Russia prior to the 1800's

Multiple choice questions. Choose the best answer.

1. The unifiers and first rulers of the Russians were the
   
   

   a) Mongols.
   b) Turks.
   c) Romanovs.
   d) Vikings.




2. By the 17th century, commercial, manufacturing and mining activities in Russia were owned or controlled by the
   
   

   a) rising urban capitalists.
   b) Cossacks.
   c) tsar.
   d) Russian church.




3. Ivan the Terrible
   
   

   a) failed to conquer the Khan.
   b) was afraid to call himself tsar.
   c) monopolized most mining and business activities.
   d) abolished the system of compulsory service for noble landlords.




4. The Russian cossacks were
   
   

   a) nobles created by Peter the Great.
   b) free groups and outlaw armies.
   c) private armies of the landlords.
   d) Turkish troops who settled in the Black Sea area.




5. The Muscovite princes gained their initial power through
   
   

   a) services rendered to the Vikings.
   b) strategic marriages.
   c) services rendered to the Mongols.
   d) defeat of the rival branches of the house of Ruiruk.




6. The word "republic" refers to a
   
   

   a) dictatorship.
   b) democracy.
   c) constitutional monarchy.
   d) government with no monarchy.




7. Mercantilism
   
   

   a) was a military system.
   b) insisted on a favourable balance of trade.
   c) was adopted in England but not in France.
   d) claimed that state power was based on land armies.




8. The rise of the Russian monarchy was largely a response to the external threat of the
   
   

   a) French philosophes.
   b) Asiatic Mongols.
   c) Prussian junkers.
   d) Polish aristocracy.




9. The "Time of Troubles" was caused by
   
   

   a) a dispute in the line of succession.
   b) Turkish invasions.
   c) Mongol invasions.
   d) severe crop failures resulting in starvation and disease.




10. Peter the Great's reforms included
    
    

    a) the creation of an independent parliament.
    b) an elimination of the merit system bureaucracy.
    c) a lessening of the burdens of serfdom for Russian peasants.
    d) compulsory education away from home for the higher classes.




11. In order to strengthen the Russian military, Peter the Great
    
    

    a) turned over political power to the military.
    b) established a navy in the Atlantic.
    c) excluded foreigners from his service.
    d) made the nobility serve in the civil administration or army for life.




12. The Battle of Poltava was a Russian victory over
    
    

    a) Sweden.
    b) Turkey.
    c) Prussia.
    d) Austria.




13. The real losers in the growth of east European absolutism were the
    
    

    a) peasants.
    b) peasants and middle classes.
    c) nobility.
    d) nobility and the clergy.

Answer key	1. _	9. _	17. _	25. _	33. _	41. _
	2. _	10. _	18. _	26. _	34. _	42. _
	3. _	11. _	19. _	27. _	35. _	43. _
	4. _	12. _	20. _	28. _	36. _	44. _
	5. _	13. _	21. _	29. _	37. _	45. _
	6. _	14. _	22. _	30. _	38. _	46. _
	7. _	15. _	23. _	31. _	39. _	47. _
	8. _	16. _	24. _	32. _	40. _	48. _

Compiling such a data bank is an ongoing process. Comments and contributions are appreciated by those persons who use this resource.

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