Russia’s foreign minister has proposed that Britain should consider dropping the term “Great” from its name and drew a comparison between the country and Gaddafi’s Libya.
During a press conference in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed his view, stating that in his opinion, Britain should be referred to simply as Britain because it is unique in calling itself “Great Britain.” Lavrov referenced the historical example of the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,” which was the official name for Libya during Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year authoritarian rule, emphasizing that the country no longer exists.
In Russian, the UK is typically referred to as “Velikobritaniya,” which translates to “Great Britain” in English, with “veliko” denoting “great” or “large.” While “Great Britain” is commonly used informally, the country’s full official title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Notably, Great Britain specifically refers to the larger island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales.
The term “Great” in Great Britain historically served as a geographical identifier to distinguish it from Brittany (Little Britain) in France. This distinction dates back to the second century AD when the Greco-Roman geographer Ptolemy utilized “megale Brettania” (Great Britain) and “mikra Brettania” (Little Britain) in his writings.
Following his pointed remarks, Lavrov’s spokesperson welcomed a question from Ivor Bennett, a correspondent from Sky News in the UK, with the minister adding, “No offence.”
The comments were made in the context of a discussion on colonialism, spurred by the recent developments in the Greenland crisis. Lavrov contended that Greenland is not inherently part of Denmark, highlighting the complexities of former colonial territories.
Lavrov dismissed Trump’s allegations that Moscow is seeking control over Greenland, a notion the US President has repeatedly put forward to advocate for American control of the territory in NATO’s interest. The minister also asserted that European leaders are actively working towards what he described as a “strategic defeat” for Russia and are gearing up for potential conflict against the country.
Lavrov underscored the need for Russia to address the underlying issues concerning the crisis in Ukraine, accusing the West of deliberately positioning Ukraine as a threat to Russia’s security for many years, aiming to establish a foothold against Moscow along their borders and supporting the regime that emerged from the 2014 coup, which he labeled as openly Nazi.
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