Why is Russia suddenly an Asian country? Russia has Siberia which is in Asia, but it is the same way as Denmark has Greenland. Most Russians live in the European part, the two capitals of Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg are in Europe, and Europe stretches from the Urals to the Atlantic. Russia takes up the entire Eastern part of the European continent.

Another question:

Do these people look like Asians to you?

www.ishkur.com/sports/...ssians.jpg

www.reagleplayers.com/...ssians.jpg

www.iuf.ru/pic/all%20russians.jpg
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Hi Tambok

I guess its a question of what do you think an asian looks like?

I'm not sure to answer your question but I will ask the question for you but as theres no where else to put it at the moment I guess it will end up in "other"  

"Asia" is a geographical reference, not racial, and the majority of the country is in Asia. I take your point, and I'm more than open to suggestions, but I suspect you could have made your point equally effectively without taking the piss (especially as I've defended your own contributions to this site on a number of occasions from those who see things differently to yourself).

Jamie
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Dear Rod,

Your point is well taken. Presently in Russia, Asian people are being routinely attacked and beaten. Even killed. Russia occupied huge swaths of the Asian continent by sheer force. They have taken land from China kicking out the locals and up until today, they are very hostile to those with non-European features. They are colonial conquerors and will always be seen as such by Asians.

I have lived in Russia and the country is not Asian, believe me. No such thing is every taught in Russian schools or in schools of any other Asian country. I have lived in numerous Asian countries as well.

Ethnic Russians "caught" in Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan are routinely discriminated against for *not* being Asian.

So, putting Russia within the Asian family of nations is a bit of a mockery ( not intended, I am sure) for people on both sides of the Urals.

The "real" Russia is in Europe ( meaning where all the major Russian cities are located, where all the culture is, where all the writers and politicians were born, and where most people live), but 'Siberia' is in Asia. It was only conquered a couple of centuries ago, and used mainly as a prison camp. Siberia is sparsely populated and very cold. No person in Russia would ever consider their country as an Asian country just because their Czars had annexed Siberia a few hundred years ago and used it as a penal colony.

Thank you for defending me on numerous occasions, so may I suggest the following?:

Please put Russia in both the European and the Asian forums. This way, people who live in Siberia or the Far East ( Vladivostok, Kamchatka, etc.) will be posting in the Asian forum, and those living in Moscow or St. Petersburg, and the huge European part of Russia, ( which is as big as Western and Central Europe) could be posting there.

Incidentally, when Russians travel in Asia ( meaning Japan, Thailand, Korea, etc.) people talk to them in English and ask them what part of the United States they come from.

No Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Mongolian, Arab or Filipino person will ever consider a Russian as an Asian geographically, racially, ethnically, culturally, etc. No Indian would do that, and no Iranian would even remotely place those people into Asia. And in my very humble opinion, who is Asian ( and which country is Asian) and who/which is not, is probably best decided by Asians themselves.

Nor does Russia host Asian games, Asian conferences or is a member of any Asian organization.

But maybe, next time these people come to the US,

news.bbc.co.uk/media/i...00x180.jpg

they can join an Asian-American Association and claim protection under the Equal Opportunity laws as Asians?

Highly unlikely.

But joking aside, would you be kind enough to place the country in both forums?

Respectfully yours,

Tambok
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Last edited by tambok on Mon May 29, 2006 6:59 pm; edited 2 times in total

>>>I guess its a question of what do you think an asian looks like?

Dear Mitzyboy,

An Asian man looks like this:

images.google.com/imag...tnG=Search

That is a google search.

Here is a Yahoo search:

Asian Woman

images.search.yahoo.co...=&ei=UTF-8

No Russian faces there.

Here are the Russians living in the Asian part of the country:

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/...plerus.jpg

See the difference?
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Fair enough. I can't split the forum over separate categories but have moved it to Europe.

Jamie
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Thank you. Now it is in its rightful place. The placement of Russia into Asia was mainly done during the Cold War as a propaganda tactic. It was removed from European weather maps, tourist maps, etc. In schools, Russia was now not covered as a European country. Even before, actually, when Russia and Britain had problems, Rudyard Kipling declared Russians to be "Orientals".

It was done easily because most people in Anglo-Saxon countries had never been to Russia and did not know what the Russians looked like or anything about the language or the culture of the place. Since the Americans no longer study geography as a required subject, generations during the Cold War were fooled by that propaganda which made the Russians look like "they are not one of us". .


Because Russians are not people of color ( at least that was known in the West) it would not be politically incorrect to vilify them as they are not covered by the taboos that other groups are.

Such heritage still seeps through unconsciously in the media, and even into forums as this one.
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