Chapter 15

Chapter 15, Section 1

1. How has the role of religion changed in post-Soviet Russia?
After the fall of the Soviet Union lawmakers placed restrictions on the activities of newly established religious groups. Only Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism were allowed full liberty as traditional religions of Russia.

2. What are Russia’s major ethnic groups?
Russia’s major ethnic groups are Slavs (ethnic Russians), Caucasian (live in the Caucasus region of southwestern Russia), and the Turkin (live in the southwestern Russia in the Caucasus area and in the middle Volga area).

Creative Writing:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, school curriculum changed. Schools emphasize a more balanced education, instead of focusing on only math, science, and engineering. Now an education includes language, history, and literature.

Chapter 15, Section 2

1. Who were the ancestors of the ethnic Russians?
Ethnic Russian ancestors were Slav farmers, hunters, and fishers who settled near the waterways of the Northern European Plain. Scandinavian warriors called Varangians settled among the Slavs living near the Dnieper and Volga Rivers.

2. What were the causes of the Soviet Union’s collapse?
The Soviet Union’s weakening economy, the great discrepancies between workers’ wages and the privileges their leaders enjoyed, led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Creative Writing:
The Soviet Union collapsed from many causes between 1989-1991, such as its weakening economy (partially caused by the Cold War). The United States was fighting against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The Soviet Union failed defeated by the United States and some other countries involved. The Soviet Union’s Communist leaders lost their power after they were weakened by the war. The Communist party was forced to surrender its monopoly on state power.