Russians

The Russians (Russian: русские, historical German names also Great Russians, Russias, Muscovites ) are an East Slavonic people, with about 137 million members, including approximately 115 million in Russia, about 17 million in the other successor states of the Soviet Union and about six million in other countries. They form the largest ethnic group in Europe. The national language of the Russians is Russian, the dominant and traditional religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity.

• 5.1 Russians in the former Soviet Union
• 5.2 Russians in other countries of the world

Designation

In German, Russian citizens are referred to as Russians, regardless of their ethnicity. In Russian, on the other hand russkii thinks primarily ethnic Russians. In contrast, the nationality refers to the adjective rossiiskii ( российский ), which is derived from Rossiya ( Россия Russia = ). A Russian citizen of any ethnicity is, accordingly rossi janin ( россиянин ), plural jane rossi ( россияне ) which could be translated as Russ countries.

History

The ancestors of the Russians were East Slavic tribes that inhabited the territories of present-day West of Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Among them were the Ilmenslawen that Kriwitschen that Wjatitschen that Sewerjanen and Radimitschen. At the ethnogenesis of Russians next to them also Scandinavian and Finno- Ugric tribes were involved. The underlying ethnonym Rus originally denoted According to a theory originating from Scandinavia Varangians, the first of the top layer of the Kievan Rus, the first state formation of the region presented ( cf. Finnish " Ruotsi " = "Sweden" ) and was later extended to the entire population of the Empire transmitted, especially the Scandinavians rather quickly experienced a cultural Slavicization.

The meanwhile been formed homogeneous old Russian ethnicity of Kievan Rus' began in the 15th century culturally in Great Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians (formerly Little Russians ) split. The Great Russians initially inhabited the area, which included the northwest of present-day Russia. With the military successes against the Tartars their settlement area spread along the Volga River to the south. The case of the Tatar capital Kazan in 1552 opened the Russians beyond the way across the Urals to Siberia, she began to open up thereafter. In the 17th century the Russians came first to the Pacific. An important role in the colonization of new areas played the Russian Cossacks. From the 18th century the settlement area of the Russians expanded after pushing back the Ottoman Turks and Crimean Tatars in the southern Ukraine ( New Russia ) and the North Caucasus. Prior to 1917, the Russians were living almost exclusively in the area of the Russian Empire until the October Revolution many aristocratic and bourgeois families induced them to emigrate and a global diaspora emerged.

At the time of Soviet Union Russian minorities emerged in almost all republics. While this decreased in the Baltic on a forced settlement policy of the state, was in Central Asia or the Caucasus rather a natural demand for qualified professionals to build the infrastructure, industry or educational institutions, which was covered mainly by Russians. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union there are more return migration in the Russian Federation.

Culture

Language and Literature

Russian, one evolved from the Altostslawischen language is the official language in Russia and is used by 99 % of the population understood. In addition, Russian is considered due to its 130 million native speakers and 110 million second language as a world language.

The Russian literature is widely regarded as part of the World Heritage Site. Its origins date back to the era of Kievan Rus back, but especially the 19th century ( "Golden Age " of Russian literature) and the early 20th century ( "Silver Age" of Russian literature ) a particularly high abundance of major have works. Significant representatives of Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Bulgakov, Akhmatova and Boris Pasternak.

Name

The formation of modern Russian surnames took place between the 16th and the 17th century. The typical endings were the genitive ending -ow, ew - and - in, which now have about 2/3 of the Russian surname. Mostly formed the margins of the genitive to first names, pet names or occupations. Less common suffixes were -ski (adjective, referring either to the geographical origin, was imported by immigrants from the Polish- Lithuanian Reich ), ych (plural genitive, especially in the Urals ), itsch, -ez, -ak, - ago. In modern times came from the Ukrainian space also names ending in- enko and -uk.

Since the genitive in Russian is declined depending on the genus, get female last name appended with the suffixes -ow, ew and in each case an additional a. The adjective suffix- ski to - Skaja changes. All other surnames are not declined.

Religion

See also: Russian Orthodox Church, Altorthodoxe

The Russians are traditionally Orthodox Christians. Due to the long time of the official atheism of the former Soviet Union, however, a large part of the Russians has been estranged from religion, even though the Russian Orthodox Church is becoming increasingly important again since 1991. Approx. 60 % of Russians are baptized. Although the number of members of ecclesial communities increase, the visitor rate remains quite low at the Sunday liturgy. There are in Russia today about 12,000 Russian Orthodox and 285 altorthodoxe parishes. The Orthodox religion is an essential part of Russian cultural identity, so it is normal that even atheistic Russians identify with the Orthodox Church.

In Germany, currently living in the 190,000 baptized Russian Orthodox Christians, who are organized into 60 parishes.

Other faith communities, the Russians have been reached, 85,000 Russians are evangelical Baptists aligned. This faith, the Russians have usually learned through contact with Russian Germans, most of whom are committed to evangelical faith orientations. Another minority, the Russian Catholics who belong to the Russian Greek Catholic Church, which is subordinate to the Vatican. However, this is very small and has about 3,500 worshipers. Catholic missionaries are, however, considered by the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow with skepticism.

On new popularity also the Slavic paganism, a pre-Christian religion enjoys. Temples and Sacred groves there, especially in the elb - and Baltic Slavic area.

Subgroups

The living on the coast of the White Sea Russians have always been the hot Pomors, they are the descendants of ancient Novgorod and have their own cultural traits in traditional costume, folklore and pronunciation. In the Danube Delta living descendants of the Russian Old Believers, the Lipovans. Additional Russian sub-group can be the Don and the Kuban Cossacks are. Often also have the Siberian Russians back to their certain cultural autonomy.

Distribution of the Russians in the various countries

Russians in the Former Soviet Union

In Moldova, a large proportion of Russians living in Transnistria ( Dniester Republic) which seceded from Moldova in 1992. The proportion of Russians in the area in 1989 only 25.4%, are now 30.3 % of the 555,000 inhabitants Russians. That is about 30 % of Russians in Moldova.

Residents of Estonia and Latvia, which came only during the Soviet period in these countries and not opted after regaining independence for a citizenship of the CIS countries, have the opportunity to get the Estonian or Latvian citizenship through naturalization. Prerequisite is a knowledge of the Estonian and Latvian language and history of the country.

Since 1992, over 150,000 residents have received Estonian citizenship in Estonia, most of them ethnic Russians. In December 2011, 6.9 % of the population were from Estonia ( 94 654 people) still without citizenship. However, you can enjoy right to vote in local elections and have permanent right of residence. Born in Estonia after February 26, 1992 stateless children will automatically receive Estonian citizenship under certain conditions.

In Latvia are to date almost 100,000 naturalizations since 1995, a good 400,000 " non-citizens " over - 17% of the Latvian population. Especially in Latvia there were protests against ethnic Russians teaching in Latvian and Russian-speaking schools closures. About half of the Russian minority in Latvia only speaks Russian. The Russians in the Baltic States are among the largest European minority, whose language has no official status.

Russians in other countries of the world

In Germany the end of 2006 there were 187 514 citizens of the Russian Federation, nearly 60 % of whom were women. 4,679 participated in 2006 at the German citizenship.

It is estimated that 5.1 million U.S. residents are Russian stocky. Particularly noteworthy here is Alaska, which originally was part of the Russian Empire until it was sold in 1867 to the United States. In the heyday of the colony lived 40,000 Russians in Alaska, mainly in the Aleutians. Here there is still a small Orthodox minority. According to the 2000 census, but only 706 242 Americans call Russian as their everyday language. Larger groups of Russian -Americans living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston. About 90% of Russian-speaking Americans are Jews. About 80% of Russian-speaking Americans are not born in the United States. It is estimated that more than half a million immigrants settled between 1990 and 2000 from the states of the former Soviet Union in the United States.

From the former Soviet Union Jewish immigrants have come to Israel over a million of those in the period from 1989 to 1999, more than 750,000. Today, it is estimated that about one million Israelis speak Russian. The extent to which you can refer to them as Russians, is a matter of opinion. In the Soviet Union and its successor states Jews are counted as a separate ethnic group, although the vast majority speak Russian as their mother tongue.

In Romania, the Russian-speaking Lipovans live.

In mainland China, the Russians (俄罗斯 族) are recognized as an official minority that exists there for generations. Here they live in the north of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. Since the end of the Soviet Union, there are again larger immigration movements, both of Russians to China, and from Chinese into Russia.