Imperial Russia
Soviet Russia
Politics
Literature
Music
Cinema
Holidays
Cities
Geography
100
He was the first ruler to call himself Emperor of Russia and modernized the army and navy in the early 18th century.
Peter the Great | Пётр I (Первый)
100
This Soviet cosmonaut became the first human in space on April 12, 1961.
Yuri Gagarin | Юрий Гагарин
100
This 1917 political event brought the Bolsheviks to power under Vladimir Lenin.
October Revolution | Октябрьская революция 1917-го года
100
This Russian author, arrested for involvement with a revolutionary group, narrowly escaped execution before being sent to Siberia.
Fyodor Dostoevsky | Фёдор Достоевский
100
This composer wrote Swan Lake ("Лебединое озеро") and The Sleeping Beauty ("Спящая красавица").
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Пётр Ильич Чайковский
100
This 1997 Russian film became a cult classic for its portrayal of post-Soviet life and follows the story of a young man navigating crime and family in St. Petersburg.
Brother | "Брат"
100
Russians celebrate this holiday on January 7th according to the Orthodox calendar.
Orthodox Christmas | Православное Рождество
100
The city of Russia’s tsars from 1712 to 1917.
St. Petersburg | Санкт-Петербург
100
This river is the longest in Russia and in Europe, flowing into the Caspian Sea.
the Volga River | Волга
200
This Russian tsar, known for his harsh rule, commissioned the construction of Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
Ivan the Terrible | Иван IV (Грозный)
200
Western countries heavily boycotted this 1980 event in Moscow.
The 1980 Summer Olympics | Летние олимпийские игры 1980-го года
200
The Russian parliament is known as…
The State Duma | Государственная дума / Госдума
200
In 1933, Ivan Bunin became the first Russian writer to win this international award.
the Nobel Prize in Literature | Нобелевская премия по литературе
200
This rock musician and frontman of the band Kino became a cult figure in the late 1980s USSR.
Viktor Tsoi | Виктор Цой
200
The Soviet director of Battleship Potemkin ("Броненосец Потёмкин") (1925) and a pioneer of montage.
Sergei Eisenstein | Сергей Эйзенштейн
200
Russians eat blini during this holiday as a symbol of the sun and the coming of spring.
Maslenitsa | Масленица
200
This Black Sea resort city hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics and is famous for its beaches and subtropical climate.
Sochi | Сочи
200
This mountain range is considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia.
The Urals | Уральские горы
300
This Russian emperor faced widespread unrest, the creation of a parliament, and events that ended his family’s centuries-long rule.
Nickolas II | Николай II (Второй)
300
This decades-long geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union shaped global politics after World War II.
the Cold War | Холодная война
300
Boris Yeltsin banned this political party in 1991 after the collapse of the coup.
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union |Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза
300
In his historical novel, this Russian author explored life during the Napoleonic era.
Leo Tolstoy | Лев Толстой
300
This avant-garde composer created the ballet The Firebird ("Жар-птица") and influenced Russian classical music in the early 20th century.
Igor Stravinsky | Игорь Стравинский
300
A 1966 Tarkovsky film about a medieval Russian icon painter, exploring faith, art, and violence.
Andrei Rublev / Андрей Рублёв
300
During New Year celebrations, children traditionally receive gifts from this fictional character.
Ded Moroz / Grandfather Frost | Дед Мороз
300
This city, the capital of Tatarstan, is known for its Kremlin, where Orthodox and Islamic architecture coexist, and for being a major cultural and industrial center in Russia.
Kazan| Казань
300
Passengers traveling this railway can cross 8 time zones and see Lake Baikal along the route.
the Trans-Siberian Railway | Транс-сибирская магистраль
400
This German-born ruler became Empress of Russia in the 18th century and is famous for expanding the empire and supporting the arts.
Catherine the Great | Екатерина II (Вторая)
400
Winston Churchill coined this term in 1946 to describe the political and ideological barrier dividing Eastern and Western Europe.
the Iron Curtain | Железный занавес
400
This Soviet leader gave a "Secret Speech" in 1956 denouncing Stalin’s crimes.
Nikita Khrushchev | Никита Хрущёв
400
This Russian author, born in 1918, wrote extensively about life in the Soviet Union and the Gulag system.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | Александр Солженицын
400
This 20th-century Russian composer wrote Peter and the Wolf ("Петя и волк") and became famous for his colorful orchestration and contributions to children’s music.
Prokofiev — Peter and the Wolf | Сергей Прокофьев — "Петя и волк"
400
This director was famous for long takes and philosophical slow pacing, exemplified in films like Stalker ("Сталкер") and Mirror ("Зеркало").
Andrei Tarkovsky | Андрей Тарковский
400
On this day, Russians honor veterans, hold military parades, and remember the sacrifices made during the Great Patriotic War.
Victory Day | День Победы
400
This city is the northernmost Russian city with a permanent population above 100,000 and is known for its Arctic port.
Murmansk | Мурманск
400
This lake in Siberia is the deepest freshwater lake in the world.
Lake Baikal | озеро Байкал
500
In the 18th century, Peter the Great introduced this unusual "tax" to encourage Western fashion among men.
The Beard Tax | Налог на бороду
This reform of Peter the Great forced Russian nobles to shave their beards or pay a tax.
500
On December 26, 1991, this official act marked the end of the Soviet Union.
The dissolution of the USSR | распад СССР
500
Gorbachev introduced these two key policies, often translated as "restructuring" and "openness".
Perestroika and glasnost | перестройка и гласность
500
This Russian author, born in 1860, is famous for writing short stories and plays.
Anton Chekhov | Антон Чехов
500
Known as the "Soviet bard", he wrote and performed songs often critical of Soviet life and spread them via homemade tapes.
Vladimir Vysotsky | Владимир Высоцкий
500
This 1987 Leningrad-based film starred Viktor Tsoi (Виктор Цой) and became iconic for its depiction of underground rock music in the late Soviet Union.
Assa | Асса
500
The Old New Year (Старый новый год) is celebrated on this date according to the modern (Gregorian) calendar.
January 14th | 14-го января
500
This Russian city is the largest port on the Pacific coast and serves as the administrative center of Primorskiy Krai.
Vladivostok | Владивосток
500
This peninsula in the Russian Far East is known for its active volcanoes and rich wildlife, including brown bears and salmon.
the Kamchatka Peninsula |
Камчатка / Камчатский полуостров
