Rossijanin

[Neil Bermel]

There's nothing specially Eastern or mysterious about differences
like "russkij - rossijanin."  The country I have lived in for the
past six years, the United Kingdom, has an ethnonym for the majority
nationality (Englishman/English) and a designation for all citizens
of the country at large (Briton/British).  There are also ethnonyms
for the minority native ethnic groups (Scot/Scottish, Welshman/Welsh,
Irishman/Irish).  The use of one or the other is highly personal, but
I've observed the following in talking with people and in following
the periodic eruptions of nationality discussions that occur here in
the media:

- White residents of England whose families also came from England
almost uniformly describe themselves as English, not British.  There
is nothing especially patriotic about this designation.

- Whites of non-English descent living in England may or may not
describe themselves as English, depending on how long they and their
families have been in the country, and how close they feel to the
country their ancestors came from. The same is true of nonwhites
living in England, although there is apparently a stronger tendency
for them to explicitly reject the label English and/or to describe
themselves as British.  There is no perception that it is inherently
separatist or hostile to avoid describing oneself as "English."   In
fact, few English would expect e.g. a second-generation Indian or
German to describe himself as English.

- There is no clear consensus on what it means to be "British" beyond
having a certain citizenship.   Very few "typically British" images
or associations suggest themselves, and most of those overlap with
those tied to England.  There are a host of national characteristics
and stereotypes connected with being "English."

- Those who are ethnically Scottish or Welsh would not normally
describe themselves as English, and they use British only in its
narrowest definition, i.e. when talking about citizenship.  This
would be true even for Scots or Welsh who had lived in England most
of their lives.   Likewise, an Englishman living in e.g. Scotland is
always English; he does not become Scottish by moving north of the
border.

- I've left out Northern Ireland, because it -- like most conflict
zones -- has a different set of semiotics around nationality and
citizenship, and I haven't been here long enough to start to
understand it.

The situation seems similar to the Russian one in its underlying
structure and tensions, although there will of course be differences
in the specifics.  The superficial similarities in the imperial pasts
of Russia and England/Britain are, I suspect, the best explanation
for this.

Neil
--
----------------------------------------------------
Neil Bermel
University of Sheffield
Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies
Sheffield S10 2TN England
+44 (0)114 222 7405
+44 (0)114 222 7416 fax

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