The problem of divided ethnonational groups in contemporary Russia and Poland

Both Russia and Poland – to varying degrees – tend to maintain ties with “compatriots” living abroad, but these two groups are distinct in their essence. Poles living outside Poland can be rather qualified as part/parts of divided people, whereas Russian-backed compatriots form a divided nation, and moreover, form not a divided nation of the Russian Federation, but a post-Soviet one. The Government of the Russian Federation used to claim maintaining ties with “Russian compatriots” living abroad. The theme of rights of Russians living abroad is among the most popular ones in Russian media. The groups of Russian-speaking, who live in the former Soviet republics, have often been subjects or objects of conflict situations in the last 20 years because of their desire to live in accordance with their identity. But the essence of this group of so-called Russians, living on the post-Soviet sphere, is very complex. Russian-backed compatriots form not a divided people – in an ethnic sense – but a divided nation (a cultural or historical, non-ethnic group). And moreover, such groups form not a divided nation of Russian Federation, but a post-Soviet divided nation.