The political reforms of Peter the Great (Пётр Вели́кий, Pyótr Velíkiy) were accompanied by a reform of the alphabet, and achieved their goal of secularization and Westernization. Blocks of specialized vocabulary were adopted from the languages of Western Europe. By 1800, a significant portion of the gentry spoke French daily, and German sometimes. Many Russian novels of the 19th century, e.g. Leo Tolstoy's (Лев Толсто́й) War and Peace, contain entire paragraphs and even pages in French with no translation given, with an assumption that educated readers would not need one. COUNT 5
QSN1 Where did Russian get specialized vocabulary from? ANS1 the languages of Western Europe QSN2 What second language was common among Russian nobles by 1800? ANS2 French QSN3 What third language was common among Russian nobles by 1800? ANS3 German QSN4 Who wrote 'War and Peace'? ANS4 Leo Tolstoy QSN5 What language often appeared in Russian novels without translation? ANS5 French