Russia

Question 1

In a 1905 diary entry, Nicholas II wrote of this man, “We have made the acquaintance of a man of God.”

Answer 1

Rasputin

Question 2

The primary members of this ruling dynasty were killed by Bolshevik authorities during the February Revolution in 1917.

Answer 2

Romanov

Question 3

The USSR celebrated the anniversary of the October Revolution in this month.

Answer 3

November

Question 4

Russia took out $200 million in insurance, anticipating any damage that might be caused by this in 2001.

Answer 4

MIR Space Station

Question 5

Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev used what Russian term for “openness” to name a policy introduced in 1986 that relaxed repression on human rights and increased governmental transparency?

Answer 5

Glasnost

Question 6

What was the name of the battleship whose crew mutinied in 1905 during the Russian Revolution, subsequently bombarding Odessa before retreating to Romania, where the surviving crewmembers were granted asylum?

Answer 6

Potemkin

Question 7

“We understand each other…and let the other prattle”, said Catherine the Great of this longtime adviser and less longtime lover.

Answer 7

Grigory Potemkin

Question 8

What was the name of the moderate “minority” faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of the early 20th century, which (unlike their “majority” counterparts) favored a slower and more progressive transformation of society (which, in fact, is not what turned out to occur)?

Answer 8

Mensheviks