Re: Russkii vs Rossiiskii

Hi,

> I recently read that in Tsaristic times, _Russkii_ refered to Russian
> ethnicity, whereas _Rossiiskii_ refered to the Russian state.
> Does this mean
> that the usage's changed? Not that I know Russian, but it
> seems to agree
> with what can be glean from names of Russian institutions etc.
That's this way now as well. _Russkiy_ is either the ethnicity or the
language. _Rossiyskiy_ is "of Russia". Thus _russkij jazyk_ "Russian
language" but _rossijskoje pravitel'stvo_ "Russian government".
Similarly, a _russkij_ is one of Russian ethnicity, while a _rossijanin_
is a citizen of Russia. (Though I hear several people have been
registered as _rossijane_ by ethnicity in the ongoing census)

Pavel
--
Pavel Iosad               pavel_iosad@mail.ru

Is mall a mharcaicheas am fear a bheachdaicheas
                 --Scottish proverb

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