QUIZ

Subject – “Russia in the past and today”

Set at the meeting on 6 December 2002. Entries to be submitted at the next meeting (31 January 2003), or sent in advance to Heather Haslett secretary@britishrussian.org.uk
16 Beverley Road, Leamington Spa, Warks, CV32 6PJ

Click here for original Russian Version

WIN a year’s membership to the British-Russian Society

1. P.I. Tchaikovsky was an honorary member of which British University?

2. Who composed the National Anthem of the Russian Federation and who wrote the words? What are the words?*
*The winner for this question will be the person who quotes the most complete text of the anthem (and translates it into English).

3. From which period does the term “Revolutionary Song” date?

4. Information. The Russian composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908) was also a teacher, conductor, and the composer of the famous symphonic poem “Sadko”, the operas “The Snow Maiden” and “May Night” (after Ostrovskii), “Christmas Eve” (after Gogol) and others.
Question: Which other profession (not associated with music) did Rimsky-Korsakov follow?

5. Who inspired and organised the Russian musical circle known as the “mighty handful”, which formed the centre of the struggle for progressive democratic art in the 1860s?

6. a) How many strings does a balalaika have?
b) What are the different sizes of balalaika?

7. Red Square in Moscow. Which architectural ensemble does it form part of? Does it have another (informal) name?

8. Red Square in Moscow. When was it built and what were its former official names?

9. From which period does the tradition of granting the state award “Medal of Russia” date?

10. What was the name of the first Russian Order?

11. When was the Battle of Poltava? Between whom, and what was the result?

12. Is the Russian Federation a member of the European Security Council?

13. Match the names of these famous Russian politicians and businessmen to their titles.

I Yurii Luzhkov a) Minister of Finance
II Aleksei Kudrin b) Mayor of Moscow
III Vladimir Yakovlev c) President
IV Vladimir Putin d) General Director of RAO “Energo”
V Anatolii Chubais e) General Director of concern “Russian Aluminium”
VI Oleg Deripaska f) Governor of St Petersburg
VII V. Chernomyrdin g) President of government of RF
VIII M. Kasyanov h) Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russian Federation in Ukraine

14. Did Russia join NATO as a result of the recent so-called “Expansion of NATO to the East”?

15. Is the population of the Russian Federation increasing or decreasing in comparison with 1996 and what was it in 2001?

16. What is the level of infant mortality in Russia today in comparison with the USA, France and Japan?
Information: in the USA 10 children per 1000 born die in infancy, 8 in France and 5 in Japan.

17. Which are the six largest national groups living in Russia?

18. Which British authors or characters are the most popular in Russia today?

Quiz questions prepared by E. Denezhkina (email edenezhkina@hotmail.com) and translated by H. Haslett (email h.haslett@classicfm.net). Click here for original Russian Version

The author asks readers to share their opinions about the level of interest and difficulty of the questions and let her know if they would be interested in a continuation of the quiz in the future.

Thank you!