Rossijanin

[AHetzer]

The discussion has mixed up several issues: feelings, legal status,
linguistics. To start with the last point: Neither in German, nor in
French there are two different words for people of German/French descent
or people living in Germany/France. Thus, in Germany the holder of a
German passport officially is German.

As to legal status: there is no legal difference made between German
citizenship and German nationality. The adjectives nemeckij vs.
germanskij are a specialty of the Russian language.

As to feelings: I am German by birth, my wife is German by passport.
When getting the new passport, she had to give up the Russian
citizenship, and that was not funny nor cheap. At home we speak Russian
almost exclusively, so that my wife never will be able to talk freely in
the language of her new country. Nevertheless she will take part in the
elections. We agreed that she will remain Russian in mind, go to the
orthodox church etc. I do not see any problem with this solution.

However, there are Germans who feel that people living in Germany should
speak German. That's a delicate question - and here begins the political
problem (not only with people from Russia, but from any other countries
too).

Kind regards
AHetzer

--
Prof. Dr. Armin Hetzer
FB 10, Universitaet Bremen

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