
D) Brazil

Question 74

What percentage of the Russian landmass is suitable for agricultural production?

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 40 percent

Question 75

The process of moving industries from government ownership to individual ownership is called:

A) communism.
B) privatization.
C) entrepreneurship.
D) Russification.

Question 76

The Soviet KGB is now known as the:

A) National Security Bureau.
B) MI-5.
C) Russian Protectorate.
D) Federal Security Service.

Question 77

Which of the following countries is NOT part of the trade consortium known as BRIC?

A) Chile
B) Russia
C) India
D) Brazil

Question 78

The fortunes of today's Russia rise and fall on the price of __________.

A) timber
B) oil
C) fashion
D) wheat

Question 79

The mujahedeen was a __________ fundamentalist movement in Afghanistan.

A) Christian
B) Muslim
C) Jewish
D) Hindu

Question 80

Which of the following areas is NOT a part of Russia's agricultural backbone?

A) the Central Siberian Plateau
B) the Caucasian mountain zones
C) Ukraine
D) European Russia