| The difference between Russia and Rossiya |
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The greatest controversy among the names of countries or ethnic groups is the
English-langual name “Russia”, where “Russians” (a synonym for Rusyns) live. At first glance,
there is nothing surprising when compared with “France” and “Frenchman”. But France is
a republic, not a federation. The Russian Federation has not only many ethnic groups,
but even different races. Did this country gather all the Rusyns?
I think when the US calls itself Anglo-Saxonia, the British won’t like it. This is exactly
what irritates Ukrainians, who largely belong to the Rusyn ethnic group.
Historically, the ethnic group that the name “Russia“ refers to, comes from the lands of
Kyiv Rus’ (modern Ukraine). These lands are located outside of Russia. In Russia this ethnic
group is a minority and has lost its original culture and language. Or rather, their
culture merged with the cultures of the Finno-Ugric ethnic groups, which do not even belong
to the Slavs. The English-speaking world noticed this contradiction and tried to correct
the error in 1998. Screenshot from the updated dictionary:
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It's a shame that inertia (or laziness) prevents these fixes from being widely used.
The following table gives the modern meaning of the names in relation to Russia, Rus’ and Ukraine.
| Category | Name | Meaning | Note |
|---|
Ethnos
According
to Y-DNA
on modern ones
territories
[1],[2] |
Rus | Rus |
The original name of the ethnic group of Kyiv Rus. |
| Rusych | Rus | An ancient name common among the Rus.
Found in ancient epics and fairy tales.
|
| Rusyn | Rus |
Used by most other Slavs to define Rus. Then it began to be used in the western
part of Rus’. It spread to other regions and was used until the name “Ukrainian”
appeared. The assertion that the Rusyns are a separate ethnic group of the
Carpathian region is refuted by the statistics of Y-chromosome DNA. |
| Ruthenian | Rus | The name “Rusyn”, phonetically adapted by
Western states. It is almost never used among Rusyns. |
| Ruskiy | Rus | Used by the Poles and passed on to the Rusyns. |
| Russian | ? |
Phonetically adapted from “Ruskiy“. Modern usage for ethnos is uncertain, as it was used to
determine citizenship of Russia (a multi-ethnic state). This name carries territorial claims.
|
| Ukrainian | Rus | Introduced by the Poles in relation to the
part of Rus’ that came under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Lemko | Rus |
The Rusyns of the Lemko region, whose land together with the population was transferred
to Poland by Soveits, were scattered throughout the territory of Poland
(Operation Vistula) to suppress resistance to the OUN UPA. |
| Khohol | Rus | The original meaning of this word comes from
the hairstyle - Cossack bangs (khol or herring). It is not purely Ukrainian,
since even the nobility of ancient Rus’ could wear such a forelock. An example
of this is Prince Svyatoslav Igorovich the Brave from the Rurik dynasty.
Although this tradition dates back to Scythian times, today the Cossack forelock
is considered a uniquely Ukrainian identity. |
| Muscovite | Muscovite | A mixed ethnic group that arose during
the expansion of Muscovy as a means of joining Finno-Ugric people (Mordva, Mari
and others). Before the capture of Novgorod, the Slavs of Muscovy made up about
20%, so its culture underwent such changes that other principalities began to see
Muscovy as a different ethnic group. Thanks to Muscovy, modern Russia has an
average number of carriers of Y-haplogroup N1c1 (Finn-Ugric) 4 times more
than Ukraine or Belarus, despite the presence of purely Slavic regions in the
west and south, plus Turkic and Asian regions in the east. This name is
mistakenly considered as offensive, although it came from Muscovites themselves.
It can be seen on the coins of Peter the 1st.[1],[2]. |
| Katsap | Muscovite | Offensive form for “Muscovite“.
The use of the word “katsap“ for all Russians is erroneous, since this word,
along with the word “Moskal“, is used in the Kuban, Bilhorod region, Voronezh,
Krasnodar and other predominantly Slavic regions of the west and south of Russia.
|
| Moskal | Muscovite | The primary meaning of this word is a
recruited soldier (as opposed to a Cossack volunteer). This is what the soldiers
of Muscovy were called. Over time, all Muscovites began to be called that in an
offensive way. The Ukrainian last names Moskalenko, Moskalchuk belong to the
primary meaning of this word, people whose ancestors were soldiers in the army
of Muscovy. |
| Country | Rus' |
An ancient state formation originating from Kyiv Rus. Capital city: Kyiv. |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian Republic. Capital city: Kyiv. |
| Rossiya | Rossiyan Federation. Capital city: Moscow.
Origins from the Russian Empire which included Kyiv Rus’ territory.
|
| Russia | Controversial name of Rossiyan Federation.
Name “Russia“ carries name of etnos which mostly lives outside the federation.
So, it carries territorial claims. |
| Citizenship | Ukrainian | Citizen of Ukraine |
For the diaspora, it can mean Rusyn (ethnically) or anyone originated from the territory
of Ukraine. |
| Russian | ? | The modern use of this word to indicate citizenship is
contradictory, since it pointss a no longer existing state entity - Rus’. For the diaspora,
it may mean origin from the former Soviet Union, those who could communicate in the state
language of the USSR.
|
| Rossiyan | Citizen of Rossiya |
For the diaspora, it may mean origin from Rossiya, even in the absence of Rossiyan citizenship. |
Further, the use of the words “Russia” and “Russian” provokes the Russian Federation
to recall these words in real terms - to take in other Rusyns by force.
This name carries territorial claims.
How a provocative title works. The word Rusyns flew into the ether of the Russian media
in 2008. All political scenes began to mention the oppression of the Subcarpathian Rusyns.
The Russian propaganda machine took the word Rusyns as “Russian“ and began to angrily shame
the Ukrainian “Nazis“. Everything calmed down on one day, when the first reports from the
places of “oppression“ reached Moscow. The following photo with young Subcarpathian Rusyns
dressed up for the holiday speaks for itself about what ethnic group does this youth belong to.
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In the photo with young Rusyns in Ukrainian folk clothes, their traditional church can be seen
in the background.
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