change in usage of the word "russkij"

[W. Derbyshire]

On Mon, 8 May 1995, Emily Tall wrote:

> Russian
> universities must now be "rossijskie" and not "russkie universitety". "Russkit
> is now restricted to things pertaining to ethnic Russians. I was aware that
> some nationalists had made distinctions between "russkie" pisateli, i.e.
> ethnic Russian, and "russkojazychnie" writers, mainly Jews or other ethnic
> minorities, but I was not aware that it had spread further.

        You have it basically correct, Emily. Russkij must now be used
only in reference to anything or person that is indeed Russian. Peoples
and things that are part of Rossija are to be referred to as Rossijskij.

        So, for example, one now has Rossijskoe grazhdanstvo. This is an
attempt to be more inclusive of the 100 or so other nationalities found
in what is left of the Russian Empire. [I wouldn't attempt to comment on
how one or another ethnic minority feels about using the term Rossijskij.]

                                Bill Derbyshire