History
What is a czar?
An emperor, Russian for "Caesar"
In art, Russia is known for what kind of performing arts? An example of this performing art is The Nutcracker.
Ballet
Where does Russia rank in the world on the SIZE of its country?
First, Russia is the world's largest country. Compared to the United States, Russia is almost twice as big.
In general Russia has ______ summers and ______ winters.
Short summers and long winters.
A form of the Greek alphabet that was adopted by the Russians and is still used today.
Cyrillic
Harsh Soviet labor camps often located in Siberia.
Gulags.
In science, Russia, who was the Soviet Union at the time, contributed to _______ research. This eventually led to the launch of Sputnik in 1957.
Space Research. The United States and Russia raced for space during the Cold War.
This lake is the world's deepest lake
Lake Baikal. Russia has some 200,000 lakes and Lake Baikal is called the Jewel of Siberia.
Russia's northern coast is ______. Winters are dark and bitterly cold.
Tundra. Much of the ground is permafrost or permanently frozen soil.
This city is now the capital of Ukraine
Kiev
Who were the radical Russian Communist group that seized power in the Russian Revolution called?
The Bolsheviks. They killed the czar and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Russia is big and diverse, with more that 140 million people. About 80 percent are what 2 ethnic groups?
Ethnic Russia and Slavs
What is the vast area between the Urals and the Pacific Ocean?
Siberia. A very massive area of land that rises and falls in elevation throughout this area.
South of the tundra is a vast forest of evergreen trees called _____.
Taiga. This huge forest covers about half of Russia
The Viking traders invaded this group of people in the C.E. 800's
The Slavs, eventually the Vikings shaped the first Russian state among the Slavs. This state was called Kievan Rus that centered around the city of Kiev.
A Soviet Union leader during WWII and was a brutal and paranoid dictator.
Joseph Stalin. He created the gulags and killed anyone who spoke out against the government.
The main faith in Russia today is what
Russian Orthodox Christian
The longest river in Europe that flows southward to the Caspian Sea
The Volga River. Canals link the Volga to the nearby Don River and the Baltic Sea.
A steppe is what?
A flat grassland, with rich black soil and a warmer climate. This is Russia's most important farming area.
These two czars built Russia into a huge empire and a world power.
hint: they ruled from (1682-1725) and (1762-1796)
Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. The empire had conquered many people and surrounding countries at the time.
Ivan IV was also known as what other name?
Ivan the Terrible
June 12th was declared a national holiday for it was the end of the Soviet Union. What is this holiday called.
Independence day
In these mountains you can stand on two continents at once.
The Ural Mountains, where Europe and Asia meet you are able to stand
The region's main energy resources are what 4 things?
Coal, hydroelectricity, natural gas, and oil
This Soviet leader made changes such as reducing government control and introduced democracy.
Mikhail Gorbachev