The personification of Russia is traditionally feminine and most commonly maternal since medieval times.[1] Most common terms for national personificationofRussia are:
Russian: Ма́тушка Росси́я, romanized: Matushka Rossiya (dim.); also
Russian: Мать-Росси́я, romanized: Mat'-Rossiya; or
Russian: Ма́тушка Русь, romanized: Matushka Rus', lit. 'Mother Rus''; or
Russian: Росси́я-ма́тушка, romanized: Rossiya-matushka, lit. 'Russia the Mother'
Russian: Ро́дина-мать, romanized: Rodina-mat
In the Russian language, the concept of motherland is rendered by two terms:
Harald Haarmann and Orlando Figes see the goddess Mokosh a source of the "Mother Russia" concept.[2][3] Mikhail Epstein states that Russia's historical reliance on agriculture supported a mythological view of the earth as a "divine mother", leading in turn to the terminology of "Mother Russia". Epstein also notes the feminine perceptions of the names Rus' and Rossiia, allowing for natural expressions of matushka Rossiia (Mother Russia).[4]
During the Soviet period, the Bolsheviks extensively utilized the image of "Motherland", especially during World War II.
During the Soviet era, many statues depicting the Mother Motherland were built, most to commemorate the Great Patriotic War. These include:
[...] the goddess known as Mokosh, from whom the myth of 'Mother Russia' was conceived.
Media related to Mother Russia at Wikimedia Commons|
| |
|---|---|
| |
|
