Volodymyr/Vladimir

[Robert A. Rothstein]

    The Poles have a handy adjective, staroruski, essentially "Old East 
Slavic," used for example to refer to what Westerners tend to call "Old 
Russian Literature" (such as the literature of Kievan Rus'). Around 
Harvard people seem to have adopted the adjective "Rusian" in the same 
function. Both are politically correct in a very narrow sense. Correct, 
in that both those whose descendants would become Ukrainians and those 
whose descendants would become Russians probably referred to the Kievan 
ruler (if they were aware of him) as Volodimir or Volodymyr, later to 
become Ukrainian Volodymyr and (after the so-called Second South Slavic 
Influence) Russian Vladimir. And political, in the sense that the 
terminology might help, as the singer Theodore Bikel says in his English 
version of "Sten'ka Razin" "to prevent disputes and quarrels."
    (On rereading the above, I noticed that I twice used the form 
"Kievan." I hereby authorize those who wish to to read that as "Kyivan" 
to do so. I've successfully made the transition in my own usage from 
Lvov/Lwów/Lemberg/Leopolis to Lviv, but I still find "Kyiv" too far 
removed from English phonotactics to be comfortable with it.)

Bob Rothstein

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