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Russians: Famous & Historical Trivia

Russians: Famous & Historical Trivia Quizzes

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2 quizzes and 20 trivia questions.
1.
  A Few Red Hot Russians Walked Into A Bar...   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
As a spy you have gathered intelligence that prominent Russians are meeting at a private cocktail party near the Kremlin on a bitter Moscow night. You bribe the doorman with some roubles, slip into the party inconspicuously, to observe...
Easier, 10 Qns, 1nn1, Dec 06 23
Easier
1nn1 gold member
Dec 06 23
700 plays
2.
  The Soviets that Saved the World   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
At two critical moments in the Cold War, Vasiliy Arkhipov and Stanislov Petrov saved the world from nuclear war, and still their stories remain relatively unknown.
Tough, 10 Qns, illiniman14, Jan 29 11
Tough
illiniman14 gold member
484 plays
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Russians: Famous & Historical Trivia Questions
1. A ruthless Georgian dictator born in 1878 went up to a tall girl balancing a screwdriver on a tennis racquet and demanded to know her name. She just grunted in reply. Who were these two people?

From Quiz A Few Red Hot Russians Walked Into A Bar...

Answer: Josef Stalin / Maria Sharapova

Along with Lenin, Stalin was a ruthless Soviet dictator who governed the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until he died in 1953. He was a Marxist and a Leninist, and in turn his polices became known as Stalinism. Stalin's role was controversial. While he achieved many great accomplishments for the Soviet Union, he also was responsible for many, many Soviet civilian deaths. Maria Sharapova was a former world number one ranked Russian professional tennis player. She was the first Russian to achieve the career Grand Slam. While all the tennis players listed are all former world number ones only Ms Sharapova and Ms Kournikova are Russian. This question was devised in secrecy by Komrade 1nn1.

2. Vasiliy Arkhipov had his first brush with history aboard an ill-fated Soviet submarine that was later made into a movie. During a near-mutiny, he supported his captain while the crew fought off a nuclear accident. What movie depicted the events?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: K-19: The Widowmaker

In "K-19: The Widowmaker" Arkhipov is portrayed as Captain Mikhail Polenin, played by Liam Neeson. While the movie took several liberties with the facts (such as the submarine being nicknamed "Hiroshima" by the crew), the near-disaster and near-mutiny are portrayed well. After the accident, Arkhipov was assigned to the B-59 submarine, where he would have an even more substantial impact on history.

3. In October 1962, Arkhipov had been moved to the Atlantic, where he served aboard the Foxtrot class B-59 submarine. What important world event was happening at this time?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: Cuban Missile Crisis

On October 16, President Kennedy was notified that Soviet ballistic missiles had been transferred to Cuba. The naval blockade of the country began on October 22, and it didn't take long for ships to start challenging it. Three days later, the first Soviet tanker was inspected by two American ships and allowed to pass through. However, on October 27, the submarine B-59 would not experience such a calm encounter.

4. On October 27, 1962, the B-59 submarine was trapped by 12 American ships, and they began to depth charge the area in order to force it to surface. Captain Valentin Savitsky took this as an act of war. What extreme response did he propose?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: Fire a nuclear-tipped torpedo at the fleet

Captain Savitsky was under the impression that war had already begun between the two nations as eleven destroyers and one aircraft carrier began depth charging the area in order to force them to surface, despite Soviet officers being told that this was the American default strategy. He planned on launching a nuclear-tipped torpedo to free his ship, but luckily Arkhipov persuaded him against the action, which could easily have led to rapid escalation to an all-out war.

5. As an accomplished naval officer whose career had large inspiration for two American movies, Vasiliy Arkhipov remained in the service until the mid-1980s, and he died in 1999. What was the highest rank that Arkhipov achieved?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: Vice Admiral

In 1981, Arkhipov was promoted to Vice Admiral, after serving as the head of the Kirov Naval Academy for six years. His career served as a large inspiration for both "K-19: The Widowmaker" and "Crimson Tide" - although the latter takes place aboard an American submarine ready to launch missiles at the Soviet Union. From his beginnings in World War II to his eventual retirement around 40 years later, Arkhipov served as a model officer, and will forever be a remembered a hero.

6. September 1983 was an especially heated month for the Cold War. On September 1, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down with high-ranking American politician Lawrence McDonald on board. What position did McDonald hold?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: US Representative

While traveling to Seoul, South Korea, in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty between the US and South Korea, KAL 007 was shot down by Soviet fighters when it entered Soviet airspace. The USSR released two different versions of events: that the flight was being used to spy on their country and that the US was using it to test Soviet defenses. McDonald, a US Representative from Georgia, was aboard and became the only sitting member of Congress killed by the Soviet Union.

7. The United States had in fact not launched a nuclear first-strike against the Soviet Union. Ground radar failed to confirm the attack and no missiles hit the ground. What had caused the early warning system to malfunction?

From Quiz The Soviets that Saved the World

Answer: Satellites in place were not in geosynchronous orbits and actually detected light bouncing off of clouds

Rather than placing their satellites in geosynchronous orbits, the Soviet early warning satellites were in highly-elliptical Molniya orbits. Sunlight bounced off high-altitude clouds, and they mistook it for missile launches. After the incident, the error was corrected and, as far as we know, never happened again.

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