Deck 5: Russia and the Post-Soviet States

Question 1

The current president of Russia is:

A) Mikhail Gorbachev.
B) Boris Yeltsin.
C) Vladimir Putin.
D) Nikita Khrushchev.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Recent elections in the post-Soviet states have been uniformly fair and free.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The world's largest country is:

A) China.
B) Canada.
C) Russia.
D) the United States.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following statements best describes the way elderly and working class Russians view Putin and similar political leaders?

A) corrupt politicians not to be trusted
B) forces for stability during politically turbulent times
C) radical liberal politicians
D) champions of democracy and Western ideals

Question 5

The feminist punk band Pussy Riot did which of the following political acts?

A) They endorsed presidential favorite Vladimir Putin.
B) The lead singer ran as the first female Russian presidential candidate.
C) They staged an unauthorized performance protesting Vladimir Putin's policies.
D) They staged a performance at Vladimir Putin's presidential inauguration.

Question 6

The Carpathian Mountains and the Ural Mountains are connected by:

A) Turkmenistan.
B) the Norwegian Sea.
C) the Irkutsk Basin.
D) the North European Plain.

Question 7

The conversion from command economies to capitalist economies in the states of the former Soviet Union has been mostly smooth and uneventful.

Question 8

Which of the following Russian mountain ranges is closest to Russia's western border?

A) Urals
B) Kolymas
C) E. Sayans
D) Stanovoys

Question 9

European Russia's most important river is the ____________.

A) Danube
B) Kolyma
C) Volga
D) Yangtze

Question 10

The part of Russia west of the Urals is sometimes called:

A) Georgia.
B) Kirkuk.
C) European Russia.
D) Turkmenistan.

Question 11

After staging a "comeback" in 2012, the president of Russia is now serving his _______ term.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fifth

Question 12

Which country is NOT one of the post-Soviet states?

A) Turkmenistan
B) Uzbekistan
C) Azerbaijan
D) Montenegro

Question 13

The Ural Mountains start at the Arctic Ocean and end in _____________.

A) Kazakhstan
B) Ukraine
C) Georgia
D) Belarus

Question 14

The term used to describe semiarid grasslands is:

A) tundra.
B) pampas.
C) savanna.
D) steppe.

Question 15

Which is NOT a challenge being faced by the former states of the USSR?

A) crime
B) economic instability
C) political corruption
D) embargoes

Question 16

The official name of Russia today is the ______________.

A) USSR
B) Russian Federation
C) Russian Confederacy
D) Union of Russian Republics

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT one of Russia's internal republics?

A) Azerbaijan
B) Ossetia
C) Chechnya
D) Tatarstan

Question 18

At the northern end of the Volga River is the __________; at the southern end of the Volga River is the ___________.

A) Kara Sea; Mediterranean Sea
B) Baltic Sea; Caspian Sea
C) Black Sea; White Sea
D) Dead Sea; Sea of Japan

Question 19

In its heyday, the USSR stretched from Central Europe to _______________.

A) Asia Minor
B) the Pacific Ocean
C) Caspian Sea
D) Kara Sea

Question 20

What fraction of Earth's land surface did the USSR cover?

A) 1/8
B) 1/6
C) 1/4
D) 1/3

Question 21

The Amur River serves as the primary transport route between the north and south of European Russia.

Question 22

What river has long served as European Russia's primary transport route?

Question 23

The term for semiarid grasslands in Russia is taiga.

Question 24

What term is used to represent Russia's semiarid grasslands?

Question 25

Cold-adapted coniferous forest is known as _________.

Question 26

Russia does not border China.

Question 27

Given the nature of a continental climate and using a single word for each, describe the summers and winters in Russia.

Question 28

Permanently frozen soil is known as ___________.

Question 29

An area in which only lichen and moss can grow is referred to as _______________.

A) steppe
B) tundra
C) permafrost
D) savanna

Question 30

The source of most precipitation in Russia and the post-Soviet states is storms blown in from the Atlantic Ocean.

Question 31

Though Russia remains closely associated with the post-Soviet states, each of these states is politically independent.

Question 32

The Urals are an intimidating and almost impassable mountain range.

Question 33

Which area is home to some of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas?

A) the Central Siberian Plateau
B) Moscow and its environs
C) the West Siberian Plain
D) the Ural Mountains

Question 34

Between the North European Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau is__________________.

A) the Irkutsk Basin
B) Northeast China Plain
C) Kolyma Mountain Range
D) West Siberian Plain

Question 35

In which country in the region did the Soviet military set off nuclear test explosions?

A) Belarus
B) Ukraine
C) Kazakhstan
D) Azerbaijan

Question 36

Which two plates meet close to the eastern border of Russia?

A) the Pacific Plate and the Arctic Plate
B) the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate
C) the Ural Plate and the Arctic Plate
D) the Georgian Plate and the Japanese Plate

Question 37

Which of the following is the best summary of Soviet ideology's approach to the environment?

A) Nature is a powerful force and should be respected.
B) Forests should be harvested, but water should not be polluted.
C) Nature is the servant of industrial and agricultural progress.
D) Humanity should live in harmony with the land.

Question 38

What is the name of the coniferous forest land cover found in Siberia?

Question 39

In Central Asia, east of the Caucasus Mountains, the climate is best described as:

A) moist.
B) arid or semiarid.
C) temperate.
D) tundra-like.

Question 40

What range of mountains separates European Russia from Western Siberia?

Question 41

What large Central Asian lake shrunk during the Soviet era because the rivers feeding it were diverted to irrigate cotton crops?

Question 42

The environmental and climatic changes wrought by the diversion of water from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers are reflected in which of the following phenomena?

A) saltwater intrusion in the Black Sea
B) shrinkage of the Aral Sea
C) heavier and more frequent rains in Central Asia
D) cooler average temperatures throughout Central Asia

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a resource that Russia has in abundance?

A) iron ore and coal
B) nickel
C) forests
D) silver and gold

Question 44

How has the dramatic shrinkage of the Aral Sea impacted the region's fishing industry?

Question 45

In Uzbekistan, south of the Aral Sea, residents report chronic illnesses caused by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) food poisoning.
B) polluted drinking water.
C) air pollution.
D) inadequate sanitation.

Question 46

For what purpose were the waters of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, both of which supply the Aral Sea, diverted?

A) hydropower production
B) nuclear reactor cooling
C) textile manufacturing
D) farmland irrigation

Question 47

What was the general theory regarding nature by the majority of Soviets?

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an environmental problem currently facing Russia?

A) poor air quality
B) pollution of coastal wetlands, lakes, and rivers
C) overhunting of native deer and bear species
D) massively polluted and irradiated soil

Question 49

The world's worst nuclear disaster took place in____________________.

A) Ukraine
C) Azerbaijan
D) Chechnya

Question 50

The burning off of natural gas that rises to Earth's surface when oil wells are drilled is known as __________.

Question 51

Why didn't an environmental movement form in response to the Soviet Union's environmentally devastating policies?

Question 52

Cotton production now makes up _____ percent of Uzbekistan's exports:

A) 11
B) 25
C) 45
D) 63

Question 53

What term refers to sources of urban pollution that are diffuse and difficult to identify?

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT a nonpoint source of pollution?

A) raw sewage
B) untreated automobile exhaust
C) agricultural chemicals drained into urban water supplies
D) nuclear waste

Question 55

A Russian city with particularly strong mineral wealth is:

A) Norilsk.
B) Seversk.
C) Leningrad.
D) Minsk.

Question 56

The Chernobyl nuclear plant was located in:

A) Georgia.
B) Russia.
C) Ukraine.
D) Chechnya.

Question 57

Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the landlocked Aral Sea had lost ______ percent of its volume as of 2001.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 75

Question 58

The body of water once fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, and now only a fraction of its original size, is the:

A) Aral Sea.
B) Adriatic Sea.
C) Baltic Sea.
D) Mongolian Sea.

Question 59

Environmental protests about urban pollution have brought global attention to a long cherished resort town on the ______________.

A) Baltic Sea
B) Aral Sea
C) Black Sea
D) Indian Ocean

Question 60

Which of the following is considered the world's most polluted city?

A) Hong Kong
B) Beijing
C) Dzerzhinsk
D) Gdansk

Question 61

In accordance with Communist beliefs, Soviet planners perceived an inherent value in the natural environment and sought to minimize the exploitation of its resources.

Question 62

In the former Soviet Union, industrial areas were purposely located at a distance from cities and particularly residential areas to protect people from pollutants generated by factories.

Question 63

Due to the lack of economic benefits, the practice of irrigated agriculture has been curtailed in Central Asia.

Question 64

Russia has the world's largest natural gas reserves.

Question 65

The Aral Sea is landlocked.

Question 66

Describe the process by which the Aral Sea has shrunk. What have some of the effects on the region been?

Question 67

The waters diverted from the Aral Sea have been used predominantly for heavy industry, such as steel production, in Caucasia.

Question 68

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region has found environmental regulation easier to accomplish.

Question 69

Russia is home to the largest metal smelting complex in the world.

Question 70

The original homeland of the Slavs was centered in modern-day:

A) Slovenia.
B) Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
C) Yugoslavia (including Serbia).
D) Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Question 71

Wandering people who live on the meat and milk provided by their herds of sheep, horses, and grazing animals are known as:

A) hunter/gatherers.
B) urbanistes.
C) nomadic pastoralists.
D) gypsies.

Question 72

Russia has encouraged foreign ownership and investment in its extensive nickel industry.

Question 73

Central Asia is naturally prone to drought and water scarcity.

Question 74

The Soviet Union broke up in:

A) 1976.
B) 1985.
C) 1991.
D) 2000.

Question 75

Nuclear waste in the region has raised concerns from environmental and human rights NGOs.

Question 76

Ukraine has fully remediated the pollution that resulted from the 1986 Chernobyl incident.

Question 77

The considerable shrinkage of the Aral Sea has impacted air quality for neighboring cities.

Question 78

The major rivers east of the Urals in Russia have long supported the region's commercial grape agriculture, used in wine production, through irrigation projects.

Question 79

Russia has not signed the Kyoto Protocol or Copenhagen Accord.

Question 80

The earliest towns in the Russian region arose in:

A) the far eastern end of the region.
B) the dry lands of Central Asia and the forests of Ukraine, Russia, and the Caucasus.
C) the interior of the region, within a day's travel distance of water and mountains.
D) areas invaded and destroyed by the nomadic pastoralists.