danielmiessler.com - Latest Comments in Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

havshunden — Tue, 27 May 2014 10:19:02 -0000

LOL, you just made my day. Here are some federations: http://upload.wikimedia.org...

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Sara Hulia — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 12:45:43 -0000

Putinin and Sharapova have Asian almond eyes and Asian skull. So she is 1/5 % asian appearance. So the people of the northern and eastern part of Russia is racially half whites half asians or 5/6% whites. The people of western part of Russia close to Finland is predominantly whites. But they are minorities. The Southern part of Russia including Caucasus is a mix of whites, asians and semites (arabs). Fedor Emelianenko is racially half white half semitic (arabic). Unfortunately some of the pure whites only live in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The other peoples are mixed races. White race is non-existent today.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

me — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:25:39 -0000

Someone trying to research and get information from people all over the world... That's who he is to discuss it.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

skef — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 14:17:37 -0000

Yup! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/w...

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Evgeny — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 02:28:12 -0000

It's a Country AND Federation.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

John — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 13:06:50 -0000

It's a federation. Not a country.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Mumba — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 21:49:53 -0000

If they are 75 percent ethic Russians, they are Russians.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Mumba — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 21:45:51 -0000

The reason is simple- when you look at the map and see the letters Russia on it in the Asian part of the map, you are looking at Siberia. The Asian part was colonized at the same time as America was colonized- Slavic Europeans just moved there from the West and settled it. Siberia is huge, enormous and it belongs to Russia. But it's sparsely populated- like Canada. Most people still live in the European part which is where Russia proper is. Think Greenland- it is not in Europe is it but it has letters Denmark written on it. Russia is a European country that owns Siberia. India otoh, has always been in Asia.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Milko — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 13:17:38 -0000

The large percentage of ancestors from Russia originated from around the Moscow area, which is in the far west of the country closer to Europe. They were called Muscovites, and they went on to populate the rest of Russia eastward.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Terribtastic — Sat, 25 May 2013 13:30:57 -0000

Shut up, racist.

Your name is Marat which is a typically Caucasian (Dagestan, Chechen, Ossetian etc...) name. Which means most likely you aren't a real White Russian yourself. Hypocrite.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

DA28 — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:08:39 -0000

i have green eyes brown hair with european body characteristics(facial), i have asian facial looks & middle eastern/mediterranean look & pretty much u cant say im neather white or asian in the middle(neutral).. kinda like what Keanu Reeves looks like not all white or asian but in middle... I think what all world should be ONE RACE mixed with all world speakin one language to forget our difference & move worlf forward in a better way for ALL humans technologically & economically(=

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

DA28 — Sun, 05 May 2013 05:50:27 -0000

how hard is it to figure out!?!?! u have europe/white people to west, asians to east & arabs to south...mix in thousands of years & you have russia...duhh... "russ" means north men/vikings/scandianavians which actually came from germany(germanic) few thousand years ago to north scandianavian counrties then turned into vikings & went into untamed lands of what is now russia building fortified cities to protect from asians/arabs & as citys grew the people inner mixed, & if you ever wondered why russian alphabet kinda looks like greek & why the ancient greeks looked alot whiter then now cause arabs/ottoman turks forced christian greeks up into russia bringing & mixin in with the "russ"....i can go on forever... fact is russians in all world history is the most inner mixed race out of all in WHOLE world period with longest history.. i was born in ukraine by black sea & have greek speakin grate grate granparents & german & mongolian & jewish & maybe sum arab & maybe gypsy which came from india that have dna from africa...so im mixed with all WORLD..

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Crystal Nelson — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:47:12 -0000

But not all Russians are 100% I wouldn't be surprise if some of the Russians have mix blood. I have met a lot of mixed Russians.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Crystal Nelson — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 03:42:34 -0000

No, if you want to get real technical, the Asian looking Russians, are the true Russians. They were there first before the Slavic people came. The problem is a lot over proud Russians won't view the darker skin Russians as Russians, because racism is a problem over in Russia. Which is sad. Russia is a very big country, and it expands to Europe and Asia, so to say only the white Russians are the true Russians are wrong. It doesn't matter if the name is Indo-European, it doesn't make everyone in Russia European. Do you know that many of the Indian people from India are really, really dark Caucasians. There is many looks to the Russian look. Some look European, some American, some Middle-eastern, and some look Asians. As someone said Russia has many different kinds of people and not all of them have light skin.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Someone you don't know :) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:09:00 -0000

Does it really matter? -.- I don't think it does. What's the point of knowing ur race anyway? We are all the same. The only difference is our colour and culture which doesnt really matter. So just get a life people... We are the human race. Nuff said. AND STOP BEING RACIST...

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Someone you don't know :) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:50:14 -0000

Stop being racist, dude..

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Jam — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:41:08 -0000

To be.. (*Asian) or not to be... (*Asian) that is the question!

This is still fascinating topic despite the years going by... but regarding American 'vs Asian.. hasn't anybody considered that the Americas have North, South, Central and Pacific? In this case Mexicans, Bolivians, Peruvians and Brazilians along with some Texans by descent, would not be considered typically as 100% American, on first glance would they? Even if African Americans can be called African American, and Hispanics or Latinos have their own "ethnicity" some may identify with "back home" and not mean the US or Canada, much like Irish migrants especially in earlier times...

Therefore, American is not all encompassing, neither is "Asian".. perhaps Russians are more "Asiatic" rather than Asian, regardless of caucasian or mongoloid ethnicity or complexion. Also they would be right to identify themselves as Slavic, right? And the point about Brits not identifying themselves as European in majority of cases is mostly accurate. Yet Brits don't deny the european origin, we just don't like the French.. heh heh heh.. or the Nazi's and SS... God forbid them to walk our soil! (except for former allies, foreign students and asylum seeking refugees.. and tourists of course!) Long live the Queen!! But in many ways the UK and US identify with each other more than with Europe... The British Rule(d) the Waves etc.. etc..

The main problem though is all these tags and labelling.. ppl plz stop all this senseless graffiti... its really NOT art!!!! Or is it?? Hey.. imagine there's no countries altogether?? Would that be a Federation? Or global communism? Perhaps it would mean a melting pot of civilisation? Just stir and watch the result?

Seriously, what does it matter what continent people originate from or currently live in? Do Governments really, really care? Should we? Perhaps knowing origins and roots is essential and part of confirming our identity but does that mean we should surrender to national expressions of identity? Zeigheit! There is a lot of propaganda out there in this regard ....

I think live and let live... identity is our complexion, complexity and compliance with certain etched boundaries sometimes we make for ourselves, while other times we allow others to decide for us...

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Dennis — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:09:16 -0000

From a Russian perspective, Russian is an ethnic group. So if a Chinese family or Polish family moved to Russia and had children there. The children would not be ethnic Russians but Russian citizens. This concept is not seen the same in the U.S. If a Russian person moved to America and had children, these children would be American. This is because American is not an ethnic group. To be American means that you identify yourself with the norms and ideas of the American culture and have citizenship to the U.S. While to be Russian means that your ancestry is traced back to the Russian people.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Daniel Miessler — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:18:55 -0000

The point is that if you ask most people what they consider Russians to be they'd probably say caucasian or European, not Asian.
Disagree?

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Paul — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:46:49 -0000

Sticking with your logic, a white person born and raised in Africa is not African because they are white. I live in North America and am white. I don't call myself European because I look like most people in Europe. If you live on the continent of Asia, you are Asian. It's not very hard to understand.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

ldglover — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 01:08:41 -0000

These geographical and cultural boundaries are so vague and confusing, it's a wonder they exist in our minds at all. @ Daniel you mention in your original post about Americans considering India to be part of the Middle East and how most others consider it to be Asian. Aren't many of the countries that make up the Middle East part of the Asian continent? What makes the distinction? Asia and the Middle East are not mutually exclusive. I've always wondered why Turkey is considered to be European when technically only the tiny portion that lies West of the Bosphorus is truly in the continent of Europe. Often times Turkey is lumped in with the Balkans and all the European nations with predominant groups of non Arab Muslims, but wait...Iranians are mostly non Arab Muslims, they are predominantly Aryan with a very small Arab minority. Iran according to almost all accounts is part of the Middle East. Then there's the Eurasian distinction which is just another cluster of confusion which I believe includes Russia (to U-Turn back into the original topic). To sum my thoughts and many of the ones already mentioned in the comments, Russia spans both continents of Europe and Asian with most of its land mass in Asia, as does Turkey. Historiculturally Russia is European (would you say Caucasian?) but has more recent inclusion of Mongolian-East Asian ethnicity because of the adjustments to its Eastern borders. India is Asian as it is part of the Asian continent but so are many other Near East/Middle Eastern countries including the Muslim and/or Arab nations Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, etc. India according to some is part of the Middle East, while to others it is not however all accounts of distinction of this sub-continent contradict the others so really it's all gobbly gook anyway.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

ldglover — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:13:29 -0000

They are real Russians because they were born in Russia. No matter what they look like or their ethnic background. A person of Indian decent born in England is still English.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

ldglover — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:08:48 -0000

Nationality refers to nation of origin and birth but not necessarily ethnic background or identity. The nationality of a person born in Russia is Russian. Their ethnicity however can be of Slavic/European decent, Mongolian/East Asian decent, or whatever else. I think you were mixing up the terms Nationality and Ethnicity.

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

Shanti Tialino — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:35:18 -0000

Its a country now lol

Re: Silly Question: Why Aren’t Russians Considered Asians?

sparkania — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:44:57 -0000

I have began writing a paper on a more expanded subject which also includes this question. I found Yekaterina's response to be quite informative until he for some reason took it personal.

Yes, the Russian people stem from the European region. (as we ALL stem from Africa) But I believe the question above is a more Modern question with a more Geo-Political root. The Enormous country of Russia is located 2/3 on the Asian continent. Those who live in this eastern portion of Russia are residents of the continent of Asia so are therefore by location, Asian. The only arguing point is derrived from modern Russia being located on 2 continents.

So, facial features and lineage aside, Many Russians are Asian. Strangely, ALSO on the Asian continent are other demographics of peoples we ALSO don't call Asian. Most of the world's Arabic nations are on the continent of Asia.

More than half of the planet's population resides on the continent of Asia, hence, more than half of humans are Asian.

In short, most of Russia and the other 50+ nations are Asian countries. To be very specific... Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and Mohammad were also Asian. Chew on that for a second.

So to call a Russian "Asian" (without knowing his or her actual city of residence) is not incorrect until residence is clear.

To date, the only enduring false designation of a people is still calling Native Americans people "Indians". Which should have changed to "Americans" in the 1500's when the continent was designated as America.