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

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.

Answer: Anna Pavlova and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Anna Pavlova was a famous ballerina around the turn of the 20th century. She was a gifted dancer though she often disregarded conventional ballet rules. Pavlova became interested in ballet after watching Marius Petipa's "The Sleeping Beauty" as a child. She enrolled at the Imperial Ballet School. Her early training was difficult because her arched feet, weak ankles and long limbs were not suited to classical ballet. She made improvisations such as modifying her pointe shoes for better support, and focused instead on her assets, which were daintiness and fragility. Her most famous role was The Dying Swan (Swan Lake), which depicts the last moments of the bird.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a 19th-century composer. Although he demonstrated a talent for music at a young age he was trained for a career in civil service and worked at the Ministry of Justice for a short time. When the Saint Petersburg Conservatory was founded he pursued an education in music there. He merged what he learnt of Western European music with Russian music and created a style that was uniquely his. Among his works are "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake".

A cosmopolitan cocktail is a drink made with vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec (an orange-flavoured liqueur) and lime juice.

This question was mixed by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Serge Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff was a highly skilled pianist and it is little wonder then that the instrument featured prominently in his work. Whilst he may have been influenced by the likes of Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, Serge's work was full of expression and song-like melodies and, as one historian noted, "orchestral colour". Born in 1873, he started playing piano at the age of four and, at age 19, had graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a number of his own compositions already under his belt. Stung by criticism in 1897 to his piece "Symphony Number 1" he became depressed and virtually ceased writing for four years. He resumed after therapy and produced the wonderful "Piano Concerto 2". His work continued to develop in the ensuing years, but the outbreak of the Russian Revolution saw him emigrate to the United States. Here, the demands on him as a concert pianist saw his output of compositions slow dramatically. He passed away in 1943.

In 2015, at age 30, Alisa Ganieva, who has also used the pseudonym of Gulla Khirachev, was listed by The Guardian as one of the Top Ten most influential young people living in Moscow. This arrived on the back of her success with novels, the award winning, "Salaam, Dalgat!" (2009) and "Holiday Mountain" (2012). Her 2015 novel "The Bride and The Bridegroom" was short-listed for the Russian Booker Prize but missed out on the award.

The Flirtini, made from vodka, champagne and pineapple juice, became famous after it featured regularly on the television series "Sex and the City". The pineapple juice is replaced with cranberry juice and raspberries to make a Pink Flirtini.

This question was composed and edited by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: Sergei Prokofiev and Mikhail Kalashnikov

Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a prolific composer, accomplished pianist and conductor, born in Sontsovka (Ukraine) in the late nineteenth century. He is probably best known for his work "Peter and Wolf" though his seminal work, "Piano Concerto No.1 in D-flat Major", earned him the Anton Rubinstein award in 1914. He travelled widely both in Europe and America, and worked across many genres.

Famous for developing the AK-47 ("Kalashnikov's Automatic Rifle") and other rapid fire weapons, Mikhail Kalashnikov was born in 1919 in Altai, Russia. He was drawn from a young age to all things mechanical, possibly because his father was a farmer; he became a tank mechanic and was fascinated with and developed small arms of all sorts.

A Fluffy Duck, like many cocktails, has numerous alternative recipes. It always contains advocaat; but this is combined variously with rum or gin. Cream and orange juice are added, and lastly lemonade, which fizzes to create the 'fluff'. A Gunfire cocktail is much simpler; it consists of a mug of strong black tea and a shot of dark rum, and has its origins in the British Army.

This questions was concocted by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Ivan Pavlov and Helen Mirren

Ivan Pavlov 1849-1936, became the first Russian Nobel laureate in 1904 when he won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. His research on physiological conditioning is one of the most admired pieces of scientific research admired. Pavlov noticed dogs would salivate in anticipation of food coming. So he rang a bell just before a dog was given food. After several repeats he just rang the bell - The dog still salivated. Dr Pavlov was feted around the world for this work including rare high praise from the Lenin government.

All actresses listed have Russian connections but are not Russian themselves.

This question contributed by Phoenix team member 1nn1 who has mopped up his fair share of dog drool in his time but has never tried Vodka nor met Helen Mirren and he would like to achieve one of these two latter items.

Answer: Leo Tolstoy and Peter Carl Fabergé

Peter Carl Fabergé was a Russian jeweller of the 1800s. During his Grand Tour of the European continent as a youth, he trained under several renowned jewellers. Fabergé later took over the running of his father's jewellery business. His superb craftmanship soon caught the eye of the Tsar and he was commissioned to craft a jewelled Easter egg for the Tsar's wife. And thus the famous Fabergé eggs were born. About fifty eggs were created for the imperial family and about twenty others for members of the upper class.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, or simply Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian author. He started writing after he joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1851. Among his works are "War and Peace", "Family Happiness" and "Anna Karenina". Tolstoy is widely regarded, even by his contemporaries, as one of the greatest writers of all time. His "War and Peace", in particular, is noted for its visual detail and seamless portrayal of the characters' points of view. Tolstoy's later works after his first true novel "Anna Karenina" were of a more philosophical nature.

The Long Island Iced Tea is commonly mixed from vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec and cola. The cola imbues the drink with an amber colour resembling iced tea, hence its name.

This question was crafted by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Lev Yashin and Ayn Rand

Lev Yashin has been called the greatest goalkeeper in the history of football. He played his entire senior career (1950-1970) with Dynamo Moscow making 326 appearances. He also made 74 appearances for the Soviet Union between 1954 and 1970. Yashin won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, and he is the only goalkeeper in the history of the game to have received the prestigious Ballon d'Or (in 1963). Testifying to his greatness, the FIFA World Cup award for best goalkeeper of the tournament was known as the "Lev Yashin Award" from 1994 until 2006. Yashin, distinctively dressed all in black, was a commanding presence in goal. He was known to his fans as the "Black Panther", and to the world as the "Black Spider".

Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg and emigrated to the United States in her early twenties, arriving in New York City. She developed an 'Objectivist' philosophy. Her magnum opus, "Atlas Shrugged", was published in 1957. In it, she promoted a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest.

The Moscow Mule is a cocktail of vodka, spicy ginger beer, and lime juice typically served in a copper mug. It was created in New York City in the early 1940s. A Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur.

This question was mixed by Phoenix Rising member JCSon.

Answer: A Prussian princess born in what is now Poland

As Catherine and Peter continued to argue she reminded him that although she may have married into the Romanov Dynasty and was actually born a Prussian princess from Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland) named Sophia, her lineage traced back to the Rurik Dynasty (862 to 1610) that ruled Russia before the Romanov Dynasty (1613-1917). Sophia was born into the Lutheran tradition but converted to Eastern Orthodoxy when she moved to Russia in her teens. Her name was changed to Catherine when she was accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church. Catherine married Peter III and soon overthrew him to become Empress. She was the longest serving female leader in Russian history. Catherine the Great ruled from 1762 to 1796. Her time has been characterized as the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.

Peter I or Peter the Great ruled from 1682 to 1721. Peter instituted many changes inspired by the Enlightenment. Many of the reforms and institutions he put in place are seen as the origin of current Russian government institutions.

A Red Russian is made with equal parts vodka and either cherry liqueur or strawberry schnapps. It is served on the rocks (with ice). The Pompanski Martini is made with Polish vodka, dry vermouth, triple sec, and grapefruit juice.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Sergey Bubka & Dmitri Mendeleev

Sergey (sometimes spelled Serhii) Bubka was a Olympic gold medallist in Seoul in 1988 for the Pole Vault. He broke his own record 35 times and his world record of 6.15m set in 1993 stood for 21 years. Born in what is now Ukraine, Bubka originally competed under the USSR name until 1991.

Dmitri Mendeleev (1834-1902) was a Russian who formulated the Periodic Law, created the periodic table of elements, then utilised this to correct aspects of incorrectly described elements and also used his own table predict the properties of eight elements not yet discovered.
Purportedly Mr Mendeleev's dissertation "A Discourse on the combination of alcohol and water" contained information that 38% is the ideal strength of vodka. Rounded up to 40%. Dr Mendelleev was wrongly attributed as to being the person who recommended that Vodka alcohol content must attain 40%.

This question contributed by Phoenix team member 1nn1 who had more success with pole vaulting (in his prime) than drinking vodka (at any time).

Answer: Garry Kasparov and Clemens Pickel

Please note that "in" the Red Carpet rather than "on" the Red Carpet is correct. In this case, the Red Carpet represents a rather elegant cocktail built on vodka, bergamot juice, syrup, pear jam, ginger and egg white. To this a dash of bitters is added and the whole thing is garnished with some gold leaf.

Garry Kasparov was a chess grandmaster who was, possibly, the greatest chess player of all time. His list of achievements in the sport is astounding. In 1985, at the age of 22, he became the youngest undisputed world champion. He became the world's number one ranked player in 1986 and held that position for 225 months (out of a possible 228) until his retirement in 2005. In 1997, in a highly publicised event, he took on IBM's supercomputer, Deep Blue, and was defeated under standard time control conditions. Since his retirement he turned his hand to politics, forming the United Civil Front and became a member of The Other Russia, an organisation that sits in opposition to the policies instigated by Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Born in Colditz, Germany, in 1961, Clemens Pickel was ordained a deacon in 1987 and then a priest in 1988. He first moved to Russia to perform pastoral duties in 1990. Ordained a Bishop by Pope John Paul in 1998, which made him the youngest Bishop in Europe at the time. He received his residency in 2003 and is currently the Bishop of Saratov, Russia.

This question was moved and blessed by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.