Deck 8: Russia

Question 1

Under Gorbachev, the reforms that gave people more freedom to express their views was called __________.

A) new thinking
B) demokratziya
C) perestroika
D) glasnost'
E) nomenklatura

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Stalin was succeeded in office by __________.

A) Lenin
B) Gorbachev
C) Khrushchev
D) Trotsky
E) Yeltsin

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Stalin's plan for industrializing Russia

A) involved restructuring agriculture to create surpluses to invest in modernization.
B) assumed that factories' efficiencies would create profits for further investment.
C) offered material incentives to attract farm workers to new industrial jobs.
D) relied on market forces to attract new investment opportunities.
E) were aimed at raising the people's standard of living.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

__________ were forced labor camps located primarily in Siberia?

A) Gulags
B) Penitentiaries
C) Five-year camps
D) Cominterns
E) Tyurmas

Question 5

People who resisted this process were sent to forced labor camps?

A) Glasnost'
B) Collectivization
C) Perestroika
D) Shock therapy
E) Privatization

Question 6

Under Gorbachev, attempts to reform communist economies were called __________.

A) new thinking
B) demokratziya
C) perestroika
D) glasnost
E) nomenklatura

Question 7

All of the following are fair assessments of Gorbachev's reforms EXCEPT

A) they created fierce opposition within the party.
B) they were intended to reform the party structure.
C) they were intended to reform Soviet society.
D) they were intended to reform the Soviet economy.
E) they polarized the Soviet political system.

Question 8

Since 1993, Russia's government has become more ___________.

A) democratic
B) authoritarian
C) open
D) political
E) socialist

Question 9

Vladimir Lenin advocated for which of the following concepts that permitted open debate until policy had been decided, and then point absolute support was required?

A) Marxism
B) Glasnost'
C) Perestroika
D) Democratic centralism
E) Nomenklatura

Question 10

The last leader of the Soviet Union was ___________.

A) Yeltsin
B) Grishin
C) Gorbachev
D) Sakharov
E) Zhirinovsky

Question 11

Industrialization in Russia occurred

A) in parallel with the industrialization in Europe.
B) before it occurred in Europe.
C) as a result of wealthy oligarchs.
D) forcefully under Stalin.
E) in keeping with Marxist theory.

Question 12

The leading policy-making body in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the __________.

A) Central Committee
B) Supreme Soviet
C) Secretariat
D) Politburo
E) Duma

Question 13

Russia, along with Brazil, India, and China, is considered to be one of the world's emerging economies, and is grouped with these countries under what acronym?

A) BRICS
B) RICB
C) ICBR
D) CBRI
E) CRIB

Question 14

In spite of being a centralized authority, nineteenth-century Russia was a weak state, in part because

A) the tsar was head of church and state.
B) nearly the whole population was suburban.
C) industrialists could thwart the tsar's policies.
D) Russian industry and infrastructure was so much less developed than that of Western countries.
E) the tsar's rule depended upon the secret police.

Question 15

Although elected president in 2008, __________ was mainly a figurehead.

A) Mikhail Gorbachev
B) Vladimir Putin
C) Boris Yeltsin
D) Vladimir Zhirnovsky
E) Dmitri Medvedev

Question 16

In the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of officials were removed from office, imprisoned, and executed in the

A) collectivization.
B) campaign for socialism in one country.
C) purges.
D) five-year plan.
E) crackdowns.

Question 17

In the 1980s, Soviet censors stopped reviewing most works of literature and journalism before they were published. This was an example of ___________.

A) nomenklatura
B) gosplan
C) yabloko
D) glasnost'
E) perestroika

Question 18

Which of the following statements best describes the reason Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964?

A) He rejected democratic centralism.
B) He was not very educated.
C) He embarrassed the Americans by building missile sites in Cuba.
D) His reforms threatened the power bases of other communist leaders.
E) He lost the "Kitchen Debate" to American Vice President Richard Nixon.

Question 19

The territory surrounding the Russian Federation is known in Russia by what term?

A) The nearby vicinity
B) The near abroad
C) The borderlands
D) The buffer region
E) The satellite territory

Question 20

Stalin's economic reforms centered on the planning mechanism of

A) a five-year plan.
B) democratic centralism.
C) capitalist encirclement.
D) perestroika.
E) Comintern.

Question 21

The Russian president

A) is chosen by the Duma in a two-ballot process.
B) cannot be impeached.
C) shares power with the Duma's choice for prime minister.
D) can issue decrees that have the force of law.
E) has to deal with a highly decentralized regime.

Question 22

The lower house of the Russian parliament is called the __________.

A) Chamber of Deputies.
B) Central Committee.
C) Politburo.
D) Federation Council.
E) Duma.

Question 23

The former Soviet Republics are considered by many Russians to be part of what is now known as the _________.

Question 24

Russian presidential elections use the same model as is used in which country?

A) England
B) France
C) Germany
D) The United States
E) Japan

Question 25

Before his death, Lenin warned that neither Trotsky nor _________ should take power once Lenin died, but his wishes were not followed.

Question 26

The first elected president of Russia was __________.

A) Yeltsin
B) Grishin
C) Gorbachev
D) Sakharov
E) Zhirinovsky

Question 27

Within Russia, separatist violence has occurred most notably in what region?

A) Chernobyl
B) Krasnoyarsk
C) Siberia
D) Chechnya
E) Yugoslavia

Question 28

The Duma is a relatively weak institution because

A) the president can reject its choice for prime minister.
B) so many convicted criminals are elected to it.
C) it has no way to vote "no confidence" in the prime minister and cabinet.
D) the reformed Communist Party has been in control and has ignored the president.
E) Duma members, competing for a place on the next presidential ballot, have refused to cooperate with one another.

Question 29

The new oligarchs differ from their predecessors in that they are

A) loyal to Putin.
B) loyal to Yeltsin.
C) loyal to Gorbachev.
D) less wealthy.
E) not politically connected.

Question 30

United Russia is called a "party of power" because

A) the so-called power ministries support its policies.
B) it relies on energy industries for its primary support.
C) it projects an image of national strength.
D) its main goal is to support the current leadership.
E) its policy goals are to maintain Russian influence in international relations.

Question 31

Which political party is largely considered to be the best organized party in Russia today?

A) United Russia
B) The Communist Party of the Russian Federation
C) Yabloko
D) The Liberal Democratic Party
E) The Union of Right Forces

Question 32

Members are elected to the Duma by

A) a single member district system.
B) proportional representation.
C) a mixed single member/proportional system.
D) vote of regional legislatures.
E) the Electoral College.

Question 33

The Western-inspired policy of privatizing state-owned industries and rapidly converting to a free market economy is known by what name?

A) Gradualism
B) Monetarism
C) Laissez-faire
D) Shock therapy
E) Convulsive economics

Question 34

The Russian economy is largely dependent upon the

A) value of the ruble.
B) level of steel production.
C) price of oil.
D) price of coal.
E) creation of a new technology sector.

Question 35

The most important industry economically to Russia today is __________.

A) technology.
B) steel.
C) coal.
D) agriculture.
E) oil.

Question 36

Presidential elections in Russia have become

A) increasingly competitive.
B) less competitive.
C) largely dependent upon the popularity of the political parties.
D) meaningless given the limited power of the president.
E) dependent on the run-off system.

Question 37

The most important house of the Russian legislature is the

A) Supreme Soviet.
B) State Duma.
C) Central Committee.
D) Secretariat.
E) Federation Council.

Question 38

The last tsar of the Russian Empire was _________.

Question 39

In 1902, Lenin wrote "What is To Be Done?" outlining a new type of revolutionary party and strategy, which later served as the basis for the split between the _________ and the Mensheviks.

Question 40

Which of the following term best captures the nature of the current Russian state and power structure?

A) Democratic
B) Vertical of power
C) Pluralist
D) Communist
E) Totalitarian

Question 41

How has the evolution of political parties in the Russian Federation progressed since 1991? How is this different from the evolution of political parties in most Western democracies?

Question 42

The primary topic of Khrushchev's secret speech at the CPSU's Twentieth Congress in 1956 was _________.

Question 43

How did the term "backwardness" apply to the Russian empire in the years prior to the Bolshevik Revolution? How did that backwardness increase the likelihood of success of the Revolution?

Question 44

Describe the role of the media in Russia? How has that changed since the Communist era?

Question 45

How has Russia's foreign policy changed since it is no longer a world superpower? How has Russia's relationship with the United States changed since the end of the Cold War?

Question 46

Which of the following terms is frequently used to describe Russian politics: A) Vertical of power
B) Liberal democracy
C) Totalitarian communism
D) Fascism
E) Anarchy

Question 47

Evaluate the following statement: Russia has a history of strong central leadership so it is safe to expect the same to be true in the future.

Question 48

The first elected president of the Russian Federation was _________.

Question 49

The leader who succeeded Khrushchev was _________.

Question 50

What components of Gorbachev's perestroika were actually enacted into law? Why did this set of reforms fail to accomplish what Gorbachev desired?

Question 51

Gorbachev's policy of opening Soviet society to more open criticism and discussion was called _________.

Question 52

Most analysts argue that Russia has become more authoritarian since Putin came to power. Do you agree? Why (not)? In particular, focus on the interplay among the factors you cite in your answer.

Question 53

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the prospects for either democracy or capitalism in Russia? Why do you reach that conclusion?

Question 54

The Russian "entrepreneurs" who run most of the big businesses today are usually referred to as _________.

Question 55

Stalin declared that developing the Soviet economy was a higher priority than spreading world revolution. He called this addition to communist ideology "_________ in one country."

Question 56

What factors explain the collapse of the Soviet Union? How have the governments since the dissolution of the Union tried to address those factors?