в 1941 году your answer 1941 is the year the war began, not the year it ended. в 1961 году your answer 1961 was the first human spaceflight — Yuri Gagarin. It has nothing to do with the war. в 1945 году correct The war lasted four years, from 1941 to 1945. 9 May 1945 is Victory Day, one of the country's main holidays and a day off work. If you remember the holiday falls in May, the year is easier to place: victory came in the spring of forty-five.
распад СССР и создание СНГ correct образование СССР your answer The USSR was formed in 1922. In 1991 it did the opposite — it ceased to exist. принятие Конституции Российской Федерации your answer The Constitution was adopted in 1993, two years after the break-up of the USSR. In 1991 the USSR ceased to exist and the Commonwealth of Independent States — the CIS — appeared in its place. From that year Russia and the republics people come from to sit this exam are separate states. Two neighbouring dates are worth keeping apart: 1922, the forming of the USSR, and 1993, the Russian Constitution.
в 1991 году your answer 1991 is the break-up of the USSR and the founding of the CIS — a different event, more than twenty years earlier. в 2014 году correct в 2022 году your answer The treaties on the accession of the DPR, the LPR and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were signed in 2022. Crimea and Sevastopol came eight years earlier. The treaty on the accession of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in 2014. Sevastopol is a separate federal subject, not part of Crimea — the same distinction appears in the codifier's list of major cities.
Содружество Независимых Государств your answer The CIS was created in 1991, right after the break-up of the USSR, and it is not an economic union. Союз Советских Социалистических Республик your answer The USSR existed from 1922 to 1991. By 2015 it was long gone. Евразийский экономический союз correct The Eurasian Economic Union, the EAEU: the treaty establishing it came into force in 2015. For anyone coming to Russia to work, the difference between the EAEU and the CIS is not abstract — the rules for taking up employment differ for citizens of the union's member states and for other foreign nationals.
в 2014 году your answer The 2014 treaty concerned the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol — different territories and a different year. в 2022 году correct в 2015 году your answer In 2015 the treaty creating the Eurasian Economic Union came into force. It has nothing to do with the admission of new federal subjects. The treaties on the admission of the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to the Russian Federation were signed in 2022. Three codifier dates run in sequence and sit side by side in the exam: 2014 for Crimea and Sevastopol, 2015 for the EAEU, 2022 for the four new federal subjects.
Белая, синяя, красная correct Красная, синяя, белая your answer That is the same flag upside down. The order is fixed by law, and from the bottom up it is exactly this: red, blue, white. Белая, синяя, зелёная your answer There is no green on the Russian flag at all. Green stripes appear on the flags of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which makes the mix-up easy. The Russian flag has three equal horizontal stripes: white on top, blue in the middle, red at the bottom. The order is set by the federal constitutional law on the State Flag.
Двуглавый орёл correct Медведь your answer The bear is a common image of Russia in films and advertising, but it is not on the coat of arms. The state emblem is defined by law, and it shows an eagle. Одноглавый орёл your answer There are exactly two heads, and that is the emblem's defining feature: one looks west, the other east. Single-headed eagles belong to other countries' emblems. The Russian coat of arms is a golden double-headed eagle on a red shield: three crowns above the heads, a sceptre and orb in the claws, and on the breast a shield with a horseman spearing a dragon.
Встать; мужчинам снять головной убор correct Продолжать сидеть — это не обязательно your answer It is required. The law on the State Anthem explicitly says it must be heard standing. This is a rule, not a custom, and everyone follows it at official events. Встать и обязательно петь вслух your answer Standing is required, singing is not. The law requires respect for the anthem, not that everyone present sings it. The Russian anthem is heard standing, and men remove their headwear. The music is by A. V. Alexandrov, the words by S. V. Mikhalkov.
12 июня — День России correct 1 сентября — День знаний your answer 1 September is the start of the school year but not a day off: schools and universities work that day, and so does everyone else. 21 марта — Навруз your answer Nowruz is a major holiday in many countries and in several republics of Russia, but it is not a nationwide day off. Russia Day is 12 June, a public holiday and a day off across the country. The list of public holidays is set in the Labour Code; regional or religious holidays are not on it.
День народного единства correct День Конституции your answer Constitution Day is 12 December, when it was adopted in 1993. Since 2005 it has been a commemorative date, not a day off. День Октябрьской революции your answer The anniversary of the revolution was marked on 7 November, the main November holiday in Soviet times. Today there is one state holiday in November, on the 4th. 4 November is the Day of National Unity, a public holiday. It commemorates 1612, when the popular militia of Minin and Pozharsky freed Moscow.
День Победы correct Праздник Весны и Труда your answer The Spring and Labour Holiday is 1 May. May has two public holidays; they are different days with different meanings. День памяти и скорби your answer The Day of Remembrance and Sorrow is 22 June, when the Great Patriotic War began. 9 May is when it ended; the start and the end are easy to swap. 9 May is Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945, the country's main holiday. Parades are held, and the day is a public holiday across Russia.
День защитника Отечества correct Международный женский день your answer International Women's Day is 8 March. The two holidays fall two weeks apart, which is exactly why they get confused. День России your answer Russia Day is 12 June. That is a holiday of the state, while 23 February honours the army and everyone who served. 23 February is Defender of the Fatherland Day, a public holiday. Formally it honours the military, but in everyday life all men are congratulated.
8 марта correct 1 марта your answer 1 March is the first day of spring, but neither a holiday nor a day off. March has one holiday: the eighth. 8 апреля your answer Wrong month: the holiday is in March, not April. April has no public holidays at all. International Women's Day is 8 March, a public holiday. It is widely celebrated in Russia.
Рождество Христово correct Новый год your answer New Year falls on the night of 31 December to 1 January. The holidays run back to back and the first half of January is time off in Russia, hence the confusion. Крещение your answer Epiphany is 19 January. It is a church feast but not a declared day off. 7 January is Orthodox Christmas, a public holiday. The Russian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, so Christmas falls two weeks later than in Catholic countries.
Праздник Весны и Труда correct День солидарности трудящихся your answer That was its Soviet-era name. It was changed in 1992, and the exam asks for the current one. День труда и обороны your answer No such holiday exists. The name contains spring and labour; defence belongs to the February holiday. 1 May is the Spring and Labour Holiday, a day off. Before 1992 it had a different name; the law now uses the current one.
День памяти и скорби — начало Великой Отечественной войны correct День России your answer Russia Day is 12 June. Both fall in June, but the 12th is a holiday and a day off, while the 22nd is a day of mourning and not a day off. День Победы your answer Victory Day is 9 May, the end of the war. 22 June is its beginning — the two ends of the same war. The Great Patriotic War began on 22 June 1941. Today this is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow — a commemorative date, not a holiday: flags are lowered and silence is observed, but it is not a day off.
Принятию Декларации о государственном суверенитете России correct Принятию Конституции Российской Федерации your answer The Constitution was adopted on 12 December 1993. The day of the month matches, but the month and the event do not. Распаду Советского Союза your answer The USSR ceased to exist in December 1991. The Declaration of Sovereignty came earlier, in June 1990, while Russia was still part of the Union. On 12 June 1990 the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR was adopted. Since 1992 the day has been a state holiday, and since 2002 it has been called Russia Day.
Москва correct Санкт-Петербург your answer Saint Petersburg was the capital for over two hundred years, until 1918 — hence its nickname "second capital". But today there is one capital, Moscow. Новосибирск your answer Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and third by population in the country, but it has never been the capital. The capital of Russia is Moscow, as stated in Article 70 of the Constitution. The President, the Government and the parliament are based there.
Санкт-Петербург correct Екатеринбург your answer Yekaterinburg was founded in Peter I's reign, but not by him and not as a capital: it was a Ural factory-fortress named after his wife Catherine. Нижний Новгород your answer Nizhny Novgorod is four hundred years older than Peter I: it was founded in 1221, and it is not called the "second capital". Saint Petersburg was founded by Peter I in 1703 on the river Neva and was Russia's capital from 1712 to 1918. Today it is the country's second-largest city.
Республики Татарстан correct Республики Башкортостан your answer The capital of Bashkortostan is Ufa. The two republics are neighbours, which is why they are often confused. Республики Чувашия your answer The capital of Chuvashia is Cheboksary — also a Volga republic, but a different and smaller one. Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a city on the Volga. Tatarstan is part of the Russian Federation, with its own constitution and its own state language alongside Russian.
Новосибирск correct Омск your answer Omsk is also a large Siberian city, on the Irtysh, but it has fewer inhabitants than Novosibirsk. Владивосток your answer Vladivostok is not in Siberia but in the Far East, on the Pacific. These are different parts of the country. Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and the third-largest in Russia after Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It stands on the river Ob.
На Урале correct На Дальнем Востоке your answer The Far East means Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Magadan. Yekaterinburg is several thousand kilometres to the west. На Северном Кавказе your answer The North Caucasus is the south of the country: Makhachkala, Grozny, Nalchik. Yekaterinburg is far to the north and east. Yekaterinburg is the largest city in the Urals and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Region. The Urals form the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.
В Нижнем Новгороде correct В Москве your answer The militia liberated Moscow; it was raised elsewhere. An army could not be assembled in a capital held by the enemy. В Великом Новгороде your answer These are different cities, confused because of the name. Veliky Novgorod is in the north-west, Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga, about a thousand kilometres apart. Nizhny Novgorod stands where the Oka meets the Volga. In 1612 Kuzma Minin raised money and men here, and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky took military command.
Великий Новгород correct Волгоград your answer Volgograd was founded in the 16th century and was called Stalingrad until 1961. There was never a veche there. Челябинск your answer Chelyabinsk was founded in 1736 as a fortress in the Urals — a young city compared with Novgorod's antiquity. Veliky Novgorod is one of the country's oldest cities, first mentioned in the 9th century. For centuries it was a veche republic. Do not confuse it with Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga.
На Каме correct На Волге your answer The Kama is the Volga's largest tributary and they do join, but Perm stands on the Kama. На Оби your answer The Ob is a Siberian river; Novosibirsk stands on it. Perm is further west, in the Urals. Perm is a large city on the river Kama on the western slopes of the Urals, the administrative centre of Perm Krai. The Kama flows into the Volga.
Красная площадь correct Дворцовая площадь your answer Palace Square is in Saint Petersburg, in front of the Winter Palace. The main squares of the two capitals are often swapped. Площадь Победы your answer Victory Squares exist in many Russian cities, but Moscow's main square has a different name. Red Square is the main square of Moscow and of the country. Beside it stand the Kremlin — the President's residence — and Saint Basil's Cathedral. The 9 May parade is held here.
Сталинград correct Ленинград your answer Leningrad is Saint Petersburg — a different city and a different battle: there it was a nine-hundred-day siege. Царицын your answer The city was Tsaritsyn until 1925, that is, before the war. It has had three names in a row: Tsaritsyn, Stalingrad, Volgograd. Volgograd stands on the Volga and was called Stalingrad from 1925 to 1961. The Battle of Stalingrad of 1942–1943 was the turning point of the war.
У Тихого correct У Северного Ледовитого your answer Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Salekhard stand on the Arctic Ocean — the north of the country. Vladivostok is in the south of the Far East. У Атлантического your answer Russia reaches the Atlantic only through the Baltic and Black Seas — the west and the south. Vladivostok is at the opposite end of the country. Vladivostok is Russia's main Pacific port and the final station of the Trans-Siberian Railway, more than nine thousand kilometres from Moscow.
На Амуре correct На Енисее your answer The Yenisei is a Siberian river; Krasnoyarsk stands on it. Khabarovsk is further east, in the Far East. На Лене your answer Yakutsk stands on the Lena. Both rivers are eastern, but the cities are different and on different rivers. Khabarovsk is a large Far Eastern city on the bank of the Amur, near the Chinese border. The Amur is one of Russia's longest rivers.
На Енисее correct На Волге your answer The Volga flows through the European part of the country: Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Volgograd. Krasnoyarsk is in Siberia, beyond the Urals. На Оби your answer Novosibirsk stands on the Ob. Both are Siberian rivers flowing north, but they are different rivers and different cities. Krasnoyarsk is a large city in Eastern Siberia on the Yenisei, the administrative centre of Krasnoyarsk Krai.
В Сибирском correct В Уральском your answer The Urals district means Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen. Omsk lies further east, beyond the Urals. В Дальневосточном your answer The Far Eastern district begins much further east: Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yakutsk. Omsk is in Western Siberia. Omsk is a large Western Siberian city on the Irtysh, the centre of Omsk Region. Russia is divided into federal districts.
Урала correct Поволжья your answer The Volga region means Samara, Kazan, Volgograd. Chelyabinsk is further east, beyond the Ural mountains. Северного Кавказа your answer The North Caucasus is southern Russia: Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Makhachkala. Chelyabinsk is two thousand kilometres to the north. Chelyabinsk is one of the largest cities in the Urals, the centre of Chelyabinsk Region, known for metallurgy. The Urals are the country's industrial belt.
Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Севастополь correct Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Новосибирск your answer Novosibirsk is large but ordinary: it belongs to Novosibirsk Region. A city of federal significance is itself a federal subject. Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Симферополь your answer Simferopol is the capital of the Republic of Crimea but not a separate subject. Crimea and Sevastopol are two different federal subjects. The cities of federal significance are Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sevastopol. Each is a federal subject in its own right.
Донецкой Народной Республики correct Луганской Народной Республики your answer The capital of the Lugansk People's Republic is Lugansk. These are two different federal subjects, each with its own capital. Ростовской области your answer The centre of Rostov Region is Rostov-on-Don. The region is a neighbour, but a different federal subject. Donetsk is the capital of the Donetsk People's Republic, a large industrial city. The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics joined Russia in 2022.
столица Луганской Народной Республики correct столица Донецкой Народной Республики your answer The capital of the Donetsk People's Republic is Donetsk. The names match: Lugansk in Lugansk, Donetsk in Donetsk. административный центр Ростовской области your answer The centre of Rostov Region is Rostov-on-Don. Lugansk is not a regional centre but a republic's capital — a separate federal subject. Lugansk is the capital of the Lugansk People's Republic, a federal subject of Russia since 2022. The republic and its capital share a name.
1380 your answer 1380 is the Battle of Kulikovo — almost four hundred years after the Christianisation. 988 correct 1147 your answer 1147 is the first mention of Moscow in the chronicles; it has nothing to do with the Christianisation. The Christianisation of Rus took place in 988, under Prince Vladimir. The Christian history of the country begins with this event, which is why the date comes up often. The easiest anchor: the end of the 10th century, more than a hundred years before Moscow is first mentioned.
Наполеона correct Швеции your answer Russia fought Sweden earlier, under Peter I — that was the Great Northern War at the start of the 18th century. Германии your answer Russia fought Germany in the 20th century: the First World War and the Great Patriotic War. In 1812 Germany did not yet exist as a single state. In 1812 the army of the French emperor Napoleon invaded Russia. The war is called the Patriotic War because the whole country rose against the invaders. Do not confuse it with the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 — that is a different war.
1917 your answer 1917 is the year of the revolution. The USSR appeared only five years later. 1945 your answer 1945 is the end of the Great Patriotic War. By then the USSR had existed for more than twenty years. 1922 correct The USSR was formed in 1922, five years after the revolution of 1917, and dissolved in 1991. The three dates — 1917, 1922, 1991 — form a chain that is convenient to memorise together: revolution, formation of the union, dissolution.
Валентина Терешкова your answer Tereshkova was the first woman in space, but she flew in 1963, after Gagarin. Юрий Гагарин correct Сергей Королёв your answer Korolev was the chief designer; he led the creation of the rocket but never flew into space himself. The first human spaceflight was on 12 April 1961, by Yuri Gagarin. The day is marked in Russia as Cosmonautics Day. The question is almost always about Gagarin, but the answer options usually place other well-known names beside him.
1993 correct 1991 your answer 1991 is the dissolution of the USSR. The Constitution was adopted two years later. 2000 your answer By 2000 the Constitution had already been in force for several years. It was adopted in 1993. The Constitution of Russia now in force was adopted in 1993 by a nationwide vote. It is the country's fundamental law: no other law may contradict it. The date is asked about both in the history exam and in the legislation questions.
Российская Империя your answer That was the name before 1917, when the country was headed by an emperor. The empire has been gone for more than a hundred years. Российская Федерация correct Российская Республика your answer The country bore that name for a few months in 1917. It does not appear in the Constitution. The Constitution says it outright: "The Russian Federation — Russia". Both names are official and equal, and either can appear in a task. The abbreviation is RF.
в IX веке correct в VI веке your answer In the 6th century the Slavic tribes already lived in these lands, but they had no state yet. в XII веке your answer By the 12th century Rus was already breaking up into separate principalities. That is not the beginning of the state but the end of its unity. The state of Rus takes shape in the 9th century — the earliest date on the codifier's list, and the point where the country's history begins. Next comes the Christianisation in 988: two events side by side, and worth keeping apart — first the state, then Christianity.
в начале XV века your answer At the start of the 15th century Rus was still gathering around Moscow. The Time of Troubles was two hundred years away. в начале XIX века your answer The start of the 19th century brought the Patriotic War of 1812 — a different event, and two hundred years later. в начале XVII века correct The Time of Troubles is the start of the 17th century: no settled power, pretenders to the throne and foreign armies. It ended with the liberation of Moscow, and 4 November is National Unity Day in memory of that. The holiday is the surest cue: remember its date and the century comes back on its own.
В.И. Ленин correct М.С. Горбачёв your answer Gorbachev led the USSR in 1985–1991 — seventy years after the revolution. Пётр I your answer Peter I ruled at the start of the 18th century, two hundred years before the revolution. The Russian revolution runs from 1917 to 1922, and its leader was Lenin. A new state grows out of it: the USSR is formed in 1922. The three names most often mixed up in the exam belong to different eras: Lenin at the beginning of the Soviet state, Stalin in the middle, Gorbachev at the end.
9 мая 1945 года your answer The war ended on 9 May 1945. That is Victory Day, not the day it began. 22 июня 1941 года correct 1 сентября 1939 года your answer The Second World War began on 1 September 1939. The Great Patriotic War is part of it and began later. The Great Patriotic War ran from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Both dates became public holidays, which makes them easy to check yourself against: 22 June is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, 9 May is Victory Day — the beginning and the end, the grief and the victory.
