Russian Revolution

Question 1

Who was the last Tsar of Russia?

Answer 1

Nicholas II

Question 2

What was the 300 year dynasty that Communism replaced?

Answer 2

Romanov

Question 3

What was Rasputin’s role in the revolution?

Answer 3

• Influence over the royal family
• Meddling in government affairs
• Fueled growing discontent with Romanov dynasty

Question 4

When was Rasputin assassinated?

Answer 4

1916

Question 5

When was the Russian Revolution?

Answer 5

1917-23

Question 6

What was the ideaology of the Soviet Union?

Answer 6

Marxism-Lenninism

Question 7

What was the major economic plan introduced by Stalin in the 1920s?

Answer 7

The Five-Year Plans.

Question 8

Which agency was responible for Soviet economic planning?

Answer 8

Gosplan

Question 9

What was the political police force called during the early Soviet period?

Answer 9

Cheka

Question 10

Name the policy introduced by Lenin in 1921 to revive the economy.

Answer 10

New Economic Policy (NEP)

Question 11

What was the main purpose of Stalin’s Great Purge?

Answer 11

To eliminate potential political rivals and consolidate power.

Question 12

During which period did the Soviet Union experience rapid industrialization?

Answer 12

The late 1920s to the 1930s.

Question 13

Who was the Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 13

Nikita Khrushchev.

Question 14

Name the treaty that marked Russia’s exit from World War I.

Answer 14

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918).

Question 15

What was the primary opposition group to the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War?

Answer 15

The White Army

Question 16

What was the name of the policy of openness and transparency introduced by Gorbachev?

Answer 16

Glasnost

Question 17

What was the name of the plan that aimed to restructure the Soviet economy, introduced by Gorbachev?

Answer 17

Perestroika

Question 18

What’s an example of Glasnost?

Answer 18

A more open media (that could be critical of government)

Question 19

Give an example of perestroika

Answer 19

Reforms that allowed for greater autonomy for state enterprises and the establishment of private businesses

Question 20

What event in 1956 demonstrated Soviet military force in suppressing uprisings in satellite states?

Answer 20

Hungarian Uprising

Question 21

What was the primary agricultural policy under Stalin?

Answer 21

Collectivization

Question 22

What was the term used for the Soviet policy of forcibly integrating ethnic minorities?

Answer 22

Russification

Question 23

Which 1986 nuclear disaster significantly affected the Soviet Union?

Answer 23

Chernobyl Disaster

Question 24

What was the collective name for the Russian workers’ councils?

Answer 24

Soviets

Question 25

When was Stalin's term of office?

Answer 25

1924 until his death in 1953

Question 26

What was Stalin's full name?

Answer 26

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin

Question 27

What was Lennin's full name?

Answer 27

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov

Question 28

What was the main opposition party to the Bolsheviks during the early days of the revolution?

Answer 28

Mensheviks

Question 29

What wall, built in 1961, became a symbol of the Cold War?

Answer 29

Berlin Wall

Question 30

Name the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union.

Answer 30

Sputnik (1957)

Question 31

What was the primary goal of the Soviet Union's space program during the Cold War?

Answer 31

To demonstrate technological and ideological superiority over the West.

Question 32

What was the policy of 'De-Stalinization' initiated by Khrushchev?

Answer 32

A series of political reforms to reverse the harsh policies of Stalin.

Question 33

Which 1979 event escalated tensions in the Cold War?

Answer 33

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Question 34

Who was the leader of the Soviet Union during the Chernobyl disaster?

Answer 34

Mikhail Gorbachev.

Question 35

Name the 1939 agreement between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

Answer 35

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

Question 36

What was the major famine that occurred in the Soviet Union in the early 1930s?

Answer 36

The Holodomor, predominantly in Ukraine.

Question 37

What was the primary foreign policy doctrine of the Soviet Union during the Cold War?

Answer 37

The Brezhnev Doctrine.

Question 38

Name the 1956 speech by Khrushchev that criticized Stalin's rule.

Answer 38

The "Secret Speech."

Question 39

What major land redistribution policy did Lenin implement?

Answer 39

The Decree on Land, which redistributed land to the peasantry.

Question 40

What health issue significantly affected Lenin in his later years?

Answer 40

Multiple strokes, which eventually led to his death in 1924.

Question 41

What was Stalin's primary economic policy?

Answer 41

Rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture.

Question 42

What infamous event is Stalin known for in the late 1930s?

Answer 42

The Great Purge, a campaign of political repression.

Question 43

How did Khrushchev's leadership end?

Answer 43

He was ousted in a party coup in 1964.

Question 44

What major policy did Khrushchev introduce in agriculture?

Answer 44

The Virgin Lands Campaign.

Question 45

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Answer 45

A policy that justified Soviet intervention in socialist countries to safeguard socialism.

Question 46

Who was the Soviet leader from 1964 to 1982?

Answer 46

Leonid Brezhnev.

Question 47

What was the official state policy towards religion in the Soviet Union?

Answer 47

State atheism; religious practices were discouraged and often suppressed.

Question 48

How did the Soviet Union approach education and literacy?

Answer 48

It implemented widespread education reforms, achieving near-universal literacy.

Question 49

What were Gosplan and the planned economy?

Answer 49

Gosplan was the state planning committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union's command economy.ere Gosplan and the planned economy?

Question 50

What was the main characteristic of Soviet agricultural policy under Stalin?

Answer 50

Forced collectivization, which led to widespread famine and disruption.

Question 51

What was Socialist Realism?

Answer 51

The officially sanctioned art style in the Soviet Union, focused on glorifying communism and Soviet life.

Question 52

What was the role of the Red Army?

Answer 52

The Red Army was the military force of the Soviet Union, playing a key role in World War II and the Cold War.

Question 53

What were the key factors leading to the fall of the Soviet Union?

Answer 53

Economic stagnation, political reforms under Gorbachev, nationalistic movements in the republics, and the failure of the 1991 coup attempt.

Question 54

What was the significance of the 1991 coup attempt?

Answer 54

It was a failed attempt by hardliners to take control and halt Gorbachev's reforms, accelerating the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Question 55

What was the Thaw?

Answer 55

A period of relative liberalization and eased censorship after Stalin's death, particularly under Khrushchev.

Question 56

What was the Doctors' Plot?

Answer 56

A fabricated conspiracy in 1953 accusing Jewish doctors of plotting to kill Soviet leaders, indicative of Stalin's paranoia.

Question 57

What was the Soviet Union's policy towards Israel initially?

Answer 57

The Soviet Union initially supported the creation of Israel in 1948 but later shifted to supporting Arab states.

Question 58

What was samizdat?

Answer 58

The clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, a form of dissident activity.

Question 59

Who was Boris Yeltsin?

Answer 59

Boris Yeltsin was a significant political figure in Russia, best known for his role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union and as the first President of the Russian Federation, a position he held from 1991 to 1999