Here is a quick test of your knowledge of Russian history, both ancient and modern:
1- Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I, made a unique vow upon wresting power from the young Ivan VI (who ruled only one year). Historians say that she was probably successful in keeping that vow. What was it?
2- On a freezing Sunday morning in January of 1905, an Orthodox priest named Gapon led a group of peaceful marchers to the Winter Palace to ask Nicholas (II) for bread and improved working conditions. As it turned out, Nicholas was not at the palace. Sadly, palace guards panicked and began to shoot into the crowd which included many women and children. What term do Russians use to describe that event?
3- In the West, we call a certain event the "
Cuban missile crisis." Russians are unfamiliar with that term, but they do have a name for it. What do they call that crisis?
4- "
Fiddler on the Roof" is the story of a Jewish family during the anti-Semitic pogroms under Tsar Alexander III. Those pogroms sparked a wave of migration of Russian Jews to the West. One food that is now popular, especially in the Eastern USA, is a round boiled bread that some claim came to the USA during that first migration wave. What is the name of that bread?
5- Mired in a crippling depression, Vladimir Lenin temporarily suspended parts of Marxism-Communism for a limited version of economic freedom. It worked, and that was perhaps the only 5-year plan that was successful during the Soviet period. It granted limited economic freedoms and had the initials NEP. What does NEP mean?
6- There were plenty of coups and palace intrigues during the Imperial period, but during Soviet times only one party/supreme ruler was deposed and exiled. Who was that person?
7- Russia lost World War One; forced to sue for peace. Most Russians do not know since Russian history texts create a falsehood about that war. In the treaty for peace, Russia had to give up certain possessions they had previously conquered and ruled, such as Finland, western Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and the territory of the Baltic countries. What was the name of that peace treaty the Russians were forced to sign?
8- Catherine the Great ruled with an iron fist and some of her most enduring accomplishments included conquering neighboring states to enlarge Russia's borders, and building the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. She had a son, Paul, who hated her as much as she hated him. She announced that upon her death, her will would stipulate that her grandson Alexander (Paul's child) would become the next Tsar of Russia. However, she died before changing her will and so by law Paul became Tsar. What was Paul's first official act upon assuming power?
9- On the night of 25 October 1917, a single shot rang out from a naval
cruiser battleship docked in St Petersburg. It was a signal to waiting Bolshevik forces to storm the Winter Palace where the Russian provisional government was in session. In a coup d'etat, the Bolsheviks arrested the members of the government and threw them into the prison at the Peter and Paul fortress. What was the name of the Russian navy battleship that fired that famous shot?
10- Using the information from the question above, most Russians to this day refuse to term the overthrow of that legitimate government as a coup d'etat. Instead, they call that event by what name?
11- Tsar Alexander II freed the serfs, well sort of. They were given rights to the land they worked and a percentage of what they produced from the land. However, they had to pay a "redemption" which was a mortgage of sorts to the government. How many years did such a "redemption" last for a serf to earn freedom?
12- Empress Alexandra believed that the monk Rasputin had been sent by God in order to save Russia and also to save her son, Alexis. What specifically did Rasputin do for the young prince Alexis?
13- To keep the nobility in check, and to encourage public service, Peter the Great introduced a table/chart by which nobility could gain titles and privileges based on their services to Russia. The positions of Field Marshall, Chancellor, General/Admiral, etc, were set out as to how each could be attained. This table remained unchanged until Catherine the Great added time of service to the qualifications. This system lasted from 1722 until the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. What was it called?
14- There are two rulers, one from ancient history and the other from Soviet times, who ruled with incredible cruelty and unimaginable disregard for human life, yet both are revered and held in high esteem today as "strong leaders" for Russia. The earlier has a tower named for his title as Tsar, the smallest of the 20 towers along the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. The more modern of the two was prominently featured in the May 2015 annual Victory Parade in Moscow. Who are they?
15- Peter's half sister Sophia ruled as regent when Peter was a child. Technically there were two Tsars, Peter and his half brother Ivan (son of Fyodor). Ivan was disabled and with limited speech, and so Sophia had a two seat/double throne assembled (on display in the Kremlin Armoury). Craftsmen cut a secret opening in the back of the throne so that Sophia could whisper instructions to Peter when the boys were in session. In 1696, Sophia attempted a palace coup to unseat Peter, but by that time he was a young man and had forged alliances with his palace guard. His sister was arrested and imprisoned in a famous Moscow women's monastery. She would not be the last female of Russian nobility to end up there. What is the name of this beautiful monastery that today functions both as a state museum, and a working monastery in Moscow?
16- When Peter was building his city along the swampy land near the Neva river, he laid out plans in advance thus making St Petersburg to be one of the first "planned" cities of Europe. Which foreign European city was his inspiration?
17- Due to the swampy conditions, instead of the traditional monetary tax that was customary for visitors to enter a city, what building material (very heavy) was required to visit Peter's new city?
18- One early Empress, who ruled for 34 years, had no Russian blood. She was German. She adopted Orthodoxy, because fluent in Russian, and was a very popular ruler. Who was she?
I sincerely hope that while this is quite difficult for most, that even the questions themselves will have given you greater knowledge into this fascinating land. I'm not
that smart, but I used a really great resource: Author Jennifer Eremeeva's newest book "
Have Personality Disorder, Will Rule Russia."
Jennifer is a American writer married to a Russian man, and has lived in Moscow for some 20 years. Her first book, "
Lenin Lives Next Door" is available from Amazon.
