Questions: The Rise of Russia: From Muscovy to Empire
4 questions to test your understanding
Score: 0 / 4
Question 1 Multiple Choice
What was the main goal of Peter the Great's Great Northern War against Sweden (1700–1721)?
ATo gain a warm-water port on the Pacific
BTo gain access to the Baltic Sea
CTo conquer the Ottoman capital
DTo end Mongol rule over Moscow
Peter wanted a 'window on Europe' through the Baltic. After his victory at Poltava in 1709 and the war's end in 1721, Russia held the eastern Baltic coast where St Petersburg had been founded in 1703.
Question 2 True / False
Catherine the Great abolished serfdom in Russia.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Catherine discussed Enlightenment ideas but relied on the nobility to rule. After the Pugachev Rebellion she strengthened noble power over serfs. Alexander II abolished serfdom in 1861.
Question 3 Short Answer
Name two of Peter the Great's reforms.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Any two of: a new standing army and Russia's first navy; the Table of Ranks, which tied noble status to state service; founding St Petersburg; requiring nobles to wear Western dress and shave their beards (or pay a tax); founding schools for navigation and engineering; bringing the church under a state-controlled Holy Synod.
Peter's reforms aimed to make Russia a military power able to compete with European states, and they mainly changed the state and the elite.
Question 4 Multiple Choice
Which ruler was the first to be crowned 'tsar of all Russia,' in 1547?
AIvan III
BIvan IV
CMichael Romanov
DPeter I
Ivan IV, later called 'the Terrible,' was crowned tsar in 1547. Ivan III had ended Mongol tribute in 1480 and used the title informally, and Michael Romanov began the Romanov dynasty in 1613.