DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES

Year 8 Social Studies

Topic: Russia, USSR and the Cold War

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

NORTH-Arctic Ocean

SOUTH-North Korea, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

SOUTHWEST-Southwest and west it borders Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Estonia,
as well as Finland and Norway.

Russia is a transcontinental country, a state which is situated on more than one

continent. Russia spans the northern part of the Eurasian continent, 77% of
Russia's area is in Asia, the western 23% of the country is located in Europe,
European Russia occupies almost 40% of Europe's total area.

Fill in the blanks:

1. …Arctic Ocean…………… lies to the north of Russia.

2. ……Moscow……….. is the capital of Russia.
3. ……Boris Yeltsin………. is the first President of Russia.
4. ……Vladimir Putin………. Is the current President of Russia.
5. Russia has more than …200……. Ethnic groups.
6. European Russia occupies almost …40%…… percent of Europe’s total Area.
7. In 988 …Byzantine Empire… Conquered areas of Russia and introduced
Christianity.
8. In 1917 ……Romanov Dynasty….. dynasty was overthrown.
9. USSR was officially disbanded in …1991………..
10.A political leader named …Mikhail Gobarchev……….. became the Soviet
Union’s last Head of State.

Name the following:

1. Neighboring countries of Russia.

2. Which continent does Russia come under? Europe and asia

3. Who ruled Moscow from 13th to 15th centuries? The Mongol Empire

4. Name the Satellite States to USSR.

5. Who became the President of the Russian State after the collapse of the
Soviet Union? Boris Yeltsin

6. Which present day countries were located in the USSR?

 7. Name the natural resources available in Russia.

8. Who established the Rus state in 862 CE? Scandinavia

Answer the following questions:

1. Write the demography of Russia.

2. Describe the Government structure of Russia

3. Analyze the history of Russia.

4. Although Russia is not considered a Central Asian country, it borders

Central Asia. Do you think that Russia is heavily influenced by the Central
Asian countries? Write few lines on how Russia has got impacted by the
Central Asian countries.

5. Write the full form of USSR. Name the countries which were a part of the
USSR.

6. What are Satellite States? Name the satellite States to USSR.

7. Give Reasons for the disbanding of USSR.

8. What is National Territorial Delimitation?

9. What is Cold War? Why was it called The Cold War?

10.Explain the causes of Cold War.

11.Between which two powers did Cold War take place? The USSR and the
U.S.A.

12.Describe the events “Race to Space” and the Nuclear Arms Race”.

13.What do you understand by Communism?

14.How was the Race to Space and the Nuclear Arms race similar?