12 июня your answer 12 June is Russia Day, a public holiday unrelated to the war. 22 июня your answer On 22 June 1941 the war began. That is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, not Victory Day. 9 мая correct The Great Patriotic War lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Victory Day is 9 May, the country\u2019s main public holiday. Do not confuse it with the Patriotic War of 1812: these are different wars, more than a century apart.
1922 correct 1917 your answer 1917 was the year of the revolution. The USSR appeared five years later, after the Civil War. 1945 your answer 1945 was the end of the Great Patriotic War. By then the USSR had existed for more than twenty years. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed on 30 December 1922. It began with the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian federation; later the number of republics grew to fifteen. The USSR existed until 1991.
1993 your answer 1993 is when the Russian Constitution was adopted. By then the USSR no longer existed. 1991 correct 1985 your answer 1985 was the start of perestroika, not of the break-up. The Union lasted six more years. The USSR ceased to exist in December 1991. Its fifteen republics became independent states, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created at the same time. Russia is the legal successor of the USSR in international affairs.
Решением Верховного суда your answer A court applies laws but does not pass them, still less a constitution. Указом президента your answer A presidential decree is not a way to adopt a constitution: the basic law is adopted by the people or by parliament, not by one official. Всенародным голосованием correct The Constitution was adopted by a nationwide vote on 12 December 1993. It is the country\u2019s basic law: it stands above every other law, and all other laws must conform to it. The rights it sets out apply to foreign nationals too, except where stated otherwise — for instance, only Russian citizens may vote or stand for election.
Двуглавый орёл correct Медведь your answer The bear is a common image of Russia in films and advertising, but it is not a state symbol. The coat of arms shows a double-headed eagle. Лев your answer A lion appears on the arms of some Russian cities, but not on the state coat of arms. There are three state symbols: the flag, the coat of arms and the anthem. The arms show a golden double-headed eagle on a red field, holding a sceptre and orb, with a horseman slaying a serpent on its breast. The double-headed eagle came from Byzantium.
В XII веке your answer By the twelfth century Rus had existed for several centuries and was breaking up into separate principalities. The state was founded much earlier. В IX веке correct В XV веке your answer In the fifteenth century a new, unified state was forming around Moscow. That is the unification of Rus centuries later, not its foundation. The state of Rus takes shape in the ninth century, centred on Novgorod and Kiev. Then come the key dates: 988 for the Christianisation of Rus, the fifteenth century for unification around Moscow, 1612 for the end of the Time of Troubles. Remember the order of events, not just the centuries.
При Иване Грозном your answer Ivan the Terrible ruled in the sixteenth century, six hundred years after the conversion. He was the first to take the title of tsar. При Петре I your answer Peter I ruled at the turn of the eighteenth century. Under him Russia became an empire; it did not adopt Christianity then. При князе Владимире correct In 988 Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity and baptised Rus. This is one of the few questions asking for both a date and a name — learn them together: 988 and Vladimir.
При Иване III correct При Дмитрии Донском your answer Dmitry Donskoy won the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, but the dependence lasted another hundred years. При Иване Грозном your answer Ivan the Terrible was Ivan III's grandson. The state expanded eastwards under him, but the Horde dependence had ended before he was born. Under Ivan III (Ivan the Great) the Russian lands gathered around Moscow, and in 1480, after the standoff on the Ugra river, dependence on the Horde ended. The double-headed eagle appeared on the state seal at the same time. The Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 was an important victory but not the end of dependence — two different events that are often confused.
Суворов и Кутузов your answer Suvorov and Kutuzov were commanders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, almost two hundred years after the Time of Troubles. Минин и Пожарский correct Пётр I и Меншиков your answer Peter I was born half a century after the Time of Troubles and had nothing to do with the liberation of Moscow in 1612. The Time of Troubles in the early seventeenth century was a period of collapsed authority and foreign intervention. In 1612 a popular militia led by Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow, and in 1613 Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar. The Day of National Unity on 4 November commemorates these events — so the date of the holiday is itself the hint.
Первый российский император your answer The first emperor was Peter I. Suvorov was a military commander, not a ruler. Учёный, создавший периодическую таблицу your answer The periodic table was created by Dmitry Mendeleev. Suvorov had nothing to do with science. Полководец, не проигравший ни одного сражения correct Alexander Suvorov was a commander of Catherine II's era who never lost a battle. Under Catherine II Russia expanded greatly to the south, and she herself ruled for over thirty years. Tie the names to their fields: Suvorov to the army, Mendeleev to science, Pushkin to literature.
С Францией correct С Германией your answer Russia fought Germany in the First World War and the Great Patriotic War. Both are twentieth-century wars, not 1812. Со Швецией your answer Russia fought Sweden under Peter I, at the start of the eighteenth century — a hundred years earlier. In 1812 Russia fought France: Napoleon's army entered the country and reached Moscow but was defeated. The main battle was Borodino, with Mikhail Kutuzov commanding the Russian army. There are two Patriotic Wars and they are constantly confused: 1812 against France, and 1941–1945, the Great Patriotic War, against Germany.
Монархию your answer The monarchy in Russia ended in 1917 under Nicholas II. Alexander II was himself an emperor. Крепостное право correct Налоги для крестьян your answer Taxes were not abolished. The reform freed peasants from personal dependence on the landowner; the payments remained. In 1861 Alexander II abolished serfdom: peasants ceased to be the property of landowners. It is the best known of his reforms, followed by judicial, local-government and military ones. Alexander II is called the Liberator, and the nickname is a useful hint in the exam.
Николай II your answer Nicholas II was the last emperor. In 1917 he abdicated — he stopped ruling rather than leading a new government. Иосиф Сталин your answer Stalin led the USSR later, after Lenin's death. The order matters: Lenin first, then Stalin. Владимир Ленин correct The revolution of 1917 ended the empire and brought the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, to power. In 1922 the USSR was formed. The chain tested in the exam is short and worth holding whole: Nicholas II — Lenin — Stalin, 1917 — 1922 — 1991.
В 1945 году correct В 1941 году your answer 1941 is the year the war began, on 22 June. The exam asks about both the start and the end. В 1953 году your answer 1953 is the year Stalin died, not the year the war ended. Eight years separate them. The Great Patriotic War ran from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Both dates are official days of remembrance: 22 June is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, 9 May is Victory Day. If you know the holidays, you know the war dates — it is the same list.
Сергей Королёв your answer Sergei Korolev was the designer who built the rockets. He never flew into space. Юрий Гагарин correct Валентина Терешкова your answer Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, but she flew in 1963, after Gagarin. On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, aboard the Vostok spacecraft. The flight lasted 108 minutes. Two names often appear alongside his: Sergei Korolev, the rocket designer, and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, in 1963.
В 1991 году your answer 1991 is the year the USSR broke up; it has nothing to do with Crimea joining Russia. В 2000 году your answer No such event took place in 2000. There is one date here and it is in the codifier: 2014. В 2014 году correct The treaty on the admission of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation was signed in 2014. This is a codifier item, so the exam asks it in exactly this wording. Two other recent dates sit alongside it: 2015 for the Eurasian Economic Union treaty entering into force, and 2022 for the start of the special military operation and the treaties admitting new regions.
Киргизия correct Узбекистан your answer Uzbekistan is not a member. This matters directly for its citizens: they need a patent to work in Russia. Таджикистан your answer Tajikistan is not a member. Its citizens also need a patent to work in Russia. The treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union entered into force in 2015. Its members are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, whose citizens share a common labour market and do not need a patent. Citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan do need one — that is the practical difference behind the question.
В 2014 году your answer 2014 is the year of the treaty admitting Crimea and Sevastopol. That is a different codifier item and a different date. В 2015 году your answer 2015 is the year the Eurasian Economic Union treaty entered into force — an economic event unrelated to this item. В 2022 году correct The codifier assigns the start of the special military operation and the treaties admitting new regions to 2022. It is the most recent item in the list of dates, and the exam asks it in the same wording as the document. Keep the three recent dates together: 2014, 2015, 2022.
В девятом correct В пятнадцатом your answer By the fifteenth century Rus was already throwing off Horde rule — six centuries after the state appeared. В восемнадцатом your answer The eighteenth century is the age of Peter I and Catherine II — the empire, not the founding of the state. The state of Rus emerged in the ninth century; the chronicle gives 862. Under Prince Oleg the capital became Kyiv.
Крещение Руси correct Куликовская битва your answer The Battle of Kulikovo was in 1380, almost four centuries later. Основание Москвы your answer Moscow is first mentioned in 1147 — a century and a half after the baptism. In 988 Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity and baptised Rus. The event tied the country to Byzantine culture: writing, stone architecture, icon painting.
А.В. Суворов your answer Suvorov died in 1800, twelve years before the war with Napoleon. М.И. Кутузов correct Г.К. Жуков your answer Zhukov was a marshal of the Great Patriotic War, twentieth century — more than a hundred and thirty years apart. Mikhail Kutuzov commanded the Russian army in 1812. The key engagement was Borodino, after which Moscow was abandoned but the army preserved, and Napoleon retreated.
9 мая correct 22 июня your answer 22 June is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow — the start of the war in 1941, not the victory. 12 июня your answer 12 June is Russia Day, a modern state holiday with no connection to the war. The Great Patriotic War ran from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Victory Day is 9 May, the country’s main holiday; 22 June is the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow.
Распался СССР и было создано Содружество Независимых Государств correct Образовался СССР your answer The USSR was created in 1922, almost seventy years earlier. 1991 was its end. Была принята Конституция России your answer The Constitution was adopted in 1993, two years after the collapse of the USSR. In December 1991 the USSR ceased to exist and the Commonwealth of Independent States was formed. Fifteen republics became independent countries.
Двуглавый орёл correct Медведь your answer The bear is a common image of Russia in pictures and advertising, but it is not on the state emblem. Лев your answer The lion appears on the arms of other countries and cities. Russia’s emblem has a double-headed eagle. Russia’s emblem shows a golden double-headed eagle on a red field with sceptre and orb, and on its breast a horseman slaying a serpent. The flag is the white-blue-red tricolour.
Юрий Гагарин correct Сергей Королёв your answer Korolev was the chief designer: he built the craft but never flew himself. Валентина Терешкова your answer Tereshkova was the first woman in space, but she flew in 1963, two years after the first flight. On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin made the first human spaceflight aboard Vostok. It lasted 108 minutes. The date is marked as Cosmonautics Day.
Иван Грозный your answer Ivan the Terrible ruled in the 16th century — three hundred years after the Battle on the Ice. Дмитрий Донской your answer Dmitry Donskoy lived a century and a half later and led the army at Kulikovo in 1380. Александр Невский correct The Battle on the Ice took place on 5 April 1242 on Lake Peipus. The Novgorod army under Prince Alexander Nevsky defeated the knights of the Livonian Order. Two years earlier, in 1240, the same prince beat the Swedes on the river Neva — hence the name Nevsky.
С войском Золотой Орды correct С польской армией your answer The wars with Poland came during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century, not in 1380. С армией Наполеона your answer Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 — more than four hundred years later. The Battle of Kulikovo took place on 8 September 1380 near the river Don. Prince Dmitry of Moscow defeated the army of the Horde commander Mamai and earned the name Donskoy. It did not end the rule of the Horde — that came in 1480 — but it was the first great victory over it.
Санкт-Петербург correct Владивосток your answer Vladivostok was founded in 1860 under Alexander II, at the other end of the country. Москву your answer Moscow is five and a half centuries older: it is first mentioned in a chronicle in 1147. Saint Petersburg was founded on 27 May 1703 on land taken from Sweden. From 1712 to 1918 it was the capital. Under Peter I Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea and in 1721 became an empire, with Peter as its first emperor.
