Quiz: How much do you know about tsars?

Not the €430k housing kind – the Russian kind.

IT’S A JOB title that’s stirred up a storm – the government’s plan to appoint a so-called “housing tsar” with a proposed €430,000 salary sparked fierce political backlash this week, ultimately prompting Brendan McDonagh to bow out before any formal appointment was made.

Critics questioned both the pay and the need for such a role, while others took issue with the title itself.

How did a word rooted in the Russian empire even end up in modern Irish politics?

Amid the new search for an Irish ‘housing tsar’, we wanted to ask you – how much do you know about tsars?

What does the word "tsar" originally mean?

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Ruler by divine right

King

Caesar

Protector of the people

Which Russian tsar was famously overthrown during the 1917 revolution?

Peter the Great

Nicholas II

Alexander III

Alexander the Terrible

The Romanovs were the last royal family to rule Russia. How many years were they in power?

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103 years

157 years

266 years

304 years

Which tsar founded the Russian city of St Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd?

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Peter the Great

Peter II

Peter III

Nicholas I

What was Rasputin’s official role at the Russian court during the rule of tsar Nicholas II?

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Military advisor

Healer and spiritual advisor

Minister for Religion

Tutor to the tsar’s children

The last tsar of Serbia was a man named Stefan Uroš V. What rather unflattering nickname was he given?

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Uroš the Weak

Uroš the Feeble

Uroš the Ugly

Uroš the Ailing

In Bulgaria, the tsardom was abolished in 1946. How old was the last reigning tsar at the time?

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293 days old

Nine years old

12 years old

17 years old

Which of these is NOT the name of a real Russian tsar?

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Feodor the Blessed

False Dmitry

Alexis the Quietest

Leonid the Gentle

Which tsarina was born a German princess named Sophie?

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Catherine I

Catherine the Great

Elizabeth

Maria Feodorovna

"He ruled the Russian land, and never mind the tsar" is a line from the iconic 70s disco hit, Rasputin by Boney M. At what position did the song peak in the Irish weekly charts?

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Answer all the questions to see your result!

You scored out of !

Gold tsar

You were Russian through that one!

You scored out of !

Super tsar

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Nice one, you know your Alexanders from your Ivans

You scored out of !

Not a tsar player

You're not the biggest fan of Russian royalty

You scored out of !

No gold tsar

Go study up and listen to some Boney M

You scored out of !

Quizzer the Terrible

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