Nationality Russian or Russian, how to indicate correctly

Add-ons

Some resumes require the following types of citizenship, if any:

Double,
Second,
Previous.

The Russian Federation has concluded agreements on dual citizenship only with Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. In other cases, we are talking about second citizenship. The questionnaire requires you to enter the country of dual/second citizenship and passport data and specify the dual/second citizenship status in Russia (in some cases).

When changing citizenship, the year in which this occurred and, if necessary, the reason are indicated. Documentation rules require detailed answers to each question. You cannot write short “yes” or “no” answers.

Form of notification about the presence of a citizen of the Russian Federation of another citizenship.

The applicant has the right to request forms in a language he understands - English or Russian. This will avoid confusion and misunderstandings when filling out documents.

A selection of videos about correctly filling out the application form for a green card, international passport, temporary residence permit, residence permit and visa:

Before indicating your citizenship on the application form, it is recommended to consult with an embassy or visa center employee. This will help you avoid mistakes and fill out the documents correctly, obtaining permission to enter another country without unnecessary delays.

○ Differences between citizenship and nationality.

When filling out the application for citizenship, the migrant must indicate his citizenship and nationality. An error will result in you having to resubmit your documents.

The difference between citizenship and nationality is as follows:

Citizenship is the belonging of a particular person to a particular state.
Nationality is the belonging of a particular person to a certain ethnic community.

The precise concept of “citizenship” is described in Art. 3 of Law No. 62-FZ. It says here that “citizenship of the Russian Federation is a stable legal connection of a person with the Russian Federation, expressed in the totality of their mutual rights and obligations.” The concept of “nationality” is revealed in the Constitution.

This is interesting: If the sick leave falls on vacation

From Empire to Federation

In the Russian Empire, a population census was held in 1897, then a citizen’s belonging to one or another ethnic group was determined on the basis of language and religion. A little later, the concept of “nationalities” and “peoples” began to be used, and the column “nationality” in passports appeared already in the Soviet Union in the 70s of the last century. The Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR had this name to more accurately define the territorial entities represented in it (republics, autonomous regions and districts). Well, today the Federation secures the right to self-determination in choosing nationality.

Visa application form

Instructions for filling out the Schengen application form:

Filling out in Russian

The name of the state is written in the nominative case. Acceptable wording:

Russian Federation,
Russia,
RF.

A name shortened to an abbreviation is acceptable in a number of cases. It is advisable to use the full, official name - Russian Federation.

It is acceptable to use language indicating affiliation with a country:

Russian,
Russian.

Filling out in English

In visa documents filled out in English, the citizenship column is called “Citizenship”. The applicant must indicate the country of which he is a citizen. Appropriate wording:

Russian Federation,
Russian.

Abbreviations are not recommended. The line about nationality is called "Nationality". It indicates membership in an ethnic group - Russian (not Russian), Ukrainian, Belarusian, etc.

Found something to talk about... Russians or Russians

The information surface of the discussion of the recently announced initiative to legislate the concept of “Russian nation” has again stirred up after several weeks of relative calm. The reason for the public outcry was the statement of People's Artist of Russia Stanislav Govorukhin. In an interview with Vesti, the famous film director expressed his attitude to the concept of “Russian nation”, and it was this opinion, in which the word “disgusting” was used in relation to the term “Russians” and caused a barrage of information.

Stanislav Govorukhin:

“Russian”—the word itself is disgusting. Maybe it has caught on, but “Russian woman”, “Russians” even sounds disgusting purely linguistically. But it is quite possible that we have been the Russian people for many centuries, and now we will become Russians.

As you can see, Govorukhin, to put it mildly, is not enthusiastic about the initiative to legislate the concept of “Russian people.” Meanwhile, a discussion of this initiative has already begun in the State Duma at the expert level, and there is every reason to believe that parliamentarians will indeed give the concept of “Russian people” legal (in all senses) status.

It would seem that this is far from being a problem whose discussion seems extremely topical today, because there are plenty of much more serious problems in the country. But since the issue has been raised at the highest level, it is still worth discussing it in a public format. And any chance that the “tops” can still listen to the opinion of the public must be taken advantage of.

So, Russians... I will, of course, express a purely personal point of view and not pretending to anything: despite the fact that Yeltsin’s “yes-ra-gie-ra-se-ya-ne” with dancing under the influence is still in my ears , from which, to be honest, there are exclusively negative emotions, for me there is nothing “disgusting” or reprehensible in the very concept of “Russian”. No, if only because this term was widely used long before the Russian Federation emerged from the ruins of the USSR. Here are just a few examples of the use of the concept “Russians” during the existence of the Russian Empire. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in his “Memoirs of Tsarskoe Selo”: Oh, the loud age of military disputes, Witness to the glory of the Russians! You saw how Orlov, Rumyantsev and Suvorov, Descendants of the formidable Slavs (...)

Mikhailo Vasilyevich Lomonosov: My Academy! Blessed are you, if in the darkness of ignorance you raise the light of reason, if you kindle a love for science in the hearts of Russians!

True, such examples are rather isolated, and our great compatriots of the past used the term “Russians” in their works much more actively. By the way, in the same Pushkin’s “Memoirs of Tsarskoye Selo” there are the following lines: They fought. Russian is the winner! And the arrogant Gaul runs back.

Yes, by and large, Alexander Sergeevich can well be considered a person who, even today, can well act as a reconciliator for all those who are ready to begin to break their spears regarding the unified name of the peoples of Russia. The same A.S. Pushkin in the same work of his own - voila... already about the Russians: Ross in Paris! - Where is the torch of vengeance? Lower your head, Gaul. But what do I see? Ross with a smile of reconciliation is coming with a golden olive.

Before us, we can consider a real historical example of the fact that the very attempt to choose one thing in terms of a national name in a country that was called Russia, and Russia, and the Russian Empire, and the Russian Federation looks, frankly speaking, nothing more than political PR by a certain group of people. To attract attention - yes... Ideologists of renaming, tinkering with names, or, more simply put, politicians who believe that they are dealing with pressing issues have always been in our country. There are such individuals today, and there are so many of them who pretend that it is not in vain that they eat bureaucratic bread.

On this basis, we can express the following thought: how important is it generally to discuss the issue of what to call ourselves as citizens of Russia, if we (citizens of Russia) for the most part stand firmly in our positions? Or is the task absolutely to convince each other that Russian is wrong, and Russian is right? Russian is wrong, Russian is right?..

But if a person through his work has achieved certain successes in life, started a family, has children, works without disgust for his place of work, brings public benefit, does not bother anyone with advice and demands, then, by and large, this is his a personal matter - he considers himself a Russian or Russian in the broad sense of the word (Russian Tatar, Russian Kazakh, Russian Jew, etc.) And if a person does not dry out, remembering the “civic position” exclusively after the next arrest, excuse me, in “monkey”, then in this case philosophy on the topic of whether he is Russian or a Russian turns into demagoguery, which such a person, as they say, is in the wrong.

In Soviet times, everyone knew that everyone was a representative of the huge Soviet people, but at the same time, everyone’s passport indicated their nationality. And a normal person was proud of it. He was proud that he was part of a great country, and at the same time he had his own national identity, reflected not only in his soul, but also in legislation, plus in his personal document. Today, indicating your nationality in a passport, you see, is perceived by certain people almost as a crime, an infringement of rights and freedoms... Wow, they say... A person can be offended... But from somewhere above they are trying to push down a directive version of what we should call ourselves if we have “ highly unified" identity cards.

On this basis, it can and should be stated that it is impossible to formalize national unity by directives, even if it is a matter of national status. At all times, it was formed not from what the boyars, the Tsar-Father or the Senate and Synod decided there, but from the milestones through which Russia passed. Victory (over the enemy, over corruption, over one’s weaknesses and vices) is the main “cement”, the foundation for unity. As for the rest, you can butt heads as much as you like about who you feel like and whether you like being Russian or definitely a Russian; in any case, this will not lead to greater multinational unity, which, for example, led to reunification with Crimea.

How can residents of Russia distinguish citizenship from nationality when filling out

Let's return to the confusion of the terms “citizenship” and “nationality”. Most often, this problem occurs when filling out forms in a foreign language, since in some countries nationality is no different from citizenship. For example, in French both of these concepts have the same name, so confusion cannot be avoided. If you still had to fill out the “nationality” column, you need to enter the word “Russian”.

It is Russian, and not Russian, that is very important. If political scientists are to be believed, a new type of passport may soon appear in which nationality will not be indicated.

But at the moment such a column exists, and it must be taken into account.

The definition of both concepts is as follows:

citizenship implies the country of which a particular citizen is a representative;
nationality is belonging to some ethnic group (Russian, Jew, Moldavian).

One thing you can be 100% sure of - if you see the “Citizenship” column in the application form, you must enter the words “Russian Federation”, but in no case “Russian”.

In what cases do they write “not Russian”

The correct use of the combination “not Russian” will only be if the sentence contains antonyms for the word “not Russian”.

In most cases, in this context there are adversative conjunctions “a” and “but”.

Also, the presence of reinforcing negatives (“not at all”, “far from”) in a sentence will indicate a separate spelling of the combination - “not Russian”.

Example sentences

Andrey liked Ukrainian cuisine more than Russian. Therefore, Katya needed to learn how to cook borscht.
Foreign students at our university do not have a Russian accent.
It's better to do your math homework first, not Russian. Because Russian comes very easily to Olya.
Igor listened not to Russian, but to English songs in order to learn English faster.
Lilya suggested that her boyfriend visit this time a restaurant that serves Italian cuisine, not Russian cuisine.

For those born in the USSR

If you were registered back in the years of the USSR in the country where you now live, then you need to adhere to an important requirement: in the “Citizenship” column you must indicate the USSR (USSR). . These norms are enshrined by the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation.

It does not matter whether a person submits information documents through the Control Center or using the Internet portal of public services.

These norms are enshrined by the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation. It does not matter whether a person submits information documents through the Control Center or using the Internet portal of public services.

Exceptions to the rules:

For France, you must indicate the current name of the country.
Czech Republic (in the “Country of Birth” section we write RUS, for the “Citizenship at Birth” section – “SUN”).
Sweden (“Country of birth” – USSR or Russia, depending on what designation is given in the passport).
When filling out a Schengen application online, you will not find the USSR in the list of states. In this case, the choice is made in favor of the state where the person currently lives.

Nationalities and nationalities of Russia

Russia has always been not only a densely populated, but also a multinational state. More than 145 million citizens permanently reside in the country.

They represent more than 160 nationalities speaking their own languages. Most peoples are small in number and live in a limited area. Only seven peoples have a population of more than one million - Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Chechens and Armenians.

Russia ranks seventh in the world in terms of population after China, India, the USA, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan. In terms of population density, Russia ranks second in the world after the United States. Almost a fifth of the country’s population lives in 13 million-plus cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Volgograd, Perm. The population of the largest megacities in Russia was: Moscow - more than 10 million people, St. Petersburg - about 5 million people. The capital of the Russian Federation is one of the twenty largest cities in the world in terms of population.

The majority of the population is, of course, Russian – more than 80%. The remaining percentage is made up of Tatars (3.8%), Ukrainians - 3%, Chuvash - 1.2%, Belarusians - 0.8%, Mordovians - 0.7%, Germans and Chechens - 0.6% each, Avars, Armenians, Jews – 0.4% each, etc.

Tatars are the second largest people in Russia, living in the Volga region. Together with the Bashkirs, the Tatars constitute the largest group of Muslim peoples, located almost in the center of Russia. The Chuvash are another Turkic people, numbering about two million people. Altaians, Khakassians, and Yakuts live in Siberia. The peoples of the Abkhaz-Adyghe group live in the Caucasus: Kabardians, Adygs and Circassians; Nekh-Dagestan group: Chechens, Ingush, Avars, Lezgins; Ossetians belonging to the Iranian group.

Finno-Ugric peoples also live in Russia - these include the Finns, Karelians, Sami and Komi in the north of European Russia, the Mari and Mordovians in the Volga region, the Khanty and Mansi, engaged in hunting and reindeer herding, in Western Siberia.

In the Far North live the Nenets who are engaged in reindeer herding.

Evenks live in Eastern Siberia. On the Chukotka Peninsula, the Chukchi are reindeer herders and fishermen. The Mongolian group includes the Buryats in Siberia and the Kalmyks in the Caspian Sea.

Every nation strives to preserve its language, customs and traditions, costume, traditional activities and crafts. Most of these peoples have retained their identity and traditional activities. The wealth of national cultures is the property of the entire country.

Russians are so different

Many people are very interested in the question of why all the nationalities of the world are nouns (Latvians, Poles, Romanians, Tatars and others), and only Russians have this as an adjective. It is difficult to answer this question for sure, and different scientists have put forward different theories. Let's start with the fact that this is the largest nationality in the world. According to various estimates, from 130 to 150 million people around the globe, living not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders, have the “Russian” nationality. Russians are the largest East Slavic ethnic group. This is the bulk of the population and indigenous people of Russia, as well as the majority of the population of former Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova and others. But Russians are widespread not only in the post-Soviet space; in the USA, Germany, Canada and Brazil, as well as in other large countries, they are represented by large diasporas. The language of nationality is Russian. Some subethnic groups of the Russian people in other countries have their own names: Goryuns (region of Ukraine), Lipovans (region of Romania), Albazins (region of China), Nekrasovtsy (region of Turkey). As for the territory of Russia itself, despite the common nationality “Russian”, the population is also divided into narrower ethnic groups, such as Cossacks, Sayans, Tudovites, Pomors, Kolyma residents, Siberians, Markovites and many others, depending on the region of residence .

Who is Russian?

The concept “ Russian ”, despite the apparent obviousness of the meaning that should correspond to it, is one of the most difficult to understand even in the scientific community. There are several main interpretations of it:

Russian as a designation for a person who belongs to the most numerous people of the Russian Federation, the state-forming nation;
Russian as a designation for a person of any nationality living on the territory of the Russian Federation;
the concept of “Russian” as a criterion for a person’s civilizational identification.

Let us study the features of these interpretations of the concept in question in more detail.

So, Russian may be and, in fact, is the largest Slavic ethnic group, constituting the bulk of the population of Russia, a significant part of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, many other post-Soviet states, as well as territories that were part of the Russian Empire (for example, Alaska), and countries of distant abroad - USA, Germany.

Russians as an ethnic group, in accordance with the traditional point of view, began to take shape around the 9-10th century - during the time of Kievan Rus. Before that - again, if you follow the widespread interpretation, the future people were represented by several, mainly Slavic (but not only), nationalities living in the same territory - approximately corresponding to the central and western regions of the European part of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. These nationalities united under the rule of statehood, which arose among the Russians during the specified period of time. They acquired a common language and a common culture began to emerge.

It is worth noting that the origin of the word “Russian” is very controversial. There is a version that this word is of Scandinavian origin. Some scientists believe that “Russian” is the self-name of the people, others - that it was given by other nations. For many centuries, there was a difference even in the pronunciation of this word (if you study its transcription in various sources).

One way or another, it was after the 10th century that the concept of “Russian” generally became established as corresponding to the ethnic group. He spoke, of course, Russian (which, however, was represented by a large number of dialects - on the basis of which modern East Slavic languages were subsequently formed).

Around the 15th century, the concept "Russian" began to be used quite regularly in the context of political self-identification. It could be relevant, in principle, for any person living in the territory of a country that at that time was built mainly by ethnic Russians - the Moscow State, or the Russian Tsardom. This is due to several reasons:

the liberation of Russian territories from Mongolian dependence, the unification of territories around Moscow and the formation of the Russian kingdom;
the beginning of the formation of the largest European nations - the French, Italians, Scandinavian peoples, German-speaking nations - which contributed to similar processes on the territory of the Moscow state.

The peoples of the Russian kingdom thus began to identify themselves as “Russians” - not only in an ethnic sense, but also in a political one.

The concept “Russian” is sometimes used in a civilizational context. It presupposes that a person identifies himself not so much as belonging to Russia, but as having an affinity for Russian culture, history, and traditions. Moreover, he may not know Russian.

It is noteworthy that these interpretations of the concept “Russian”, in principle, do not contradict each other. A person can simultaneously be Russian civilizationally, in a political context, and ethnically. But it is possible that he will be identified by only one of the criteria under consideration - and this will be enough to call a person Russian.

What is nationality

Nationality is a relic of the past. In the modern world, this term is practically not used.

It is known to those who still remember the USSR. For modern youth this term is alien.

Speaking about the modern world, nationality is understood as the attitude of a given person to a specific group of nationalities living in a particular territory and having their own language.

At its core, “nationality” is an ethnic community. Previously, it was indicated in the passport of a Soviet citizen, and the use of this term made sense.

After the collapse of the USSR and the formation of Russia, such a line disappeared from the main document. Now there is no distribution by nationality.

But when filling out various forms (for example, to obtain a foreign passport), Russian citizens are faced with a problem.

In forms related to migration, resettlement, relocations and travel, there is a “nationality” column, and it must be filled out correctly. Otherwise, consideration of the application may be refused.

Citizenship concept

The term “citizenship” implies a stable legal connection between a specific person and a specific state.

Both parties to this relationship have their own rights and obligations towards each other.

The “citizenship” column is also present in various questionnaires and applications. Do not confuse nationality and citizenship.

It is necessary to distinguish between these two concepts and correctly reflect them in official documents.

Rules for instructions when filling out questionnaires

In order not to delay the process of processing certain documents, you need to fill out the form correctly and correctly indicate both citizenship and nationality.

When it comes specifically to citizenship, you need to indicate the name of the country in the nominative case. That is, you need to indicate “Russian Federation”, but not “Russia” or “RF”.

Some government agencies allow simply “Russia” to be written in this column, but “Russian Federation” is the official name of our country, so this particular spelling will not raise questions from anyone, even the most strict inspector.

The abbreviation “RF” is not accepted by any government agencies. The name of our country cannot be shortened like that.

In addition, some government agencies require that the applicant indicate not only the country, but also the affiliation.

Namely, “Citizen of the Russian Federation”. Such requirements for applications are presented to the FSSP.

Important! In Russia, “citizenship” and “nationality” are different. From a legal point of view, these are two different concepts.

To fill out the documents correctly, you need to understand the difference.

In this column you must indicate the country whose passport the applicant holds. For example, the Russian Federation.

In the “nationality” column, you must indicate your membership in a specific ethnic group or people.

There are quite a lot of them on the territory of Russia, so along with citizenship “Russian Federation” it can be indicated - Russian, Evenk, Tatar, Yakut, etc.

Problems when filling out these two fields may arise in other countries. For example, in France, these two concepts are identical.

After the collapse of the USSR, indicating membership in one or another ethnic group in documents is not mandatory.

The applicant, when filling out various documents, decides whether he needs to indicate his nationality or not. There is also no such column in the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation.

This happened after discrimination on this basis began to spread in the new post-Soviet space.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued a ruling that clearly stated that nationality has no significance in determining the status of a citizen.

Russian and/or Russian?

These reflections began with the hymns sung during the Divine Service for all Russian saints, which takes place on the second Sunday after Pentecost.

Troparion: “Like the red fruit of Your saving sowing, Russian land

brings to You, Lord, all the saints who shone forth in that one. With those prayers in the deep world, protect our Church and country by the Mother of God, Omni-merciful.”

Greatness: “We bless you, our holy relatives, the Russian land

with your virtues you illuminated and clearly showed us the image of salvation.”

Is there a difference between the “ Russian land”

" and "
Russian land
"? Maybe there isn't any? And if there is some slight difference, then according to the proverb “even if you call it a pot, just don’t put it in the oven,” is it worth paying attention to it?

The difference, of course, is already in the fact that these are two different words. Behind different words there are different concepts. Let's try to figure out which ones exactly? Instead of scientific explanations, we will present phrases rooted in the Russian language with both words. This very rootedness testifies to their vitality, i.e. that they are not abstract philosophical categories, but express something existing.

So, from phrases with the words “ Russian”

" and "
Russian
", the following sounds familiar to the Russian ear: "Russian empire", "Russian state", "Russian emperor", "Russian passport", "Russian flag", "All-Russian congress", "Russian Russian army", "Russian ruble "... And: “Russian saint”, “Russian Tsar”, “Russian God”, “Russian frost”, “Russian faith”, “Russian field”, “Russian song”, “Russian language”...

It is impossible to swap places of many of them. You cannot say “Russian frost”, “Russian field”, “Russian faith”, “Russian sky”, “Russian ear”... You also cannot say “Russian empire”, “Russian citizenship”, “Russian passport”... It is impossible to say “Russian saint” ”, because there is no “Russian god” and “Russian church”. Although the expression “new martyrs and confessors of Russia” has become completely familiar.

By the way, the question arises: why in the Russian Orthodox Church are the newly glorified saints called not Russian, but Russian? If the Church is Russian, then its saints should be called “Russian new martyrs and confessors.” And if they are called Russian, then the Church should also bear the name “Russian”. In naming the Russian Church and its saints Russian, isn’t some kind of semantic wedge being driven between them?

In the world this wedge is already clearly visible in the example of the “Russian language”. There is no such language, but there are many “Russian scientists”, “Russian athletes”, “Russian diplomats”... What language do all these “Russian people” speak? In Russian. Why then are they called Russian? Isn’t it time for no one to have any confusion or questions, and to call the Russian language itself “Russian”?

Moreover, all phrases with the word “Russian” were filled with special semantic flesh and blood when one could see and touch the Russian emperor. When he died, but the Russian president became, it is clear that all expressions with the word “Russian” began to have a completely different meaning from their previous meaning. They began to have, so to speak, presidential rather than imperial content.

Here it is appropriate to recall the experience of Soviet life and its innovations. Under Soviet rule, there were the words “Soviet man”, “Soviet homeland”, “Soviet land”... With the disappearance of Soviet reality, the word “Soviet” also disappeared, or rather, it remained only as a memory of it.

So, what is the difference in the phrases “Russian land” and “Russian land”? There was no “Russian land” before the time of Emperor Peter, just as there was no “Soviet land” before 1917 and there was no such thing after 1991. Of course, the word “Russian” existed even before Peter’s innovations, but its meaning was different from what it was filled with at that turning point. Or rather, the word “Russian” was therefore needed in its special quality in order, firstly, to distinguish the concepts it expresses from “Russians”, and secondly, the word “Russian” is clearly no longer sufficient for the breadth over which the Russian Federation extends. empire.

By the way, I’ll add that I recently learned that the buildings of a Russian (or is it still Russian?) fortress have been preserved on the Hawaiian Islands. However, Kirkira, also known as the island of Corfu, could also be Russian (or Russian?). Read about this the history of the Mediterranean expeditions of the holy admiral Theodore Ushakov. Corfu and Hawaii are Russian lands. This sounds fun! I remember from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “O Russian land! You're already over the hill."

I don’t know if there was “Russian land” under St. Sergius of Radonezh? If there was, then its semantic smell and taste probably differed from the “Russian land” of Catherine’s times. Under the monks Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, the land was only Russian.

— So you are against the expression “Russian land” in the troparion to all Russian saints?

- Tell me, what kind of “Russian land” is meant here: grand ducal, tsarist, imperial or presidential? If the Russian Grand Duke, then what about the Russian saints who lived outside it geographically, such as the blessed Georgian Queen Tamara, or chronologically, such as Saint Theodore Ushakov? If the Russian imperial, then how could it produce the same Anthony and Theodosius when it was not with them? If Russian presidential, then...

— And the Russian land, you want to say, has remained the same all these years? And under Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, and under Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and under President Boris Yeltsin?

- Yes, the Russian land has always been and will be the same for all Russians, from the first to the last.

- But then it is an even greater abstraction than Russian soil. You can at least touch this one.

— It’s just that you can’t touch Russian soil. You cannot take it into your pocket, as the defenders who go into battle for it take the Russian land with them, like a shrine. And when leaving your native borders, you can take with you only Russian soil, not Russian soil. Because the expression “Russian land,” despite its extreme generality, remains extremely specific.

- Why?

— Because only that which is connected with God can be concrete and material. Everything unrelated to Him is deception and a mirage. The Russian land is connected with God through the Orthodox faith of the Russian people. Whereas the Russian land is not connected with eternity, because there is no “Russian Orthodox faith”, just as there is no “Russian man”. This breed of people is found only in the media.

— And if we take the expression “Russian land” regardless of history, but in a certain philosophical, geographical and poetic sense? Are these the words “Europe”, “Asia”, “Eurasia”, “Asia”? The word “Russian” is imbued with this meaning in N.Ya. Danilevsky’s book “Russia and Europe”. This is the meaning it has in the poem by S.A. Yesenin “They drink here again, fight and cry...”: “You, my Scattered... Scattered... Asian side!”

- But is such a meaning, like any abstract and living meaning outside of God, appropriate in the words of prayers? The words heard within the church walls, like the people listening to them, must be baptized. All other words and people must leave the church when the clergyman shouts, “Depart from the announcement...”. Therefore, in order to avoid blasphemy against the Church Sacraments, all words participating in them must be baptized and churched.

— How to understand this strange expression “baptized words”?

“To understand everything at once, let’s imagine the unimaginable. Let’s imagine that Soviet life would last not 70, but 200 years, i.e. the same amount of time passed from Emperor Peter to the holy passion-bearer emperor Nicholas II. And, having come to an Orthodox Moscow church in 2117 on the second week after Pentecost, would it have been possible to hear singing: “Like the red fruit of Your saving sowing, the Soviet land brings to You, Lord, all the saints who shone forth in that ...”? If one could hear such a thing, what kind of temple would it be, what kind of land would it be, and what kind of saints would it be? Are they really the same Vladimir, Anthony, Theodosius, Tamara, Sergius, Theodore...? I think it would be other saints. Why? Dealing with this issue will require some time, attention and citations.

https://elementy.ru/lib/430720. At this link you can read a conversation with schoolchildren by academician A.A. Zaliznyak, named, by the way, in the annotation as “an outstanding Russian linguist,” which vividly reminded me of those classic expressions “Soviet scientist,” “Soviet writer,” “Soviet linguist,” on whom I once studied in a Soviet school. The whole conversation was interesting, but one of the conclusions attracted my special attention, I quote: “In reality, the real difference is not in which language exists longer and which less, there is no such difference. But there is a difference in the longevity of language names. An amazing thing: what is significant is not the language itself, a huge colossus of thousands, tens of thousands of words, grammar and other things, but just one small element: the name of this language.”

According to the academician, the main thing in a language is not the language itself, but its name, because this or that language is alive as long as its name is alive. As soon as the name of a language is changed, it becomes dead, and its life is inherited by the language that emerged from it, which already has a new name, although remaining essentially the same language. How to understand this unexpected statement of the scientist? Let's take an example from his own conversation:

“For example, it is well known that the Romance languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian - come from Latin. (...) For all of them, a fairly large number of written monuments are preserved, so it is possible, starting from about the 3rd century. BC e., and even a little earlier, read texts in a row right up to our time. First these will be Latin texts, then late Latin, then, for example, early French, then middle French, then modern French. This way you will have an even row where you will see a continuous change in the language.”

So, based on the even series in which you can trace all the transformations of the Latin language into French (or into some other of the Romance languages), it is easy to conclude that if you had not changed the Latin language of your name to French, you would have continued your life in the shape of what we now call the French language. But Latin died, having gone into the category of classical languages, and French remained to live, because it took possession of the name of the language and, giving it its name, like on a nutritious broth, or, if you like, like on a corpse, it grew into Latin.

I leave aside the questions that it was hardly possible in history for a language not to change its name when “objective historical laws”, “the process of development of peoples”, “evolution”, “progress”, etc. and so on. demanded a change of “brand”. I understand all this well, but I am leaving this topic aside simply because I want to point out the very principle, the mechanism of the birth and death of languages, which consists in changing the name and which is cited as a scientific fact by an outstanding Russian linguist.

This is how it is with languages. But isn't the same thing happening to nations? They are alive as long as they bear their names. The name changes, and the people die, because a new people is born from it, giving it its name. Those. the people as such and all its representatives continue to live, but, taking a new name, they die for their former name, giving life to another people, or rather, to their other name. These thoughts sound unusual, but quite convincing. Especially for a believer. Because the Orthodox Church is such a public organization that does not separate its dead members from the living. Scientists can argue about living and dead languages, about living and dead peoples, but for a believer, everything is alive. Therefore, it is even easier for a believer to understand this idea that a people does not die when it is not among the living, but dies when it changes its name. This is how a living person dies when he betrays his faith.

Of course, a change in a people’s name cannot happen just like that, without such particularly important reasons as conquest, resettlement, movement of peoples, but we will not touch on these reasons here. But let's touch on the consequences.

An example was given above, called impossible, but it clearly proves that renaming a people significantly changes their views on holiness. One can only guess what the Soviet people’s view of the “Soviet saints” in the USSR would have been in 2117, but it is clear that it would have been unique in a Soviet way. Of course, the saints themselves in heaven remain the same, only the earthly view of them changes.

They will say to me: “You probably forgot what you were taught in your lessons on Marxist-Leninist philosophy”? And they will remind you that the reason for the change in the views of the people lies not in the fact that its name has changed, but in the fact that the people themselves, their “production relations” have changed. “The existence of a people determines its consciousness,” they will tell me, “and here you are spreading idealism, taking being out of consciousness.”

What's the answer here? Let's return to the example of the French and Latin languages and make sure that no matter how many times a language changes, it remains itself until it changes its name. And isn’t the same thing happening in relation to the people? No matter how many times a people changes, it remains itself until it changes its name.

I will quote Academician A.A. Zaliznyak once again, placing next to the word “ language”

" in brackets the word "
people
".
By the way, a very interesting fact is that in Russian these words are synonyms
.

“In reality, the real difference is not in which language (people) exists longer and which less - there is no such difference. But there is a difference in the longevity of the names of languages (peoples). An amazing thing: what is significant is not the language (people) itself, a huge colossus of thousands, tens of thousands of words (millions of people), grammar (state structure) and other things, but just one small element: the name of this language (people).”

So, until a people is renamed, it is connected with its former self. Renamed, he begins to live in a new capacity and finds himself cut off from his “dead”, but in fact living people. Or rather, on the contrary: the renamed living people turn out to be dead.

So, a Russian has to hold on to his name with all his might? But what is the point of calling something Russian that, perhaps, has long ceased to be Russian? What is the point of a Frenchman calling his language Latin when it is completely foreign to him?

Let me remind you of the thought of an academician linguist. The language (and therefore the people) continues to live until its name changes. This is the meaning of being called a Russian language-people for what can be called a “late Russian” or even an “early Russian” language-people.

When they show you photographs of a 3-year-old child and a 50-year-old man and say that this is the same person, you can only believe it if you believe the person who shows these photographs. Are this baby and this uncle the same person? Is French really old Latin? Yes, this is the same person. Yes, it’s aged beyond recognition, but it’s still the same Latin. And no changes in the Latin language would have meant anything to him if the main change had not occurred - in the name.

How many times has the Russian language changed in its life? The same number of times the sun set and rose above the horizon. How many times have I changed myself? The same number of days I have lived, or for a more accurate figure, you can count the number of hours I have lived. The Russian language, the Russian people and I, together with them, change annually, daily and hourly. But no matter how many times I change, I am invariably connected with them and with myself until I change my name.

Therefore, someone frivolous or crafty composed, and many after him, with harm to their souls, repeat this poisonous proverb “even if you call it a pot, just don’t make a stove.” The fact of the matter is that the place of the pot is in the oven, which means that sooner or later everything that is called a pot will end up in the fiery oven.

The first part of this work can be conventionally called “carnal”, the second - “spiritual”, and the third and last we will call “spiritual”.

In the priest's thoughts, it should be the longest . “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not obey the law of God, and indeed cannot. Therefore those who live according to the flesh cannot please God.”

(Rom.8:6).

But I feel that this part will be the shortest. Because for the spiritual there is no need to quote the words of the Apostle Paul; they themselves can quote them to me. But you cannot explain spiritual things to carnal people until the Spirit of God, “ speak silently.

“, will not touch their hearts. The spiritual ones know even without me that there is no “Russian”, “Russian”, “Soviet” land, but the whole land is God’s.

By the way, from a spiritual point of view, it is impossible to put the listed lands on the same level, not only because the Russian land grew faith, and the Soviet land became barren, but also because these lands lie under different spiritual skies. Therefore, it is better to divide the lands into groups and say so. There is no “Russian”, “French”, “Chinese” land... just as there is no “Russian”, “American”, “European Union” land... Well, in the “spiritual” part, I began to get lost in geography, politics, economics and other vanity. In short, the whole earth is the Lord’s according to the word of the Holy Scripture : “The earth and its fullness are the Lord’s, the universe and all who live on it.”

(Ps. 23:1). What does it mean?

This means that life was given to man so that he could reap the spiritual harvest on the land to which God assigned him. “ For the Lord will give goodness, and our land will yield its fruit

"(Ps.84:13). And while a person lives with this thought and with this goal, then no matter what earth he lives on, he lives on God’s earth, reading this verse from the Psalter not with bodily, but with spiritual eyes in this, for example, sense: the Lord will give goodness, and the land of our souls will give Him its fruit. But when this is forgotten, when a person begins to live according to the flesh and not according to the spirit, then what happens is what the Apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Romans, see the quote above.

By the way, about the “Romans”. The “leaders of the third Rome” should first of all read and take notes on the Apostolic Letter to them dictated by the Holy Spirit. But they are more willing to read any kind of books, little books and little books, just not the Holy Scriptures and not the patristic works, because they barely understand spiritual literacy. The trouble, however, is not that they don’t understand, but that they don’t want to learn this literacy.

And finally, some clergy say that the word “Russian” is not a noun, but an adjective. That's right, Russian is an adjective. Some clergy “know a lot about linguistics.”

But, the question arises, why did our “great and mighty”, who found suitable nouns for all the peoples of the earth, not find one for his “carrier”? It's not just like that. There must be a secret hidden here. Or don’t you need to look for any secrets, but call the Russian language by its own proverb “a shoemaker without boots”? Boots for all peoples, i.e. he grinded out nouns and left himself without them. But this fact cannot mean nothing, since it is a completely unusual case for the richest language to leave its people with an adjective name, giving all other peoples nouns.

So, is it not because the Russian language left its people without a noun that every noun is self-sufficient and difficult to apply to another noun, but, existing in itself, on the contrary, it seeks and collects applications for itself everywhere? Is it not because the popular name - Russian - remains an adjective that it is easier for an adjective to be applied? What or who should I attach myself to? The answer is simple - to God.

And if you take this thought to the end, then it’s easier to attach to an adjective than to a noun, so that in the end you end up attached to the main noun. Those. through the adjective “Russian” every other noun can be attached to God. To the One God, the Father Almighty... and further according to the text of the symbol of the Orthodox faith.

The words " Russian"

" and "
Orthodox
" have always been equivalent, which cannot be said about any other people.
If Russian, then Orthodox, and if Russian and non-Orthodox, then, alas, non-Russian. Russian and Russians have not been and are not attached to any other faith and to any other god. This has been tested by a thousand years of their life, this has been proven by recent Soviet tests, in which “ God tempt them and find them worthy of Himself, as He tested them as gold in the crucible, and as I accepted the fruitfulness of the sacrifice
” (Wisdom 3:6), this convinces them current repentant aspiration to search for the eternal Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

And to everyone who seeks the truth of God, everything necessary on earth will be supplied according to the unfaithful promise of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

First published in the magazine “Blessed Fire”

Difficulty of definition

Nationality is usually called belonging to a particular ethnic group. It is hereditary in nature, because its main features are the person’s surname and appearance, as well as some character traits that are defined as mentality. But this concept is quite conditional. Due to the constant dynamics of mixing of ethnic groups in the pedigree of a person, the presence of representatives of a wide variety of nationalities is possible, which complicates the very definition of nationality. Thus, despite the fact that in many countries the main feature of such a definition is citizenship or language, nationality increasingly remains a concept of individual self-identification.

We indicate “citizenship” correctly

In all documents that require information about the citizenship of the person completing them, it is necessary to use the name of the state of which the applicant is a citizen. This is required by the rules of official business style of speech, including writing. , etc. However, only the name of the country is indicated in the documents. For example, "Russian Federation".

An important rule: when filling out any documents, the use of abbreviations is not allowed. The name of the Russian Federation is often shortened to the abbreviation “RF”. It can be heard from various sources: television, radio, newspapers, including news reports. This is unacceptable in official documents.

Of course, the above rules apply, first of all, to official papers submitted to government agencies. When filling out applications for commercial structures, for example, in connection with applying for a job, the requirements are not so stringent.

What the law says

The official name of the state is defined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Yes, Art. 1 of this law states that the names “Russian Federation” and “Russia” are equivalent. In this regard, in official documents where indication of citizenship is required, citizens of the Russian Federation can use both of these names.

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The concept of citizenship of the Russian Federation is given in the Federal Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation”, where such wording is the only acceptable one.

On a global scale

The concepts of “nationality”, “nation” and “nationality” are almost identical, and it is difficult to isolate the main difference between them, because the division into ethnic groups has existed much longer than any of these definitions. Today, it is incredibly difficult to count all the nationalities of the world, because they are in constant dynamics, merging with each other, as a result of which many disappear. According to rough estimates, there are now about two thousand nationalities on the planet with a tendency of their constant decrease. This is somewhat more than self-identification on a linguistic or territorial basis, because with 251 official states in the world, there are about six thousand languages, each of which is native to someone. Therefore, it is difficult to determine how many nationalities actually exist. In addition to the most common and well-known, such as the Americans, British, Germans, French, Spaniards, Italians, Greeks, Bulgarians and others, there are small and little-known ethnic groups: Baluchis, Golds, Ingris, Lappis, Mishars and many others.

What defines a Russian

It is believed that as a nationality, “Russian” is too concise a concept. These are not just some anthropological characteristics or endings of surnames with -ov/-ev. V.I. Dahl, the great Russian scientist, writer and lexicographer, had his own point of view on determining a person’s nationality, and there is undoubtedly a rational grain in this opinion. He believed that depending on what language a person thinks in, he belongs to that people. A huge part and, in addition to Russia, the overwhelming majority of the population of some former republics of the USSR speak Russian, while classifying themselves as other nationalities on a territorial basis. Russians are more than a nationality, they are a civilization, original and unique, combining language, culture, and mentality into a single whole.

Having two or more passports

What to do and what to write if a person has two citizenships? In this case, dual citizenship is entered into the application form if there is a special column for this. You will also need to provide your passport information.

Today Russia has concluded an agreement only with Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. There was a similar project with Ukraine, but it was not brought to its logical conclusion. Russians cannot obtain dual citizenship with any other country in the world, so you are unlikely to derive any benefit from it.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=zSymGJS2KBE%3Ffeature%3Doembed

By the way, which syllable should be emphasized in the word “citizenship”? In standard forms, stress is not recorded, so this issue does not require detailed consideration. If you have recently arrived in Russia and are trying to pronounce words correctly in Russian, you need to remember that in the word “citizenship” the stress is placed on the second syllable.

How to write citizenship correctly in the application form?

In practice, a fairly common mistake when preparing official documents is the incorrectly filled in “Citizenship” column.

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In order to avoid problems in paperwork and not to delay the resolution of any issues, we will teach you how to write citizenship correctly.

So, in the “Citizenship” column you must write the name of the state in the nominative case - “Russian Federation”. You cannot write “Russia” or “Russia”.

Some questionnaires allow the possibility of writing “Russia” in the “Citizenship” column, but “Russian Federation” is the official filling option that will satisfy any, even the most strict, questionnaire checker.

Please note that not all official questionnaires allow the abbreviation of the Russian Federation to the abbreviation RF. In addition, in some cases, for example, when filling out a form when joining the Federal Bailiff Service of the Russian Federation, it is recommended to indicate “Citizen of the Russian Federation” in the “Citizenship” column.

How to distinguish citizenship from nationality?

When filling out a questionnaire, many people confuse the terms “citizenship” and “nationality”. Of course, from a legal point of view these are two different concepts.

Citizenship determines the country of which you are a citizen, but in the “Nationality” column, if one is present in the document being filled out, you should indicate your ethnic group (Russian, Tatar, Chuvash, etc.).

Confusion with filling out the “Nationality” and “Citizenship” columns may arise in foreign countries. For example, in France, since there the two terms are not distinguished.

But in the Russian Federation, indicating nationality is not mandatory, that is, it is indicated at the request of the citizen. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation clearly indicated that nationality in no case can have legal significance for the status of a citizen. The Constitution determines that Russian citizenship is uniform and does not depend on the grounds for its acquisition.

Double citizenship

In some forms, when filling out, you are required to indicate a second citizenship (if any), dual or previous one.

If you have dual citizenship, you must indicate not only the country of the second citizenship, but also your passport details and citizenship status.

Analyzing the legislation of the Russian Federation, we can conclude that Russia has concluded agreements on dual citizenship only with Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and the latter has already lost force, and dual citizenship is retained only by persons who received it during the period of validity of the agreement, that is, from December 23, 1993 to 05/18/2015. In other cases, when filling out the form, we will talk about second citizenship.

If the citizenship was changed, then it should be written as follows: “In 2008, the citizenship of Ukraine was changed to the citizenship of the Russian Federation.” If you need to indicate the reason, you can write “In connection with moving to permanent residence in the Russian Federation.”

Before filling out the “Citizenship” column in the application form, check how to correctly write: “Russian Federation”, abbreviated as “RF” or “Citizen of the Russian Federation”. Regardless of the correct option, we write citizenship in the nominative case.