The reason why Tsarina Alexandra Romanov entrusted Rasputin with so much power was because she believed that: 

He could cure her son Alexis of hemophilia 

The following is/are the main feature(s) of Stalinism that emerged in the Soviet Union following the death of Lenin in 1924:

Nationwide terror (aided by the NKVD and the gulags)

Forced collectivization

Rapid industrialization

Cult of personality

All of the above 

This man avidly promoted non-violence in anti-colonial struggle. His writings and philosophy also influenced other future leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mahatma Gandhi 

During the interwar period (1919-1939), all of these nations fell prey to different kinds of dictatorships, including fascism, Nazism, militarism, and communism, EXCEPT:

England

Luftwaffe means:

German air force 

In 1937, Japanese troops committed crimes against humanity in China by killing approximately 200,000 (or more) civilians. This massacre has become known as:

Rape of Nanjing 

Turkey, Spain, and Sweden were all neutral nations during WWII.

Which of the following groups was NOT targeted by Nazi extermination policies?

Chinese and Japanese

These major battles, including Stalingrad, Iwo Jima, Casablanca, Normandy, and Okinawa were fought in these WW II military theaters EXCEPT:

Latin America 

Which two Japanese cities were destroyed by the A-Bomb in August 1945? 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The clip, which we watched in lecture and which graphically depicts the realities and horrors of WWII, comes from this film:  

Saving Private Ryan 

This country was invaded by Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactic on September 1, 1939 AND three weeks later by the Soviet Union in accordance with the secret clause of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.

Poland

In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain referred to this pact as the “Peace in Our Time.” Subsequently, this agreement became a historical analogy of appeasing dictators.

The Munich Pact

At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, Stalin did not know that Americans had developed “awesome” nuclear weapons until they were unleashed on Japan.

False

This massive economic recovery program to all of war-torn Europe was launched by the United States in 1947. This program also became a major element of the U.S. Cold War policy of containment of communism.

Marshall Plan

Which European city endured 11 months of blockade (1948-1949) during which a remarkable airlift was performed in order to provide its people with food and supplies? 

Berlin

Europe was divided into two hostile military alliances between 1955 and 1991:

NATO and Warsaw Pact

In 1956, this Soviet leader denounced the crimes of Stalin and embarked on the path of “peaceful coexistence” with the West.

Nikita Khrushchev

During the Cold War, MAD referred to:

Mutual Assured Destruction

Communism created the classless society envisioned by Karl Marx and brought freedom of speech and economic prosperity to the people of the Soviet Bloc.

False

The cartoon character in the clip that we watched in lecture was what type of animal?

Turtle – correct answer (the film we watched was “Duck and Cover” from 1951 on how to prepare the American public in case of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union)

The Soviet view of the United States, which depicts it as an aggressive power, is encapsulated in this now important 1946 Cold War document: 

The Novikov Telegram

In his now famous 1946 “Long Telegram,” George F. Kennan wrote that:

Communism should be contained

The Soviet Union was an insecure power

This Asian nation, following its utter defeat and attack by nuclear weapons, was occupied by the United States (1945-1952) AND became an economic powerhouse:

Japan

What was the result of the Korean War (1950-1953)?

Nobody won and the Korean Peninsula remains divided into North and South 

Who were the Red Guards?

Young radical militias during the Cultural Revolution in China 

Which country wanted to regain its colonies in Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) following the end of WWII – a move that caused the First Indochina War (1946-1954)?

France 

During the Vietnam War, how did North Vietnam, supplied by arms and aid by the Soviets and Chinese, funnel in forces to South Vietnam to combat American and South Vietnamese soldiers?

Ho Chi Minh Trail” – a network of pathways through Laos and Cambodia 

This crisis, initiated by the Soviet installations of missiles on this Caribbean island led by Fidel Castro and located only 90 miles off the coast of Florida, brought JFK and Khrushchev, as well as the whole world, to the edge of nuclear war in 1962:

Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1973, following the bloody removal from office of socialist president Salvador Allende, Chile embarked on the path of a 17-year brutal military dictatorship led by:

Augusto Pinochet 

This U.S. government propaganda during the earlier stages of the Cold War was meant to make American citizens, especially children, feel safer from a possible nuclear attack by doing the following:

Duck and Cover

According to new historical evidence, the United States decided to drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan in order to make Japan surrender quickly so the Soviets would not occupy it.

True 

This Asian nation, according to Article 9 of its post-1945 Constitution (co-written with the United States), is not allowed to send its soldiers into combat to any international military conflicts in the world:

Japan – correct answer (Remember, the U.S. occupied Japan between 1945-1952)

This Soviet leader said that he wanted “peaceful coexistence” with the West, but he was also a reckless man by putting missiles in Cuba (1962) and eventually authorizing the building of the Berlin Wall (1961), thereby exacerbating the Cold War:

Khrushchev –

How did the Soviet Union respond to the challenges from the people in Eastern Europe, especially East Germany (1953), Hungary (1956), and Czechoslovakia (1968), who were dissatisfied with communism? 

Sending in tanks to suppress these rebellions and uprisings 

“Driving the Soviets Up the Wall” refers to:

East German leader (Walter Ulbricht) pressuring the Soviets to let him build the Berlin Wall to stop the “brain drain” from East Berlin to West Berlin 

Why did the United States, despite its attitude of being tough on communism during the Cold War, not come to the rescue of the Hungarian Freedom Fighters in 1956 who wanted Hungary to get out of the Soviet Bloc?

The United States did not want to start WWIII with the Soviet Union that could turn into a nuclear war. 

In order to pursue their national interests, newly decolonized African nations were skilled at using superpower competition to their advantage by accepting aid from both the Soviets and the Americans during the Cold War.

True 

In 1948, the creation of this new state, which also began the Palestinian Question, immediately sparked conflicts in the Middle Eastern region (for example Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War in 1973, etc.) which were elevated to global significance and continue until now:

Israel 

In 1979, which country underwent a revolution led by Islamic fundamentalists led by Ayatollah Khomeini, stormed the American embassy in Teheran and took hostages that were eventually released when President Reagan came to power?

Iran

The reason(s) why the United States entered World War I in 1917 was/were:

President Wilson’s (and public) outrage over the Zimmerman Note

Persistent U-Boat attacks against American passenger and merchant ships

This newly industrialized Asian nation participated in World War I on the side of the Triple Entente and as the result benefited by annexing German concessions in China:

Japan

World War I officially ended in 1919 with this treaty which severely punished Germany.

Treaty of Versailles

After the end of World War I, this international organization was set up in order to maintain peace in the world.

League of Nations 

The Great Depression of the 1930s affected only the United States

False 

Henry Ford:

Used the assembly line to manufacture automobiles

Which man is responsible for the Great Purges which killed millions of Russians?

Stalin

The world’s first nation to adopt fascism was

Italy

Adolf Hitler believed that the Germans were entitled to Lebensraum which means:

Additional living space

This man led the Chinese communists against the nationalists by mobilizing China’s peasants and orchestrating escapes such as the ambitious Long March.

Mao Zedong

It is in this African country where one side of its recent bloody civil was financed by illegal sale of diamonds. (The awareness of this issue was also popularized by a world-famous American rap artist whose video we saw in lecture).

Sierra Leone 

In 1914, the assassination of this man in the city of Sarajevo is often cited as a direct cause of the outbreak of World War I:

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

In 1914, the assassination of this man in the city of Sarajevo is often cited as a direct cause of the outbreak of World War I:

Archduke Franz Ferdinand 

Which of the following nations was NOT a part of the Triple Entente?

Germany

The “Blank Check” (or “Carte Blanche”) refers to:

Germany’s unconditional support for Austria in case of war

Trench warfare became commonplace on the European western front of World War I

True 

Which country employed a fleet of U-Boats that sank merchant, passenger, and battleships during World War I?

Germany

In 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson outlined what he hoped would be viewed as the foundation upon which a just and lasting peace might be established in the world following the bloody WWI. This document became known as:

Fourteen Points 

Which of the following empires collapsed as the result of the end of World War I?

German

Austro-Hungarian

Russian

Ottoman 

In the early 1900s, Russia was as modernized and industrialized as the other Western powers, such as France, Britain, and Germany.

The mastermind behind the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the leader of the Bolsheviks was: