RUS 375 Final Exam
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
Before its ultimate collapse, Soviet Union was considered to have one of the most diverse and heterogenous populations in the world. How many different ethnic identities populated the USSR?
140 different ethnic identities
Construction of the four reactors that make up the Chernobyl complex was carried out during the...
1970s
When was the first time in history that Soviet authorities allowed international inspectors to visit Soviet nuclear power plants?
1985
When did the Soviet Union collapse and all of the former Soviet republics declared independence?
1991
During the Soviet era, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union claimed that there were _________ social classes in the USSR.
2
How many nationwide TV channels were there in the USSR?
2
Until 1996, almost 30% of Russian household had access only to ________ television channels.
2
Since 2012, the term of service of the President is...
2 consecutive terms of 6 years
How large is the radioactive "Exclusion Zone" around the reactor that was declared uninhabitable?
2,600 square kilometers (approximately 1,000 square miles)
After 10 months in office, Mikhail Gorbachev declared the goal of a nuclear-free world by the year...
2000
When was the group Pussy Riot formed?
2011
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least _______investigative journalists have been murdered in Russia in 2000 - 2021.
38
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
The program of privatization that Boris Yeltsin launched in 1992 - 93, aimed to transfer ownership of most of the non-agricultural from state to private hands. How successful was the program of privatization? Specifically, by 2002 (end of Yeltsin's regime and early days of Vladimir Putin's presidency), how many small-scale business and factories were, indeed, privately owned?
97% of small-scale businesses and 75% of factories
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
Which one of the following statements below is INCORRECT? - After the Soviet collapse in 1991, fee-for-service medical practice became one of the sources of inequality in Russian society - Soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian citizens were complaining about shortages of medicines in pharmacies - After 1991, the state continued to fully subsidize and support Russian health care system - After 1991, the cash-strapped Russian government struggled to maintain hospitals and other facilities
After 1991, the state continued to fully subsidize and support Russian health care system
Which one of the following statements is incorrect?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, central planning remained the country's main economic model
Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT?
All foreign radio stations were jammed in the Soviet Union and Soviet citizens did not have any access to foreign broadcasts
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)? - While the whole country of Russia was suffering from decaying infrastructure, the Church also got focused on "material" matters, trying to regain control of land and buildings taken away from them during the communist era - The Orthodox Church in the 1990s suffered from weak leadership, that was moreover tarnished by collaboration of some clerics with the KGB during the Soviet era - Orthodox leaders appeared to be highly conservative in outlook and unresponsive to Russia's socio-economic ills - All of the statements listed here are correct
All of the statements above are correct
Even before starting the war with Ukraine, Russia passed a number of laws that limited internet freedoms. Which one of the laws listed below has NOT been passed in Russia? - VPNs that allow users to mask their geographic locations when accessing the internet are banned - bloggers with more than 3,000 viewers must register with state authorities - Russian IT companies must provide encryption keys to the state so that the state security services - Russian IT companies must preserve all communications for three years - All of these laws have been passed
All of these laws have been passed
During the Leningrad - Seattle Spacebridge, outside the studio, there were protesters on the American side (sides).
American
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
The Chernobyl accident contaminated an area of about 100,000 square miles. Match the names of the former Soviet republics and the percentage of contaminated areas within their respective territories.
Belarus - about 20% Ukraine - about 8% Russian Federation - 0.5-1%
Which of the following leaders was considered to be the "hero" in putting down the August 1991 coup attempt?
Boris Yeltsin
Who was Russia's president in 1998?
Boris Yeltsin
Yeltsin's regime is known for a bitter warfare with...
Chechen region in the Northern Caucasus
Which Russian president has a reputation of being the country's "Blogger in Chief" (for maintaining an active online presence)?
Dimitri Medvedev
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
Which of the groups listed below oversees counterintelligence, border security, counter-terrorism, surveillance, and internal security in Russia?
FSB
Which feminist group staged a protest outside of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, holding up signs that read "Lord, chase away the tsar" (following Russia's parliamentary elections of 2011)?
Femen
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 have a lot to lose with the collapse of the Soviet Union? - Because, for better or for worse, the state provided the population with "cradle-to-grave" welfarism in the form of free education, health and basic social security - The state consistently followed a policy of full employment. - Because the state heavily subsidized the prices of necessities: the cost of rents, utilities (gas, electricity), public transport, and most basic food items were kept artificially low. - For all of the reasons listed here
For all of the reasons listed here
As Yeltsin began to transfer ownership of Soviet assets into the private hands, most of these former Soviet enterprises ended up in the hands of a small group of the so-called oligarchs. Who were these newly created billionaires? (note that more that one answer might be correct).
Former government officials, who managed certain state properties on behalf of the Soviet government and, due to corruption and flaws in Russian laws, simply took over the enterprises they had been managing all along.
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 Soviet Union was known for sending military forces into Eastern Europe when there was a fear that the Soviet control of the region could be destabilized. To which Eastern European country were the Soviet troops sent first?
Hungary
When did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan?
In 1979, during the rule of Leonid Brezhnev
Millions of peasants were uprooted and deported to Siberian towns due to the policy of collectivization that started under...
Iosif 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
FSB is the successor to...
KGB
What was the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union in 1990?
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 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
Advertising entered Soviet culture during the era of...
Mikhail Gorbachev
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
Which Soviet leader introduced the term "new thinking" advocating for "peace and international security as the requirement for Soviet economic advance"?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Which leader famously introduced the term "new thinking"?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Which of the following leaders was first to propose reforms that challenged the centralized planning of the Soviet system?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Who was the LAST Soviet leader to make an attempt to reform the Soviet system from within and to eliminate vestiges of Stalinist heritage?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Which Russian leader ended forty years of nuclear confrontation with the West?
Mikhail Gorbahev
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 their Communist dictator?
Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania
Which Soviet leader began his "rule" with a famous "Secret Speech" in which he disclosed the crimes of his predecessor's era?
Nikita Khrushchev
When did Mikhail Gorbachev resign as general secretary of the Communist Party and as president of the Soviet Union?
On December 25, 1991
According to "The Putin Generation" podcast (recorded in 2020), what percentage of Russians, aged 18 - 24, want to leave Russia and permanently live abroad?
Over 50%
The first ad to appear on Russian television advertised...
Pepsi Cola
Scholars have argued that "Fostering a macho image has been one of the central features of Russian president Vladimir Putin's political legitimation strategy." Which of the following "masculinity-displaying feats" did Putin NOT deliver? - zooming around a track in a Formula-One racecar - showing off his martial arts skills - braving rough seas to garner a skin sample collected with a crossbow from a gray whale - "saving" a crew of journalists from a Siberian tiger - Putin was involved in all of the "feats" listed here
Putin was involved in all of the "feats" listed here
The rollback of civil liberties in Russia has accelerated since...
Putin's return to presidency in 2012
Gorbachev's policy of "democratization" meant...
Reform within the Communist Party-ruled state
When Second Chechen war was launched, Vladimir Putin was...
Russia's prime minister
The first female astronaut in outer space was...
Russian
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 former-Soviet nations
Select the correct answers from the drop-down menu in the statement below: Mikhail Gorbachev's __________ and Boris Yeltsin's __________ regimes both created a number of significant problems for Russia's economy.
Soviet, post-Soviet
Which of the countries listed below was the first to notice elevated radiation levels and to initiate inquiries about its origin?
Sweden
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 help rehabilitate Stalin's victims and agitate for democratic reform
Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, was reportedly investigating Russia's war with...
Ukraine
In which of the Soviet Republics listed below was the Chernobyl nuclear plant located?
Ukraine
While market forces in Russia are usually associated with the era of Boris Yeltsin, there was at least one more moments in Soviet history when a free market was temporarily introduced. This period began under which Soviet leader?
Vladimir Lenin
Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, was killed during the regime of...
Vladimir Putin
The Beslan tragedy markedly scarred the early years of __________'s presidency.
Vladimir Putin
Which of the following leaders made it very clear to the world that, while Russia is happy to have foreign investors put their money in Russian energy companies, Russia does not want foreigners running them.
Vladimir Putin
Which of the following venues does the Kremlin not control?
Youtube
What was the name of the oil company that Mikhail Khodorkovsky acquired from the Russian government?
Yukos Oil
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
Ukraine's first legal political party since the 1920's, was formed as a response to the Chernobyl accident. This Party originated with...
a prominent Ukranian writer
Prison camps (Gulags) and political executions were scaled back...
after Joseph Stalin's death
It has been argued that "between Putin's first election in 2000 and his reelection to a third presidential term in 2012, ... Russia became an increasingly authoritarian state." Which of the developments listed below can be seen as signs of Russia's move towards authoritarianism? - investigative journalists perished - restrictions on nongovernmental organizations increased - restrictions on nongovernmental organizations increased press freedom declined - television stations returned to state control - elections suffered from fraud - all of the times listed here are applicable
all of the times listed here are applicable
Putin-era Russia could be seen as an example of what some scholars call "informational __________"
autocracy
The first major televised advertising campaigns in Russia were commissioned by...
banks
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
In the 1920, Vladimir Lenin opined that _________ was "the most important of all arts."
cinema
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
Which one of the following developments was NOT a (perhaps unintended) result of Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost? - undermining of the Communist Party's hold on society - political and social fragmentation within the Soviet society - introduction of the first semi-competitive elections in the USSR - creating of a new political system in the Soviet Union
creating of a new political system in the Soviet Union
Some economists point out that Vladimir Putin's regime's economic record is marred by a "glaring failure to address Russia's infrastructure crisis." For example, between 2005 and 2010, the Russian government...
did not build a single major modern highway
Famous work by Alexander Solzhenitsyn "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (a story of a prisoner in a Soviet labor camp) was first published...
during the era of the Thaw
According to research highlighted in "The Putin Generation" podcast, the majority of younger Russians who live in urban areas speak foreign languages and have traveled abroad.
false
After the 1991 Soviet collapse, Russian film and publishing industries blossomed.
false
At the time "The Putin Generation" podcast was recorded (around 2020), young Russians were politically active and take part in Russia's elections more regularly than the older generation.
false
By the time the Chornobyl nuclear power station went on line in 1977, Ukrainian Communist Party, as well as Ukrainian intellectuals, were strongly against the project of Soviet nuclearization of their republic.
false
During the era of Stagnation, most Soviet citizens were dissidents, eager to express their unhappiness with the Soviet government.
false
Horoscopes were common in Soviet print media.
false
If you lived in Moscow in 1980 and wanted to ship goods to Uzbekistan, you had to pay a customs tariff.
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
Judging by the documentary Khodorkovsky, this former oligarch was not allowed to communicate with the world outside his jail cell.
false
Khodorkovsky was arrested by the Boris Yeltsin administration on the accusation of tax evasion.
false
Like most of his predecessors, Gorbachev allowed for public debate and even criticism of Communist Party policies.
false
Most communists in the Soviet government were enthusiastic about and supportive of Gorbachev's reforms.
false
Most of Russia's first oligarchs were "self-made men," comparable to Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.
false
One of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms included the elimination of the so-called Brezhnev doctrine. Named after the Soviet leader whose "rule" is usually described as the period of the Thaw, the Brezhnev doctrine gave the Soviet Union "the right to intervene in any state where socialism was in jeopardy."
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 majority of Russian artists did NOT support the Revolution of 1917 and actively opposed the Bolshevik regime.
false
The policies of glasnost and perestroika were introduced after the collapse of the Soviet Union
false
The word "radiation" comes from a Greek term that means "ray of light."
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
Young people in the Soviet Union had many opportunities for night life (bars, clubs, etc.)
false
Which one of the benefits listed below was NOT provided by the Soviet "safety net"?
free annual two-week vacation in a Soviet "sanatorium"
The city of St.Petersburg was called Petrograd...
from 1914 to 1924
Russian National Guard, about 300,000 troops at the presidents personal disposal, was created for the specific purpose of putting down mass revolts in Russia. When was the Guard created?
in 2016
Vladimir Putin has a degree in...
law
In the 1990s the price of petroleum, as well as ferrous and nonferrous metals, was...
low
Pussy Riot's "Punk Prayer" did NOT...
make repeated requests to the Virgin Mary to exorcise Patriarch Kirill
Chechnya was one of the 15 Soviet republics.
no
Did a resident from Moscow (Russia) traveling to Kiev (Ukraine) or Minsk (Belarus) need a visa before the collapse of the USSR?
no
The Chernobyl accident happen on April 26, 1986. Did the Soviet authorities allow Ukraine to cancel the traditional May 1 parade, that was traditionally held across most major Soviet cities to commemorate the International Workers' Day?
no
Will the 10 km "Exclusion Zone" ever be open to the general public?
no
Which ONE of the areas listed below was NOT a chief focus of Mikhail Gorbachev and his supporters, as they tried to overcome the "difficulties" faced by the Soviet Union?
one-party system
The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power station released...
significantly more radioactivity than the Hiroshima bomb
The most tightly controlled source of information in today's Russia is...
television
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 largest accident in nuclear history prior to Chernobyl took place in...
the Soviet Union
Which of the events listed below is the earliest in the chronology of Soviet / Russian history? - the USSR sends troops to Afghanistan - Lithuania becomes the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence from the Soviet Union - Mikhail Gorbachev launches a series of reforms (e.g. glasnost and perestroika) - independent television stations are taken over by government or government-run corporations - Boris Yeltsin becomes president of Russia
the USSR sends troops to Afghanistan
The wall dividing East and West Germany was built in...
the early 1960s
Which era in Soviet history is characterized by - cultural bans, clampdowns and censorship - relative material growth and economic stability for average Russians
the era of Leonid Brezhnev
The coup d-etat of August 1991 was staged by...
the old guard communists that thought Gorbachev went too far with his reforms
The largest class in the Soviet society was...
the working class
What was the largest social class in the Soviet society?
the working class
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
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 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
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.
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
Before Chernobyl, there had been other (albeit less serious) nuclear accidents, including the 1979 incident in the U.S. (near Harrisburg, PA)
true
Before they were arrested in 2012, at least two members of the Pussy Riot band were university students.
true
Between 2008 and 2012, Putin served as a prime minister of the Russian Federation.
true
Boris Yeltsin was Russia's first-ever popularly elected leader (at least post-1917).
true
Due to opening travel opportunities in the late 1980s (since 1985 Soviet citizens could 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 the Soviet era, all farmers (collective and state) were allowed to own small plots of land where they could engage in private farming.
true
Even though military service in the Armed Forces of the USSR was mandatory, Vladimir Putin never served in the Soviet military.
true
For most of the Soviet era, alcohol 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 1917, Russia was an overwhelmingly peasant society.
true
In general, unlike Americans who are accustomed to seeing the First Lady in a very public light, Soviet citizens (and even post-Soviet Russians) have no tradition of highly visible "political wives."
true
In the 1990s Russia saw a rapid spread of tuberculosis.
true
It is fair to describe Mikhail Gorbachev as an "idealistic socialist" who set out to revitalize the communist order in the USSR.
true
Members of the various state security agencies in Russia are knows as siloviki. Siloviki are powerful and, to varying degrees, unaccountable to the broader public, the Parliament, and the government. At the same time, Putin has made sure that there is a fierce competition between these agencies to help prevent the emergence of a single rival to Putin.
true
Mikhail Gorbachev was a socialist whose reforms were aimed at revitalizing the communist order in the Soviet Union.
true
Most Soviet groceries were sold unwrapped; for liquid goods (for example milk) customers had to bring their own containers.
true
Putin is known to appoint individuals affiliated with Russian security services to various parts of the government.
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 was created as the world's first socialist state.
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 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
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
Vladimir Putin's current second six-year presidential term ends in 2024. In 2020 Russian Duma proposed to "zero out" Putin's previous terms, which was approved at all levels of the government. Under this new amendment, Putin can run for office twice more, in 2024 and 2030. Since Russian presidential terms are 6 years, should Putin win these two elections, he can remain in power until 2036.
true
Within the Soviet Union, each republic had its own constitution.
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
