Foundation test

Question 1

What percentage of the Russian population lived in towns or cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants in 1855?

Answer 1

1.6

Question 2

Five out of six Russians in 1855 were what sort of peasant?

Answer 2

Serf

Question 3

Well over —- different languages were spoken within the Russian Empire

Answer 3

100

Question 4

What happened to the population in terms of size between 1815 and 1914?

Answer 4

It quadrupled

Question 5

The Russian Empire in 1855 was smaller than Russia today

Answer 5

False

Question 6

To the west of which mountain range contains the area with the most fertile land and population density as well as the most important cities of Moscow and St Petersburg

Answer 6

The urals

Question 7

Give two examples of significant issues regarding Russia’s climate

Answer 7

Extremes of temperature

Very dry in places

Question 8

How long does it take today to go by place from Moscow in the west of Russia to the Port of Vladivostok on the east coast

Answer 8

8 hours

Question 9

Russia’s industrial economy lagged behind those of Western Europe and America in the 19th century

Answer 9

True

Question 10

The landed gentry had maximised the use of new 19th century farming techniques and Russian agriculture was some of the most advanced in the world

Answer 10

False

Question 11

What is an autocracy

Answer 11

Rule by one person

Question 12

What was the name of the last Russian Royal dynasty

Answer 12

Romanov

Question 13

Which Tsar took Russia into the disastrous Crimean war in 1853?

Answer 13

Nicholas I

Question 14

Which Tsar signed a humiliating peace treaty to end the ward in 1856

Answer 14

Alexander ii

Question 15

Defeat in the Crimean war revealed an urgent need for —— in all aspects of economy, society and politics

Answer 15

Modernisation

Question 16

Why was Alexander ii known as the great tsar liberator

Answer 16

The liberation of the serfs

Question 17

Does he fully deserve this title

Answer 17

No

Question 18

Why/why not

Answer 18

He was ultimately committed to autocracy and was engaging in limited liberal reform to avoid potential unrest and protect the Romanov dynasty

Question 19

Who became tsar in 1881

Answer 19

Alexander iii

Question 20

The son of Alexander ii was keen to enact more liberal reforms in order to appease the sort of organisation that had assassinated his father

Answer 20

False

Question 21

How old was tsar Nicholas ii when he came to the throne

Answer 21

26

Question 22

Nicholas was often more influenced by his dedication to the Russian —— church than the sensible advice of experts

Answer 22

Orthodox

Question 23

Nicholas took Russia into another humiliating conflict in an attempt to boost russias influence in the pacific region.

This is known as the Russo—— war

Answer 23

Japanese

Question 24

The impact of the above war saw a drop in living standards and damaged the reputation of tsar Nicholas further causing what is known as the ‘1905 revolution’

Why is it a good idea to put this in commas

Answer 24

It was not one singular organised uprising, rather, disorganised unrest by various groups across Russia

Ie. A wave of mass political social unrest

Question 25

Give two examples of unrest in 1905

Answer 25

Bloody Sunday + reaction to Bloody Sunday Peasant unrest

Question 26

What was Nicholas forced to promise in order to quell opposition in 1905

Answer 26

Issue the October manifesto promising a constitutional monarchy ie a duma (parliament) This was the promise of legislation, no the actual legislation

Question 27

Did he fully honour this promise when he presented the finalised changes to the political system in the form of the fundamental laws of 1906

Answer 27

No

Question 28

Which war started in 1914

Answer 28

Ww1

Question 29

What prompted Alexandria and Nicholas to fall under the spell of Rasputin

Answer 29

He seemed to be able to rest their sons haemophilia (blood disorder)

Question 30

Why is it most likely that it was people that wanted the survival of the Romanov dynasty that killed Rasputin

Answer 30

He was seriously damaging the reputation of the tsar and tsarina, but they refused to listen to those around them

Question 31

Which bad decision made by Nicholas in 1915 tied his reputation and prestige to the course of ww1

Answer 31

He took full control of the armed forces and went to the front (leaving tsarina in the capitol with Rasputin)

Question 32

What did tsar Nicholas have to do in February 1917

Answer 32

Abdicate

Question 33

Why was the provisional government called the provisional government

Answer 33

As they were never meant to be permanent They were supposed to be running Russia until proper democratic elections for a constitution assembly could be held

Question 34

What sort of government briefly seemed possible

Answer 34

Democracy / liberal democracy

Question 35

Which other organisation competed with the provisional government as part of a bizarre dual power arrangement

Answer 35

The Petrograd soviet

Question 36

As further setbacks in ww1 put even more pressure on the provisional government to maintain control, why did kerensky let lots of bolsheviks out of prison and give them weapons

Answer 36

Because he thought a military coup was about to happen and needed to organise the defence of Petrograd (st Petersburg) against a section of the Russian army (the kornilov affair)

Question 37

Fill in the gaps for two of Lenin’s most significant slogans

Answer 37

Bread, peace and land All power to the soviets

Question 38

Which of these phrases best describes the October revolution

Answer 38

A coup by a group of middle-class intellectuals on behalf of the urban proletariat

Question 39

Which conflict emerged after the October revolution

Answer 39

The civil war

Question 40

How many different armies were involved

Answer 40

4+

Question 41

Which Bolshevik leader was in charge of the victorious red army

Answer 41

Trotsky

Question 42

Which of the following statements about the casualties in the civil war is most accurate

Answer 42

There were an estimated 7m-12m casualties during the war, mostly civilians

Question 43

After a series of strokes, which year did Lenin die

Answer 43

1924

Question 44

It was clear who the successor to Lennon should be

Answer 44

False

Question 45

Name two specific groups to be targeted during stalins purges in the 1930s

Answer 45

Sections of his own party Political opponents, real and imagined Certain national minorities

Question 46

Did WW2 ultimately strengthen or weaken stalins cult status

Answer 46

Strengthened

Question 47

What year did Stalin die

Answer 47

1953

Question 48

Khrushchev presided over the escalation of which war

Answer 48

Cold war

Question 49

Which year was he forced from power

Answer 49

1964

Question 50

Which vegetable/cereal became khrushchev’s obsession

Answer 50

Corn/sweetcorn/maize