Russian History Questions

Name _________________________________ Date __________ Period ___________ Researching Russia Directions: Using the reference materials (including but not limited to the Internet, almanacs, atlases, encyclopedias, and books), research the answers to the following questions. The Internet is a useful source but you should make use of other resources should it not be available! 1. On November 1, 1993, the parliament of the Russian Republic of the USSR granted Russian President ______________________ broad power to begin radical economic reforms. 2. In 1991, the population of Russia was estimated at ________________________. 3. In the ninth century, Scandinavian chieftains established the first Russian state, centering it on ___________________ and Kiev. 4. When did Lenin die? _____________ How did he die? _____________________ 5. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad lasted from June 1941 until January ___________. 6. When did Stalin die? ________ How old was he? _______ 7. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, massive Soviet military aid to __________________ helped assure communist victories throughout Southeast Asia. 8. Russia comprises over ________% of the total area of the former USSR and has ____________________ square miles, making it the largest country in the world. 9. What is the current life expectancy for Russian males? 10. The Russian monetary unit is the _________________. 11. The breed of cat known as the Russian blue is distinguished for its vivid ___________ colored eyes and the _____________ quality of its blue-gray coat. 12. Who is the author of War and Peace? 13. Who is the author of The Brothers Karamazov? 14. Which Russian author was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for Doctor Zhivago but declined the prize? 5. Leningrad’s St. Isaac’s Cathedral on Decembrists’ Square was designed by French architect ______________________ and built between 1819 and 1858. 16. The _______________, or Russian wolfhound, was first imported into the United States in 1889. 17. In 1854, British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson made Balaklava famous in his poem _______________________ ________. 18. On January 22, 1904, George Melitonovich Balanchivadze was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He gained a reputation for the foremost representative of neoclassicism ballet. His professional name was __________________________. 9. Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is best known for what experiment? ____________________________________________________________ _________ 20. In 1910, Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova made her American debut with Russian dancer ______________________ at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 21. Which Russian chemist compiled the ‘periodic table of elements? ’ ______________________________________ 22. On what date was the Russian Sputnik I put into orbit? ______________________ 23. On what date was the Russian Sputnik II put into orbit? ______________________ 24. September 17, 1957, was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin E. _________________________. 25. On January 2, 1959, unmanned interplanetary flight was proved feasible when the Soviet Union’s Mechta entered into orbit around the sun. 26. The Volga River is ________ miles, or ________ kilometers long. 27. What was the name of the imperial family that ruled Russia from 1613 until 1917? _______________________________ 28. The age of romanticism in Russian literature is from the late _________ until the early 1840s. 29. Who wrote The Twelve (1918)? __________________ 0. During World War II, the Soviet Union and Finland fought each other in two wars. The ‘Winter War’ was from 1939 to __________________. The ‘Continuation War’ was from 1941 until ______________. Who lost both wars? 31. When did the Russo-Japanese War begin? ____________ 32. When did the Russo-Japanese War end? ___________ 33. Catherine the Great (1729-96) ru led Russia for _________ years. 34. In what year did construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral begin? 35. The breed of dog known as the borzoi originated in Russia in the 1600s. Its average weight is __________ to ___________ pounds. 36. When World War I broke out, Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky settled in what country? _______________________ 37. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Tula to Moscow? __________ 38. The island Great Lyakhov is in the _____________ Sea. 39. Who wrote Boris? _____________________________ 40. The ‘900-day siege’ of Leningrad during World War II caused ____________ deaths. 41. Russia is ____________ times the size of the United States but has a population of less than _______% percent of the people in the United States as of 2000. 42. What is the per capita Russian income? _____________________ 43. What is the life expectancy for Russian females? _____________ 44. In 1967, the Soviet government produced a film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in commemoration of 50th anniversary of the Revolution. The Russian language version of the film ____ hours and _____. 45. ____________________ delivers gifts to Russian children on New Year’ s Eve. 46. In which direction would you travel if you drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg? __________________________ 47. The ________________ Mountains form a dividing line between Asia and Europe. 48. The _____________________ Strait separates Russia and Alaska. 49. Tsar Nicholas II was married to the granddaughter of Queen _____________ of England. 50. Name the son of Tsar Nicholas who suffered from hemophilia. _______________ 51. Twenty-three of the _________________ volcanoes on Kamchatka Peninsula are active. 52. The Caucasus Mountains are composed of limestone and ______________ rocks with some volcanic formations. 53. The Caspian Sea has a surface area of about ________________ square miles. 54. In December, Moscow averages _______________ days with overcast skies. 5. St. Isaac’s Cathedral is located on ______________ Prospect, a famous thoroughfare in Leningrad. 56. In the late 1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 57. In the mid-1980s, the population density of the USSR was _______ persons per square mile. 58. The State _______________ Museum in Leningrad is considered to be one of the world’s great museums. 59. Valent ina V. ___________ was the first woman to orbit the earth. 60. The ___________________ Railroad runs north of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. USS