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Home | News and Events | Test Your Knowledge! 200 Years of U.S.-Russia Relations

Test Your Knowledge! 200 Years of U.S.-Russia Relations

January 2007
Bureau of Public Affairs

St. Basils Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, January 4, 2002. AP/Wide World PhotoFor more than 200 years, Russia and the United States have worked together, at one point even sharing a land border when Russia had a settlement at Fort Ross, California. Over this period, the two countries have competed for political and economic influence, and cooperated to meet mutual global challenges. In 2007, private and government organizations in the United States and Russia will mark the bicentennial of diplomatic relations with events that illustrate the depth and history of the relationship.

Russia's heritage is rich in culture, art, and tradition.  This tremendously diverse nation provides the backdrop for many historical events that have helped shape the world.   How much do you know about Russia?  Did you know that Russia is also called the Russian Federation?  Did you know that Russia is the largest country in the world?   Test your knowledge of Russia's many interesting facts.

1. The U.S. has a population of 299,398,484*. How many people live in Russia? 

  1. 143,420,309 
  2. 358,419,167 
  3. 167,498,264

2. Who wrote the ballet, "The Nutcracker"?

  1. Sergei Rachmaninoff 
  2. Dmitri Shostakovich 
  3. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

3. Which U.S. sports league boasts the highest percentage of Russian-born professional athletes?

  1. NBA 
  2. NHL 
  3. MLS

4. What type of fish does black caviar come from?

  1. salmon 
  2. sturgeon 
  3. snapper

5. Who was the first American Ambassador to Russia?

  1. Benjamin Franklin 
  2. Thomas R. Pickering 
  3. John Quincy Adams

6. Which Soviet leader is reported to have tapped the lectern with his shoe as he gave a speech at the United Nations?

  1. Nikita Khrushchev 
  2. Joseph Stalin 
  3. Mikhail Gorbachev

7. What does kremlin mean in Russian?

  1. Church 
  2. Small animal 
  3. Citadel or fortress

8. Which capital city housed the first U.S. Embassy in Russia?

  1. Moscow 
  2. Yekaterinburg 
  3. St. Petersburg

9. Which U.S. state was purchased from Russia in 1868?

  1. Maine 
  2. Oregon 
  3. Alaska

10. What are Russian dumplings called?

  1. blini 
  2. pilmeni 
  3. ragaliki

11. Which Russian nobleman gave his name to a popular beef and mushroom dish?

  1. Count Stroganoff 
  2. Prince Yousoupov 
  3. Tsarevich Alexei

12. What was the score of the famous "Miracle on Ice" semi-final hockey game between the USA and the USSR at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games?

  1. 2-3 
  2. 3-0 
  3. 4-3

13. Which American pianist won the quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow during the height of the Cold War?

  1. George Gershwin 
  2. Van Cliburn 
  3. Evgeny Kissin

14. Which Russian avant-garde artist was part of the Société Anonyme, which sought to introduce the American public to modern art in the 1920s and 1930s?

  1. Wassily Kandinsky 
  2. Ilya Repin 
  3. Marc Chagall

15. Which of these popular American children's programs has been recreated for Russian children?

  1. Reading Rainbow 
  2. Mr. Roger's Neighborhood 
  3. Sesame Street

16. What is the current capital of the Russian Federation?

  1. St. Petersburg 
  2. Moscow 
  3. Pskov

17. Where does the Russian Santa Claus live?

  1. Moscow 
  2. Lapland 
  3. Veliky Ustyug

18. What are the colors of the Russian flag?

  1. white, blue, and red 
  2. red, blue, and orange 
  3. yellow and blue

19. How do Russian kids say 'cool'?

  1. niet 
  2. kruto 
  3. khorosho

20. What are the Russian nested-dolls called?

  1. kukla 
  2. bochka 
  3. matrioshka

21. When was the International Space Station -- with principal cooperation between U.S. and Russian space agencies -- first launched into orbit?

  1. November 2, 2000 
  2. March 27, 1995 
  3. May 12, 1982

* Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 Population Estimates, Census 2000, 1990 Census

Check Your Answers!


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