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 that Britain should be known simply as Britain because it is unique in self-identifying with the term “Great.” Lavrov referenced the historical case of the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,” under the authoritarian rule of Muammar Gaddafi for 42 years, which no longer exists.
In Russian, the UK is commonly referred to as “Velikobritaniya,” which translates to “Great Britain” as “veliko” means “great” or “large.” While “Great Britain” is informally used in the UK and globally, the country’s official full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Notably, Great Britain specifically denotes the large island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales.
The term “Great” in relation to Britain historically served to distinguish it geographically from Brittany (Little Britain) in France, dating back to the second century AD when Ptolemy, a Greco-Roman geographer, used “megale Brettania” (Great Britain) and “mikra Brettania” (Little Britain) in his writings.
Following his pointed comments, Lavrov’s spokeswoman welcomed a question from Ivor Bennett, a correspondent from Sky News in the UK, to which the minister added, “No offence.”
The discussion on colonialism, triggered by recent events in the Greenland crisis, prompted Lavrov to assert that Greenland is not inherently a part of Denmark, highlighting the complexities of former colonial territories.
Lavrov refuted Trump’s claims about Moscow seeking control over Greenland, dismissing the notion as a tactic to promote American interests within NATO. He also accused European leaders of plotting against Russia with a supposed aim of strategic defeat, even suggesting preparations for war.
Emphasizing the need to address the underlying issues related to the crisis in Ukraine, Lavrov argued that Western nations have long sought to portray Ukraine as a threat to Russia’s security, positioning it as a hostile force on Russia’s borders and supporting a regime he described as openly Nazi, following the 2014 coup.
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