The Red Square and Kremlin are located in this major Russian city
Moscow
In 1861, Tsar Alexander II issued the Edict of Emancipation which abolished this system of peasant servitude
Serfdom
This popular Ukrainian soup consists of red beets in a meat stock and is typically garnished with sour cream
Borscht
This renowned Russian author and philosopher (b. 1928) wrote epic novels such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
The theme song for this famous block-stacking video game is based on the Russian folk song, Korobeiniki
Tetris
The terrible Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in this former Soviet republic
Ukraine
This Imperial Russian emperor is known for leading a cultural revolution that replaced traditional Russian systems with Westernized beliefs based on the Enlightenment
Peter the Great
This Russian composer born in 1840 wrote some of the most popular classical ballets, including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake
Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky
This Russian novelist (b. 1821) is famous for his complex psychological portrayals of human beings in works such as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
This Russian chemist is known for creating the first version of the Periodic Table of Elements
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev
The Peterhof Palace, commissioned by Peter the Great in response to the French Palace of Versailles, is located in this major Russian city
Saint Petersburg
This system of forced labor camps established during Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship incarcerated about 18 million people throughout its history in notoriously brutal conditions
Gulag
This Belarussian post-punk band has made waves with their 2018 album Etazhi, featuring hit song "Судно (Борис Рыжий)" ("Bedpan (Boris Ryzhy)")
Molchat Doma
This Russian poet (b. 1799) is considered to be the greatest Russian poet as well as the founder of modern Russian literature
Alexander Pushkin
The launch of this Soviet satellite marked the beginning of the Space Age in 1957, sparking the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
Sputnik 1
With the capital city of Tashkent and the Som for currency, this post-Soviet country lies in central Asia and shares a border with Afghanistan
Uzbekistan
The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state in December of this year, marking the end of the Cold War and allowing for the establishment of 15 independent countries
1991
This famous rock band was co-founded in Leningrad 1981 by singer Viktor Tsoi and released hits such as Группа крови (Blood Type) and Перемен (Change)
Kino
This Russian-born novelist (b. 1899) is well-known for his novels Lolita, Pale Fire, and Speak, Memory
Vladimir Nabokov
This supernatural character in East Slavic folklore is an old woman/witch who lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs
Baba Yaga
This Russian mountain range runs from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to northwestern Kazakhstan, marking the physiographic boundary between Europe and Asia
Ural Mountains
The Russian Revolution occurred in this year when the Bolsheviks overthrew Imperial rule in favor of a new socialist republic
1917
This 1975 romantic comedy pokes fun at Brezhnev-era architecture and is typically watched by Russians on New Year's Eve
Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!
This Russian novelist (b. 1818) is well-known for his novel Fathers and Sons as well as his short story collection, A Sportsman's Sketches
Ivan Turgenev
This is the world's longest railway, built in Russia 1891-1916 and runs 5,700 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok
Trans-Siberian Railway