Deck 13: Russia

Question 1

Gorbachev's reforms in the 1980s relied on the policies of glasnost and perestroika, or

A)political openness and economic restructuring.
B)demilitarization and federalism.
C)multiparty elections and constitutional reform.
D)economic reform and increased competition with the West.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In which of the following ways does the electoral structure under Putin differ from that under President Yeltsin?

A)It has two rounds of voting for the Duma instead of a single round.
B)It is pure proportional representation instead of mixed PR and SMD.
C)Voters must cast ballots for individual candidates instead of for parties.
D)Voters must demonstrate registration with a specific pre-approved political party in order to cast a ballot.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Under Putin, economic assets have been increasingly concentrated in the hands of the

A)European Union.
B)oligarchs.
C)Communist Party.
D)siloviki.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Lenin consolidated the 1917 revolution in part through the nomenklatura, which were

A)the secret police.
B)the mass armies used to defeat the opponents of the revolution.
C)the local Soviets that provided grassroots support to the revolution.
D)politically influential Communists who were given important jobs in the bureaucracy.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about the Russian province of Chechnya is accurate?

A)Putin's harsh invasion of Chechnya resulted in his initial loss of the presidency and assuming of the role of prime minister.
B)Despite its status as an independent republic under the Soviet Union, Chechnya was denied independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
C)Chechnya was able to operate as an independent country in actions, if not in formal status, during much of the 1990s.
D)Chechnya's ideological identification with the West has in large part led to the numerous invasions by the Russian military.

Question 6

The term parties of power denotes

A)parties built by elites to serve their personal political aspirations.
B)those elites that controlled the Soviet Union until 1991.
C)nationalist parties in Russia that call for the restoration of the Soviet Union.
D)parties in Russia that rely on a single ethnic group for support.

Question 7

The Federation Council's primary role is to

A)generate legislation.
B)represent local interests.
C)serve as the prime minister's cabinet.
D)advise the president on foreign policy issues.

Question 8

What immediately replaced the rule of the last tsar when he was finally forced to step down in 1917?

A)noncommunist republican leadership
B)Lenin's Communist state
C)dictatorship sympathetic to Germany
D)antiwar prime minster and parliament

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes Russia's geography?

A)It has few neighboring countries and is surrounded mostly by water.
B)It has a population larger than that of the European Union or the United States.
C)It lacks natural resources.
D)It is much larger, though less populated, than the United States.

Question 10

The differences in powers between different regions in Russia are referred to as

A)asymmetric federalism.
B)asymmetric localism.
C)devolved federalism.
D)unitary regionalism.

Question 11

After Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet leadership made which of the following changes?

A)Use of centralized power was reduced.
B)Power was taken away from the Politburo.
C)The nomenklatura lost their authority over the daily life of citizens.
D)Economic control was taken away from the central planning bureaucracy.

Question 12

How does current federalism in Russia compare to federalism prior to Putin's leadership?

A)Local governors are now directly appointed by the president and approved by local legislatures; prior to Putin they were directly elected.
B)New federal districts have absorbed some of the power previously held by republics.
C)Republic governors can now serve directly on the Federation Council.
D)Federal districts are now headed by presidential appointees instead of by elected leaders, as was the case before Putin.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about Russia's judiciary and rule of law is accurate?

A)The public trusts law enforcement agencies but has little faith in government institutions like the presidency or the Duma.
B)The Russian Supreme Court occupies the top of the Russian legal structure.
C)The courts in Russia often play an activist role.
D)Russia is mired in the problem of "legal nihilism," wherein legal codes are not respected.

Question 14

Civil society in Russia

A)remains strong as a legacy of Soviet rule.
B)has been repressed under Putin.
C)was weak under Soviet rule but has grown dramatically since then.
D)has built and supports a vibrant and diverse media.

Question 15

In which institution does most political power lie in Russia?

A)president
B)prime minister
C)Duma
D)Federation Council

Question 16

A key institution in Russia's religious and political culture is

A)Roman Catholicism.
B)Orthodox Christianity.
C)animism.
D)Protestantism.

Question 17

Which of the following was the result of Gorbachev's attempt at reform?

A)increased economic growth
B)membership in the European Union
C)democratic elections by which the Communists were returned to power
D)the breakup of the Soviet Union

Question 18

Which of the following statements about Russian presidential power is accurate?

A)The president both chooses and dismisses the prime minister.
B)The president can both propose and veto bills.
C)The president cannot dissolve Parliament in the year following parliamentary elections.
D)The president appoints the leaders of all of the federal districts.

Question 19

Historically, Russia's international identity can be described as

A)uncertain as to whether it was part of Asia or the Mediterranean.
B)uncertain as to whether it was truly a part of Europe.
C)strongly influenced by Confucianism's spread from China.
D)strongly influenced by Sufi Islam and Turkish culture.

Question 20

In which of the following ways does Russia's Federation Council differ from the Duma?

A)It has more responsibility for protecting the letter of the constitution.
B)It is capable of overriding a presidential veto, unlike the Duma.
C)It has control over appointment and approval of the prime minister, which the Duma lacks.
D)It lacks the power of approval over declarations of war and international treaties, which the Duma possesses.

Question 21

Considering the significant power of the Russian presidency, does the national legislature serve any important independent functions in modern Russia? How has the national legislature's role evolved since 1991?

Question 22

In which of the following ways has the Russian government sought to combat its demographic problems?

A)offering cash payments to Westerners who immigrate to Russia
B)offering cash bonuses to women who have more than two children
C)increasing taxes on immigrants who have more than two children
D)barring all immigration from Asian countries

Question 23

One recent event that raised concerns over Russia's foreign policy was its intervention in

A)Azerbaijan.
B)Estonia.
C)Ukraine.
D)Bosnia.

Question 24

What role has civil society played in Russia since the 1917 Revolution? What tools has the state used to control and limit civil society in the last two decades?

Question 25

What are the recent conflicts between the West and Russia, and why has reconciliation between the West and Russia failed?

Question 26

How has the Communist Party developed in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union? How is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation different from other postcommunist parties in Eastern Europe?

Question 27

Which of the following statements about the Russian Constitutional Court is accurate?

A)Its members are subject to 20-year term limits.
B)It does not serve as a court of last appeal for criminal cases.
C)Its members are nominated by the Duma.
D)It has the power of concrete review but lacks the power of abstract review.

Question 28

What is the current state of the "Great Game"?

A)Russia is the only constant actor seeking influence in Central Asia.
B)Russia competes with the United Kingdom over the Middle East.
C)Russia competes with Britain and the United States over the Middle East and Central Asia.
D)The United States is the only constant actor, with Russia having given up influence in Afghanistan.

Question 29

The Commonwealth of Independent States is

A)a body used by Russia to retain influence over former Soviet republics.
B)the post-Soviet military alliance of Russia, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam.
C)the coordinating body that manages relations between the European Union and Russia.
D)the name for the European Union before it took in Russia as a full member.

Question 30

What were the central factors that allowed for the 1917 revolution?