Early Russia and the Russian Empire

The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg was a home of Russian monarchs from 1764 until 1917. Russian Communists famously attacked the building in _____ when they seized power.

• 1800

• 1764

• 1917

• 1910

Russia’s history spans many ________. It is a rich story of invaders, powerful leaders, and dramatic change that continues today.

Modern Russians are descended from East Slavs who migrated from Poland and _______ into western Russia in the a.d. 400s and 500s. They encountered invading Goths from Germany, along with Huns, Avars, Magyars, and Khazars from Asia.

The East Slavs were energetic ______. They founded trading posts along rivers that became the cities of Kiev and Novgorod.

By the 800s, Scandinavian raiders and merchants, called _______, dominated Novgorod, Kiev, and other trading centers. They soon merged with the Slavic population.

• Slavs

• Vikings

• Russians

• Tzars

It was the Rus who gave their name to the first known East Slavic state: the _______ Rus.

• Viking

• Russian

• Slavic

• Kievan

Located in present-day Ukraine, _____ became the region’s economic and cultural center.

Kiev’s early rulers grew rich from _____ and united the Slavic tribes.

• trade

• jewels

• energy

• olives

Under _______, the Kievan Rus formed close ties with the Byzantine empire around the year 1000.

• Prince Ivan III

• Catherine the Great

• Peter the Great

• Vladimir I

Vladimir adopted the Byzantines’ Eastern Orthodox _______.