Russian History Vocabulary Quiz

Vocabulary

• Cyrillic Alphabet: Created by Cyril and Methodius, used for translating religious texts into a common language.
• Orthodox: Vladimir I chose Byzantine Orthodoxy, merging Russian traditions with Christianity, making it the official religion.
• Federal Subject Region: A region with its own government, part of a larger country.
• Kremlin: A fort in Moscow, converted to a center of power.
• Duma: A group of boyars advising the Tsar, dissolved by Peter the Great.
• Russky/Rossiysky: Russky refers to Russian language, people, and culture; Rossiysky relates to Russia as a country.
• Republic: A country with an elected government.

General Review Questions

• Varangians: Vikings who traveled to Novgorod and Kiev, known as Rus.
• Cossacks: A militaristic Slavic group, semi-independent.
• Mongols: Descendants of Genghis Khan, forming the Golden Horde.
• Tatars: A Mongol group comprising the Golden Horde, controlling Russia.
• Moscow's Rise: Princes collected taxes for the Mongols, gaining power. Moscow learned military strategies, and Ivan IV united principalities. Novgorod, with its bell and veche system, was also a capital .
• St. Petersburg's Capital Status: Became capital under Tsar Peter's rule.
• Nobles vs. Boyars: Boyars were a group of nobles advising the Tsar and vying for power; nobles were a broader social class.
• Oprichniki/Oprichnina: Oprichniki were men who enforced Ivan the Terrible's rule by killing dissenters. Oprichnina was the period of Ivan's oppressive rule,
• Cyril and Methodius: Brought Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium and created the Cyrillic alphabet.
• Old Believers: Russian Orthodox Christians resisting reforms, adhering to traditional practices. This led to the Great Schism.
• Slavophiles: Believed in preserving Russian traditions and opposing Westernization.
• Westernizers: Favored modernization and reform, opposing autocracy, serfdom, and the Orthodox Church.
• Peasants vs. Serfs: Peasants could own land; serfs were bound to land and were required to pay landowners.
• Kulaks: Peasants with more fertile land after serf emancipation.
• Serf Emancipation: Emancipation Manifesto, by Alexander II in mid-1800s.
• Serf Emancipation Reasons: Russia lagged behind other countries during the Crimean War, needing industrialization and lessening the divide between serfs and peasants.
• Vladimir I's Unification: Made Orthodox Christianity the official religion, forcing baptism in the Dnieper River.
• Yaroslav I's Unification: Promoted Christianity and created Russkaya Pravda, a legal code.
• Boris and Gleb: Yaroslav I's brothers, first saints of the Orthodox Church, martyrs.
• Alexander Nevsky: Military hero for defeating Swedes.
• False Dmitry I: Polish pretender, impersonated Dmitry I, supported by nobles opposing Tsar Boris Gudanov.
• First Tsar: Ivan IV.
• Time of Troubles: A period of instability with no designated heir, boyar struggles for power, Tatar attacks, and Polish threats, ending with the ascension of the Romanov Dynasty.
• Ivan IV's Son's Fate: Ivan IV killed his son during an argument.
• First Romanov Tsar: Mikhail I.
• First Romanov Tsar's Father: Fyodor Romanov, Patriarch Filaret.
• Peter's European Trip: Grand Embassy.
• Peter's Reforms: Created a new calendar, built a navy, and established the Table of Ranks.
• Boyar Duma: Group of nobles advising the Tsar, abolished by Peter I.
• Zemstvo: Local governments created after serf emancipation, managing taxes and aiding peasants.
• Gubernii/Governorates: Russia's administrative subdivisions, created by Peter I.
• Schism: Two schisms. First was the Great Schism between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Second separated New and Old Believers in mid 1600s
• Table of Ranks: Established by Peter I, ranks in military and government, achieving higher ranks based on merit not birthright.
• Nakaz: Legal code of suggestions from Catherine II facilitating reforms.
• Peter and Catherine's Government Changes: Consolidated power, centralized bureaucracy—details omitted.
• Alexander I's Brothers: Constantine and Nicholas I, Constantine renounced the throne.
• Defeating Napoleon: Russia used scorched earth tactics, weather, and the burning of Moscow.
• Official Nationality Policy: One Tsar, one Faith, one Nation—Nicholas I's policy.
• Tsar Following Official Nationality Program: Alexander III.
• Crimean War Cause: Russia sought Ottoman lands and Black Sea access.
• Crimean War Losses: Inferior technology, internal revolts, losses to opposing forces.
• Crimean War Consequences: Russia lost influence in Balkans, Black Sea fleet restriction.
• Okhrana: Alexander III's secret police force, suppressing opposition following Alexander II's assassination.
• Major Military Victories (Peter I, Catherine II, Alexander I): Information omitted.
• Narodnaya Volya: Revolutionary group that assassinated Alexander II.
• Nevsky Prospekt Location: St. Petersburg.
• Polish Partitions: Poland divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
• Pugachev's Claim: Pugachev claimed to be Peter III, leading a rebellion, but was suppressed by Catherine II.
• Zemstvos' Failures: Corruption by the nobility and lack of understanding by peasants.
• Streltsy: Elite army members who initially supported then opposed Peter I, leading to their extermination.
• Russia's Geography: Rivers, cold climate, vast size, limited Black Sea access.
• Accursed Questions: Information omitted.
• Battle of Poltava Result: Peter I's victory over Charles XII of Sweden established Russia as a European power.
• Event Order: Information omitted.
• Religion's Changes (Ivan IV, Patriarch Nikon, Peter I, Nicholas I, Yaroslav I): Details omitted.