Nationality
Russian and Rossiyanin – what is the difference?
Why is the expression ‘friendship of peopies’ so popular in Russia?
What is the Russian University of the Friendship of Peopies?
Most of the population of Russia is made up of Russians, but there are also over one hundred different nationalities in Russia: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Karelians, Yakuts, Kalmyks and others. Under socialism there was a column listing one’s nationality in Soviet passports, but now this column no longer exists. Lately a new word has appeared, Rossiyanin, which refers to all citizens of Russia. It happens that a man can speak Russian fluently, but if asked, “What is your mother tongue?” he will answer, “Tatar”, or some other language for example. And if asked, “What is your nationality?” he may answer, “Yakut” or Avar, Chuvash, Bashkir and so on.
Russia has always been famous for the fact that people of many different nationalities and faiths have long lived at peace and harmony within its territory. It is no wonder that the expression ‘friendship of peoples’ has become ingrained in the Russian language. There is a Russian order which is called the Friendship of Peoples, there is a magazine “Friendship of Peoples”, and there is a very beautiful fountain at the АН-Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow (formerly the Exhibition of the People’s Economic Achievements) which is called the Friendship of Peoples. In Russia, people of all nationalities have always been treated kindly; there has never been racism or national discrimination within Russia.
In 1960, the Patrice Loumoum-ba University of the Friendship of Peoples was opened in Moscow to provide assistance to developing countries in training their highly skilled personnel. Students from Asian, African and Latin-American countries have studied there. Since its inception, the university has graduated thousands of specialists who go on to work in their native countries as engineers, teachers, builders, and much more. Moreover, foreign citizens have long been studying at practically all of Moscow’s institutes of higher education, as well as in many of Russia’s other large cities. All of these foreigners remember Russia with gratitude, as well as the Russian people that have always given them their attention and care.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the number of foreigners living and working in Russia has been constantly increasing.
Lately a large number of joint enterprises and companies have opened in various fields of business and trade, representing large foreign firms, banks and alliances. Foreign businessmen have also opened their businesses in Russia. So now, there are a fairly large number of citizens from different European, Asian and American countries working in Russia.
Besides, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union tens of thousands of citizens from former Soviet republics have come to Russia in search of a living. For the most part, these have been people from Central Asia, Moldavia and the Caucasus. Their work tends to involve construction, retail, transportation, housing and communal services, as well as work at local markets. And this is the case not only in Moscow and other big cities, but in small Russian towns aswell. Lately, this migration to Russia has increased guite strongly. Throughout Russian schools, institutes of higher education, and businesses, the percentage of people originally from republics of the former Soviet Union has considerably increased.
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