Russian Quizzo/Trivia Round

[edubs31]

Preved)  Should I quiz you on a "gay athlete" round?

Only gay royal athletes. I'm the current title-holder, but I guess it only counts as esoterica.

Does bisexual count? If so, here's a three-part question for you...

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich competed in equestrianism at the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm.

1) What was the name of individual event he competed in?
2) What was the name of his horse?
3) What place did he finish?

[Превед]

Does bisexual count? If so, here's a three-part question for you...

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich competed in equestrianism at the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm.

1) What was the name of individual event he competed in?
2) What was the name of his horse?
3) What place did he finish?

Cool!

I'm actually quite blank regarding him, but let's have a try:
1. Show jumping?
2. Sultan?
3. Third?

[edubs31]

Does bisexual count? If so, here's a three-part question for you...

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich competed in equestrianism at the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm.

1) What was the name of individual event he competed in?
2) What was the name of his horse?
3) What place did he finish?

Cool!

I'm actually quite blank regarding him, but let's have a try:
1. Show jumping?
2. Sultan?
3. Third?

No worries. Those were tough questions.

1) Technically it was simply called "Men's Jumping", but "Jumping" being operative word. So that gets you a point.
2) Unite' was the name of his horse. I wonder how many Romanov/Pavlovich buffs are aware of that?
3) His finished ninth out of 31 competitors. Pretty solid showing when you consider that he was one of the youngest to compete that year. Dmitri was only twenty and everyone else who finished 1st to 13th was at least twenty-five years of age. He was also the highest finisher among the six Russian competitors.

I found this on a cool Olympic site that I think I'm going to share in another thread.

[Превед]

Return question:
Which Olympian ranking among the top 10 most medal-winning ever was born a subject of NII?

[edubs31]

Not a clue, sorry. Can't think of anyone born before March, 1917 that would be a top-ten all-time medalist.

[Превед]

Not a clue, sorry. Can't think of anyone born before March, 1917 that would be a top-ten all-time medalist.

No? Paavo Nurmi, long distance runner, the Flying Finn, born 1897 in Åbo / Turku, Grand Duchy of Finland. 12 medals, 9 gold.

[Превед]

Romanov quiz for real Russophile Romanovophiles:
Googling is for cheaters!

1. Who was "наш друг"?

2. Which Магистраль is associated with NII?

3. Who lived at Видёре?

4. Who had a special relationship with Vederlax Fjärd?

5. Whose birthplace was named after the Intercession of the Virgin?

6. Who in the imperial entourage descended from a Khan of Siberia?

7. Why were the Russian Emperors наследники норвежские / Heirs of Norway?

8. Which place started out as Saarenkylä?

9. NII didn't care for икра, what is it?

10. By which brand name are императорские пасхальные яйца better known?

11. How come what happened at Paatio didn't stay on Paatio?

12. Which Romanov is associated with "The Tsar of the Jews"?

[Georgiy]

Don't know att of these but will give it a go.
1. G Rasputin
2. ?
3. Maria Feodorovna
4 Alexander III?
5. Our Friend, Rasputin.
6. ?
7. Would like to know!
8. Tsarskoe Selo
9. Caviar
10. Faberge
11.  ?
12.  ?

[edubs31]

Georgiy I got most, but not all, of what you got. Didn't bother posting because there were several that stumped me and I wanted to try to answer without looking things up online. I'd say you did a pretty good job though! Care to fill in the blanks there Preved?

[Превед]

It will be a pleasure!

Don't know att of these but will give it a go.
1. G Rasputin
2. ?
3. Maria Feodorovna
4 Alexander III?
5. Our Friend, Rasputin.
6. ?
7. Would like to know!
8. Tsarskoe Selo
9. Caviar
10. Faberge
11.  ?
12.  ?

(
1. Correct. "Nash drug" = Our friend. (I must admit I got inspiration for this question when seeing a news report from Victor Yanukovych's native village (the Pokrovskoe of our days?) and the old babushkas there kept repeating наш Виктор, наш мальчик.
2. Транссибирская магистраль = Transsiberian Mainline. (NII was on the committee in his youth, inagurated it on his way to Japan and used it for the Russo-Japanese war.)
3. Correct. Видёре = Hvidøre.
4. NAOTMAA. Vederlax Fjärd (in Swedish) = Virolahti = Bay of Štandart (Alexander III favoured Högsåra in Åbolands Skärgård and of course Langinkoski.)
5. Correct. Pokrovskoe < pokrov = intercession < protection, cloak
6. The Yusupovs.
7. Because Norway was a hereditary kingdom, while Denmark was an elective one (untill 1660), when the Holstein-Gottorp line branched off from the main, royal Oldenburg line reigning in Denmark-Norway in the 16th century. Since the term "prince" did not come into general usage in North Europe untill the 17th century (and then mostly for a crown prince), it basically means "Prince of Norway". The original German term was Erbe zu Norwegen. For this reason both Oldenburg, Delmenhorst, Ditmarsken, Schleswig, Holstein and Norway figured in the Imperial arms, but Denmark didn't.
8. Correct. Finnish Saarenkylä = Island Village > Tsarskoe Selo.
9. Correct.
10. Correct. императорские пасхальные яйца = Imperial Easter eggs.

11. NAOTMAA did not have much interaction with the locals during their Finnish summer cruises because of the strict security measures and because of the language barrier.
There were a few instances however when the IF met with the locals. For instance in 1913 locals were invited to an al fresco supper and dance on the island of Paatio close to the Virolahti Bay. The young fishermen discussed who should have the honour of asking the Emperor's eldest daughter for a dance. A certain Matti Mikkola assembled the courage to ask the Grand Duchess Olga for a dance and they danced a polka in the Nordic midsummer night.... Perhaps not as al fresco as this "Ievan Polkka"!

Strangely enough this innocent swing with a son of the people had political consequences. A Finnish satirical newspaper called "Fyren" (= The Lighthouse) grabbed these news of the usually so secluded IF interacting with their Finnish subjects and published a rather charming sketch of a petite young woman with a tiara on her head dancing with a young big burly fisherman. The Imperial censorship authority accused the paper of lèse-majesté, but the Finnish judges only laughed at the charge. Three years afterwards, however, in the middle of WW1, the artist and editor were arrested by order of the Finnish Senate and had to serve a short prison sentence!

Here is the offending sketch: Venäjän hovi tanssii Paatiossa - The Russian Court Dancing on Paatio

12. KR wrote a play called "Царь Иудейский" - the King of the Jews.

6 of 12, Giorgyiy! Хорошо!  

[Превед]

5. Correct. Pokrovskoe < pokrov = intercession < protection, cloak

I can't help being thrilled every time I discover one of these Northern prism titbits:
As a Protestant whose mother tongue isn't English "Feast of the Intercession" really means nothing, literally, to me. But then I see that in Russian it's Покров день and celebrated on the 14th of October as the first day of winter, just like in Scandinavia! Lovely Russian folk allegory with the veil, shroud or cover of the Mother of God covering the landscape as snow from now on.

Another way of illustrating that I only get the soul of Orthodox Russia via the materialistic side of a Northern culture: Красный угол and icons are fine and fascinating, but what realy moves me is the exterior сруб угол of an izba:

[Georgiy]

Indeed, Pokrov is celebrated on a different day altogether in the Greek tradition.

[Превед]

7. Because Norway was a hereditary kingdom, while Denmark was an elective one (untill 1660), when the Holstein-Gottorp line branched off from the main, royal Oldenburg line reigning in Denmark-Norway in the 16th century. Since the term "prince" did not come into general usage in North Europe untill the 17th century (and then mostly for a crown prince), it basically means "Prince of Norway". The original German term was Erbe zu Norwegen. For this reason both Oldenburg, Delmenhorst, Ditmarsken, Schleswig, Holstein and Norway figured in the Imperial arms, but Denmark didn't.

Of course this was not so during the reign of the Ascanian Catherine the Great.
BTW she did have some interesting Norwegian ancestry too: The Ascanians (and the Guelphs) were the cognatic heirs of the Billung Dukes of Saxony. The only direct bloodline from Saint Olav of Norway, rex perpetuus Norvegiæ, and the Hairfair dynasty of the Viking Age goes through his daughter Ulvhild / Wulfhild, married to Duke Ordulf of Saxony and the great grandmother of Albrecht the Bear of Ballenstedt, Brandenburg and Saxony, the great ancestor of the Ascanians.

[Rodney_G.]

P... me off that I didn't catch this topic  when it first appeared. Very engaging even late.

Got a 9 1/2, I think. Might have snagged Sharapova for no. 9. A coin toss in my mind, you might say.

I don't know if the results are heartening or not,edubs. I can imagine them being worse, though maybe they would have been, minus the current events/ pop culture angle.

If you're around, Preved, yes, I came up with Paavo Nurmi, tentatively, my only doubt being the age. I thought his being in prime running age for his Olympic triumphs  somewhat unlikely. What years were they?

I think I got about a six on your quiz, Preved. I'd be more sure except that it's possible to mentally hedge one's bets, or fake it, on some of them. Nicely challenging,in any case.
 
Is it possible you could  do another Russian-themed one, edubs, or would you be pushing your luck? Exiled to the Siberia of another bar if you tried?

[Превед]

If you're around, Preved, yes, I came up with Paavo Nurmi, tentatively, my only doubt being the age. I thought his being in prime running age for his Olympic triumphs  somewhat unlikely. What years were they?

Well done! Nurmi won his medals 1920-1928, thus he was 23 - 31 years old.