Deck 13: The Russian Political System

Question 1

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was composed of:

A) Russia and Czechoslovakia
B) four republics
C) fifteen republics
D) thirty-seven republics

Answer 1

fifteen republics

Question 2

One of the historical patterns of Russian government has been a

A) regular evolution of dominant political parties.
B) steady history of democratic elections.
C) number of violent military coups.
D) tradition of absolutism in government.

Answer 2

tradition of absolutism in government.

Question 3

Which is the term used for the majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party in 1903?

A) Menshevik
B) Bolshevik
C) Gromyko
D) Politburo

Answer 3

Bolshevik

Question 4

Lenin's book What is To Be Done called for an organization

A) to work to organize political party volunteers.
B) to seize power on behalf of the working class.
C) to suppress the dictatorship of the proletariat.
D) to privatize governmental organizations.

Question 5

The Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) was

A) the nations that had been part of the British Empire.
B) Russia's foreign policy allies around the world.
C) the successor state to the U.S.S.R..
D) Russia, Moldova, and Belarus

Question 6

The Soviet Union was designed to be:

A) a unitary state
B) a federal state
C) a confederal state
D) an anarchy

Question 7

One problem that has made the development of constitutional consensus more difficult in Russia is

A) there has been no tradition of stable constitutional government.
B) the number of geographical units with distinct foreign languages.
C) the question of who can levy taxes upon the people.
D) a lack of political parties to promote political conversation.

Question 8

In the 1993 "Yeltsin" Constitution, the role of the President of Russia is

A) the dominant role in the political system.
B) done away with and replaced with a Premier.
C) turned into a collective body called the Presidium.
D) made elective with a two-year term of office.

Question 9

The political regime of the USSR had an ideological foundation officially referred to as:

A) Marxism-Leninism
B) Stalinism-Khruschevism
C) the Dictatorship of the Proletariat
D) The Three "-isms"

Question 10

The Communist Manifesto, the ideological foundation of the USSR, was written by Karl Marx and:

A) Vladimir Lenin
B) Joseph Stalin
C) Nikita Khrushchev
D) Friedrich Engels

Question 11

Who was the Soviet ruler who followed Vladimir Lenin into power?

A) Alexander Kerensky
B) Joseph Stalin
C) Leon Trotsky
D) Konstantin Chernenko

Question 12

What name did Mikhail Gorbachev give to the national legislature in his revised governmental structure?

A) The Supreme Soviet
B) The Soviet of the Union
C) The Congress of People's Deputies
D) The People's Democratic Legislature

Question 13

Under the electoral system designed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, elections for the State Duma were completely based upon

A) proportional representation voting.
B) single-member-district voting.
C) multiple-member district voting.
D) a complex system combining both proportional representation and single-member- district voting.

Question 14

Which political party supports current President Putin?

A) United Russia Party
B) Communist Party
C) Green Party
D) Democratic People's Party

Question 15

In the Soviet Union, the name for the collective presidency body-the group that collectively shared executive power-was called:

A) the Politburo
B) the Presidium
C) the Council of Deputies
D) the Narodniki

Question 16

Which was one of the many challenges facing Boris Yeltsin during his years in office?

A) being reelected
B) renewed fighting in the Chechen-Russian war
C) massive unemployment
D) war with Iraq

Question 17

At the end of Vladimir Putin's second term of office as Russian President, he

A) sought re-election.
B) dissolved the constitution and seized power.
C) retired from politics.
D) sought the position of Prime Minister.

Question 18

Vladimir Putin was succeeded as President of Russia by:

A) Mikhail Gorbachev
B) Boris Yeltsin
C) Nikita Khrushchev
D) Dmitry Medvedev

Question 19

The dominant political party in Russia today is the __________________.

A) Communist Party
B) Green Party
C) United Russia Party
D) United Democratic Party

Question 20

The term "glasnost" used by Mikhail Gorbachev referred to:

A) restructuring
B) openness
C) freedom
D) repression

Question 21

The relationship between Russia and the Soviet Union was that

A) Russia was the smallest member unit of the Soviet Union.
B) Russia was a competitor to the Soviet Union.
C) Russia went out of existence when the Soviet Union was started.
D) Russia was the largest member unit of the Soviet Union.

Question 22

The Oprichnina was an organization in early Russian history that played the function of

A) a western political party.
B) a paramilitary terrorist organization.
C) a nationalist organization.
D) a secret police network.

Question 23

The October Manifesto of Tsar Nicholas II promised all of the following except:

A) a national parliament
B) lower taxes
C) a constitution
D) free elections

Question 24

The key world political event that took place in November of 1989 that had a critical impact upon the Soviet Union was:

A) the wall dividing East and West Berlin came down
B) the American defeat of the Soviet Hockey team
C) the creation of the European Economic Union
D) the India-Pakistan conflict

Question 25

Which term is used to describe the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, resulting in power reverting to member units?

A) devolution
B) perestroika
C) glasnost
D) Narodniki

Question 26

Russia is another name for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Question 27

Yuri Andropov might be given credit for changing the way the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ran the government.

Question 28

Russia was the largest single unit of the U.S.S.R.

Question 29

The Soviet Union never had written constitutions until 1987.

Question 30

The Russian constitutional system today could be described as a federal political system.

Question 31

Ultimately, the ideological foundation of the Soviet Union was based upon The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Question 32

The role of the Supreme Soviet in the U.S.S.R. was a dominant one.

Question 33

As part of Gorbachev's package of reforms for the new Soviet government in 1989 he called for the creation of a new executive president.

Question 34

The Russian presidency occupied by Boris Yeltsin was created at the same time as Mikhail Gorbachev's Soviet presidency.

Question 35

Boris Yeltsin was succeeded as President of Russia by Vladimir Putin.

Question 36

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union became the Russian Communist Party and continues to dominate Russian Politics.

Question 37

Mikhail Gorbachev's term "perestroika" referred to restructuring.

Question 38

The term used for the minority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party in 1903 was Bolshevik.

Question 39

The October Manifesto of Tsar Nicholas II promised the Russian people lower taxes.

Question 40

The regime that took the place of the Soviet Union was the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Question 41

Describe the importance of constitutions in the history of the Soviet Union and Russia. What functions did they play? What is the current significance of the constitution in Russia?

Question 42

Russia is federal. However, its distribution of power is significantly different from other federal systems, including Germany and Canada. In what ways is Russia really federal? Would you describe its power structure any other way?

Question 43

All political systems claim to have an ideological foundation that serves as a basis for their existence. How is the Russian ideological foundation similar to or different from ideological foundations in other nations such as Britain, France, Germany, or Canada?

Question 44

What are the key political institutions in Russian government today? Can we really say that Russia is a "system of laws," or is it "a system of men"?

Question 45

What is the role of political parties in Russia today? The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was virtually equal to the state. How do today's political parties in Russia compare with the Communist Party?