Sacralisation and Purification of the Nation in the Polish and Russian Nationalist Thought?
- Year of publication: 2009
- Source: Show
- Pages: 123-129
- DOI Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2009010
- PDF: ppsy/38/ppsy200910.pdf
Both in the Polish and Russian language the term ‘nation’ is understood in a slightly different way than the English word ‘nation’. It is understood not only in cultural but also political terms, and in numerous contexts it is used to denote ‘the people’ or an ‘ethnic nation/ethnos’. Thus, when we use words ‘nation, nationality, narodnost’, sometimes only the context makes it possible to decide whether we mean the nation, nation or ethnos. However, this lack of clear distinction in the colloquial discourse should not make one conclude that there are not fully shaped nations in Poland and Russia. It is just that the colloquial discourse fails to notice these vague distinctions. In the scientific discourse in both countries, these di! erentiations have been precisely defined and used for a long time.