Back in the U.S.S.R. Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gulag

The acronym "gulag" came from "Glavnoe Upravlenie Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerei" - "Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps". Although originally established shortly after the October 1917 revolution, the gulags were largely associated with the purges and oppression of the Joseph Stalin era, when not only criminals but also dissenters were sent to the camps.

Answer: Oblast

The term "oblast" first appeared in Russia in the late 1800s, but it came to prominence during the Soviet years. Although sometimes translated as a province or district, the word doesn't have an exact equivalent in English and thus has entered the English language as a loanword.

Answer: Red Square

Red Square had existed for many centuries prior to the formation of the Soviet Union, but it attained special significance during the communist reign. Buildings on the square were demolished to make room for the large military parades, and a proposal to remove the landmark St. Basil's Cathedral was even considered but luckily dismissed by Joseph Stalin.

Answer: Bolsheviks

The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the forerunner of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was split into two factions -- the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks (majority and minority), with the Bolsheviks considered to be the hard-liners. It was the Bolsheviks who took control of the country during the October 1917 revolution and established the Soviet Union.

Answer: Apparatchik

An apparatchik was so named because he was considered an "apparatus" of the communist party. The term was used derogatively to describe workers who blindly followed the party line and filled positions that didn't necessarily require any particular skills - it was a stronger version of the English term "yes man" or "suit".

Answer: Comrade

"Comrade" first became popular as a term of address among socialists in the late 19th century. The term was used so that all people would be addressed as equals. In the Soviet Union, the words "grazhdanin"/"grazhdanka", translated as "citizen", were also used to replace "mister"/"missus".

Answer: Hammer and sickle

The flag of the Soviet Union was red with a yellow hammer and sickle, topped by a star, in the upper left corner. The hammer and sickle is a communist symbol that is also used on other flags, such as that of the Peruvian communist party, Shining Path.

Answer: Economic development

The Five Year Plans, which were first instituted in 1928, set goals for the national economy to guide the Soviet Union towards its objective of being a perfect communist society. The plans focused on all aspects of the economy - for example, targets were set for production of goods, agricultural harvests and educational achievements.

Answer: Valentina Tereshkova

The Soviet Union sent the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space in 1961, and they followed the feat with a three day flight by Valentina Tereshkova in 1963. Tereshkova was also the first civilian in space; she was a factory worker prior to being selected to train as a cosmonaut. She orbited the earth 48 times on her only trip into space.

Answer: Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev became the head of state of the Soviet Union in 1985 following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. He was actually the only Soviet leader to have been born in the Soviet Union; the rest had been born prior to the October 1917 revolution. During his reign, he instituted numerous reforms that led to the end of communist control and eventually to the demise of the Soviet Union.