Russian 375XR
As you might recall from the previous modules, when 15 Soviet republics declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Boris Yeltsin was a strong supporter of the USSR dissolution. Why was Yeltsin so strongly opposed to Chechen's independence movement? (more than one answer might be correct).
(all options correct)
Why is it that today few journalists report from Chechnya? (note that more than one answer might be correct)
(all options correct)
Which of the following statements correctly characterize Russia's state of affairs during Vladimir Putin's first two terms (1999 - 2008)? (note that more than one answer might be correct)
- Russian economy grew at a 7% rate annually - Russia's stock market skyrocketed, increasing by 20 fold - cell phone penetration went from 0-100%
Which of the following statements properly describe the outcome of the First Chechen war? (note that more than one answer might be correct)
-After two years of fighting, Yeltsin negotiated a cease-fire with the Chechens -Russian conscripts were ill-prepared for the war and were often "mowed" down as the Russian army tried to take Grozny -Chechnya received nominal autonomy, but the decision on its final status was deferred -Indiscriminate Russia bombing led to a heavy human toll
As you know, in the 1990s Boris Yeltsin attempted a transfer of formerly state-owned companies into private hands through a program of "privatization." How successful was privatization in the area of agriculture? What was the percentage of privately owned farms by 2001?
10
According to the documentary Babushkas of Chernobyl, how long did the fire that resulted from the Nuclear Plant's explosion last?
10 days
In an effort to transition the top-down, centrally planned economy to market forces, Boris Yeltsin ultimately decided to transfer everything that the state owned (factories, stores, etc.) to private owners. To make sure that EVERY Russian had a vested interest in the success of the new market system, the state also issued every citizen of Russia a voucher (shares in formerly state-owned enterprises). What was the value of these shares that each Russian citizen received?
10,000 rubles
Writing in 2015, Prof. Kotkin states that Russia's population is _________ million people (fyi: according to the U.S. census, U.S. current population is 324.7 million)
142
At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, what was the percentage of nonRussians (e.g. Tatars or Chechens) in the newly formed country of Russia?
17
The Cathedral of Christ the Savior (where Pussy Riot staged their most controversial performance) is a location of particular symbolic resonance. When was the Cathedral originally built?
1860
When were the Baltic republics annexed by the USSR?
1940
Construction of the four reactors that make up the Chernobyl complex was carried out during the
1970s
When did it become legal to establish private commercial banks in Russia?
1987
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, prices were "freed" in Russia in
1992
As you saw in My Perestroika, Borya, Ruslan and Andrei were all drafted into the Soviet army. What was the mandatory term of this service?
2 years
How large is the radioactive "Exclusion Zone" that was declared uninhabitable?
2,600 square kilometers (approximately 1,000 square miles)
As you could see with your own eyes, Ramzan Kadyrov indeed runs Chechnya as hos own fiefdom (with the blessing from the Kremlin, as long as things are under control). Anna Politkovskaya published a number of damning reportages about Kadyrov, describing him as the Kremlin's "little dragon" and calling for his arrest as early as in
2004-2006
The youth movement Nashi was established in Russia in
2005
When was the group Pussy Riot formed
2011
Apart from Chernobyl, how many more Nuclear Power Plants are there in Ukraine?
4
According to the Chechnya: War Without Trace documentary, what is the percentage of Chechen population that is currently unemployed?
40
Once the Soviet Union fell apart, the former 15 Soviet republics became their own independent countries. What percentage of the population from the former Soviet Union did the country of Russia inherit?
51
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new country of Russia inherited ... of the Soviet Union's population.
51%
What percentage of the budget of North Caucasus republics' today depend on money from Moscow?
60-80%
While life expectancy had reached its all time lows in Russia of the 1990s, by the early 2000s life expectancy had recovered. What was this improved life expectancy in Russia at the beginning of Vladimir Putin regime?
61 years for men and 72 for women
While life expectancy had reached its all time lows in Russia of the 1990s, by the early 2000s life expectancy had recovered. What was this improved life expectancy in Russia at the beginning of Vladimir Putin regime?
61 years for men and 72 for women
One of Boris Yeltsin's major economic reforms was the so called "privatization" program that transferred ownership of nonagricultural businesses from state to private hands. The privatization program began in 1992. At that time all of large factories were still owned by the Russian government. What was the estimated percentage of privately owned large factories in 2002?
75
After the collapse of the USSR, the newly emerged country of Russia inherited __________% of the territory of the Soviet Union.
76
In 1917 the Soviets took over a "country of peasants," in which - according to some statistics - over 60% of the population was completely illiterate (i.e. over 60% of Russians didn't know how to spell their name). According to one of this module's readings, what was the situation with literacy in Russia by the late 1950s? (i.e. after about 30 years of Soviet power)
98.5% of Russians between the ages of 10 and 49 could read
Prison camps (Gulags) and political executions were scaled back
After Stalin's death
In their confusion and bewilderment of the economic chaos that started in 1991, many Russians turned to the Orthodox religion for answers. Why was it very difficult for the Orthodox Church to provide new direction and inspiration for many Russians (and many Russians ultimately got alienated by the Church all together)?
All of the statements listed here are correct
Which of the following statistical data is INCORRECT? (please note: you must choose only ONE answer below)
All the data listed here is, indeed, correct
During the Leningrad - Seattle Spacebridge, outside the studio, there were protesters on the what side (sides).
American
How many people (mostly "illegal" returnees from forced evacuation) currently reside inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (i.e. one of the most toxic spots on the planet)?
Approximately 100
If you were to visit Chernobyl Nuclear Plant's Reactor №4, what is the level of radiation near this facility?
Approximately 60 times higher than the norm
Why is one the films in this module titled 211: Anna?
Because according to some statistics, Anna Politkovskaya was 211th journalist to be assassinated in Russia
Why do some compare Russia of the 1990s to a Third World country (and some apply the same analogy to today's Russia)?
Because too large a share of Russia's economy depends the sale of oil and other natural resources
Why do some compare Russia of the 1990s to a Third World country (and some apply the same analogy to today's Russia)?
Because too large a share of Russia's economy depends the sale of oil and other natural resources
Which former Soviet republic has the greatest percentage of affected land and people due the Chernobyl accident (in relation to this republic's total national territory and population)?
Belarus
Under what Russian / Soviet leader did Russia's First Chechen War begin?
Boris Yeltsin
Which of the following leaders adopted a radical economic reform based on "shock therapy"?
Boris Yeltsin
Which of the following leaders adopted a radical economic reform based on "shock therapy"?
Boris Yeltsin
Which of the following leaders was considered to be the "hero" in putting down the August 1991 coup attempt?
Boris Yeltsin
The various republics and regions that comprised the USSR differed greatly in the standard and quality of life and the level of development (an important issue that became a sore spot during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991). Which of the republics listed below were - during the Soviet times - predominantly rural, agricultural and industrially under-developed?
Central Asian Republics
During the Second World War, the Nazis destroyed 619 villages along with their inhabitants in the former Soviet republic of Belarusia. How many villages and settlements did Belarusia lose as a result of the Chernobyl disaster?
Close to 500
Who were the people who orchestrated the August putsch of 1991?
Communist hard-liners who didn't approve of the new treaty that was giving significant freedom to the Soviet republics
The documentary Soviet Disunion cites Iosif Stalin describing what as "sheltered from the people"?
Dachas
In his first inaugural address to the nation in March 2000, President Putin identified what crisis as the greatest threat facing the nation?
Demographic crisis
As part of glasnost and a gesture of goodwill, which of the dissidents listed below did Gorbachev release from internal exile and invite to Moscow?
Dissident scientist, Andrei Sakharov
Who served as Russian president during 2008 - 12?
Dmitry Medvedev
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Putin was on an assignment as a KGB officer in
East Germany
Babushkas of Chernobyl is set during what holiday?
Easter
After Gorbachev's resignation, the next General Secretary of the Soviet Union was Boris Yeltsin
False
As Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation on December 31, 2000, he apologized to the Russian citizens for his failure to bring the "good life" he promised at the time of the collapse of communism.
False
Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin his successor and Putin became Russia's president in 2000 without going through an election process
False
By the start of the new millennium, there were more men in Russia than women
False
For a brief time in 1991 Moscow was a seat of two powers: (1) Mikhial Gorbachev, representing Russia and (2) Boris Yeltsin, representing the Soviet Union
False
Judging by the documentary Babushkas from Chernobyl, if you were to go to the radioactive "Exclusion Zone," you will not see anyone using a cell phone
False
Komsomol was a communist Youth organization for young children in elementary and middle school grades.
False
One of Putin's chief self-proclaimed goals since his first presidential term was to address Russia's crumbling infrastructure and to repair old roads, buildings, bridges, etc.
False
Soviet authorities immediately released accurate and up-to-date information about the Chernobyl accident and immediately began evacuating people from the contaminated areas
False
The Soviet system began to crumble gradually, once Stalin's terror (that kept people in line and enabled the system to work) was removed during the era of Mikhail Gorbachev.
False
The chief goal of Mikhail Gorbachov's reforms was to abolish socialism, Communist Party rule and, ultimately, to dissolve the Soviet Union.
False
The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power station happened after the collapse of the Soviet Union
False
The majority of Russian artists did NOT support the Revolution of 1917 and actively opposed the Bolshevik regime.
False
The terms "perestroika" and "glasnost" entered the Soviet rhetoric with Gorbachev. None of Gorbachev'spredecessors or the Soviet Constitution had used these terms prior to 1985
False
The word "radiation" comes from a Greek term that means "ray of light."
False
Towards the end of Soviet regime, "second economy" or "black markets" far exceeded the official Soviet economy in size.
False
With the post-1991 transition, in the 1990s Russian film and publishing industries blossomed
False
With the post1991 transition, in the 1990s Russian film and publishing industries blossomed
False
Yeltsin and Gorbachev cosigned a decree banning the activity of the Communist Party on the territory of Russia
False
Most political economists agree that the majority of the Soviet population generally benefited from the Soviet system. Given all the negatives one can point out about the Soviet system, why would an average Soviet citizen actually had a lot to lose with the collapse of the Soviet Union?
For all reasons listed here
In 2008 Russia had a brief war with
Georgia
The uprising dubbed "The Rose Revolution" happened in
Georgia
In May 1985, less than two months after becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev launched a highly unpopular campaign against alcohol abuse in the Soviet Union. Which of the following measures did he implement?
Gorbachev implemented all of the measures listed here
The documentary Chechnya: War Without Trace talks about the arrest by the Chechen authorities of Ruslan Kutaev. According to the documentary, what did Mr. Kutaev do to provoke this arrest?
He publicly spoke about Stalin era deportations of Chechens, a topic not currently allowed to be discussed
When did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
In 1979, during the rule of Leonid Brezhnev
When did Russia introduce trials by jury into its legal system?
In the 1990s
In the USSR, virtually all property was owned by the state. Which one of the following items did the state NOT own?
Individual's private property
In 2003 Mikhail Khodorkovsky bought Moscow News, a venerable liberal weekly that was one of the first Soviet newspapers to experiment with the freedom of glasnost (the paper disappeared from print and online sources in 2014, apparently by "order from the authorities"). What Soviet leader founded this newspaper?
Joseph Stalin
Which one of the following leaders is known for their brutality that overshadowed the communist ideas (and who, especially in the West, led to associating communism with cruelty and oppression)?
Joseph Stalin
Which Soviet leader simplified cultural discourse (in literature, cinema, art, etc.) to make it accessible to the masses?
Josif Stalin
Some critics see parallels between Pussy Riot aesthetics and philosophy is the early Soviet radical art movements. For example, some argue that their costumes echo the color schemes of
Kazimir Malevich
Conduct mini-Internet research and determine where Mikhail Khodorkovsky is now. Which of the following statements below is correct?
Khodorkovsky currently resides in Switzerland and remains Vladimir Putin's active critic
Funeral of what Soviet leader opens up the documentary "Soviet Disunion"?
Konstantin Chernenko
Scholars have compared the persecution of Pussy Riot to the arrest of two other dissidents, Andrey Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel. These two dissidents were arrested during the era of
Leonid Brezhnev
What was the first Soviet Republic to break away from the Soviet Union?
Lithuania
What was the first soviet republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union?
Lithuania
In 1995, facing severe fiscal difficulties, Yeltsin's government adopted a program under which the state would borrow money from the oligarchs in exchange for select state assets (including state-owned shares in oil companies). The catch was: if the state couldn't pay the load on time, the oligarchs would be entitled to buy the properties outright. This deal that many economists call "rigged" became known as
Loan for Shares
Which one of the following changes in the Soviet society listed below is NOT associated with the name of Mikhail Gorbachev?
Major alleviation of nuclear, chemical and industrial pollution in the Soviet Union
Which of the following does NOT explain why Gorbachev had to abandon his anti-alcohol campaign in 1987?
Major protests from the Soviet citizens who barricaded the Kremlin demanding the cancellation of anti-alcohol law
From what you've learned from this module's materials, beggars appeared in the streets of large Russian cities during the rule of
Mikhail Gorbachev
It became possible and legal to establish private commercial banks in Russia during the "reign" of
Mikhail Gorbachev
Which of the following leaders is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Which of the following oligarchs founded Open Russia, a charitable group modeled after George Soros's Open Society Institute, with projects ranging from educational initiatives for young people to the support of human rights NGOs?
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Which one of the following events is NOT mentioned in the film 211: Anna?
Mikhail Khodorkovsky's arrest and imprisonment
Altogether, how many countries were subject to fallout from Chernobyl?
More than 20
With Gorbachev's ascent to power in the USSR, many countries of the communist bloc echoed the new reform impulses from Moscow. Ultimately, all of these East and Central European counties began a wave of revolutions to replace their old, pro-Soviet governments. Which of the countries listed below executed theirCommunist dictator?
Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania
Which Soviet leader was overthrown by his opponents in the first and only successful coup in Soviet history?
Nikita Khrushchev
Will the 10 km "Exclusion Zone" ever be open to the general public?
No
What is "Justice Zone" (or Зона Права for those of you who speak Russian or care to see the name spelled out in Cyrillic)?
Non-governmental human rights group focused on protecting rights of prisoners organized by the women from the Pussy Riot group
The first ad to appear on Russian television advertised
Pepsi Cola
Match the terms with their translation
Perestroika- reconstructing Glasnot- openness Uskorenie- Acceleration Gulag- Soviet camp system
Gorbachev's policy of "democratization" meant:
Reform within the communist ruled state
Which U.S. president adopted a policy of detente (or relaxation) toward the Soviet Union?
Richard Nixon
The word intelligentsia entered the English language from
Russia
Which of the newly formed post-Soviet countries possessed most of the old Soviet Union's petrolium, timber, and mineral resources?
Russia
When Second Chechen war was launched, Vladimir Putin was
Russia's prime minister
The term "McDacha" refers to
Russian country mansions of the Putin era
Which one of the changes outlined below did Boris Yeltsin NOT attempt to implement?
Seeking to overthrow the existing world system and brandishing hostility toward Western and formerSoviet nations
A national holiday in Russia known as the day of knowledge is celebrated on...
Sept 1
Which of the countries listed below was the first to notice elevated radiation levels and to initiate inquiries about its origin?
Sweden
Which of the following revolutions gives power to the Bolsheviks?
The October Revolution
Which of the following changes that tool place during the Gorbachev era do NOT represent a direct result of the policy of perestroika?
The avalanche of media reports about burgeoning criminality
Cyril Tuschi's film Khodorkovsky opens up with the director asking young Russians whether they know who Khodorkovsky is. What is the young people's response?
They either don't know who he is or think that he is the guy who stole lots of money from Russia
As this module's readings discuss, glasnost encouraged a sense of civil identity and many new activist groups formed in this climate of new cultural freedoms. One of such groups discussed in your readings was called "Memorial." What was the task of this group?
To hep rehabilitate Stalin's victims and agitate for democratic reform
According to Peter Baker's article "Project Putin," during World War II, the city of Leningrad (Vladimir Putin's hometown) was under a German siege for 900 days, leaving hundreds of thousands of its citizens dead
True
According to the CNN documentary made in 2014, the Sochi Olympics were the most expensive Olympic games in history
True
Although Boris Yeltsin is the first leader to actually implement the transition from top-down command economy to market forces, Mikhail Gorbachev's - albeit failed - "500 days" program had the same goal of transitioning the Soviet economy to the market economy.
True
Although Boris Yeltsin is the first leader to actually implement the transition from topdown command economy to market forces, Mikhail Gorbachev's albeit failed "500 days" program had the same goal of transitioning the Soviet economy to the market economy.
True
Although Gorbachev generally believed in an economy based on top-down planning (rather than the market and consumer choice), starting in 1988 he took a few cautious moves towards legalizing small urban private businesses. These businesses were called Cooperatives
True
Although Reactor №4 is enclosed with a sarcophagus, there is still radioactive dust escaping and - perhaps more importantly - there is a fear that the wall of the sarcophagus might simply collapse one day
True
Before Chernobyl, there had been other (albeit less serious) nuclear accidents, including the 1979 incident in the U.S. (near Harrisburg, PA)
True
Between 2008 and 2012, Putin served as a prime minister of the Russian Federation
True
Boris Yeltsin was Russia's first ever elected leader.
True
Boris Yeltsin was Russia's first-ever popularly elected leader (at least post-1917).
True
Both of Gorbachev's grandfathers had been arrested during the Stalinist purges (a fact that Gorbachev openly confessed on Soviet television, personally relating to victims of repressions).
True
By 2001, Russia had 9.1 million more women than men.
True
Due to open travel opportunities (Soviet citizens could now travel abroad after years of living behind the "Iron Curtain") and major economic woes and shortages, the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev faced a sharp increase in emigration.
True
During some points of Putin's presidency, Moscow boasted 33 billionaire residents (more than any other city in the world, including New York). At the same time, one-fifth of the population lived below the poverty line
True
Endless queuing for consumer goods was an endemic feature of late Soviet life.
True
For most of the Soviet era, alochol was a tremendous source of revenue for the Soviet state, which exercised a monopoly on alcohol's production and distribution. For example, in 1979 the Soviet state derived a whopping 25.4 billion rubles in indirect taxes from the sale of alcoholic beverages, an amount greater than what was paid in income tax.
True
For most of the Soviet regime, members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were above the law. In other words, Party members caught in illegal acts were NOT subject to the civil law, but only to Party discipline.
True
In the 1990s Russia saw a rapid spread of tuberculosis.
True
In the late 1920s Stalin introduced an extreme system where the economy became a central function of the Soviet government. Under this system, numerous governmental committees decided what salaries should be paid in all jobs across the USSR, what prices all products and commodities should have, how to distribute good across the USSR, etc. To put it simply: the Soviet government determined and controlled prices for all items you could purchase in the store (bread, shoes, television sets, you name it!); the Soviet government also determined what sort of salary one would get as an engineer, teacher, doctor, etc.
True
It is fair to describe Mikhail Gorbachev as an "idealistic socialist" who set out to revitalize the communist order in the USSR.
True
Just like Prohibition in the United States, Gorbachev's ban on alcohol led to an increase in organized crime.
True
Mikhail Gorbachev was born after the October Revolution that overthrew the tsars; therefore he did notbelong to the group of early Soviet bolsheviks who formed the gerontocracy (rule by the old) in the Communist Party of the 1970s and 80s.
True
Removal of Nikita Khrushchev from the office in 1964 and the Coup of 1993 are the two successful coups in Soviet history.
True
Russia has been a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization) since 2012
True
The 10 km "Exclusion Zone" remains an active burial place for Ukraine's nuclear waste
True
The Soviet Union had the world's most diverse and heterogeneous populations.
True
The Soviet Union was created as the world's first socialist state.
True
The Soviet government system was, what one could call, "hyper-centralized." The Politburo (one of the Soviet governing bodies) was once even asked to rule on the size of servings fed to police horses and dogs.
True
The era of Vladimir Putin's presidency is marked by a general improvement of living standards of most urban Russians, with a much wider range of goods and services available to them
True
The only type of cancer that has been positively connected to Chernobyl is thyroid cancer
True
The term "gerontocracy" was coined in 19th-century France as a critique of a parliament made up of members who were almost all older than the majority of the adult population.
True
There were no nuclear power stations in the Soviet republic of Belarus
True
Under Joseph Stalin, owning a typewriter required a special police permission.
True
Under the Russian Constitution, the president can serve two consecutive terms, sit out a term, serve two more consecutive terms, sit out a term, ... etc. In other words, a former Russian president can constitutionally seek re-election after sitting out a term
True
Vladimir Putin can constitutionally remain in power until 2024
True
Within the Soviet Union, each republic had its own constitution.
True
Since 2012, the term of service of the President is
Two consecutive terms of 6 years
Which was was labeled "the Soviet Vietnam"?
USSR vs. Afghanistan
Femen is another feminist group that was formed in 2008 and known for staging topless protests to denounce sexual exploitation and human trafficking. In what country was Femen formed?
Ukraine
In which of the Soviet Republics listed below was the Chernobyl nuclear plant located?
Ukraine
The Beslan tragedy happened during the "rule" of
Vladimir Putin
Which Russian leader launched the Second War in Chechnya?
Vladimir Putin
The largest class in the Soviet society was
Working class
The Soviet Union collapsed before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Wrong (false)
CNN news clip that opens up the Khodorkovsky documentary states that Khodorkovsky was a "patron to Russian political parties." Which of the parties listed below did Khodorkovsky support (financially)?
Yabloko
Throughout the Soviet era, the USSR tended to brag (perhaps justifiably) about the country's high levels of literacy, referring to Soviet population as the "most readerly" nation in the world. Did Russian citizens get introduced to "lower brow" culture after the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Yes
What was the name of the oil company that Mikhail Khodorkovsky acquired from the Russian government?
Yukos Oil
Gosplan was
a Soviet Central Planning agency
The Chernobyl disaster happened due to
a failed safety experiment on one of the reactors
Lyubov Sirota, whose texts you read in this module's reading selection, is
a poet, who - at the time of the Chernobyl accident - lived in the Pripyat neighborhood closest to the reactor
The Beslan tragedy happened in
a school
According to many scholars (in this module explicitly expressed by David Satter in the PBS documentary), Vladimir Putin became "the most popular politician in Russia"
before he became Russia's president; after the infamous apartment bombings in Moscow
Between 2005 and 2010, the Russian government
did not build a single major modern highway
Advertising
entered the Soviet Union with Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980
All members of the Pussy Riot are currently in jail.
false
If you visit the city of Moscow, you can see Putin's childhood apartment that has now been turned into a museum.
false
In 1943 and 1944, Stalin deported nearly half a million people from the North Caucasus (including the Chechens) to Central Asia for allegedly assisting the Nazis during World War. II. It was not until Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika that the deportees were allowed to return to their homelands. Perhaps not surprisingly, this forced expulsion produced what would become one of the region's epic stories of oppression under Russian rule.
false
In December 2011, a group of Femen activists rallied in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in support of the mass protests which had engulfed the Russian capital in the wake of the State Duma elections. This event was broadly covered by Russian and international media; several of Femen activists were arrested for "insulting religious beliefs" of Russian Church-goers.
false
In the days of the USSR, Gosplan had a mechanism that allowed producers and consumers to meet, be informed and deal with one another.
false
Judging by the documentary Khodorkovsky, this former oligarch was not allowed to communicate with the world outside his jail cell.
false
Just like most Russians, many Chechens profess Christianity as their cultural and religious identity.
false
Khodorkovsky was arrested by the Boris Yeltsin administration on the accusation of tax evasion
false
Most Russians generally want to disassociate themselves from the Soviet times, therefore no advertisement campaigns today draw on the Soviet experience.
false
NASHI is the only youth organization ever sponsored by the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin.
false
Nashi remains an active and functioning youth organization until this day.
false
Similar to the U.S., all of today's Russian oil companies are privately owned
false
The director and narrator of Chechnya: War Without Trace notes that more Chechen women wore veils before the wars than in the wars' aftermath (including today).
false
The imprisoned members of the Pussy Riot group were released in December 2013 as part of Vladimir Putin's pre-Olympics amnesty. Polls that month indicated that 80% of Russians disapproved of this amnesty; 60% expressed their disdain for Pussy Riot's actions.
false
When he first came to power in 2005, Putin was a virtual unknown. However, in less than a year, media was talking about Putin's "cult of personality
false
What did Russia highly controversial 2012 "Dima Yakovlev" law ban?
foreign adoptions
Media revelations of state crimes of the past (i.e. Stalinism, GULAGs, etc.) during the era of Mikhail Gorbachev have become known as "retrospective"
glasnost
At the time when Prof. Kotkin was writing his report (in 2015), based on Russia's per capita GDP, the World Bank classified Russia as
high income economy
What is the average age of Nashi members?
late teens - 20s
Vladimir Putin has a degree in
law
Which ONE of the following groups was most resistant to the changes that Gorbachev attempted to implement in the USSR?
military-industria complex
As you have read in this module's materials, the immediate results of "shock therapy" were far from encouraging. Inflation reached 30% a month, prices skyrocketed, salary payments were delayed, and by some estimates the poverty rate in Russia reached 40%. Were Russians protesting this major economic instability, marching in protest around the Kremlin or showing other notable signs of social unrest?
no
Did a Muscovite traveling to Kiev (Ukraine) or Minsk (Belarus) need a visa before the collapse of the USSR?
no
During the Soviet era the Soviet government "owned" large oil companies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1995 - 96 the government sold these key oil companies to
politically-favored Russian businessmen
The name of the group (Pussy Riot)
serves as an empty signifier, i.e. as a transliterated (rather than translated) set of words, it simply has no meaning for the Russian speaker
The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power station released
significantly more radioactivity than the Hiroshima bomb
Today, the Kremlin appoints governors of all 89 Russian regions, large provinces, as well as most mayors, regional police chiefs, and prosecutors. These positions used to be elected by a democratic vote, but Putin put an end to this after
the Beslan Massacre
Which of the following laws listed below was NOT adopted in Russia?
the Sergei Magnitsky law
The main motivation behind Pussy Riot's scandalous "Punk Prayer" in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was
to protest the political ties between the Orthodox Church and the Putin regime
According to Russian poll agencies, over the last 16 years, the number of Russians who go to church increased from 57% to 71%.
true
After his two terms in office ended in May 2008, 86% of Russians expressed approval of Vladimir Putin as president.
true
After the trial, two members of the Pussy Riot band received a two-year prison sentence on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.
true
As a student majoring in chemistry and specializing in explosives, Khodorkovsky was very active in Komsomol (Communist Youth League in the Soviet Union).
true
As mentioned in the documentary Pussy Riot: the Movement, today's Russian constitution was adopted right after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
true
Chechen is a language that is indigenous to Chechnya and is NOT spoken anywhere else in the world.
true
Corruption is a major problem in Chechnya today.
true
In a rather ironic twist, Pussy Riot's critique of the Orthodox Church in the 21st century is redolent of the Soviet era militant atheism campaigns of the 1920s.
true
Khodorkovsky founded one of the first private banks in Russia.
true
Most Soviet groceries were sold unwrapped; for liquid goods (for example milk) customers had to bring their own containers.
true
One of Russia's tsars, Ivan the Terrible, was once married to a princess from the Caucasus region.
true
Political motivations and anti-Russian sentiment of many Chechens (including Jokhar Dudaev, who led the rebels in the First Chechen War) were largely shaped by the experience of deportation and return, especially among those born in Kazakh exile.
true
Russia's top official (including Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev) often visited the Seliger's Nashi retreat / camp.
true
There is a Putin avenue in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
true
Unlike the Communist youth organization Komsomol, Nashi was never linked to a particular political party.
true
Up until 1991, prices for consumer goods in Russia and the Soviet Union were "fixed" and determined by the state.
true
Vladimir Putin was the first Russian leader with NO direct memory of World War II or Stalinism
true
After 70 years of being subjected to state propaganda that capitalism and market are "bad," most Russians did not understand the value or importance of vouchers.
yes
During the Soviet era, citizens of the USSR did not need to file an income tax form (or send in individual tax payments): the tax was automatically deducted from each salary before it was given to the workers.
yes
If you recall, in Module 2 we discussed Mikhail Gorbachev's antialcohol campaign. Did life expectancy in Russia improve during the brief time of this campaign?
yes
In 1992 and 93, at the beginning of Yeltsin's economic reforms, inflation had reached peaks of 20 30% a month. Is it fair to say that Russia's economic situation improved after 1999?
yes
Throughout the Soviet era, the USSR tended to brag (perhaps justifiably) about the country's high levels of literacy, referring to Soviet population as the "most readerly" nation in the world. Did Russin citizens' passion for reading subside or get replaced with interest in "lowbrow" "trash" culture after the collapse of the Soviet Union?
yes
You now know that Boris Yeltsin replaced the top-down command economy with free market forces after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Were free market policies ever introduced in Russia or the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1991?
yes
