Russia’s foreign minister has proposed that Britain removes “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 suggested that Britain should simply be called Britain, stating that the term “Great Britain” is unique in the world. He referenced the historical example of the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” under the 42-year authoritarian rule of Muammar Gaddafi, emphasizing that it no longer exists.
In Russian, the UK is commonly referred to as “Velikobritaniya,” which directly translates to “Great Britain” due to “veliko” meaning “great” or “large.” While “Great Britain” is informally used, the country’s official full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain specifically denotes the island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales.
The term “Great” in Great Britain historically served to distinguish the island from Brittany (Little Britain) in France, dating back to the second century AD when Greco-Roman geographer Ptolemy differentiated between “megale Brettania” (Great Britain) and “mikra Brettania” (Little Britain) in his writings.
Following his provocative comments, Lavrov’s spokeswoman welcomed a question from Ivor Bennett of Sky News, with the minister adding, “No offence.”
These remarks were made within a conversation on colonialism prompted by the developments in the Greenland crisis. Lavrov disputed Trump’s claims about Moscow seeking control over Greenland and criticized European leaders for allegedly preparing for war against Russia.
Lavrov highlighted the need for addressing the root causes of the crisis involving Ukraine, accusing the West of attempting to turn Ukraine into a threat to Russia’s security and supporting what he described as an openly Nazi regime that emerged from the 2014 coup.