[Comrade Ogilvy]

Long ago I read somewhere that Stalin, at one time, actually considered the Netherlands and Holland as two different countries. One of my comrades suggested that this was only a rumor originally circulated by the Yugoslav renegade, M. Djilas. Can anyone here confirm this?

Curiously,
Prometej

[Ixa]

I cannot confirm that, but it is dubious considering how well read and even
gifted Stalin was.

[tragicclown]

Holland, Netherlands, the Dutch, way too complicated!


What, long ago you read something about Stalin doing something stupid, you dont' know where it was or anything about it, and you expect us to confirm or deny it? I don't think so.

[Tovarish Spetsnaz]

Propably becasue in Russian there is only word for them...Holland. The same in Albanian...we don't have a word for the Netherlands...we just call the Holland...nor do we call them Dutch. Until I learned English...it was just Holland for me.

[Comrade Ogilvy]

I don't believe that to be the case. We have a precisely literal translation of the term in Serbo-Croatian - Nizozemska. I would imagine that Russian, being one of the most developed of Slavic languages, would have something similar.

[Comrade Ogilvy]

Well, as a matter of fact, the Russian term for Netherlands is Nederlandii.