All-Russian nation

The All-Russian nation, also known as the pan-Russian nation or the triune Russian nation is a Russophile ideology which sees the Russian nation comprise three historical, regional branches: Great Russians, Little Russians and White Russians. An imperial nation-building dogma, it was used in an unsuccessful attempt to transform the Russian Empire into a nation-state on the basis of a triune "All-Russian" nationality that consisted of, in addition to ethnic Russians, all indigenous East Slavic inhabitants of historic Ruthenia (namely, Ukrainians and Belarusians). The concept was coined predominantly by the Kievan clergy and became the official state-sponsored national identity of the Russian Empire, which by the 19th century was embraced by many imperial subjects (including Jews and Germans) and served as the foundation of the Empire. The title "Tsar of Of All Rus'" borne by every Russian ruler after Peter the Great reflects the official status of this ideology in the Russian Empire.