ethnic terms in affectionate usage?

[Barbara C. Allen]

Dear Seelangers,

Lately I've been rereading private, personal correspondence between
revolutionaries Alexander Shliapnikov and Alexandra Kollontai.  I find
that in these very affectionate letters Shliapnikov quite often calls
Kollontai his "beloglazka" or "chukhna."  According to the dictionaries
I've consulted, these are Russian derogatory terms for Finns.  It seems
surprising that he would employ derogatory terms in love letters, so I
wonder if the dictionary description is correct for all contexts.
Please enlighten me.  And please forgive me if anyone is offended by
these terms - that is certainly not my intention.

As a side note, in published correspondence, Kollontai affectionately
called her son "Khokhlenysh" and "Khokhlin'ka"!

Sincerely,
Barbara Allen
La Salle University








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