Why do we call ourselves “Russians”?
Indicating our ethnicity, we call ourselves Russian. This self-name is officially recognized in Russia and abroad. But is it right and accurate, as it seems to us?
How to: Russian and Great Russia?
In fact, every Great Russian is Russian, but not every Russian is Great Russian. Before the Bolshevik coup, the Russian people were considered the titular nation of the Russian Empire. It consisted of three branches, one of which was more than the other two. We are talking about the Great Russians, Little Russians (Ukrainians) and Belarusians.
They were not considered separate nations, but were parts of one single Russian nation. The very statement of the question “Russian or Ukrainian” was incorrect. It was the same as asking: "Is it a strawberry or a berry?" Strawberry is a berry, and Ukrainian is Russian.
The very concept of "Great Russia" has gone out of use and has been replaced by the concept of "Russian" already under the Bolsheviks. They categorically refused to recognize the Russians as a great nation. Although the Russians played a leading role in the Soviet state and, in fact, were the titular nation, this was not recognized at the official level.
Moreover, some of the party leaders expressed the idea that the Russians oppressed the rest of the peoples of the Russian Empire, so now they must repent and bear life sentences. For example, Nikolai Bukharin believed that in the USSR equality of nations is unacceptable. He argued that the Russians should be lower than other peoples, since under the tsar they were oppressors and gendarmes in the “prison of the peoples”.
It was then that the Great Russians were “canceled”. And Ukrainians and Belarusians for fun the whole world ceased to be Russian.
But what about the Russians?
The first Russian president, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, always began his speeches with an appeal to the people: “Dear Russians!” This name with his light hand took root and became widespread. To denote the inhabitants of the Russian Federation, a new multinational country, it turned out to be the most accurate and correct. Russians are the largest ethnic group in the country. And Russians are full citizens of the Russian Federation, regardless of their ethnicity.
The term "Russians" was not coined by Yeltsin, but existed for many centuries. In the Russian Empire, it was used in special, solemn occasions. Its meaning was somewhat different from that which is embedded in this concept today. Then the Russians called the inhabitants of Great, Lesser and White Russia. In other words, in those days it was correct and natural to call a Ukrainian a Russian and a Russian.
Today, the three branches of a single people are increasingly moving away from each other. If in our time we tell Little Russia that he is Russian and Russian, he will consider himself offended. The Ukrainians, with outside help, came up with a new story and a new reality, where they not only have nothing to do with the Russians, but are their exact opposite.
Somewhere we overlooked the moment when it was all just beginning. As they say in Ukraine: "Prokokhaly."
How to: Russian and Great Russia?
In fact, every Great Russian is Russian, but not every Russian is Great Russian. Before the Bolshevik coup, the Russian people were considered the titular nation of the Russian Empire. It consisted of three branches, one of which was more than the other two. We are talking about the Great Russians, Little Russians (Ukrainians) and Belarusians.
They were not considered separate nations, but were parts of one single Russian nation. The very statement of the question “Russian or Ukrainian” was incorrect. It was the same as asking: "Is it a strawberry or a berry?" Strawberry is a berry, and Ukrainian is Russian.
The very concept of "Great Russia" has gone out of use and has been replaced by the concept of "Russian" already under the Bolsheviks. They categorically refused to recognize the Russians as a great nation. Although the Russians played a leading role in the Soviet state and, in fact, were the titular nation, this was not recognized at the official level.
Moreover, some of the party leaders expressed the idea that the Russians oppressed the rest of the peoples of the Russian Empire, so now they must repent and bear life sentences. For example, Nikolai Bukharin believed that in the USSR equality of nations is unacceptable. He argued that the Russians should be lower than other peoples, since under the tsar they were oppressors and gendarmes in the “prison of the peoples”.
It was then that the Great Russians were “canceled”. And Ukrainians and Belarusians for fun the whole world ceased to be Russian.
But what about the Russians?
The first Russian president, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, always began his speeches with an appeal to the people: “Dear Russians!” This name with his light hand took root and became widespread. To denote the inhabitants of the Russian Federation, a new multinational country, it turned out to be the most accurate and correct. Russians are the largest ethnic group in the country. And Russians are full citizens of the Russian Federation, regardless of their ethnicity.
The term "Russians" was not coined by Yeltsin, but existed for many centuries. In the Russian Empire, it was used in special, solemn occasions. Its meaning was somewhat different from that which is embedded in this concept today. Then the Russians called the inhabitants of Great, Lesser and White Russia. In other words, in those days it was correct and natural to call a Ukrainian a Russian and a Russian.
Today, the three branches of a single people are increasingly moving away from each other. If in our time we tell Little Russia that he is Russian and Russian, he will consider himself offended. The Ukrainians, with outside help, came up with a new story and a new reality, where they not only have nothing to do with the Russians, but are their exact opposite.
Somewhere we overlooked the moment when it was all just beginning. As they say in Ukraine: "Prokokhaly."
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